Hey again everyone!
The next morning we were up and at 'em, catching the 9:15 train into Prague in order to make it in time for the free walking tour leaving from Sir Toby's. Harry had to bail in order to potentially organize a flat, as he's staying in the city for quite a while, and David and I set out to the centre. The tour was pretty good, I got SO much information on Pragian and Czech history, which of course I found fascinating. But honestly, even to a non-history buff, Czech history is really very cool. The architecture, something I don't generally care much about, is incredible here. It's all very gothic and baroque by turns, owing to the building projects of King Charles the IV and the Hapsburg monarchs, as well as to the territorially driven campaigns of the Protestant and Catholic faiths. For this reason there are a TON of gorgeous churches in Prague, which is today one of the most atheist states in Europe! There was one especially that may have provided the inspiration for Disney's archetypal fairytale castles! The Astronomical Clock is also something fabulous, and the King Charles Bridge is not to be missed. The clock goes off every hour, and the little figures flanking it move, as well as a procession of apostles can be seen, all finished off with the crowing of a golden rooster. The clock can tell you many things, such as the phase of the moon, the time in Roman numerals and Old Bohemian, and the phase of astrology you are in now (which so happens to be my sign Libra at the moment). Once we had thanked our guide, who was very knowledgeable, if not a little abrupt and a tad disdainful of tourists, we moved off to a recommended cafe.
 |
| View of the King Charles Bridge |
 |
| View of Prague Castle. |
The Ouky Douky is really cute, and provided a good hour or so's worth of warming up from the freezing weather, and taking advantage of the wireless and downtime to talk to my Mom and boyfriend (hi guys...). It's got great ambiance, being one half bookshop and one half coffee bar, and though I was STILL a little chilly having forgotten my coat at Kaja's it was much better than the freezing outdoors. We headed for the Republican Square around 4:00, as we had plans to go see Taken 2 at the cinema. They get all the big movies here, and rather than dubbing them alone, they often will give you the option of seeing it in English with Czech subtitles! Luckily for us a theater nearby had a convenient showing (and a Monday discount), and we met Kaja coming from class and Harry coming from Sir Toby's outside. The movie was pretty good in that it was entertaining - not Oscar worthy or anything, but I am always on board for Liam Neeson!
 |
| Statue of Jan Hoss in The Old Town Square. |
David and I contrived to make Kaja's family dinner that night, and so afterwards we picked up the necessary ingredients for taco night! The whole family was pretty hungry by the time we made it back to Stratov, so we set off straight away cooking. We made spicy ground beef with tomato, salsa, salad, grilled peppers and onions, as well as heated up the fajita shells. I of course ate mine with a fork (stupid gluten allergy) but the rest of the family had a great time figuring out the best way to eat up. We had a great talk all around the table, and the language barrier really took little dismantling overall. After washing up, we decided to get creative, and though we lacked coals, borrowed charcoal from the barbeque and endeavoured to set up Kaja's hookah. Funny how that culture has spread everywhere, and here it's even alright for her 14 year old sister to partake. The shennanigans involved in getting it lit gave me enough time to shower and, for the first time in a long time, blow dry my hair. Ahhhh, luxury! We sat around and hung out until the wee hours (again) though in full anticipation of a long day of sitting about to follow.
I spent the next morning sleeping in, writing in my journal, discussing Christmas traditions of Canada/US versus the Czech Republic with Kaja's younger sister who wanted to practice English, and organizing my bag. They believe here that Jezisek, the Baby Jesus, who is invisible, drops presents for the Czech children on Christmas Eve, and rings a bell to let them know they've arrived. I'd say it's at least as plausible as the big fat man coming down the chimney with an extremely flammable beard and a bunch of high strung reindeer on the roof! I've really enjoyed spending the day in pyjamas, something I've not done in ages. We are headed into town where Kaja will take us for a traditional Czech meal (though who knows what I can eat...) and where we'll book our tickets to Bratislava for tomorrow. Sir Toby's will be our host again tonight, and hopefully we'll get a few drinks at the Cross Club nearby to toast our departure from Prague. Tomorrow we'll hit up the one monument we would be sad to leave the city without seeing - The Lennon Wall. I'll hopefully talk to you all soon, and update you on the next leg of the trip!
 |
| Kaja, Myself, Josephina and Anezka in our pjs! |
Hope everyone at home is well, and happy,
Lots of Love from Prague!
No comments:
Post a Comment