Prague

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28th October

We parted with Krzystof at Katowice train station in Poland. It was a wonderful start to the Central and East European leg of our journey. Krzystof had done a wonderful job in showing off his country with all its bittersweet history and we hope one day to return and revisit as well as see the parts we missed. Thank you Krzystof!

The train journey to Prague went smoothly but slowly. We enjoyed the old fashioned compartment style coach - Virgin could learn something we feel!

Arriving in Prague Main Station we were delighted to see Jenna´s friendly face. We took a taxi across the city to a chorus of "oohs" and "aahs" as we took in the beautiful sights of Prague by night. After settling ourselves at the apartment we found a good restaurant with good Czech beer. A contented trio soon hit the sack to stock up on their beauty sleep before Pippa´s wedding the next day.

29th October

The sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky. A beautiful Autumn day in Prague. Pippa could not have asked for better. We got ourselves dressed in our finery for the occasion and enjoyed a lovely walk down to the church. (Being dressed up we managed to avoid being harassed by the various ticket touts who took us for locals!)

Pippa and David wedding was in St. Tomas Church near the more famous (and photographed) St. Nicolas Church in Malostranke nam. Inside, the church certainly rivalled its glamourous neighbour with beautiful baroque decor and fresh white walls reflecting the autumn light.

The familiar wedding music sounded on the organ and the wedding party entered. Pippa was radiant, beautiful as ever. It was a lovely wedding conducted in Czech and English by an American priest who has been living in Prague for most of his life. It was great to finally meet David. We wish you both all the best in your new life together!

We spent the afternoon with Jenna and Trish taking in the atmosphere of Prague. We wandered round the old cobbled streets, had hot cinammon wafers and mulled wine and appreciated the beautiful architechture and exciting legends of this city that has been the cradle of so much European history.

At night we joined Pippa and David and all the young folk at a special venue that had been hired for the dancing part of the day. We met many interesting people, English, American and Czech and enjoyed the time in the company of good friends. It must have been one of the most unusually decorated wedding parties with the halloween pumpkins!

Photos to follow ...


30th October

After sleeping in we decided we ought to take in at least a little bit of culture today. We wandered down to Prague Castle, just ten minutes from our apartment. What an amazing structure - without doubt the castle and cathedral are real icons of gothic architecture and we marvelled at their stone structure as well as the elaborate stain glass windows.

Perhaps the most interesting part for us, however, was seeing the window in the Chancellory where two Protestant Reformers threw out the Catholic Bishop and so kicked off the Thirty Years War in Europe. If that hadn´t happened, there would have been no Peace of Westphalia in 1648 (as all you IR scholars out there know!) and therefore no discipline of IR, and consequently no Masters course at St. Andrews University and then Fiona and Marcus might never have met! Unthinkable!

Had a delicious meal in a restaurant by the River and Charles Bridge, then went to a concert in the Rudolfinium Concert Hall (dedicated to Dvorak). A very cultured evening.

31st October

Said goodbye to Jenna and vacated our lovely apartment. Wanted to take the very comfy pillows and duvet with us but wouldn´t fit in our backpacks! Please could you give us the name of Czech bedding company Pippa!

Had another wander round Prague. Saw the Jewish Quarter which had a greater significance after having seen the Czech Exhibition at Auschwitz.

The tourist brochures all rave about Prague and to be honest we had been a bit sceptical. But we were not disappointed. Prague lives up to its hype and rivals Paris and Venice in every way. If you get the chance go visit. It won´t break the bank for a long weekend and you won´t regret it.

One notable surprise, however, was the difficulty we had finding a pub that sold Budwar. James, we were very disappointed. How did you find them? We finally found one but they ran out of the dark Budvar after one pint!

A very small gripe in what was a lovely weekend.

We said our goodbyes and headed to the train station once more where we caught the overnight train for Budapest.

This was an experience ...

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