Prague

Mom and I arrived safely in Germany on Thursday afternoon just in time for a dinner with Doris' family and a small celebration for my birthday. Doris' mom makes amazing food and cakes so we got treated very well. My mom also got to meet Klaus' (Doris' brother) new fiance. They will be having a wedding in September, I hope I can make it back!

Doris looked up the Prague special online and called the train station to confirm. You can buy the tickets at the automats and they leave about every 3 hours. We decided the 9:20ish train would work perfectly for us so we headed to the station with a good 30 minutes extra so that we had time to buy the tickets. What the lady didn't tell Doris was where to find the tickets on the automat. Since it was a holiday, hardly anybody was working and the train station was packed. Time was ticking away and we still hadn't found out how to get the tickets. They were tucked away in some odd little area on the machine and we couldn't find them. We were on the verge of missing the train and about to give up hope but I found a nice man helping stranded travellers and he showed us how to get the tickets. We had about 7 minutes till the train left, it was already waiting up on the platform. That started our 5 hour journey on a cramped, hot train to Prague.

Minus being squished between people, we were happy to have a seat. The train was an older one with cabins that contained 6 seats each and a hallway that ran the length of each car. There were 3 of us travelling and there wern't a lot of seats open in 3s. We got lucky and found some but that didn't leave much room. We were happy though, because as the train went on it only got fuller and people were camping out in the hallways by the end of it.

We finally made it to Prague!

Doris, Mom, and I in front of the Charles Brige, the Vtlava river, and the city's Castle.

We checked into our room at the Olympik hotel. It wasn't in the main part of the city so that we could keep it cheaper, but the hotel also lacked a bit of "elegance." The hotel was a bit out of date and after looking at 2 rooms we chose the "suite." We got a room with a king (two singles pushed together) and a couch that pulled out into a bed. The cute little bell boy that helped us didn't speak English or German so we were left to basic words and actions. He split the king bed apart to two single beds and told us "No Sex!" We all laughed. Then he pulled out the couch and showed us how that worked and how "soft" that was. Mom tested it, it wasn't soft. The little man went and got some cushions (similar to couch cusions but the size of a twin bed) to put on top of the couch bed. He put 2 side by side then informed us that that bed was the "Good Sex!" bed. We were happy to have that clarified, it was a very confusing fact we were pondering. Mom gave him all her change as a tip and he seemed happy.

We decided to head off into the city. You could buy tickets at the metro stop or the lady sold them. Well she only sold day tickets and wouldn't give us change for buying gum. I actully wanted gum! So I bought a bottle of water and gum then she had to give us change. We finally got enough for tickets and headed into the city to see the bridge and the old plaza. Everything was packed! Not just busy, but unpleasantly, elbow throwing packed. It was aweful! We made it 1/4 of the way across Charles bridge then decided to turn back and headed to the square where we just fought more crowds. We wanted a restuarant and tried to find one but it was booked up the whole night and asked for a recomendation and he sent us to one around the corner. It was quite tasty!

My mother and I on the Charles Bridge. The weather was amazing the whole time!

Doris and I on the old plaza where the Easter market was taking place

Doris and I with our duck

For dinner at the restaurant we had a started with duck. It's quite popular here and Mom had heard that it was tasty so we got a plate. I have never really had it but it was very declicious! We all had traditional food consisting of goulash, potato paties, sausages, and cabbage.

We wondered around the square more and saw the historical astrological clock. We couldn't handle the crowds any more so we headed back to our hotel. Since it was out of the city we had to take the subways everywhere. Their system is pretty good but they decided to build it 6 miles under the ground! These were the steepest, fastest escalators I have ever seen.

The tunnel going down. It would have made a great ski slope!

On Saturday we headed up to the castle. It's a bit of a hike up and Mom and Doris were a bit tired we we took it slowly. We apparently had the same plan as the rest of the tourists and by the time we made it up there it was packed with lines coming out of every which way. There was a HUGE line for the info office! Last time Doris and I went there were no crowds. We visited the castle at night and were the only ones there. It was almost creepy. Not this time, people after people after people. We didn't go into the church or museums or anything with a line. It wasn't worth it.

Doris and I at the castle.

A view of the city from the castle. It was so beautiful!

Doris and I with a view of the Charles bridge and castle in the back ground.

After fighting the crowds at the castle we walked down and headed the direction of the Charles bridge. We had to walk across it at least once for mom. On our way we found a cute restaurant near the water with a great view of the bridge. The sun was shining and we wanted to take advantage of it and sit and enjoy it. We had some wine, beer, and hot coco and wanted to split a cream brulee. Well minus the fact it took an hour for the desert, it was very enjoyable. We then walked across the bridge and headed to the plaza for a look around. Doris wanted to take us to her favorite restaurant but it turned out to be closed down. There was a place in my book, 1000 Places to See Before You Die, called U Fleku. The book said to go, that the beer was brewed and only served there (not bottling or distribution) and they just serve you. You don't order, or have a choice. You sit down, get a schnapps (similar to Goldschlagger) and have a beer. It is a dark beer but light and tasty.

We made it to U Fleku!

We all ordered something for lunch and it turned out to be pretty decent. Mom got more duck, and I went for sausages. Doris munched off our plates. There was more than plenty of food for all of us! An older man came and played old classics from different countries on the acordian. It was a great time.

An ancient Jewish cemetary

After lunch we wanted to see an old Jewish cemetary in the Jewish quarter but since it was Saturday, everything was closed (Sabbath). We did get a glimpse of it though, from a museum window. It was an odd museum that had old clocks and clothes, and advertisements from hundreds of years ago. There was also and exhibition of the lady who created plastic blow up toys such as pool rafts. Yup, somebody had to invent those, and she was from Prague.

On Sunday we just hung out in the square. We wanted to go see the cemetaries, but there was a line so we just went and had some ice cream instead. It was a great time. On the train ride back, we got there early and was able to secure a cabin for ourselves for the entire journey home. The window worked so it never got too warm and we were able to snooze and read and enjoy the company.

Doris' mom had dinner prepared for us on Sunday evening when we returned and we got a sneak peak that the cake she had prepared for Easter lunch. It was a great trip and I'm glad Mom finally got to see Prague, after Doris promising to take her there for 10 years. It has become more expensive since it has become a tourist destination, but definitely still a place to see before you die!