Prague, Czech Rep. Day 3

Prague, Czech Rep. Day 3

Breakfast today was a wonderful bedside array of tasty delectables. We had left over Simpsons cereal, hard boiled eggs, cheese, and a banana. You can easily get all that stuff at the local market, but having a refrigerator is a must for the milk. After downing the goodness, we headed to the Ladvi metro stop. Our mission: Get to the 10:30 free walking tour. We are hooked on these things. This one is actually called the "tip trip" and was spectacular. If you want to see the city on foot for really cheap with a good guide, try one out. We made it with a little time to spare in the center of the town. Jana ,our guide, took us all over and had a funny Czech accent when she spoke. It was like she had to force the English out of her mouth. For some reason, she was really interested in the 3 of us. I guess it was the teaching that we have done, or the fact we are from the USA. She spent some time there for a summer in a meat facility in Cincinnati. Sounds like a blast! She was able to save up some money working there to spend the last few weeks on a road trip through the West. Lucky her. The tour group was a little smaller than the usual walking tours, maybe because others had a rough night with the wide selection of Czech beer at their disposal? Could be. We toured the Astronomical Clock (intricate clock showing seasons, days, time, moon and sun phases), Massacre of 1610 (Catholic execution of high Protestant officials), Jewish quarter, Wenceslas Square, David Cerny sculptures, Communist museum, church where the Virgin Mary chopped off the hand of a thief and the hand has been on display for 400 years, and a few other sites. We ended in the nice Jewish area that butts up to the snazzy shopping area. We got a bite at an authentic Czech restaurant recommended by our guide. Yes, it was once again meat. Surprised? We went into the basement and sat in a smoke free bar area and really enjoyed it. Lots of thick sauces and hearty dumplings. Katherine had to give the Czech goulash a try. She made a good decision. Andrew opted for the stein full of wieners. Another good choice. My rosemary lamb was good too.

After eating, we walked back towards the center. It began to sprinkle a bit and watching tourists scramble to avoid melting is always a treat. Our next place was the Sex Machine Museum. Enough said. Look it up.

After that wonderful experience, we took ourselves to the Charles Bridge. I have previously seen pictures and paintings of this place and had to visit it first hand. It is the oldest bridge in town and was named for King Charles IV. He's the guy that also is famous for the university here in Prague. The bridge was one of the more busy tourist sites we have seen. People were everywhere and the views were impressive. Artists were on the bridge selling paintings and painting caricatures of the the tourists. It was fun to watch them do their work. The rain clouds were breaking and created a nice sunshine effect on the city along the river.

We crossed the bridge and walked along the river to the Franz Kafka museum. Out in front was a fountain statue of two blokes urinating into a shape of the Czech Republic. They moved with the water and were created out of bronze. Little weird, but the tourists that were posing with them were even more weird. Unfortunately, the museum was closed. The pictures, hopefully will do it justice.

The grocery store visit was much needed. It was nice to get back to our remote extension of the city where prices are normal and food is plentiful. We just got back to the hostel and munched down on some grub. The night had some annoying young Spanish girls that decided to stay up until the early hours and dirty up the kitchen. Not cool. Hopefully I can speak to them in the morning. I know their mom is not here to clean up after them like they are used to, and I hate that the morning cleaning lady will have to take care of their mess. Babies.