August 4 Wednesday
We woke up today very well rested - and we are ready for our first day - a day to "scout out the towns." I say towns, because Prague is divided into a few small towns - the Old Town, the New Town, and the Lesser Town. There are other parts to the city, but these three are the most visited. We plan to see a bit of everything today, and then spend time later this week discovering each of the smaller towns in depth, one each day.
We dined - 3 eggs "poached" which I guess means sunny-side up in Czech, two coffees each, and great bread (like we'd find in Germany - rye of some sort) all for 141KC (Czech Crowns.) This is $4.50.
We walked to the Old Town, which wasn't a short walk. We know we can take the metro but today we thought we'd walk everywhere, just to get the feel of things.
We went over the Charles Bridge, remembering the famous scene in Mission Impossible where Jim was supposed to have been killed (he faked his own death) and fell over the side of the bridge. It's really neat, sculptures about 10 feet apart, all across the bridge, on both sides. And it's pedestrian only, as is much of the town.
We went into Lesser Town, where we stopped for a drink. I had a beer, because I'd heard it was good. Mine was pretty bitter though - maybe it was just a bad choice. I took Warren's picture with a funny figurine, and then he took mine. We are silly already!
After this nice break, we walked up to the famous castle, noting the differences in architecture everywhere, and we planned where we'd visit later, when we took our day here. We tried to keep from stopping in the shops, but now and then they'd beckon to us and their charm was overwhelming.
We fell in love with Prague from these first few hours, and in love with each other again, finally feeling the acuteness of having been apart for so long. At this point, it was our second week together - the longest we'd been around each other since February! We were thinking we could just get used to this again!
We decided to try an "authentic" Czech lunch, ordering zuppe, a main dish (stew and 'dumplings' which were a cross between potato pancakes and polenta) and a wonderful rye and caraway bread. Dessert was an apple strudel, and cappuccino (not exactly Czech but it was good.) The lunch was nice, but our stomachs would pay later.
After lunch we meandered back over the bridge, pausing at a few artist's stops and sculptures, and we made our way to the Old Town Square. It was as though the entire town had suddenly come to life - the square was filled, the sun was shining, and the buildings were brilliant - each with its different color and style. We watched the "clock performance" at the astronomical tower, along with a few hundred other people. The clock tells more than time - if you know how to read it, it also says where the moon and sun are in relation to the astronomical signs. I couldn't read it of course, but it was interesting to see. We would learn later that the man who built the clock was blinded by people from the town government, so that he couldn't build more for other cities, but he got them back by breaking the clock for two years …
After the clock struck 3, we went on a small tour (there were 5 of us) of the "mythical, mysterious Prague" where our guide, Pavliva, would take us from building to statue, telling tales (some true and some folklore) of each. We learned of crazed lovers who'd killed their wives because they thought them unfaithful; of a rabbi's problems in this Catholic society (he turned out to be made of stone and magically brought to life); of a statue in which someone who was thrown from the Charles Bridge and miraculously lived (it is now good luck to touch this statue); and of a cross with 5 stars: you put your LEFT hand on the cross, one finger on each of the stars, and make a wish. Within a year, your wish will come true. I made a wish there. I will tell you, in a year, what happened …
In all, it was a great tour. We hope to take more walking tours with this company, as they promise things that the other tours don't have, and they're kind of 'off the beaten track.
We make our way after our tour back to the Old Town, and we sit and have a drink. After this, we walk - or rather trudge - we are so tired - back to our hotel. It is all we can do to go downstairs to the hotel for dinner. Warren orders a steak, and I have an omelette with the trimmings - all this for 161KC ($5.) We fall into bed and sleep HARD until 7am the next morning.