Off to a great start!

As I write this the Czech countryside is whizzing by the train windows. Our trip is off to a great start and after 2.5 days in Prague we're off to Austria. I admit that when we first stepped off the plane in Prague our first thoughts were of how happy we were to have packed those jeans at the last minute.” You all might be sweating it out in 90 degrees back home but summer seemed to have not yet arrived in these parts. Sure we checked the weather before leaving home but how quickly we forget what rainy and 65 means! We successfully navigated the incredibly brusque (“give me your money”) information/ticket lady at the airport then the bus-metro-tram connections from the airport. After a short battle between our suitcases and the cobblestone streets we arrived at our hotel in the heart of the city. We were the only guests in our hotel the first night so over a plate of goulash and czech sausage w/delicious sauerkraut we hoped that maybe just maybe the economy was hurting Prague more than we expected (perverse but true). Despite the cold and rainy conditions we were up and at it the next day after sleeping off some serious jetlag. Alas neither the rain nor the economy has kept tourists away from Prague. It's not a big city but the tourist per square meter (or whatever) is among the highest I've experienced. We had been warned of this and over the two days tried hard to seek out quiet, more local corners of what is really a charming city.

Prague is divided down the center by the Vlatva river. On our first day we headed to the east side. After taking care of a few logistical items, like a train ticket to Vienna, we embarked on a walking tour of the Stare Mesto area of downtown. This was really the “old” town and to us the architecture was the best part. Our afternoon stop at the Municipal building, where we lingered in a grand old cafe to give our feet a rest was certainly a highlight. We also timed our stop in the old main town square just right to join hundreds of other tourists watch the Astronomical clock chime 6:00 at which time two little doors opened, a series of wooden saints popped out then the door shut again and hundreds of tourists laughed with disappointment. Clearly everyone was hoping for a bigger show. The whole day was really just an exploration of the narrow streets and alleyways of the old town. Over the course of the day we decided our token souvenirs needed to be one of the traditional painted easter eggs so after popping into numerous stores of all kinds we settled on ones that we liked and headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. That night we ended up at a Balkan restaurant oddly enough (a girl can only handle so much sausage and we've still got Austria and Germany ahead of us). We tried two regional specialties (read: meat, potatoes and cheese in different forms), Serbian wine (better than expected) and called it a night. Well actually we spent a good few hours trying to sort out how we will be getting from Germany to Bordeaux and our biggest lesson is that we must be some of the only people who desire to go from Munich to Paris in under 10 hours and for less than $400. Such high standards I know! We think we've finally got it figured out.

On day 2 we focused on the west bank. We started early with a ride on the funicular up Petrin Hill for a spectacular view of the entire city. I should say the weather did a 180 and finally we've got sun and 70s. From the top of the hill we walked from the lookout tower, past a lovely monastery to the Prague Castle compound. We unintentionally arrived just before the grand changing of the guard ceremony at noon. Mom would agree that our military is a more than a bit more impressive. I was just happy to see one woman among the ranks. Inside the grounds is an odd collection of buildings from throughout history. At the center sits St. Vitus cathedral. This cathedral dominates the Prague skyline and was equally impressive inside. Surrounding the castle, we also visited the old palace itself, taking in a very comprehensive exhibit on the 1,000 years of the castle's history. We decided just to get the last 200 years sorted out. It sorely made me wish I had taken more history courses in college.

From the castle we walked back down to the center of town and decided to enjoy a refreshment and partake in the cafe lifestyle at a beautiful spot along the river. What a serene getaway from all of the tourists! We didn't want to leave. Eventually, however, we wandered our way through the streets of Mala Strana back to the street where we had eaten the night before. In true form my mom and I had stumbled upon a wine bar down in the cellar of a rowhouse on our walk home and were back to try out some good Czech/Austrian wine. Turns out we had found the local hotspot but managed to find two seats in the cellar for some regional red wine, meat and cheese. Our goal was to escape the tourists and find a piece of real Prague life....success!