European Tour: Prague, Czech Republic

The next stop on the Northern Trip was Prague.  Prague is one of my favorite cities now, it's one of the prettiest cities I've ever been to.

The Astronomical Clock

We immediately jumped right in to being tourists as we met our tour guide, who's name I don't remember, and she took us straight to the Astronomical Clock. The Clock's oldest parts were made in the 1400's, and things have been added on through the years. Now, when the hour hits, the clock rings and the figures move while the 12 Apostles go around the outside of the clock. Learning about the clock's history - and the history of the figurines definitely opened my eyes to the state of affairs in that time period...(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Astronomical_Clock) go there to learn all about it.

Girls at dinner

After sight-seeing around the old town square for a bit, we went to dinner. I was a little weary...I'm kind of a picky eater and from what I've heard, Eastern European food isn't really my style. So I was delightfully surprised when I really liked the food...which you can't tell because my salad is untouched in the picture. But we hadn't started eating yet, I promise.

The group @ the Club

After a delicious meal, we set our sights on one of the clubs in Prague. We decided against going to Duplex, which is Prague's most well known "discotecca" and first started at the night at a local Irish Pub. We hung out there for awhile, had some drinks and then headed over to a club. Clubs in Europe are nothing like the ones I've been to in the US. Well, maybe they are because people are still dancing/rubbing up on each other..but in Europe they make the US look PG. And all the music they play there is house music...so think techno. No rap, or Pop...just straight up techno. Have you ever tried to dance to Techno? If you don't have a glow stick, it doesn't really work. It was definitely a fun time, and nice to say that I've done it once...but once was probably enough for me.

Making the vase

Etching the vase

The next morning, we took a trip to a local shop where they made glass into all kinds of fun jewelry, and vases, etc. We got to watch them make the items, and then etch them. They conveniently ended the tour in their shop where you could buy anything your heart desired that was made out of glass. I passed on that opportunity however.

With the guard

After the glass shop, we made our way over to Praha Castle. It sits on a very steep hill...which was our exercise for the day. Praha Castle had it's own version of the English guards. These ones don't wear the big fluffy hat however. Kathryn and I weren't sure that he spoke English. But I made a comment about him being cute, and he smiled...so I guess that answers that question. I was proud of Kathryn and myself, we were very appropriate when taking a picture with the guard...which some people definitely weren't. Please excuse my un-washed hair. Showering was a commodity sometimes when sharing a room with 3 other girls and having to get up early in the morning..

The last part of our tour that day was a brewery.  We got to walk through the whole process of brewing beer (I still don't like the smell of the Hops), and then at the end we got to drink some of the beer that came from the brewery. I'm pretty sure that was everyone's favorite part. It was kind of lost on me since I'm not really a beer drinker. But I tried some just to say that I did, and it tasted like...beer...and that was pretty much all I can tell you.

The brewing process

At the Ballet

After the brewery, we went back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the ballet and dinner. We went to see Swan Lake done by the Prague Ballet Company. It was an absolutely gorgeous theater, and was really well done and not boring at all. Kathryn and I did get a little confused (hence the sad face picture) about the order of the ballet. Apparently there are lots of intermissions...? Who knew, we sure didn't.

After the ballet, we went to a restaurant to get dinner. This was the first time that I tried Goulash soup and it was DELICIOUS! I know the rest of the food was really good too, but the thing I remember the most was the Goulash. After a yummy dinner, I went back to the hotel to get my sleep. The next day we were off to Munich and Oktoberfest!

To be continued...Next Up: European Tour: Munich