The drive from Stuttgart to Prague took just under five hours, we didn't really hit any traffic until we were about 10 miles away from our hotel. Prague is such an old city that once you reach the "city limits" the old streets just can't accommodate modern traffic. Drizzle and gray skies greeted us as we pulled up to our hotel, but we were undeterred. We hit the pavement determined to find some cool sights and tasty eats. After a quick snack at a more touristy place, we stumbled upon a gem of a restaurant. Traditional Czech food with a super cozy ambiance. Here are two of the four entrees we tried, potato pancakes on the left, goulash with bread dumplings on the right:
The hearty Czech food warmed our chilly bodies and we headed back out to do one final lap of exploration before hitting the hotel for a few drinks and some gambling...the boys may or may not have stayed at the casino until the wee hours of the morning. You'll have to ask them...
The next morning was gray and drizzly (again) so we were in the mood for some more comforting and delicious Czech food. After finding yet another winner of a restaurant we hunkered down for some food and drink. Cheers!
Stomachs satisfied we made our way towards some of the sights.
We ventured over to the St. Nicholas Church in Old Town Square:
Inside of St. Nicholas the massive, Russian-donated chandelier was exquisite:
Across the Square from St. Nicholas was the famous Prague Astronomical Clock from 1410:
This clock is a study in beauty and science. Had it not been raining we probably could have stared at the clock for an hour. There are so many fine details and intricate accents. A shocking and horrific bit of history: Upon completion of the Astronomical Clock, the Prague Councillors were so enamored with the work that they blinded the clock maker so that he would not be able to replicate the clock for any other city or country.
Our next stop was a bit serendipitous. We saw a sign for the Chocolate Museum (yum!) and followed the sign down a little alley-way. A quarter of the way down the alley, these scenes caught our attention:
We had stumbled upon:
Watching rock candy being made was fascinating! If you look closely in the photos above you can see them stretching out a HUGE roll of hot malleable rock candy. They stretched the roll out until they had thin sticks that they then chopped up into the small pieces that we're used to seeing. The coolest part was what I don't have a photo of, but to create the miniature designs on the small pieces of rock candy they have to layer different colored pieces together to then form the large roll that is pictured in the photo above. We were all hooked! We watched this process for probably 30 minutes. Afterward we went in the candy store and tried a piece...it was delicious!
We then made our way back to the hotel for a little rest before our fun night out at the casino. Blackjack was our game of choice and all four of us sat at one table for close to three hours. Although we didn't win big, we also didn't lose big so it was a good night!
The next day, what do you know, was gray and drizzly (we had some pretty rotten luck when it came to weather). Our mission for the day: See the Charles Bridge and Prague Castle. The walk to the Prague Castle led us over the Charles Bridge so that worked out well! Here we are on the Charles Bridge with the Prague Castle in the background:
The Charles Bridge is lined with sculptures, here's a photo of an interesting one, along with a shot of the entrance to the Prague Castle:
Since photography was not allowed inside of the Castle, we don't have any images, but it was a quite interesting tour. There were many grand halls and a looming cathedral.
That evening was spent snacking and drinking up in the Executive Lounge until the boys got the "itch" for a little more gambling. Unfortunately that night did not go as well as the previous. We'll just leave it at that, Czech casino conspiracy theories aside.
Although it felt more like October than June while we were in Prague we greatly enjoyed the beautiful city and fabulous food. Naturally, the day we left was sunny and in the 60's.
Better (weather) luck next time!
