Prague v2.0

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Our second day here in Prague has involved a lot of walking again but we included a few more drink stops and added a tram ride so our legs are less tired than yesterday.

High on a hill close to the castle we'd seen Prague's answer to the Eiffel Tower and we made that our first destination this morning. We walked over the river to our second funicular railway of the trip. The 40 minute wait for a ticket may have been a mistake as I'm pretty sure we could have walked up the hill in half that time. But then again we'd have ended up with tired kids in this heat so maybe it was the right call.

At the top of the hill is the Petrin Observation Tower which is a 1/4 size imitation of the Eiffel Tower built in the late 1800s. Ben and I took the steps while the girls took the more leisurely approach via the lift. Lovely view over the whole city but the tower moving slightly in the wind was a little disconcerting! Beside the base of the tower is a mirror maze, along with some classic body-distorting mirrors. It was great to watch how something so simple could cause so much fun!

We left the Petrin Park area walking towards the Strahov Monastery fully intending to have a good look around the monks' place. However, in all this hot weather we were somehow sidetracked by ice creams and cold drinks and so we never actually went inside despite being in the monastery gardens. Oh well, lovely view those monks have up there!

The tram ride down the hill to the river was quicker and easier than the ticket buying process. Remember this people: no notes/bills or credit cards allowed in the Prague ticket machines! We walked over the bridge to the the Jewish Cemetary but once again we failed at the last hurdle when the entry fee had to be paid in cash and we didn't have enough. But the other theme of the day took over and we found another bar keen to sell cold drinks and willing to take credit cards....winners!

This evening's plan involved the 4th Hard Rock Cafe of the trip, and yet another Hurricane glass to add to the collection that we all question but that we cannot help but build. There could be one more glass to collect down in the south of France which is where we are heading tomorrow morning for the last few days of our trip around Europe. Allons-y!

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