Prague, Czech Republic

On Thursday, our friends Kristi and Cary Smith crossed the ocean to come see us on their way to Scotland. They arrived at the airport at 7:30 and then we loaded them on a 6 (which actually took over 7 due to technical problems) hour train ride to Prague. I have to admit that I had very low expectations for the city. My thoughts were 1.) that it was part of the Eastern Block and had to look sterile and 2.) everyone said that its architecture was beautiful but I am not at all interested in buildings. Boy was I wrong!

Thursday night we checked into our hotel and then ate dinner at the U císařů, an authentic Czech restaurant located near the Prague castle. This restaurant has hosted numerous state dinners for both the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia including the 1st President Bush. The food there was very good. You'll notice that both Ken and Kristi had the goulash. Cary and I were jealous, so we ordered it a few days later.

After dinner, we had a chance to see the Prague castle and the Charles Bridge at night. It was the perfect night for a walk. The weather was so much better than Hamburg! Kristi and Cary were such troopers as they had slept none and a few hours respectively. They fought through the jet lag really well.

Our best choice was to take a guided tour of the city. We went with the 4-hour walking tour given by Prague Tours. My biggest regret from the Bredemeier trip was not taking a guided tour of Rome or at least the Colosseum. (Oh, well, we all threw a coin in the Trevi Fountain so we can do that when we go back!) The tour guide did a wonderful job of making the history come alive and also bringing in modern gossip such as the fact that that Tom Cruise stayed at one of the hotels while filming Mission Impossible and a group of girls stole all the toilet seats after he left. (Not sure it was true, but it was sure entertaining!)

We would have never see everything that we did without that tour. The maps of the city were confusing and we just didn't know that it had so many gems. The key points were the architecture, the Jewish quarter, the Astronomical clock, and the Prague Castle. The buildings were indeed gorgeous. You can look at one and see gargoyles and the next is topped with a crown-like roof. The colors and the cobblestone streets added to the charm, though we learned on our tour that the stones were only added after the 1989 fall of communism. The question of the trip became, "Is this fake old or real old?"

The Jewish quarter was intriguing because it is one of the few Jewish ghettos in Nazi-occupied lands that did not get destroyed. Hitler planned to save this one as a memorial to an extinct race. The Old Jewish Cemetery there is very famous. They buried around 12,000 bodies there in a very small plot of land. Because of this, the tombstones are piles on top of each other. There were also some very old synagogues. What interested me about them was how plain they are. We've been in so many churches this year. They all seemed to be trying to one-up each other. These were very plain.

The Astronomical clock is the joke on Kristy part of the trip. Our tour guide shared with us that the on on the hour, the clock rings and the 12 apostles come out of it. I really wanted to see this so on Saturday, the gang headed over there. The first problem was that our map was horrible. We wandered the streets and found it 5 minutes before the hour. It was a good thing that the guide's advice about getting there a half hour before to be able to see was not needed. It was SUCH a disappointment. Yes, you saw the apostles, but they didn't come out. A door opened and puppet-like figures rolled inside the doors. Don't bother if you are only in Prague a short time.

The Prague castle was interesting, but not nearly as fairy tale-ish as it looks. It turns out that the castle-like structure on the hill is the church. The castle consists of the square, blocky buildings surrounding it.

Dinner Friday night was at a Medieval restaurant, U Sedmi Svabu Medieval Tavern. It wasn't as good as expected. The entertainment was sparse and the food was not worth the price. However, we got to drink as many waters as we wanted and got free entertainment from the drunken British group (whether we wanted that or not). The best part of the evening was when Cary was selected as the Gypsy's dance partner and had to teach all the rest of us the group dance. The fire juggler/breather was pretty cool as well.

Saturday gave us a chance to go back and look in detail at the things we walked by on our tour. We also got to take a vernicular up on of the city's hills. It is a big park with a fake Eiffel Tower. The guys hiked up the tower and the girls walked through the park and dreamed of being in a fairy tale. If we were in one, it would certainly have Prague for the setting!