Day 24 - Charles Bridge, Breakfast @ Savoy, Dancing House, and Hostel

A Good Hike in Store

We were advised to get to the Charles Bridge early in the morning to beat the crowds so we left at 7:30a. It was a beautifully cool morning and it was pleasant to see empty streets as we walked in the early morning sun. We would never see sunrise on our walks since that would mean a 4:30a up-and-out!

The square was deserted and gave us a glimpse of what Prague must be like when the "tourist season" is over and life returns to normal.

Morning

Afternoon!

Love the deserted streets!

The bridge didn't disappoint. It wasn't deserted but there were only a few of us at this hour. So many statues with their own history story to tell but the first to be erected after the bridge was complete in the 15th Century was the Cross.

The following statue has many aspects but basically depicts the freeing of Christians who were enslaved by Turks. Two saints and an angel are paying for their freedom and removing their chains while the Turk and his dog guard the Christians still imprisoned in the rock cave below. The stag represents the hermit life that these two saints lived.

Our next stop was the Savoy Restaurant at the end of the Most (Bridge) Legii and it was delicious with a server in white gloves delivering our food. We should have had a reservation (preferred) but were fortunate to get a table for two as a walk-in.

We crossed the Most Legii and walked down to the next bridge which has the Dancing House aka Fred and Ginger built by ??? in ????. During our walk there came a huge caravan of Vespa motor scooters led by a police escort which halted traffic at intersections.

Day 24 - Rainy Day in Prague for shopping

Final Shopping Day

It's raining when we wake up and the hostel is quiet. The earplugs must have worked well because I was also able to sleep through the night. The noise from the streets, we discovered today, is due to a new club which opened in this same building around the corner (picture at bottom of post). It doesn't open its doors until 11pm which is the reason for the large crowd to gather starting around 10:30p and waiting for the opening.

We didn't crawl out of bed until late and went down to breakfast of coffee and my ITG oatmeal cookie around 9. By 9:45, a large LOUD German contingent filled the breakfast area and we couldn't think not to mention be able to talk across the table to each other. So we retreated to our room where the wifi is better anyway.

The rain stopped and we decided to venture forth because we wanted to be sure to go to the garnet factory, a couple other stores Andrea recommended, and the Ropemaker's Wife restaurant off the main drag where mostly locals eat.

The garnet store was a success! Onward to St. James' gothic Church where we couldn't take photos yesterday. The entry was locked but we were able to get a picture through the window.

Please feed my pig.

Street vendors make their living anyway they can.

Wanna hold a GREAT BIG SNAKE?!

 

Follow us to our performance.

This guy's makeup made him look like a statue. I complimented him after putting money in his jar and I even got a wink which is against the performance rules. Many people walked up to get their picture taken with him and jumped when he moved ever so slightly.

Security guards walking and on bikes and these two were playing with the little bell on his bike as they conversed.  The only difference between men and boys....(you know the rest).

We have seen a lot of redheads but ALL were the most ugly bottle red you have ever seen so I had to take a picture of this natural redhead in the minority.

There are sights on every corner and you just have to stroll to see them and the architecture.

Tyn (pronounced "teen") Church

 And for my car-loving relatives and friends, these vehicles are for hire to take you on a tour of the city.

Not this one! It's a delivery truck.

These guys would stop and draw a crowd by playing their instruments then hand out flyers for you to come hear Mozart's Don Giovanni opera.

The Story goes that Mozart visited Prague on numerous occasions and premiered his new opera here to resounding success. When he took it to Vienna, they panned it. His remark, "My Czechs...they understand me."

And our 2p lunch at the Ropemaker's Wife Restaurant. Seems the story goes that the ropemaker was out to sea for long periods of time and his wife was at home. She asked him to fund the opening of an inn so she could keep busy while he was away. He did so gladly and she opened a restaurant and inn where she served up more than food since her clientele were ONLY MEN. The Ropemaker found out about this and, upon his return and in a fit of jealousy, he strangled his wife with one of his ropes. Her ghost now wanders the pub and will find no rest until she heals all of the souls suffering for love. "Anyone who has a problem with his or her partner should touch the portrait of the rope-maker's wife in the pub. The magic works and you will soon see the result." Now, what that result is is still to be seen.

I ordered a typical Czech meal of pork, sauerkraut, potato pancake, and dumplings. Melodie had ordered chicken breast stuffed with bleu cheese and served with broccoli. She got the wrong meal and sent it back.

Wrong meal at the bottom of the picture and the right meal for Melodie just below. Mine is the plate at the top of the photo.

