August 6 Friday
Today we woke up even more tired than yesterday, but because it is beautiful, we have decided today is the day for the observatory/tower on the hill,
and the Prague Castle and Veil Cathedral. First, though, we have stopped for a half-hour at an Internet Café,
where for a total of $2 we have had each a cappuccino and 30 minutes on the computer!
We start with the Veil Cathedral, which is spectacular. The church is gorgeous inside and out, and the castle, well,
we decide to skip the inside and buy a video! We have seen lots of pictures, and there is only one room that really interests us -
and that one is closed to the public anyway. We just didn't feel like going to see the rest. We walked "the Golden Lane" and named it "Tourist Way"
because it is now just a bunch of stores, probably overpriced. From there, we took our first tram ride (also included in the price of our metro tickets)
through the "Lesser Town" and then a different tram up the mountain. The mini Eiffel Tower looks like it needs a lot of work - rust and graffiti everywhere,
but the view is undeniably beautiful, and worth the 298 steps (no elevators in Europe …)
What a truly magnificent city!
The summer palace, near the castle
Then we walked down the mountain, pausing at one spot for a half-hour 'dodo' (nap.) This was quite refreshing, and from here we walked through the lesser town. We found the American Embassy, which isn't in the place that it is, in Mission Impossible. We shopped a bit, looking for a gift for our cat sitters. We stopped in the Handicraft Center and bought a bunch of small gifts, and two things for us - a large ceramic blue and natural bowl, and a wool blanket. We thought we could have the store ship it for us, but they assured us it would be easier to go to the post office just around the corner. They also said it would cost a fortune for them to do it, and they didn't have the right size box for my bowl. Once at the post office, however, they didn't have a big enough box either.
They could give us a box for the blanket, but they said it had to be shipped from the International Post Office - we'd have to take the tram and bus quite far.
We were tired, disillusioned, and a bit angry
(we might not have bought these things if we knew it would be such a hassle), and we headed back to the hotel with all our purchases.
We rested a while - needing it badly - and then around 4, we went to the shopping area to find TGI Friday's.
We'd been looking forward to this meal, having skipped lunch. And we decided that since we live in Europe, we can justify having American food while on vacation! We found the restaurant with no problem but it was closed "due to technical difficulties" - at least that's what the sign said. We are wondering if they are closed down by the health department!
What kind of technical difficulties can a restaurant have?
We settled for Planet Hollywood, and sat outside watching the people, which we both love.
It was great fun - there were a lot of zoned out people wandering about, and others who just looked like they'd put in a long week at work.
I discovered a direct correspondence between the height of women's heels and the sour looks on their faces!
There was an American woman sitting alone, next to us, eating a caesar salad and reading A Year In Provence.
She looked very happy, either to be in Prague or maybe the book is very good - or both. She was at peace.
After dinner, which was mediocre, we strolled a bit in the shopping area, but we were quickly bored as all the stores are typical.
We went back to the hotel to get ready for our "big night out" - we had tickets to listen to a night of Bach, Handel, and Mozart,
which was being given at the St. Francis Church - right at the end of the Charles bridge.
At the concert, which was quite small (maybe 50 people in attendance), there was a mezzo-soprano, a brilliant flutist, and an organ.
We could have done without the organ, but it was really beautiful all in all. Warren found the church pews unbearable for his back,
and so one hour was enough for him. During the hour though, I was floating in another world, one that the music transported me into places
and situations one sees only in films or in dreams -
fields of flowers and deserted beaches - the stuff of endless romance. A magical night!
One funny thing happened - we rode the metro back to the hotel, a little self-conscious because Warren had forgotten his ticket.
When we arrived at our stop, we must have exited the metro station at a different stairway than usual, because when we got tot he street, we were lost. It was like being in the Twilight Zone - the name of the stop was correct but we recognized nothing. We went back down into the station, thinking we'd gotten off at the wrong place.
But we walked through the station to the other end, and when we walked back up to the street level, we were 'home.'