On Monday, Rod wasn't working so he, and eventually his two kids Andrej and Nikola, joined us on a walking tour of the old city. We walked across the Charles bridge built in 1357 by Charles IV; wandered around St Vitus's Cathedral and Prague Castle; meandered through the windy streets (and I mean windy - I don't think there are any straight streets to be found here) lined with colourful, etched and be-statued buildings; ate a picnic lunch in Kampa with two winos dining at the next bench; walked past a wall dedicated to John Lennon after his death (picture) which people are continually changing and adding to; visited the moving memorial to the victims of communism (picture); tried not to break a leg on the cobblestones; and sampled local delicacies. It was an informative, fascinating and exhausting day. It ended with Rod cooking us dinner in his studio apartment at the top of an apartment building in a charming part of the city.
Today, Ines took a break so Rhonda and I walked miles yet again. First we went to visit the Jewish Cemetary and area of old Prague but it was closed so we have to return tomorrow. We then booked a day tour for Thursday to Ceskykrumlov, a Unesco World Site about 2 1/2 hrs outside of Prague. It's supposed to be magical. Passed by the magnificent National Theatre and entered a different section of town to go to the City of Prague Museum. It was a small and not very significant museum but for one thing - a miniature replica of the city in the late 1700's in complete accuracy and detail. Only about 50% of those buildings survive today. Joined Rod and his "ex-pat" friends for Tuesday night beers where we were regaled by their stories of how they came to Prague and ended up staying. It's tempting to say the least!
It's late and my travel companions are long asleep. So I bid you all goodnight. Still no email access for me by the way! It keeps telling me my name and/or password are wrong which they aren't so I can't figure it out.
Hope all is well with you.
love to all,
Since you're not getting e-mail, here's news from Ottawa.
ReplyDeleteRained all day today, more planned tomorrow and on into the future. However, supposed to be +22C tomorrow.
Elections Canada says that advance voting was up 34% over 2008. Monday's the big day.
A new DND report came out saying that Harper's single-sourced fighter jets will be at least twice as expensive as predicted, with increased maintenance costs also. Harper shrugged it off and said that his "experts" had already included those amounts in his budget. I guess the extra $30B for Harper's jets explains why there's no money for education, poverty, ...
Bluesfest line-up came out tonight, with no blockbusters. Steve Miller Band, Blue Rodeo, Peter Frampton (?), Death Cab for Cutie, and lots of others.
That's it for the news. Enjoy Prague.
Briefly, more Canadian news:
ReplyDeleteThe NDP have overtaken the Liberals in terms of percentage of (intention to) vote. Tories are still ahead.
The high temperatures in Ottawa today were accompanied by a tornado warning. Fortunately, no tornado, but we're expecting 25 mm of rain tonight to add to the wettest April on record.
That's our excitement. Still waiting to hear about yours!
Hello former travel mates. Looks like it's rain, rain, and more rain everywhere. There has been such downpours here in certain parts of Colombia that an estimated 3 million people have been affected. Some people have lost their homes, others their crops, and therefore their livelihood. It's terrible. This week our school was forced to closed for 2 days as part of the road was flooded. We are still on high alert as they are predicting the rains won't end until mid-June. Here's hoping that the sun comes out in your part of the world and mine. Can't wait to hear & see what's next on your adventure.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Please have a happy hour cocktail for me. I may not be there in body but I'm with you in spirit.
Hello Mother,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are having a lot of fun. I hope that you are taking a bunch of pictures. How is the weather there and what not? Put up more pictures.