So, I finished mine while it was still warm and then we waited for hers to arrive. For the inconvenience, the server gave us a free apple strudel to share.

Sharing an apple strudel

Melodie's Irish coffee and my Coca Cola Light during the rainstorm inside the restaurant.

Enjoy the unusual and uninhibited sights on the way. His pals threw money at him in his cute orange dress and heels.

Then the wind began to pick up and they quickly withdrew the awnings and asked all of us to come inside until it passed. It was a quick rain shower and we were on our way again.  We're pretty good at getting around Prague and know our landmarks to aid our direction back to the hostel.

Look for the silver naked lady.

And here's the infamous music club around the corner that keeps us awake until 11:30p when the crowds are finally ushered in!

Our room is on the 3rd floor from the street and the 2nd window from the corner of the building!  Did I tell you that air conditioning is unheard of here in Poland and the Czech Republic?  You NEED to have your windows open to get cool air. Our first night was a choice between sleeping in a hot, quiet room or a cool, noisy room. We chose hot but no more.

Back after 7 hours of walking the town. Tomorrow we will rise early and get to the Charles Bridge before the crowds. Let's see how that works.

Day 23 - A Prague Tour Guide

A Tour with Andrea Reznickova

Our tour wasn't scheduled until 1:30p so we spent the morning in our room blogging and getting our photos in order. We had never hired a tour guide before and Andrea came to us via Jana who is listed in Rick Steves' book. What a wonderful experience and everyone should consider hiring a guide when arriving to a new city.

We only booked 2 hours since we didn't think we could walk and talk for 4 as she had originally suggested. After the fact, could have easily done 4 with her. As we walked down the stairs to meet her outside of our hostel, she called after us from the reception where she had just arrived. Very personable, excellent English, and a great organizer. We went to a cafe just around the corner and she ordered a cranberry lemonade for us explaining that if you order a pitcher instead of glasses, it is cheaper. That was the first of many great suggestions on saving money in Prague that she offered. Here are a few other tips:

1-Keep your bag close, away from the street side when sitting, zipped up at all times, and close to your body when walking. Crime is not a problem in Prague except for pickpockets who are everywhere. (With that, she checked the table behind her every time someone got up or sat down and moved the empty chair beside her with her purse closer to our table.)

2-The taxi to the airport should run about 600 kr.  Call AAA Taxi to schedule and get the price on the phone so you know what to expect. AAA is the least taxi to try to overcharge. But if you get a taxi on the street, as a tourist, they will try to charge you 2000 kr for a 200 kr ride.  Ask the rate before getting into the taxi.  Be aggressive and just say "I had this ride for 200 kr last time." and they usually back down and charge the 200 kr.

3-There is a zero tolerance for drinking and driving. If you have even 1 drink, you should walk or take public transport.

4-Czechs deal with large bills of 1000 kr and 2000 kr and an average dinner for two will run 800 kr. The coins are basically useless except for the 50 kr coin which is approximately $2.

5-Tipping is not necessary but a 20 kr coin would be appropriate if you just got a drink and didn't sit at the table very long. You can get two beers for a 50 kr coin. If you sit at a table for a long period of time, a larger tip may be appropriate.  Otherwise, a 10% tip is just fine for a meal.

6-In Europe, it is impolite of the waiters to bring you your bill before you ask for it. So don't get huffy waiting for a bill that doesn't arrive (like I did in Gdansk). The table is yours until you decide to leave with no pressure to hurry up and go for another guest.

And here we received a brief overview of the history of the Czech Republic. In 800-1600AD, Czechoslovakia ruled its with kings until a marriage alliance with the Austrian Hapsburgs who took over rule of the country until after World War I when it became the Czech Republic with a President in 1918. The economy turned around and was on the rise during these 20 years of a President who was married to an American. Then, in 1938, the Munich Agreement took place with Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain, and Daladier but no representative from Czechoslovakia. This agreement allowed Germany to annex lands on their border where German speakers already lived and they called it "Sudetenland". Britain and France agreed to this in order to avoid war and the Czechs were forced to agree or fight Germany alone. Germany took over the rest of Czechoslovakia the following year and invaded Poland. After World War II, Russia gained control over the Eastern Bloc nations including Czechoslovakia and Poland. In 1989, with Russia relaxing its control, each of the nations began their own uprisings and were able to expel Russian leaders and take control of their countries to make them democratic. The Poles and Czechs also credit Ronald Reagan who said in his speech, "Mr. Gorbachov, tear down that wall!" The Czech Republic now enjoys a low unemployment rate of 6% and a good economy.

