Anyways, she led us downstairs to the tiny little reception room where she explained the trams and the areas of town and breakfast and ordinary things like that. Soon we were happily clutching our room keys (cards really with nice little paintings on them) for room 221, and back down the hall we went to our room.
After getting the grand tour of the strangest hotel room ever (tall ceilings, weird murals all over the walls, floor to ceiling curtains, a big wardrobe that was actually a kitchen when you opened it, a sofa that was actually a puzzle bed, and a spiral staircase that went straight down to another twin bedroom and an eye-popping black and white mosaic bathroom....), we unpacked and set out to get some lunch/dinner/anything to eat really.
Natalie and I were quite determined to get the Czech experience food-wise, and after managing to hop onto the correct tram with tickets we had already cleverly bought at the airport (24 hour tickets you stick in a machine to activate and then never have to show to anyone again...), we arrived in some square that supposedly had many interesting places to eat.
It didn't take us long to find one that had a signboard outside advertising "orginal! czech! food!", so naturally we went there. Soon we were eating half a dozen different kinds of meat.....and not much else! Apparently vegetables are not important in Czech cuisine...aside from red and white cabbage with more vinegar than even a brave soul can down at one sitting. There were also some slices of bread that looked like bits of bread squished together and then baked or cooked, which were called dumplings and tasted sort of like stuffing but mostly like slightly underdone bread. It was a fun eating experience! The Czech waiter tried to teach us how to say the names of the dishes we were eating, but he soon gave up (perhaps he despaired of our being more interested in being entertained rather than being educated, which I suppose was a distinct possibility...).
Then off to explore the city where we soon discovered that every second shop is a souvenir shop of either crystal (big thing here), wooden Russian stacking dolls, wooden toys, marionnettes, and decorated eggs. Wowza! Amazingly enough, these shops were in every section of the city, some like superstores they were so large, but nowhere could you NOT see them. It looked to be quite the industry here. And actually there were a lot of tourists despite the empty airport...!! Many people apparently come here to do their Christmas shopping and so that would explain the shops, not to mention the markets, which were additionally filled with scarves and jewelry and leather goods. I accidentally bought some things, it is pretty difficult to resist the myriads of choices.
Well anyways, we also did a lot of walking down little streets here and there and saw some Black Light Theatre show which was interesting, and ate out at some other very pretty cafes here and there. We also saw some art show that took up one whole street, then we explored the Jewish quarter of town, and we even climbed a hill.
The hill was actually quite nice since it was really a park with a rose garden at the top and a “mini-Eiffel” tower at the very top. We took a furnicular up to the top and then walked back down on all these twisty windy paths covered with falling autumn leaves....pretty as a picture! We were also able to enjoy some very nice views of Prague itself.
We did see Prague castle as well which is also a place worth exploring, although it turned out mainly to be a collection of various buildings surrounded by a wall. The cathedral was immense and beautiful as many cathedrals are. There was also an equally impressive cathedral in the The Old Town Square, where we sat to have lunch and dinner, with the view of the cathedral always in sight....fantastic!
Catholicism is apparently the main religion here, with about 20 percent Protestant and the rest Catholic (so said a shopkeeper to us when we inquired about such things). About one or two percent are Orthodox.
There was also an interesting memorial in The Old Town Square, the John Huss monument, which shows people being defeated on one side of him and people being defiant on the other side of him. If you remember, he was a martyr for standing up to speak against indulgences, and ended up being burnt for his statements. This caused a lot of riots and uprisings on the part of the Czech people at that time, and he became a hero of sorts for standing up for the people. The monument is to this day used to represent what people are thinking, and during the war it was covered in black for example.
One other thing of note in Prague was the bridges, especially the bridge of statues, all medievally, staring at you eerily as you walk from one end to the other. The city itself has many bridges, and looks very scenic and peaceful with spires galore, red roofs, a few domes, and one or two tall towers (but not office building like structures to ruin the effect so to speak...). It is a very “old-worldy” sort of city.
Well folks, after two days of being immersed in all things Old Bohemian (as the restaurants referred to anything prepared in the Czech way), we got up at the early hour of 4 a.m. to catch our return flight back to good ole London.
So, overall, a very interesting and charming sort of experience! Didn't learn any Czech, but did learn how to calculate Kroners versus pounds! Also found out that service charges and cover charges are added to every eating experience, so you always pay at least double the tip you would even think of paying in the first place. This is what happens when you have a cathedral to look at whilst eating!! But you also get what you pay for I suppose!
That's if folks! Hope this enlightens and entertains you, or perhaps some other effect may have occurred, I can't tell from way over here.
Ahoj!! (which means goodbye or hello, whichever you like),
Jeannie
