Czech us out...In Prague!

I know it's been a couple days, so Here's the Catch up!

Thursday Morning:

Me, Sylvia, Brad, Laura and Josh all set out for an Adventure in the Czech Republic! We were a little unsure when we headed out because the train system is quite confusing and we have Eurail passes, but we aren't sure when we can use them and when we cannot use them! Luckily, our train trip went more smoothly than we could have planned it in a million years--We had someone watching over us!

View from the Train

We made it to Prague in only 3 hours from Leipzig, somewhere around 4:00. We put our stuff up in the hostel and got settled. The lady from our hostel was way over-enthusiastic, but incredibly sweet! She gave us maps and directions all around the city, not to mention our hostel was one of the safest places I've ever been!

We made it!

She directed us to a local restaurant for dinner, which had best (and cheapest) food ever!

This is known as Chicken Cake...The Czech translations were a little off

After dinner we weren't quite sure what to do with ourselves so we decided to explore a nearby park! We had lots of fun playing on their version of playgrounds, which are more like workout machines with sand under them, but either way it was a wonderful evening!

The girls in the Park

We were Pretty Exhausted from Traveling, so we turned in quite early. I'm pretty sure I was asleep before 10, which must be a record! It was a fun first day and we need some sleep for the days to come!

Friday:
Our Hostel lady brought us breakfast of Stracciatella (cookies and cream) yoguhrt and bread with Tea and coffee!

With full bellies we headed off to the Old Town Square, where we planned to meet for a FREE tour of PRAGUE! Our Tour guide's name was Stef and this was her first week working tours, but she was hilarious, and a great guide! Very knowledgeable.

Stef always looked like she was dancing when she talked

Second Breakfast

We started off learning about the Old Town Square. There were rivalries in the Churches in the square, so there are several surrounding it. The weekend we were there, the square was hosting some sort of folk music festival from several European countries. Quite entertaining.

One of the Churches in old Town Square

The Best Part of the Old Town Square, and the First stop on our tour!
The Astronomical Clock!
formed with Zodiac signs, and other mystical designs, it predicted time date, moon phases and much more!
It puts on a show, every hour, a statue rings a bell and the 12 apostles appear
it's Quite funny, because everyone runs across the town square to see this on the hour, but the performance is very small, and almost comical
Definitely my favorite part!

After the old town square, We obviously had to move into the New town Square! It was the largest square in Europe! In the new town, there were quite a few modern shopping areas, but also what is called the Powder Tower, where in the War, Gunpowder was stored at the top of the Tower...seems like an easy target for the enemies to me...

Powder Tower

We stopped for Lunch at a popular local spot with incredible food!

BOHEMIAN BAGLES!

We then progressed into the Jewish Quarter of the city, which we revisited on Sunday, so more about that later! it was really a neat area though!

The Spanish Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter...Those two don't quite match

After the Jewish Quarter we began to wind down the tour towards the river, where we sat and listened to the rest of Prague's amazing history!

First Sighting of the castle in the distance!

After the tour we decided to head for Charles Bridge and then to the Castle.

Church before crossing Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge
Heres the legend on Charles Bridge, Rub this side of the Statue for Good health

But not this side!
(don't worry, I didn't touch it! We wanted to be extra-careful in Prague)

Next, we took the Long hike up to the Castle! We made a friend along the way

He Scared me and I screamed Ridiculously loud!

STC

The first View from the castle stairs out into the Beautiful city of Prague!

Here is the Cathedral at the Castle, it was stunning!
Another City View from the top

After a LONG day of Walking, the girls opted for some shopping and a little napping in the local park. We grabbed a snack of Fresh Cherries, yum and enjoyed the beautiful day and weather!

The best snack!

We were feeling a tad-bit homesick for the evening so we made an American night out of it! We headed to the Hard Rock Cafe ( A cultural experienc in intself) for a deliciously expensive meal! So worth it.

At the Hard Rock

Our Waiter Appreciated Texans!

Then as a special treat, the girls went to see a showing of HARRY POTTER! I've been waiting months for the release, as were the other girls, and it was worth every penny, or Czech crown anyways.

The Theatre sign

All in All, It was a wonderfully exhausting day! Two more adventure filled days to go!

Love,

Jenny