Welcome to Prague
Sitting in a cozy 4-table restaurant with Fierce and my friend, Andrea, smiles all around, made the very long trek to get here worth every step. I will admit that seeing the cement slab buildings out the window of the taxi, made me take pause. However, as soon as the streets turned to cobblestone, the Old Town district presents beautiful architecture and lovely churches, museums, and full window boutiques.
After dinner, we retired to our rooms at the Dominican Hotel. It used to be a Monastery in the 14th century and it looks the part. The floors are all done in intricate wood inlay patterns and the ceilings are high with arches everywhere you look. It is lovely.
Jet lag definitely took its hold on Fierce and I . We were both up at 4am, so I read the travel guidebook about the history of Prague to him until we were ready to try falling back to sleep again. Of course when the alarm, rudely reminds me of what I programmed it to do, I turned it off and slept in a bit more. Then somewhere from the back of my brain zings up a memory that I want to have fun and explore today. I am up and ready in no time!
Fierce and I had breakfast at a little café just around the corner . While playing I spy with my little eye…, I noticed that there are several metal artworks or decadent statues above many of the doors. The streets are full of colorful buildings, pink next to cream and aqua next to yellow, and all seemed to be “iced” in artistic details.
We met up with Andrea and started walking toward the Astronomical Clock. It is on the Town Hall building and we arrived just as it was opening to announce the hour and put on a little show of wooden Saints holding symbols of the Christian faith rotating past the open doors. It was such a delight.
Later we toured the inside of both areas and this was probably my favorite tourist site of the day. Andrea suggested we take the guided tour and I am glad she did, because you get to see the underground homes the hall is built on top of from centuries ago. The main areas showcase a chapel (you can even see the inner workings of the clock here), a dining area, a great hall (exhibits a statue of King Winceslas) and a government room with huge paintings adorning the walls. From there, we descend into the depths of the stone foundation.
It has uncovered wall art poking out from the plaster, several wells that are filled in at present and most interestingly, 5 different homes that are adjoined together underground. For the first time ever, Fierce took out his camera and started taking pictures as he walked from room to room. The final part of the tour, was to take an elevator to the top and take in the views. Orange roofs, steeples and colorful art make this a must do in my book.
We did a few other touristy things like check out the Powder Gate and its rustic interior. Then we really needed to get out of the cold, so we popped into the Orient Café and it was gorgeous. We ordered pretty desserts and warm drinks to wrap our hands around. It was a welcome rest. Fierce even fell asleep on the bench as we talked.
Soon, we bundled up and headed back. We stopped at little shops along the way. Fierce got a figurine of knight on horseback and Andrea picked up a few post cards to send back home. Then I spotted a candy store and thought it was so cute, I bought a sugary treat.
Back at the hotel, we settled in for a bit and then decided to order pizzas to go from the hotel restaurant. We brought them to the cute, remote lounge area between our rooms and had a little pizza party. It was such a fun and impromptu way to end our day.