Andrea planned our walk into the Old Town Main Square via streets we hadn't explored and constantly orienting us to our hostel as we went which made the streets easier to understand and not get SO lost. The Ungelt Square was built when foreigners began bringing their wares to Prague via the Vlatava River. The locals back in Medieval days didn't want the competition in the Main Square where they sold their goods so the "foreigners" were relegated to this square. It's a cute little square with some wonderful shops of Czech glass and children's wooden toys for which they are famous.

Prior to street addresses with numbers, the houses were labeled with pictures.  For example, the house of the golden ring or the house of the unicorn.

The Unicorn House

The Golden Ring House

The keyholes in the building over the gate into the main square were for the soldiers to defend the city with their crossbows and later guns.

Walking through this gate, we were in the Main Square with its street performers but we needed to hurry to the clock to get a good location and not miss the presentation which is very short.

The skeleton, Death, starts the 15 second presentation by ringing his bell and turning his hourglass. To the left of the clock, Vanity and Greed shake their heads NO to Death since they are too pretty and too wealthy to die. The Turkish man next to the skeleton depicts the easy, fun life and also is not ready to "go".

The two blue doors above the topmost clock open during this event and the 12 Apostles rotate by showing their faces in these doorways.

The Tyn (pronounced teen) Church in the background on the Old Town Main Square.

She found us the perfect spot away from the crowd for the Astronomical Clock to chime at 3:00p and watched the crowd for pickpockets as we stood transfixed on the clock. It only plays for 15 seconds so you must be ready with your camera if you expect to catch the action. We agreed that Melodie would get the still shots while I did a video. It was marvelous to see a 15th century clock still going strong.  Of course, it ignores daylight savings time and keeps its own hour with the world in the center and Prague the center of the world!  ;-)  Too bad blogspot doesn't let me do video insertions.

From here she took us to New Town. The Czechs don't differentiate between Old and New Towns since they were built just 100 years apart, don't look much different from each other, and run with no breaks into each other. In the past, there were walls and moats which divided them but no more. A Czech will look at you funny if you ask if you are in old or new town since they don't see much of a difference between the two. "Stare Mesto" on street signs designate "Old Town" in case you have a great need to know this locator.

We passed a display of bricks for 150 kr ($6) that you could paint and add to the wall. This is a fundraiser conducted annually to raise money for the employment of handicapped people to live a fulfilling life.

We walked down Wenceslas Square which is an important location for all Czechs. It is here that Russian tanks took up residence in 1968 in front of King Wenceslas' statue and 200,000 soldiers resided for over 20 years to maintain Soviet authority in the region.  It was also this square where Prague students began an uprising in November 1989 for democracy and this resulted in the departure of all Soviet forces.

Na Prikope street used to be a moat which surrounded the city and ran past the Powder Gate where a drawbridge allowed entry.

To this day, the locals refer to this street as the Shops on the Moat. Hari Krishna were doing their "thing" with amplification on the corner.

Andrea took us to one of her favorite Czech restaurants which happened to have a craft fair going on on the street outside.

We sat and ordered and Andrea made a list of places we wanted to know about like the garnet factory and other restaurants with good local food.  She had spent more than the 2 hours for which we had hired her so we paid her more and gave her a tip. She was worth every krona.

Andrea had suggested a few good dishes so Melodie and I each ordered a different dish. In ordering mine, I asked about the sauerkraut that came with the pork knee and the waitress asked if I wanted it hot. I said yes. Little did I know at the time that we were having a lack of communication.  That is, until my meal was served and I had an EXTRA order of hot sauerkraut on the side. Take a look since there was no way I needed EXTRA ANYTHING!

Before. The round white bowl of beetroot and sauerkraut was the mistake add-on to my meal! Served with veggies, sauerkraut, mustard, and horseradish. Melodie's goulash with potato pancake and white dumplings is in the background.

After. Still lots to eat but I was done!

Melodie's goulash didn't resemble any goulash I had eaten in the past but at least her meal looked manageable.

We really wanted dessert but, again, it wasn't going to happen on this day. We needed to sit a while and digest our food and then walk the market where we bought more gifts to bring home. The walk back to the hostel was good exercise and we got back around 6:30p.  We stopped at the reception desk to inquire about a fan to borrow (no such luck) and to pick up earplugs.  The girl said we should get rain so the streets may be quieter tonight.  Shower and bedtime was on my agenda and EARPLUGS. 

