Day 27 - Prague

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Up and at em again. Bags out on time and down for breakfast Then on to the bus. Lynne gets on the bus and wisles us all well, giving an update on Peter's situation. No change from last night. we all wish her luck And then we go.

Drive today is to Prague via Dresden. Rolling along when Kari Anne wanders down to see how we are all going. Oops, forgot to mention that our rotation has us in the naughty seats today, right down the back. Reckon these might be the best seats, 4 across instead of 5 and even more legroom..... Anyway, she asks if we have any questions, I say yes, she looks worried. I ask who won the trip arrival guesstimate contest. She is now happy as she had forgotten and I think she knew it would liven the crew up a bit.

Announces the winner, nice guy, who wins a split of champagne. On we go with the standard history lesson about Dresden. Have a wee stop somewhere and usual pay toilets, 2 or 3 coaches so busy busy. Get to Dresden, I have made a mistake in dress today, shorts and t shirt, weather is a tad colder than them....

Anyway, get to Dresden which was razed by the allies bombing raids during WW2. The city has been completely rebuilt in the form of the old buildings, etc. Great job, you would be hard pressed to realise the rebuilding had taken place. This is a really pretty town. We get a quick familiarisation tour then have about 2 hours free to wander. We go off with John and Jane to the porcelain shops, then a few others, wander the streets and down to the ramparts over the river then decide to sit and people watch for a while.

The sun comes out and I am vindicated - almost. Nice place to sit, then we get bratwursts and wander back through side streets to the bus meeting place. Everyone finds their way back on time, Kari Anne is pleased with our efforts.

We are now in the Czech Republic and it seems that Kari Anne has a habit of providing drinks for each border crossing - this time it is Jaegermeister. Everyone gets a little bottle to drink (plus a cup if wanted). Not as bad as I thought....

Off the nice autobahn onto windy country roads again. Finally get to Prague. We get lectured about pickpockets in Prague. Don't be afraid, but be VERY aware is the message here. Get to the hotel, told where to go to exchange cash and then we meet for early dinner before our night tour of Prague.

Go out for money, no issues, wander around town and get our bearings. Really nice buildings in what we have seen in a short time. Get back to the hotel, and a few are waiting in the lobby. Turns out one of the group has already had an incident with a stranger. Funny part is that this single guy is a U.S. Police Person. He had just changed money, and was confronted by a very pretty girl. Evidently right in his face. John and Jane had been following and John walked past saying to him nice girl. Evidently he stuck both hands in his pockets and told her to move on. She persisted but his police ways must have worked as she did move on. Now everyone is even more twitchy. All valuables, wallets, etc are now in the safe and Chris's safety handbag is all we will use for the next few days.

Do early dinner, then off on our twilight tour of Prague, a bus drive, then river cruise with free beer/wine and finally a walk of the old town. Very relaxing cruise with funny commentary from our local guide. Lots of "dad jokes" With a very Czech accent thrown in. Many people out tonight, and we get warned again about pickpockets in the area of the Charles bridge. George, our guide says that Prague comes in high on the pickpocket list, but the Charles bridge area is no 2 or 3 on the worst list. Everyone is very careful tonight. luckily we have no issues so the warnings have worked.

We wander around the streets of this old town, and wonder if we could ever find our way back to some of the shops and places we pointed out to us. Finally we come out onto Wenceslas square, where we had walked earlier in the day, so we at least knew where we were.

Back for a quick nightcap then into bed. Busy day and the feet were telling us so......

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