Prague

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We arrived in Prague late afternoon on Saturday, and with no clue of the Czech language, it took us some time to figure out how to get to our hotel. Fortunately in the process of doing this, we lucked out with a very helpful lady at the train station, who after some period of attempting to communicate with us through pointing, charades, and broken English, sold us a 3-day transport pass for the equivalent of around $10 which let us use Prague's tram and train networks for the rest of our stay there.

Our hotel in Prague was just that - a real hotel, not a backpackers hostel, and we breathed a sigh of relief on entering a room that was both spacious and clean, not just one or the other, like all the previous places. (Clarification: spacious means room to actually clean your teeth in the bathroom without having to stand in the shower.) Our excitement was short lived, though: the hotel's hot water system broke down on our first morning there, meaning no hot showers.

Challenge no. 2 on Sunday morning was finding a laundromat, since we were well and truly out of clean clothes by this point. The hotel receptionist gave us directions to one a short tram ride from where we were, so off we went. This took up most of the morning, after which we headed into the city for lunch, then wandered around to the Old Town Quarter of Prague (Staré Mĕsto). Here we saw the impressive Astronomical Clock, and listened to a jazz band playing in the Old Town Square.

The next day we took a short bus tour around Prague, then walked across Charles Bridge to Malá Strana (the Lesser Quarter). From here we took the funicular railway up to the top of Petřín hill, a beautiful area covered in parkland and with a 60 metre high lookout tower. It was here that we stopped for lunch, and I ordered something that looked innocently like a chicken schnitzel roll, and went by the name of "smazeny syr". Turns out it means "fried cheese sandwich". Not the most nutritious meal I've ever had...

From Petřín we continued our strolls back down to Malá Strana, and eventually found the Prague Castle, one of the biggest castles in the world, dating back to the 9th century.

We finished the day with a relaxing cruise along the Vltava, Prague's main river, then went back to the hotel to collapse.

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Photos

Wenceslas Square
In the centre of Prague.

Charles Bridge
A famous historical bridge crossing the Vltava, built in the 14th and 15th centuries. The bridge is full of market stalls during the daytime.

Crucifix statue
On the Charles Bridge.

Astronomical Clock
A medieval astronomical clock mounted on the Old Town City Hall, which shows the position of the sun and the moon in the sky as well as various other astronomical details. Our bus tour guide on the way into Prague told us a rather gory tale of the fate of the clock's architect, which you can read [url=http://www.orloj.com/] here[/url] under "Legends".

Brass Band
Part of a music festival that was going on in Prague at the time.

View down the hill in Malá Strana
Looking back down the street as we were walking up to the Prague Castle

View at the top
Just outside Prague Castle, with an impressive view of the city in the background.

St. Vitus
The cathedral inside the Castle walls

Vltava River
View of the river from a cruise boat