This morning started with a yoga class, conducted by Debbie, with Bev and Harvey as participants. Harvey dropped out part way through with a foot cramp??

Then we were off on the streets of Prague once more. We walked through the Letka Park, with beautiful views of the city. It also has a giant metronome that was erected to replace a statue of Stalin. Random…




We wandered around the Jewish Quarter, looking at some of the exterior sights, but decided not to visit the interiors.


We did however, stop at the Franz Kafka Cafe, now it seems it is known as Kafka Snob Food, for coffee/lattes and treats.


We also encountered a restaurant that definitely attracted Deb’s attention –


We then made our way through Old Town and stopped to purchase tickets for a Black Light Theatre performance this evening. From there we stopped off at Wenceslas Square for a bite to eat for lunch.

We spent the afternoon exploring nooks & crannies, stopped in at a department store to check it out and relaxed at the apartment with wine & cheese.

For dinner, we traveled just up the hill a bit to U Magistre Kelly, a very small restaurant, obviously family owned & ran. And the majority of the small number of tables were filled with what we suspect were family members, visiting and having a beer or two.

We were expecting some traditional home cooking. What we got would rival some of the finest restaurants we’ve been to. Bev & Deb each had cauliflower soup and spinach salads; Harvey had potato dumplings stuffed with smoked meat and served with sauerkraut that he said was unlike any he has ever had (don’t tell his mom); and Larry had goulash with potato pancakes. The flavors of everything were superb and the presentation was wonderful. And did we mention that all of these meals, and beer, and expresso & dessert for Larry, totalled about $35.


After dinner, we were off to Old Town once more and the Black Light Theatre production of Yellow Submarine, Rock Therapy. This was a very interesting experience. Stay tuned for a guest blog review of the performance, by our own arts critic, Debbie!

Another great day in a great city!

Cheers,

B,H,D&L

Today we got our first real taste for the city of Prague. And what a grand city it is!! The architecture is amazing and will warrant its own blog post later in the week!

We started with a brief wander through the local streets and following the sounds of music, we arrived at the castle quarter. Our plan is to visit this area on Monday and seeing the crowds of tour groups, we hastily retreated.


After stopping for a check on the car, we ambled roughly parallel to the river and crossed at the Manesuv Most, passed the Rudolfinium (concert hall) and entered Old Town.


We visited Old Town Square, with it’s many great sights, the Church of St Nicholas, Jan Hus Memorial, National Gallery, Tyn Church, Old Town Hall and the Astronomical Clock. There were crowds of people and many interesting street performers.

By this time, it was time for lunch. We left the tourist filled streets and after walking only a short way, we found a delightful restaurant, Chilli Lilli. We are unsure of what the genre of the restaurant really was, but it was delightful. We all had delicious tea and soup (B&H – goulash in a bread bowl, L – mushroom potato in a bread bowl, D – borscht). Deb also ordered a small salad with a cheese plate. We were not expecting it would be literally a plate made of cheese (fried Parmesan). Wow, so good.


Fully fortified, we carried on to New Town and Wenceslas Square. Lots of action there – food & beer stalls and people enjoying the day. As we walked down the square, we imagined the day in November 1989 when 300,000 people filled the square, jingled their key chains in solidarity and chanted at the Communist government, “It’s time to go now!” This Velvet Revolution led to a free Czechoslovakia.




As we walked the streets of New Town, we passed the New Town Hall, Charles Square (a lovely park) and a memorial outside the National Memorial to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror (note the bullet holes in the wall).


We continued on past the Dancing House. This modern building is said to be reminiscent of ‘Fred and Ginger’ dancing.


Our way home took us past the Lennon Wall. Although this wall reminded us of much of Berlin’s graffiti, it has a great back story. During the communist time, John Lennon’s ideas gave many of the Czech people hope and a vision of freedom and peace. Upon Lennon’s death in 1989, this wall was spontaneously covered in memorial graffiti. Nightly, the police would paint over it only to find it reappear day after day. Finally, it was left and freedom fighters gathered here until freedom came in 1989.


Now it was time for a glass of wine and a load of laundry. We weren’t entirely sure how to use the washing machine in the apartment – it seemed to go through a lot of cycles over an extended period of time, but the clothes did come out clean. 🙂

When we were leaving the apartment in the morning, the fellow from the pub across the lane said he would make an ‘appointment’ for us at 7 pm. So we crossed over about that time and he waved us right over to a large table with a reserved sign. The restaurant has the curious name of The Meeting Place of all the heads of the Baracnici because twice a year the heads of these societies from villages and towns across Bohemia have assembled here for centuries. We don’t know what this means – something between Freemasons, Lions, and Roundtable and social movement clubs, perhaps. Nevertheless, the beer hit the table immediately and the food was great. Deb had carp, Larry – pork medallions with whiskey sauce, Harvey – slow roasted beef ribs & potato pancakes and Bev – braised beef in creamy vegetable sauce with dumplings. It was all amazing!

