Prague

We made quite the delicious homemade dinner last night with a curry sauce we bought from the grocery store, so we'll be doing it again tonight with the leftover pasta. This time however, we picked up some pork chops (we think they're pork chops) and some more veggies. It should be good, although it may actually be cheaper to eat out! At least we've got a little more control over our food groups... lol. We'll go out tomorrow night. One of the Czech's specialties is fried cheese and we'll definitely be persuing that tomorrow for a snack (we're making our own lunches for a couple of days).

We considered going out last night but when we realized we didn't have enough money and then would have to find an ATM, we went to bed, lol. We're thinking of going out tonight for a drink maybe. The hostel has events every night but last night's didn't start until 12:30am and that is way too late for me! I would have needed a substantial nap in the afteroon to make it out and then it may have wrecked the next day with sleeping in and not getting up and going to do and see the stuff I really want to do.

Anyway, we were up and ready pretty early this morning and out the door to find Prague castle. It was quite the walk from our hostel to the castle but it was enjoyable. It gave us the opportunity to scope out restaurants, stores, and the local shops that you miss when taking the tram. We walked for quite awhile, passing through a number of squares, one of which had a guy trumpet every hour on the hour at the top of a church! We also crossed over the Charles Bridge, which has lots of interesting statues on either side as you go along. The country's patron saint, John of Nepomuk (who was thrown off the bridge by Wencelas IV for refusing to divulge the queen's confessions) and his dog are one of the statues and the dog shines from being rubbed so much! (Jeff and I both gave him a rub of course!).

We headed into the Old Town, which was beautiful as soon as we stepped off the bridge (as evidenced by the many other tourists who stopped to take pictures, like me).

We walked through the old town admiring the buildings, the stores, the roads... Everything really. At one stop, outside of (we think) the royal palace, a whole bunch of guards marched in their formal gear past us - one group playing instruments and the next with rifles. It was really neat to see and we totally just walked in on it before it started - what a treat! They were following a couple of cars that had tinted windows and flags (couldn't tell you anything about it other than that!).

We eventually found the castle but it wasn't what we expected and I'm not sure how to describe it... It just wasn't "castly" because it was really a cathedral inside a bunch of buildings, not your "typical" stoney castle (http://thebesttraveldestinations.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Prague_Castle_02.jpg). But, it did have a beautiful catherdral (St. Vitus') although after seeing the cathedral (the dom) in Koln, Germany it just wasn't AS impressive. Impressive, yes, jaws dropped to the floor, no, not after Koln's skyscraper! :).

And more guards walked through the courtyard, but only a few at a time; Jeff guessed the changing of the guard as there were guards standing outside the entrances. I could have taken a picture by them but I felt bad for them, standing still all day and people constantly taking pictures, lol

We wandered around the area and came across a statue of a naked teenage boy with a shiny (obviously rubbed) penis... I just couldn't bring myself to do it, too creepy and those who did ran up, rubbed, giggled and ran away, lol. We eventually made our way down to the royal gardens. They were pretty and set alongside a hill, so lots of stairs and varying sizes of gardens. We sat with the sandwiches we made that morning for lunch. Jeff threw a prickly chestnut at me, lol and it made me bleed... But only a little bit, I couldn't even rub it in because I was the one to swat it away (a harmless defensive strike, though, right?). If my aim was better I would have got him back... lol

We then headed back in our hostel's direction and stopped at the grocery store for a couple more things (juice, beer, and meat and veggies for dinner).

We're relaxing now after a full day of walking and will make dinner in awhile. We'll probably go out tonight but may need a nap beforehand, just a little one, lol. All this walking tuckers us out and since Jeff's back to normal he's really raring to go! Good thing Prague is beautiful with lots to see and do. We'll enjoy It here for sure.

Oh, and before I go... Jeff and I saw a guy walk over and tap the hood of someone's ferrari today! We would have lost it if it was ours! You don't touch other people's ferraris!! lol.

Chat soon :)

Amanda

P.S. Cheapest beer found so far, 6 czech krowns (about 30 cents Canadian for half a litre!! And it's delicious - Jeff's seriously impressed).