October 6, 2005

Prague

In order to fly to Prague we had to do something we had hoped never to do again, leave very early in the morning. We had to leave home a little after midnight, and unfortunately the kids woke up at as we carried them to the car and didn't fall back asleep. We flew on Czech Airlines which was nicer than we expected. The kids each got toys and kids meals. Scott was so tired that he fell asleep while eating his breakfast.

We had a hard time finding an inexpensive hotel on the internet before we left, so we arranged to rent an apartment for our three nights in Prague. The apartment agency also picked us up at the airport. As soon as we dropped off our bags we went exploring. Tyler was thrilled to see the electric streetcars (trams) and begged to ride them, so we bought 72 hour public transportation passes. We then had lunch at Little Caesars Pizza. It was fun to eat pizza and crazy bread again since we hadn't eaten there for years.

We then took a tram to the bottom of a nearby hill. We rode a funicular to the top. At the top there was a tower that is about 1/5th the size of the Eiffel Tower.

Petrinska rozhledna

We weren't planning on climbing the tower, but Tyler insisted and we were glad we did. He did very well climbing it and even complained that Tiffany and Brooke were too slow. The view from the top was wonderful. Afterwards we wandered around in the gardens at the base of the tower.

Panorama of Prague

After we rode the funicular down the hill we went to a big department store. We bought some things that we can't get in Israel and some Legos. We were tempted to buy more toys because they are so much cheaper than in Israel, but we realized that they are still expensive compared to the States. We then ate at a little French restaurant, La Petite Bretagne, near our apartment. We had raclette, a traditional French dish (although not from the Bretagne area). The kids were crazy because it had been a very long day, but we survived. The food was very inexpensive, about $25. In general, we found the food in the Czech Republic to be inexpensive.

The next day we got up and rode the tram. We actually walked back one stop so that we could ride it two stops instead of just one. We did this often, sometimes riding trams just to keep Tyler happy. We spent the day in the old city. The picture below is one of the old synagogues in Prague. Tiffany remembered going to a Jewish museum in this synagogue when she visited during her semester in Vienna. It was closed, but then it dawned on us that it was closed for the Jewish holidays which were the reason Scott had time off of work!

Maisel synagogue

We visited the famous clock tower and went to the top of it (by elevator fortunately). One of Prague's nicknames is the city of a hundred spires and we sure could see a lot of spires from the top.

From the top of the clock tower

After the clock tower, we wandered around the shops downtown, ate sausage rolls from a bakery and walked down Wenceslas square. We then went back to the apartment for more lunch for the kids and naps. Unfortunately, Brooke and Tyler did not fall asleep for two hours, spending the time running around the apartment instead. They finally fell asleep but only napped for a little while. So, we left the apartment and walked along the Moldau River to the Charles Bridge and walked across it and then back again. Somehow we managed to wander past a Swarovski crystal store and Tiffany ended up with a new necklace.

Moldau and Prague Castle

The next day we rode a tram to Prague castle. Inside the castle complex is the St. Vitus Cathedral. Tyler convinced us to climb the 287 steps to the top of another tower. Tyler proved to be quite the tower climber this trip. Everyone that saw us on the stairs commented how easy Brooke had it in the backpack carrier.

St Vitus Cathedral in Prague

We ate sandwiches and treats at a little cafe near the castle and then saw the basilica, Golden lane (a street of shops), and the old palace. There was also a toy museum which the kids loved. Predictably, Brooke was glued to the doll displays and Tyler was glued to the train displays. Tiffany probably spent the longest, though, examining the History of Barbie exhibit. We did get to go in the art museum, but we were a little unnerved by a guard that followed us around making sure that we kept our children under control.

View towards Prague old city

We really enjoyed our apartment. It felt a lot more private than a hotel room. It was nice to have a fridge; we were able to give the kids yogurt and milk. It was also nice to eat breakfast cereal in the apartment instead of looking for breakfast every morning. We were also able to do several loads of laundry with the washing machine in the apartment. The apartment was close to the main sights and best of all, the kids had their own room.

Prague apartment

After our last night in our apartment, we got up and packed. We then picked up our rental car, a very nice Opel Vectra station wagon, loaded the suitcases inside and headed to Vienna. It was on the way to Vienna that we had the only language difficulty of the trip - despite pointing to the Happy Meal sign in a McDonalds, we apparently did not order the Happy Meal or get the Happy Meal toys, which was the whole reason we ate there. The drive through the Czech Republic was very scenic. We enjoyed seeing the fall colors, something we do not see in Israel. Overall, the weather was perfect, sometimes we wore light jackets, but never more than that.

Tyler-isms:

"Gray navy" - Gray sweatpants that match his navy sweatshirt.
"I don't speak Czech" - Tyler was surprised that he didn't understand people.

Posted by sjbowden at October 6, 2005 7:49 PM