Prague Castle – OMG!
We have recovered from our two days of chilling and went back at touring Prague today. I awoke early and was able to play some tennis with Jarda again this morning. I must admit, people say that playing most sports after a layoff is like riding a bike. Well, tennis not one of them! The first day I felt like I couldn’t even hit a ball it was so bad. I hadn’t played in 5 months and my timing was beyond off, it was non-existant! But, over the past few days I have started to get the feel back and will play again on Saturday. It seems like the rain is done until we leave next Wednesday, so let the touring begin!
We took the subway to the stop by Prague Castle and walked to catch the changing of the guard. Ilise read online that they do a big ceremony at noon every day. So, we arrived around 11:50 and waited for the change to occur. At around 12:06 the process started and by 12:08 it was done. That was totally underwhelming. What was not underwhelming was the Basilica at the castle. OMG! We have seen some beautiful cathedrals on this trip, but this one was just jaw dropping. The outside looked like it came out of a fairy tale with spires and intricate stone work. Then we walked into the building at the stain glass windows and the pillars were just so beautiful. Remember, I’m not one who likes these types of things very much, but this was worth the trip.
We started walking around the castle property and found our way to the main square and the view of Prague. I do agree that Prague is a beautiful city, but I don’t think it has the clean lines that Budapest had from one side of the river to the other. I’m looking forward to seeing the city lit up at night, but during the daytime I think I liked the Budapest images more. Not that this is a contest, they are both amazing cities, but since I’m here I might as well do some comparisons!
After taking pictures from the top of the castle we walked down the hill to the Old Town area to get some lunch at a vegan restaurant recommended by Ilise’s cousin, Emily. The restaurant was very good and Drew really liked her vegan burger. Noah, on the other hand, requested that we find him some Mexican food and we went and got him a quesadilla at a place just around the corner. After lunch we went to watch the famous Astronomical Clock ceremony, which happens each hour on the hour. Our tour guide said it’s the most overrated tourist attraction in Europe after the Mona Lisa, but it was kind of cool. Then we let Drew and Noah stay in the Old Town Square to take pictures of the people making bubbles while Ilise and I went to purchase some tickets to theater and opera this weekend. We were able to get opera tickets for Turandot on Sunday afternoon for Drew, Ilise and I (Noah was pretty adamant that he wasn’t going to the opera) and we got 4 tickets to a black light show on Monday evening.
We returned to the Old Town Square, Drew wasn’t taking pictures anymore, she was making the bubbles! Noah had already finished playing with the bubble sticks and Drew was in heaven with a huge smile on her face as she made one set of bubbles after another. I took a ton of pictures of her, but it seems like I’ve misplaced my DSLR so I don’t have the pictures I took. I believe I left the camera at a chocolate shop as I paid a bill so hopefully it will be there in the morning. I hope that my luck for finding lost items continues as I don’t think it was taken out of my bag, I believe I actually left it somewhere. So, off to bed and wait to test my luck in the morning.
To a life well lived!
Larry Kesslin 