A Trip to Remember: Part 7

Yesterday saw me on a train for a 4 hour ride north to Prague.  It would have been just as boring as the previous trips except this time sitting across from me was a very nice American couple.  We got to chatting and it turns out they are on a European trek to celebrate their retirement and spending of their kids inheritance.  It was nice having some people to chat to and made the trip go by a little quicker.  Upon getting into Prague, I had a driver waiting for me who welcomed me to the city with a handshake before setting off for my hotel.



After checking in, I decided to go for a walk and have a look at some of the closer tourist sites.  It turns out that at the moment there is an easter festival on in the city so down little lane-ways and in the town squares there are tons of stalls set up selling easter wares.  In the Old Town Square, I also came upon what is called the "Astronomical Clock"

This clock shows the positions of the sun, moon etc, but currently it is not working. It should start working again in June. A shame really.  Wandering through the stalls was an interesting time, there was so much on offer and I got to try some local baked goods.

I'm not sure what their called but they are a type of sweet bread.  The dough is spiraled onto those wooden paddles, sprinkled with sugar and then it's baked over hot coals. It comes out almost like one of those soft giant pretzels except sweet.  After baking they are ripped into sections.  Very tasty.  I ended making a big loop back around to my hotel, seeing some very nice architecture along the way.

Today was the grand city tour which included a walk through the castle district and through the famous Prague Castle.  Crossing the river we saw the impressive "Charles Bridge" which has two watch towers at either end where you can climb to the top and look out over the city.

After getting out, we wandered toward the castle where the Changing of the Guards was taking place.  We stayed for a portion of it but as it was so crowded, we couldn't see much of it.  Even with my height, I could only see the tops of the guards heads and their bayonets.

We continued through the castles with so many things inside and as we made our way down through the lane-ways that intersect here and there through the district we got such a great view of the city.

One thing I'm not liking overly much however is the fact that quite a lot of the streets are still cobblestones.  Now normally this wouldn't be a problem, but because they are all uneven and different sizes, well...I have trouble walking on a normal footpath made from stock standard concrete at the best of times without breaking my neck.  These things are almost certainly a death sentence unless I always watch where I put my feet.  I've counted at least 3 separate occasions where I've almost rolled an ankle walking on them...

Tomorrow is another castle tour and in the evening a folklore dinner, which should be fun.