Journey to Prague

Today we left Berlin and journeyed over to Prague. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel buffet making sure to enjoy all of our favourites (Brooke loved the fig mustard with a variety of soft cheeses and a pretzel bun........I had 3 of the small little donuts). Then we had to pack everything up and be downstairs by 8:45 for bus call.

We had previously arranged car service transportation to Prague through the travel agent and our driver showed up right on time. His name was Martin and we later found out that he lives in Prague, driving all the way to Berlin this morning to pick us up. The vehicle was a large van that comfortably seated the 6 of us with luggage. Oddly enough, Brett, Rae, and I ended up in the middle seat all together - just like road trips back to Saskatchewan in Dad's Acura. However this time we had way more elbow space and managed to not annoy each other during the trip (it most certainly wasn't because we're more mature now). Everybody spent the drive reading or napping. Rae and I watched a bit of the live action Beauty and the Beast on the ipad. At one point Brooke, Mom, Brett, and Rae were all sleeping, and I was right in the middle, so I played a bit of Zelda by myself, perfect! Brett and I also played a 2-player co-operative game and enjoyed it. After Brooke woke up from a solid nap she read more of her book, A Woman in Berlin (which she is really enjoying).

We arrived safely in Prague and pulled up to the Augustine Hotel. It is a beautiful hotel that used to be a monastery for monks and has been converted into a hotel. The room is very homey and spacious. After a short moment to get settled we all met down in the lobby and headed out into the old city. We walked down towards Charles Bridge. This is the old famous bridge in Prague open only to pedestrians. Obviously it is very touristy and filled with people. The views from the bridge are spectacular and you can really take in the beauty of Prague. Hopefully we will learn more about the bridge tomorrow!

Walking through the narrow streets and looking somewhere for lunch, we landed on Cafe Lippert which was right in the Old Town Square. The prices were definitely jacked up for being in a touristy area but we did have a wonderful view of the square for our first meal in Prague. Brooke had a duck thigh risotto and I actually had a salad for once but with smoked duck breast. The beer options were Urkell and Kozel (which seem to be the two main beers available here). Going down to the bathrooms was incredibly interesting because it was quite deep below the main level and you could see all of the stone and brick support structures.

After lunch Rae, Mom, and Dad headed out on their own to go to a regular mall to shop for some basic clothes for Rae. Brett, Brooke, and I headed off to see some sights and do some shopping. Brett had a couple of main areas that he had in mind so we headed off in the direction of one of them. Along the way I spotted a shop with some intricate Czech Easter eggs, which Brooke thought were really cool and planned to maybe come back later. Going further along we came to the Havelske Trziste which was a number of market stall shoppes in a row over a two block section. They were selling anything from junky souvenirs to fresh fruit. Some of the items that caught our eye were a goulash spice mixture and these paintings of the city (Brooke is on a mission to find a piece of artwork while we are in Prague).

Carrying on we found our way to Wenceslas Square (Vaclavske Namesti) which is one of the main city squares and is named after Saint Wenceslas (who was indeed looking out). The square is really a wide long boulevard with shops and interesting architecture on both sides. Brett had done some research on the whole area and was pointing out interesting facts wherever he could. We walked all the way to the end where the large statue of Saint Wenceslas on a horse is and then headed back the other way. Brett then took us on an impromptu self guided walking tour from his travel book and we saw a couple of different areas including a garden that was really close to the main area but felt so quite and peaceful. At the end we tried some honey mead and ended up buying a bottle to take home :)

We then started meandering our way back towards the bridge but were popping into multiple shops to look at the souvenir glass work. We ended up going back to the store we stopped at earlier and Brooke got a few of the Czech Easter eggs and I found a cool wooden puzzle game that looks similar to a Rubik's cube with multiple moving parts. We found our way back to the bridge and crossed back over towards the hotel.

Next up was to find some pastries for dessert. Walking around earlier I had noticed a spiral pastry that was being made right on the street called trdelnik (roll the r). It is originally probably from Romania but it sounds like it is common in European countries around this area. It is made by rolling dough around a pit and then cooking it over an open flame. The outside is then coated with a sugar mixture. Not wanting to make the same mistake as in Rothenburg, during lunch I found some wifi and looked up someone's posting about the best trdelnik in Prague. I located the highest rated one on the map and we headed off for the afternoon. I am glad that I made a point of doing this because they were everywhere and I wanted to try the best one! The store we were looking for was called Creperie U Kajetana and it was supposed to be on a road west of one of the church squares. We found the correct road but were starting to get a bit testy with each other since we were walking up a steep incline, had to be back soon, and didn't know where the shop was. Thankfully offline Google Maps came to the rescue and we were only about 200m away! We quickly found the store and ordered two trdelnik, Brooke had cinnamon on the outside and I had mine coated with caramel in the inside. They were delicious, piping hot freshly made, and totally worth seeking out. The taste was similar to a scuffle and was very filling. There is also a less traditional option of ice cream or whipped cream inside the dough, but maybe I'll try that tomorrow.

Quick rest back at the hotel and then it was off to dinner. We chose a place that was recommended by our driver Martin earlier called Bedesa and just a short walk away from the hotel. This was a more local restaurant and the beer prices reflected that, very cheap! Brooke had a gnocchi dish and I had a pulled pork shoulder with sauerkraut. Very good so much that we would almost want to go back there tomorrow.

After dinner we walked back down to Charles Bridge to check out the view of the city at night time. A lot of the buildings are lit up and you get an incredible view of the city. I tried to take a couple of cell phone pictures, but the quality was not good and could not do the view justice. We all just stood there and took it all in. Prague is very beautiful and the view was really breathtaking.

We finished off our night at the hotel bar to sample the specialty St. Thomas beer that is specific to the hotel we are staying at and was originally made by the monks. It was a dark beer that was a nice change of pace from all the German pilsners and lagers we have been drinking. While we were enjoying our night cap we listened to the classical music piece The Moldau by Smetana. Mom had realized that the piece was referring to the river that runs through Prague and explained how the music captures the different areas that the river flows by and then changes key when it opens up into the ocean. Lovely.

Now we need to get some rest as we have a full day of activity planned for tomorrow in Prague.

Tyler and BrookeRead more