Day 22 - Prague Arrival

First Day in Prague

This day will seem like it lasted for two when you read about our adventures today.

Our train was right on time and, with little to no sleep, we now had the need to find a tram ticket stop. We followed signs to the i(nformation) and got a much-less-than-helpful woman with very broken English who pointed us the way out and to the machines for tickets. We found the main lobby and the machines take ONLY COINS! We have only paper. Lo and behold, another i will open in 5 minutes so we get in line. Not only was this nice woman helpful with information but she gave a free map and sold us our tram tickets. Hurray! We now have coins for the future. In Prague unlike Poland, the smallest tram ticket is for 30 minutes instead of the Polish 10 minute tram ticket. We only needed to ride the tram about 10 minutes but had to buy the 30 minute ticket for 24 krona and this can be used only once even if you know you have time left on it.

With the trams in Poland, I commented to Monika that this must be the "honor" system of paying for your ride since I never saw anyone check for tickets on the tram but all the riders automatically bought and stamped their ticket when they got on. She said we must have just been lucky because sometimes there are multiple checks as you ride the trams.

Back in Prague, we followed the masses as they headed out the station and to the right and eventually found our tram stop by checking the posts and finding Malostranska on the list so we are heading in the right direction. Thanks, Rick Steves.  With her two bottles of Mead weighing down her suitcase, Melodie was struggling to get it onto the tram so I helped her and boy is it heavy! We tried shipping booze home from Montana and it ended up broken so she wants to keep it with her. My gifts aren't heavy but bulky and some need to remain in my backpack to keep from crushing.

See the yellow flags in the distance on the right?  THAT'S our hostel.

Following the directions from the hostel, we got off at Dlouha stop on Revolucni and crossed the street to find Benediksta then searching for their yellow sign which turned out to be two yellow flags. We're here! 

The lift (elevator) is out of order so climbing one flight of stairs is required. We reached the mezzanine where registration occurred and knew that we couldn't check in until 14:00 but they would store our bags until then in a huge locker. It was just 8am and breakfast was being put out for the hostelers so we stored our bags and sat in the lounge to have coffee. Monika and Stasia had suggested a cruise on the river Vltava to see the city from the water. So we checked online and made lunch reservations (with a 10% online discount) for noon today for a 2-hour cruise. After a cupper, we headed out into the streets of Prague. 

We mapped our way to Main Square and went looking for the Astronomical Clock on the square. It was nowhere to be found until we walked around the side of a very old church steeple and there it was! Of course, it chimes on the hour and there was time to spare so we walked on and went shopping. We found a handcrafted shop where we each bought Christmas ornaments for our trees and more presents. Time was running short so we rushed out to get to the docks and the noon boat.

The Astronomical Clock circa 1410 on the Hall Town Tower

Reaching the Cechuv Most (bridge), we approached a lady in a kiosk where we were told we had to exchange our e-ticket for a real ticket.  She pointed down the stairs to the river's edge and muttered something in her limited English about pier 5 and returned to reading a recipe in her magazine. I asked her a question and, without looking up, she thumb gestured over her shoulder in the direction of the boats.  ugh!

Getting own the stairs, we found another window for tickets on the boats and were able to get our ticket and a map of the sights we would see on the cruise. We walked the river bank to kill 30 minutes until boarding.

Perhaps a river cruise might be in our future. The rooms looked luxurious and had sliding glass doors to open with a rail.

Upon boarding the Valencia, the young man gave us an aperitif of Becherovka liquer which was quite delicious and he said it would prepare our stomachs for a wonderful meal. It was more of a "medicine" he said with a smile.

Lunch was a buffet of cheeses, meats, pasta salad, lettuce salad, chicken cooked two ways, and rice with a meal gravy. Desserts came later with cakes, fruit, and pastries. Yum! To our surprise, with this meal there was no drinks included so we had to each pay 60 kr (roughly $2.25) for a bottle of water and again for a bottle of tea.

We paid in cash not realizing what was ahead!

After eating, we headed up to the top deck to get away from two English speakers behind us with one who never stopped talking about himself and too loud for our liking. On our return trip down the river, we were joined by one of the servers who played the accordion to entertain us and everyone applauded his performance.

On each journey up and down the river, we had to pass through locks. You barely realized anything was happening until the boat was now 10' or more below the stone walls when it was above the wall upon entering the lock.

An Italian exhibition of the Cracking Art Group on Kampa Island

Swans graced the river and people must feed them from time to time. The sights of Prague are different from the water's view so lots of pictures were required.