After our dinner, we sauntered down to Starbucks for a finishing touch. It was a great day!

Cheers,

B,H,D&L

After a McDonalds’ breakfast, we loaded the suitcases and headed out of Dresden. Once out of the city, we veered off the main highway and ambled through the countryside. The terrain was different than yesterday, more forested and hilly, quite picturesque.

We stopped in the town of Pirna at a supermarket where we picked up some snacks. A ways down the road, we crossed into the Czech Republic. We noted the former border crossing buildings but of course with the EU, we just sailed right along.

Shortly after the border, we came across a small village basically built in a crevasse. It looked interesting so we stopped. After some confusion with the elderly gent who was manning the parking lot, we wandered off to see the sights. Very shortly, we were back at the car after quickly perusing the stalls with substandard goods for sale. Deb – “I think these are leftover from the communist days”. We then had a bit of a picnic lunch in the car and continued on our way.


In Decin, CZ, we stopped to get some Czech currency. Deb & I tried the ATMs at 4 different banks and were denied at each. Scotiabank – didn’t you tell me any ATM with the PLUS sign would work?!?! We chatted with a teller at one bank who although being a very friendly young lady with great English, had no clue what the problem could be. After the 4th unsuccessful attempt, I spoke to a great young man working in the bank. He watched Deb try the machine to ensure we were using it correctly (which we were) and then led us through the bank, upstairs to another equally helpful young man. After discussing the situation, he telephoned the transaction centre who said that the system didn’t recognize Scotiabank and therefore, couldn’t access our data. Hmm… Next step, we were back at the ATM, with our first helper in tow as he was curious and worried for us. We then tried withdrawals on our Visa cards – with success. Yay!! I will be speaking to the bank about this on our return.

A funny aside – the bank dispensed a 1000 kc note to Deb. Seeing the size of it and in our confusion of the whole event, she went into the bank to have it broken into smaller notes. Only when we were back in the car and on our way, did we realize the value of that bill was actually about $50. They probably were laughing at us in the bank….

We hurried on to Prague and encountered quite heavy traffic. Harv did a fabulous job of driving through the narrow streets and Petula (as we have named the GPS in the car) brought us right to the location of the VRBO apartment that we had booked. It is just past the American Embassy and we had to stop while the Policie ran a mirror under the car and looked under both the hood and rear hatch. We found the alley to our apartment, but nowhere to be found was Mr Diblik, who was to greet us. Luckily, the very nice doorman at the Grand Alchemist Hotel & Spa allowed us to park in front of the hotel and led Deb to the desk, where they assisted her in phoning Mr Diblik. He was distraught that he had forgotten about us and came right out. Harv manoeuvred up the narrow alley, we unloaded and then we took the car to the church lot nearby (where we will be making a hefty donation for the privilege of parking there). All was well, the two bedroom, 1 1/2 bathroom apartment is good and again we will be getting our exercise climbing up many steps!

After a glass of wine to relax, we headed out to find dinner. We had hoped to go to the restaurant/pub right across our narrow lane (where Mr Diblik is the manager), but unfortunately they were full. We stopped at the base of our street but after entering the restaurant, we promptly left as it was stereotypically touristy. We headed away from the touristy area and stopped at the Luka Lu. What a great find! On our arrival, the wonderful waiter put us in area all to ourselves (what looked to be a courtyard that has been covered in to become a room) and was very informative and friendly. The restaurant is a Balkan restaurant, with staff & food from Croatia, Serbia & Bosnia. Deb & Larry each had the Hunters Stew, a delightful concoction of meat and vegetables, and shared a mixed salad. Harvey had the stew as well, while I enjoyed a skewer of beef, lamb, bacon, peppers & potatoes and we shared a tomato & green onion salad. All of this with incredible bread, fresh from the oven. The food was so good, we forgot about pictures. At the end of our meal, the waiter brought us all complementary cake, again right from the oven. The restaurant was beginning to fill as we left. It was a wonderful experience.


To wear off some of the great dinner, we went for a long walk – across the river, along the east bank and then joined the throngs of people on the Charles Bridge. It was great to see the Castle and other buildings lit up.


We stopped at the grocery store where we spent $150 – oh wait, that was 150 Kc, about $7.50.

Cheers,

B,H,D&L