The last leg of our European adventure was Prague, Czech Republic! Locals call it Praha. The main part of town is divided into four neighborhoods - Old Town [Jewish Quarter here too]; New Town; Castle Quarter; Little Quarter.
Day 1
We arrived on the train around 7:15am. After disembarking we walked about 15 minutes through the streets to our hotel. We stayed in Old Town at Buddha-Bar Hotel and it was super easy to get around. Since it was so early, we could not check in. Instead, they stored our bags and we followed Rick Steves' advice to get to the castle before it opens to attempt to avoid the masses.
Once inside St. Vitus Cathedral, S said, "Is that Kim & Jenn?" (our neighbors). Sure enough it was!! After a few pictures together, we continued on with our RS walk (they were using it too) seeing each other a few more times. They left for a river cruise in Germany the next day. The inside of the cathedral is absolutely gorgeous!
We toured the St. George church and then went down the quaint Golden Lane where we saw some neat old armory items and a torture room. We really like good views so we climbed up many stairs to capture a view from the church tower.
Next up was walking through the old Royal Palace and the Lobkowicz Palace. I really enjoyed the palace turned museum. We got to see original works by Handel, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven!
By this time it was well after noon and we were starving. So we took a tram up to the Strahov Monastery for lunch with a view and a tour of the gorgeous library.
We were able to check into our room so after a brief respite, we headed back out for more sightseeing. This time we did the Rick Steves walking tour of Old and New Town. I think they recently changed the podcast because it did not match up with the book text.
At one point we grabbed a pint in the Old Town Square to hear the tour information while sitting and enjoying the scenery. Sadly the Astronomical Clock in the square was undergoing restorations so we did not experience it in full. The digital projection of what it should look like was glitchy. Glad we were just walking through the square on the hour and were able to see the clock rather than making a special trip to catch the "show".
Partway through the walking tour, we stopped at the lovely Municipal House (Art Nouveau architecture) when we noticed there was a Vivaldi strings concert at 6pm. It was perfect timing because we were there at 5:55pm!
The concert was amazing. We waited for everyone to leave the concert room to take photos, then we continued with the walk and reached the famous Charles Bridge a little bit before sunset. After the sunset over the castle, we set out to find dinner and finally settled on Černá Madona which had cubism decor. We were so exhausted after a really full day so went to bed early.
Day 2 (Thurs)
We slept in and then walked to the Municipal House for lunch. A good chunk of the day was spent visiting the Jewish Quarter, which was very close to our hotel. We started at Maisel Synagogue where we purchased tickets. The interior was beautiful and I enjoyed walking through the exhibits. Next we visited the Pinkas Synagogue and saw the names of the Holocaust victims from Czech lands written on the walls as a remembrance.
We then wondered through the Jewish cemetery - a beautiful space filled with many headstones. Visitors place rocks rather than flowers on graves as a sign of respect for their loved ones. Next we visited the Klausová Synagogue and then my favorite, the lovely Spanish Synagogue.
Next up was to take a tram to the funicular to reach the Petrin Tower, an Eiffel Tower wannabe. We realized after reaching the top via stairs that there was an elevator. This is one of the best viewpoints of the city. To reward myself, I enjoyed a gelato for the road after the tower.
We walked through the park to catch another tram to visit the Google Prague office. After dinner near the hotel, we called it a night.
Day 3 (Fri)On my way to get a chai, I saw a group of people in traditional dress carrying these massive LOUD cowbells through the Old Town Square. Need more cowbell? For lunch we tried yet another Mexican food restaurant - Agave. I think this was the best one we had all trip. The quesadillas were pretty tasty. The "salsa" or hot sauce was super hot - more like a Thai spice rather than jalapeno.
Our goal after lunch was to find a beer spa place that had a reservation available. We ended up making a reservation at Apartment Beer Spa Praha. It was a fun experience! You sit in a hot tub and they add beer making ingredients to the bath and you soak there while drinking beer (from the spout nearby, not the tub!). After 20-30 mins in the tub, the lady led us to a quite room where she rolled me up like an enchilada in an oat straw bed for another 30 mins or so to rest. It was surprisingly relaxing and I would do it again!
We had dinner near our hotel and then stayed in for the night.
Day 4 (Sat)
On our last full day in Prague we slept in as I was still battling a cold. Due to me not firing on all cylinders, we did not partake in a day trip we planned on originally - either to Kutna Hora or Cesky Krumlov. Those will have to be saved for a future trip.
We visited the Mucha Museum which I loved and really admire his work now. I had the fastest pedicure ever at a mall nail salon with not much pampering.
We wondered to the Absintherie where S tried a flight and I had an Absinthe Zombie cocktail in a tiki mug. Boy, absinthe is powerful stuff (especially when served neat). I just had tiny sips and felt like I could breathe fire like a dragon.
Our whole time walking around Prague we had been eyeing the old car tours. We pulled the trigger our last afternoon and took a lovely sightseeing ride of the city.
The final dinner in Prague was at Cafe Imperial. I spent the rest of the evening packing up everything so we did not have to stress about it in the morning.
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| old school airplane TVs |
After checking out, we caught a ride to the airport for an 11:30am flight. We requested an upgrade for this flight, but thankfully we decided not to upgrade when they told us they had only one seat in business available. Upon boarding we realized the plane felt like it was from the 90's with non-layflat seats (in business) and huge TVs mounted to the ceiling - not in the seat headrest. Boy we have become spoiled rotten! Instead, the American representative helped us get a row to ourselves which was perfect.
An 11:30am international flight is an interesting one. You try not to nap much at all so that when you get home you can go to sleep more easily. I watched a few movies that played on the TV and read.
We landed in Philadelphia and had a 5 hour layover before the flight to Austin. I was starting to get so very sleepy towards the end, but willed my body to stay up and get back on CST. Again, storms were in the area wreaking havoc with flights. We were lucky and boarded on time, but had to chill out on the runway for at least an hour and a half waiting for the backlog of flights to clear out for takeoff. We were thankful our plane still had the AC. Others were not so lucky.
I took a small nap on my tray table and then was so glad to land around midnight. The pick up area at ABIA was absolutely nuts. We were showered and in bed by 1:15am and I was up and at work at 7:30am.
Somehow I pushed through jet lag really well both ways. Key is to strategically nap, but not too long and when you arrive at your destination - keep going until you hit a normal-ish bedtime!
We had so much fun on this trip to Europe! Hope you enjoyed looking at photos and reading about it too!
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