The Dancing Building which is also dubbed Fred and Ginger. The top hat is Fred and the leaning side to the left with 8 legs is Ginger.

Can you see the lovers against the white building at the top of the hill?

Here. Let me help you.

The Charles bridge started under construction in 1357 under the reign of Charles IV. It is now a pedestrian bridge and the best time to see it with fewer tourists is very early in the morning or late at night.

Charles' Bridge with Old Town Tower on the left.

Crucifix on the bridge.

Leaving the riverside, we walked again through other streets

Piano chained to a building and protected from the elements. Anyone can stop and play.

A beautiful plant stand to display flowers. 

to shop and came across a garnet shop. Garnet is my mother's birthstone and the stone mostly associated with Prague. There was nothing enticing in the window so I decided to go inside and ask for exactly what I wanted. To our surprise, the man had just the thing to add to my necklace...a garnet and silver barrel!  Melodie got a smaller one and he even gold plated it for her as we waited so it would match her gold necklace. While he went off to do that, we paid for our purchases...at least I paid for mine while Melodie couldn't find her charge card!!! She searched her purse and remembered using it last at the craft shop but not putting it away as she usually did and now couldn't find it. After many frantic minutes, she paid with her debit card and we hurried back to the hostel to make a phone call and report its loss.

Some sights of the city which helped us orient ourselves and always get back to the hostel.

We get back to the hostel to check in and go to the reception desk only to be hit with yet another shocker!! We needed 6600 krona for our room! I guess I had miscalculated the amount of Czech Krona we would need for our room. I had figured 815.75 CKR and the girl at the desk wants 6600+ CKR AND NO CHARGE CARD! WHAT? We were counting on the charge card. The email had taken our charge card for the deposit and mentioned our balance in dollars but she only wants CKR or EUR money!  Now what?

Melodie is still reeling from losing her card and now we have to deal with this. Between us we come up with 2100 kr to pay for most of our first two nights. The girl wasn't happy but had no choice but to accept our partial payment. I mean, we're staying for 5 nights here! We register, make the payment, get a receipt, and a note of what was still owing and head for our room.  We get our bags out of the storage locker and decide to take the lift which was now working. This little space wasn't my cup of tea and didn't work immediately well so I got off and Melodie took the lift. Pressing the next button up, the doors opened to the current floor where we got on. So pressing another button higher, she ended up on the floor TWO floors up. Thinking she was on the right floor and still worrying about her charge card, she got off! The bags were just too heavy to carry on the stairs so she got back on and pressed another button. At the same time, I pressed a button on our floor outside the lift as if I needed it to go down and we were able to connect.

Getting to our room, she dumped out her purse and searched every nook and cranny but no card. She can only surmise it went missing on the boat when she pulled out her wallet to pay in cash. Calling her bank, she actually got a human and was able to confirm that no charges were made after her last purchase and put a stop on the card to reissue. Her debit will have to do for the remainder of our trip.

In fact, the remainder was in doubt since we were both ready just to go home. Unfortunately, I couldn't get our reservation to pull up to see if we could fly out sooner than Tuesday so we decided just to hang loose and see how we felt in the morning. We settled down with our computers and I fell asleep with mine on my lap.

Melodie woke me in the same position about five hours later.  It was 8:30p and she was hungry so we headed out to find an ATM for more money for the hostel and a restaurant for a salad. The directions by the young man at the desk to the ATM were spot on and the money issue was history. We walked to find the restaurant that the hosteler suggested and we must have walked past it and ended up at James Dean, restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and having a dance club in the basement. Two burly guards stood outside in their all-black clothing. Very ominous. Inside was noisy and full of young people but there was one table for 2 left and we took it.

We each had a salad, enjoyed the rock and roll music, and were curious about the stream of only men who were going to the basement "dance club". Hmmm. I didn't have the guts to go down and see what it was all about but THIS could explain the bouncers outside.

Returning to our room around 10p, we showered and went to bed by 11p. What a mistake to add to our already stressful day with no sleep from the train. There must be a club around the corner because the steady stream of young people yelling and whooping it up outside our window forced us to close the windows for more quiet and less cool air. Then came the hostelers in the kitchen which is adjacent to our room. Until well after midnight, there was loud young people clanking dishes, silverware, and pots and pans. Ugh!  No wonder the sign says that free earplugs are available!

THIS has been enough events that I thought we had arrived YESTERDAY instead of just this morning! Tomorrow has got to be a better day with our tour guide.