PRAGUE

I've been awfully busy with my parents, hence the delay with my posts. This weekend was especially eventful, as we made our way to Prague on Friday morning. My parents came over to my house in the morning and the three of us left for the bus station just around 10. I can't recall exactly when our bus was supposed to leave, but we ended up being delayed a good 45 minutes or so. The bus ride itself was uneventful. We finally made it there sometime after 3pm. Our hotel was quite close to the bus station, just a 15 minute walk. It was unfortunately raining when we arrived. After we dropped off our stuff in our room, we spent a few hours wandering around the city, including popping into a restaurant for dinner. Even with the rain, the city was beautiful. I think we got back to the hotel around 8pm or so, and my mom and I enjoyed some time in the hot tub before bed.

The Christmas Tree in Old Town Square

Saturday was perhaps the busiest day. We left the hotel by 10am and made our way to the Prague Castle. We had to take two different trams to get there, the second of which was so packed with people that we were pushed up against the doors. As suspected, most everyone on the tram was also going to the castle. The castle itself was expansive and beautiful. I think in the end we spent about three hours wandering around. We eventually left and got some lunch at a little pizza place. We then began the walk back to the hotel, walking across the Charles Bridge and stopping at other little attractions along the way. Every where we looked was absolutely beautiful. There were so many details in the architecture of the buildings. Even the sidewalks, which were different patterns constructed from stone, were incredible. At some point we arrived back at the hotel, took a little break, and then regrouped and set out for dinner. We ended up picking some little restaurant in an alley. The food was decent, but the hour wait for it was not. I was in a rush to get back to the hotel. One of my friends from my university in Mississippi, Kara, lives in Prague and we had made plans to meet up that evening. She met me at the hotel after dinner and the two of us set off to catch up. We spent two hours walking around the city and talking. At one point, we were walking down a huge shopping street. All throughout Prague, as with most big cities, there are people on the sidewalks doing various things to beg for money. We walked past someone wearing a shark costume. As soon as we passed him, I saw him out of the corner of my eye turn to follow us. A few seconds later, I found myself engulfed by him under the mouth of the costume, effectively "biting" me. It was strange, funny, and uncomfortable all at the same time. A bunch of people walking by saw it and laughed, and Kara was just astonished by it. We were both tired, so we didn't stay out late. It was still great to be able to catch up with an old friend across the world from where our friendship began.

St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle

Sunday morning we set out with a few goals in mind. We walked across the Charles Bridge on our way to the John Lennon Wall and the St. Nicholas Church. I didn't actually read about the significance of the wall until after we had seen it, but it was still interesting to see even without knowing its' purpose. The St. Nicholas Church was absolutely breathtaking. We had seen it on Saturday but had opted not to go in (there was an entrance fee). My dad really wanted to go back. I'm glad we did, it was definitely the most beautiful church we saw there. We then walked over to a restaurant that was recommended to us by the hotel staff. It was a traditional Czech restaurant (as were all of the restaurants we ate at over the weekend). Again, the food was good. By then it was time to walk over to the boats, as we had planned on going on a two hour boat tour. We got to the docks a little early, so we sat and enjoyed a hot beverage while we waited. The boat tour went up and down the river. My Mom and I opted to start out on the top deck with open air, but I only lasted 45 minutes before I was too cold. I joined by dad below and enjoyed the view through a window and with a hot chocolate in hand. The sun set shortly before the boat tour ended. We therefore got a really wonderful view of the city all lit up at night. The boat tour ended just before 5pm. We quickly went back to the hotel, took a short break, then went out for dinner. We went to another traditional Czech restaurant recommended by the hotel staff. It was also delicious.

Sunset behind the Municipal House

Monday was our last day in Prague. In the morning we went to Klementinum, which is basically a collection of historic buildings. I didn't completely listen to the tour guide when he spoke. His accent was difficult and he was a bit grumpy. However, we did go out to the top of a tower where we got an amazing 360 degree view of the whole city. It was breathtaking. Afterwards, we walked once more to the Charles Bridge, though this time just halfway across and then back again. We wanted to get one last view of the city. We walked around some more and then went to lunch. We went to yet another recommended Czech restaurant, though this one was a lot fancier than we expected. The restaurant was located in the seventh and eighth floors of a tower. We were the only customers in the whole place, but the food was incredible. After lunch it was time to head back to the hotel to collect our belongings and head to the bus stop. The bus left exactly on time.  At the Germany border, the entire bus got checked (something that I had never experienced). They checked all of our passports. The customs officers must have smelled drugs on a couple a few rows in front of us, because they ended up checking/smelling all of their belongings before they would let us continue. The whole debacle caused about an hour delay. So much for leaving on time! We finally made it back to my house around 9:30pm. My parents went straight to the neighbors to sleep.

The view from the tower at Klementinum

And there you have it! Overall I would say that our weekend was definitely a success. I'm so glad we decided to make the trip out there, and I'm sure my parents would agree.