Our first full day in Prague

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As expected it was an exhausting journey to Prague. 18 hours and three planes later we arrived as scheduled, luggage in hand to the most Eastern part of Europe we have ever traveled. A representative from Viking Cruises met us and a few other travelers and transported us to our hotel. From the outside our hotel seemed old and weathered by the passing of many decades but once we entered into the lobby the old and dated melted away and was quickly replaced by the well restored and beauty of the pre-world war II era. Polished brass, marble floors and inlaid walnut molding graced the entrance way. High above our heads gleaming crystal chandeliers sparkled. Our room is very generous in size with a very large all marble bathroom.

We unpacked and laid down for a few hours. It was 7:00 PM, we were partially rested and really hungry. I was eager to to see with my own eyes some of the treasures of Prague I had been reading about. Still tired from the trip we decided to only take a short walk to look for a place to eat so we headed outside the hotel door and as we always do we just started walking. I wanted to see the river and St Charles bridge. I knew it was close by. We ended up by the river with a wonderful view of Prague Castle and in the distance we could at least see St Charles Bridge. All daylight now gone and later than we imagined we headed back in the direction we came looking for a restaurant. Nothing really looked inviting and many places now closed we ventured back to the hotel. Tom had noted that it had a Cafe and we hoped it was still open. I was happily surprised to see that not only was it still open but the tables had linens and the menu had many choices.

Dinner was delicious. We both chose Weinerschnitzel, which came with "pureed potatoes" (sort of like mashed) It was more liquid like a sort of porridge. I tried it and it was a little too...buttery and heavy creamy for me. A cucumber salad also came with the meal and that tasted wonderful. It was simply cucumber cut into half moons with a light dressing sprinkled with dill. Oh I shouldn't forget we also enjoyed some French Merlot from the Languedoc region in Southern France and Tom had his first Czech beer which met with his approval.

Tomorrow the Viking cruise line is providing us with a tour of Prague after breakfast, and I can't wait.

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