Oct. 21-Prague

Wow!

Our first day in Prague started at 6:30, breakfast (and that was spectacular at the Hilton), departure for the Prague old city tour by bus at 8:30. Seems as if we have been on busses more than the longship.

I have heard that Prague is a very beautiful city. Whoever said that was woefully wrong, Prague is probably one of the MOST beautiful cities in Europe! Churches, palaces, shops, old (really old) market squares, cobblestone streets, trams, hotels, bridges (17 in Prague), restaurants......the list goes on.

Our tour guide, Renata, was excellent. She gave us 'behind the scenes' information and was not too shy about expressing her opinion about the history of the Czech Republic. She was able to weave the tale of the places we went to in great detail and was not too hung up on dates.

We were fortunate enough to see the changing of the guard at the palace/capital building in the old town. I was able to make a video of the guards assembling, marching to the guard posts and relieving the standing guard. An absolute pleasure!

At the end of the tour, we wandered the old town square and ended up having pizza in a great restaurant way off the beaten path. It was right next to the farmer's market that sold everything edible.

We walked back to the hotel on back streets, following a map from the hotel. It is much more fun not being on the beaten path with 2,000 other tourists. I was able to find a store that sells voltage converters (from European 220 volts to 110 American volts) on a back street.

We met some folks from the ship and had dinner with them at the Imperial Hotel dining room, about 1/2 mile from the hotel. The dinner had to be among the top 10 we have ever had anywhere.

Tomorrow and the next day offer a special experience for us: not getting up to have to go somewhere. Sleep in is definately on the radar.

Tomorrow, who knows? A boat cruise on the river? Lebkovicz Palace? Meander the city?