Prague, Day 2

Prague, Day 2

Dealing with the Internet overseas can sometimes be challenging. While such a friendly country, the Czech Republic is not on the regular, can-do list for some Internet functions. While a lot of Spam is generated out of Rumania, I have yet to see ones with Czech URLs.

So, while sorting this all out to publish my first blog in a long, long time, I was dealing with such updates and work-arounds, not to mention the slower uploads. Hey, we travel a lot and always have, so this is a mere hamster sneezle in the whole scheme of things.

Before the Internet challenges, however, we had a bite of breakfast. The chef, it turns out, is Sardinian and we had a delightful conversion about Italians, the Czech Republic, the cost of living and quality of life, etc. He told us it was much more reasonable to live in the Czech Republic, partly because of costs, but in a large measure because of taxes. Italy, after all, has a history!

After battling with the Internet, we set off walking, generally toward the Prague Castle and however we went mattered not. After all, while we are scouting, part of that is getting a real flavor of the place we are visiting!

The famous Charles Bridge beckoned, and we ambled along, taking in the sights and sounds. There was one group of musicians playing excrutiatingly poorly, and we quickly moved on. Then, we came upon this amazing jazz group. I was amused by the whisks that this musician was using on the wash board.

As we wandered up one side street, we chuckled over this restaurant’s approach to dealing with a passage way wide enough for only one-day traffic.

Since we got going late, it was getting time for lunch, but not before we explored the other wide of the river a little. On one little side street, some Hydranges in a pot added color to a doorway.

The restaurant that had caught our fancy was closed until dinner, so we found a cute little rooftop, terrace café that suited us perfectly. It was warm, and the gentle breeze kept us quite comfortable.

From the bridge, we had seen wooden boat tours, much smaller than the large, modern, cattle-car variety. Since I have always had a thing for wooden boats, they appealed to me much more than the others. We bought boat tickets that included a drink, an ice cream, and entrance to the museum on the Charles Bridge. It turned out that we first had to be ferried across the river in a much smaller wooden craft, and our captain was very knowledgeable and gave us some history as we made the crossing.

Once out in the larger boat, the skies turned increasingly inky black, and it was clear we were in for some serious rain. We loved it, as it made the gentle palette of all the beautiful buildings stand out. The Charles Bridge also made for a nice feature, especially since it has such a history.

Pretty soon, that black sky began to seriously let go, and not only did we have driving rain, but the thunderstorm that came with it produced pea-sized hail. Arnie and I had keep our windows open for photography, but soon, even we closed them.

We returned to the pier under the Charles Bridge, and as our captain pointed out one arch that was the original 14th century part of the construction, the storm drains poured a deluge down upon the boat’s roof. Some leaked in, but not badly, and soon, we were off the boat, and wondering exactly where we would take shelter.

One of the captains, a lady, offered us a very chic solution, and I happily accepted, poking a hole in the bottom for my head, then wriggling into it so I had a hood, a cover, and no arms. I used the latter to hold my bag and camara quite dry and protected. We were in such good humor about the whole thing, that the lady offered to do a photo of us. How could we refuse? Who needs Patagucci when one can look like this?

In fact, on the way back to the hotel, we got quite a few funny stares, but more often than not, people laughed and did a thumbs up. I could not see Arnie from under my “hood,” but I responded with a pirouette, as though I were on the fashion runway. Great fun!

The rains were so heavy, that the inner courtyard at our hotel flooded into the foyer, and two of the hosts were mopping up water as fast as they could.

Once we had found our rain jackets, and my umbrella, we ventured out again. The rains had pretty much stopped. The evening lights were coming on, and it was a good time for photography.

A grilled window shimmering with glasses and bottles inside caught my eye.

The famous tower with the astronomical clock stood out against the sky, and the lights reflected off the cobble stones.

In front of a high-end, famous store was a sculpture pool reflecting the lights.

I was just getting ready to adjust my shot, when a woman came along and encouraged her dog to take advantage of the free drink.

It was getting past half-past wine o’clock, as we call it overseas, and we had a Czech restaurant in mind that came highly recommended. And it was just down the street from our hotel, perfect in case it rained dinosaurs and pterodactyls again. We were not disappointed. Not only was the Czech wine excellent, but the duck and lamb very imaginatively prepared and beautifully presented. Alas, we were too hungry, so no photos of that, but the Crème Brule was beautiful, too.

Prague stays open late; this restaurant closes at 11:30, and it was close to 11 by the time we paid our check and headed back for another good night’s sleep.

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