Thank you so much for all the lovely comments you wrote on last week’s post!  I really enjoy hearing from you!

Back in February, I did a post about one leg of our trip to eastern Europe to visit our daughter who was studying abroad.  Readers seemed to enjoy the armchair travel to Budapest, Hungary so I thought before my memories of the rest of the trip became too dim, I would blog about our final leg which took us to Prague, Czech Republic (or Czechia as the President refers to it).  We met up with our daughter and spent 4 nights in this magical little city.

Like Budapest, Prague is built on two sides of a river which in this case is the Vltava, the longest river in the Czech Republic.  After reviewing many options and based on the hotels we stayed at in Budapest and Vienna, “we” wanted to stay in a Czech owned, boutique style hotel.  Located in the quieter Mala Strana (Little or Lesser Quarter) section, the hotel was just steps from the central Charles Bridge and the Castle district where we spent a lot of time.  The hotel had a music theme with each room dedicated to a specific style of music or a particular artist or composer.  This translates into each room’s artwork and decor.  The hotel even has a music director to advise you on happenings around the city.  A bountiful breakfast and afternoon tea were included with our room at this hotel and who doesn’t like that?

Here is a picture of the Charles Bridge from our first walk to get our bearings…

Since we arrived after lunch, our first day was spent walking around and enjoying tea with our daughter back at the hotel.  On our first night out, we walked across the river to Stare Mesto or Old Town to enjoy dinner at a restaurant I had found called La Finestra.  I know, Italian food in Prague?  If it’s your daughter’s favorite cuisine and she has been cooking largely for herself for 3 months, you go there and I am glad we did.  The ambiance was just beautiful (take a look at the pictures of their interior on their website), the food was wonderful and the service was excellent…

After dinner, we took a very long walk around Old Town and Nove Mesto, New Town with our daughter before returning to the hotel for the evening.  Here is an idea of what Old Town looks like at night…

We enjoyed having a personal guide so much in Budapest that we hired someone to take us around Prague the next morning which again was really worth it.  Walking over the Charles Bridge, we first stopped and rubbed this statue for good luck (and reassurance we would someday return to Prague).  Who was he?  A priest who was cannonized as St. John of Nopomuk.  The court priest of King Wenceslas, he was reportedly thrown from the bridge for failing to tell the king of his queen’s confessions.  Smart man but bad ending…

From there, we walked into Old Town to the city’s Astronomical Clock that was getting ready to toll.  Dating back to 1410, it is the third oldest astronomical clock in the world and the only one still in operation.  If you notice the two little windows right above the clock, that is where all twelve apostles will appear on the hour.  At 10:00 and 2:00 (figuratively) on the big clock, there are 2 figures each which represent Vanity, Greed, Death and Lust which take part in each hour’s presentation as well…

This is a daytime (and much better) shot of the Old Town Square including the Gothic style Church of our Lady Before Tyn.  Do those spires remind you of anything?  Read here…

A view from the actual day…

We kept walking until we found the Church of St. James and peeked inside.  Supposedly a Count was accidentally buried alive here.  The church is sometimes referred to as the church with the arm because there is a mummified arm to the right of the tomb of a supposed jewel thief who tried to steal from the altar…

After that, we ended up in an area with a big open air market which was really fun…

Next was the Municipal House in Republic Square.  This was the former site of the Royal Court from where Bohemian kings ruled the land!  It is also the place where Czechoslovakia claimed its independence in 1919…

And then onto the Old New Synagogue in Prague’s Josefov section which is the oldest synagogue still conducting services outside of Israel…

A different view of the Old Town center…

From there we walked back over the river via the Manesuv Bridge and entered the Wallenstein Palace and Gardens which is now the home of the Czech Senate…

Resident peacock…

Back into the Little Quarter Square, location of St. Nicholas Church and Parliament…

Walking back to our hotel, I had to take picture of this magnificent display of red vine on the side of this building…

Another thing our tour guide pointed out to us was the symbols above many of Prague’s doorways.  These were used as markers, rather than numbers long ago so that those who were illiterate could find where they were going.  We tried to find as many as we could for the rest of the trip.  Here is a sampling…

Before dinner, my husband and I walked up to the nearby Castle District to take in the evening views…

We enjoyed dinner at the oldest restaurant in Prague called U Maliru which was very close to our hotel.  Very old school with lovely food and service.  Formal and not the place for a raucous evening but again, very nice.

The next day was my husband’s birthday so we did what he loves to do and started our morning with a nice walk.  We visited the famous Lennon wall, and found parts of the Old Town and Josefov areas we hadn’t yet seen on our own…

We also walked into the Vrtba Garden which we could access directly from our hotel.  This is Prague’s oldest Baroque gardens and is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.  Truly stunning…

For lunch, we went to Malostranska Beseda right in Mala Strana square.  While my husband had goulash that was served with potato pancakes, I ordered something our tour guide had suggested was a most traditional Czech dish. Called Svickova, it was roast beef served with a traditional cream sauce, cranberry compote and a selection of bread dumplings.  I know it looks like a lot of brown and white food, but truly, it was so delicious.  I would never have ordered this particular dish had I not asked the tour guide so I was glad I did!

In the afternoon, we finally visited the Castle district, Lobkowicz Palace and Golden Lane.  It was a lot to cover in one afternoon so we ended up returning on our final day to tour the St. Vitus Cathedral…

We knew our friends, Sue and Bob were also in Prague visiting their son but hadn’t made a plan to meet up with them as yet.  How ironic was it that we spotted their son’s Cape Cod sweatshirt as we were walking down from the Castle district?!!!  We ended up enjoying a brief visit with them and later that evening they joined us for dinner at a place my friend, Lucy recommended called Kampa Park.  The restaurant is located under the Charles Bridge on the Mala Strana side and it is incredibly beautiful and romantic with outstanding food and service.  We were seated downstairs which is perched right onto the water.  My pictures don’t do it justice as it was a candlelit room but I have since referred it to another friend who also loved it.  You can see it right along the river in the picture below, directly under where you see the cathedral above…

On our last day, we hired a driver to take us to Kunta Hora where we visited the beautiful St. Barboro Church and also the famed “Bone” church which truthfully I didn’t care for one bit.  You can read about it here.  Had time permitted, I would have preferred traveling to Czeky Krumlov but that required an overnight stay.  Next time!

Our last dinner in Prague was a return to Italian cuisine at Cantinetta Fiorentina, a perfectly pleasant spot on Prague’s most stylish street, Panzska.

What I cannot do justice to is the history of the country which is complex.  I have so appreciated being able to travel to eastern Europe to gain a better understanding of the rich history of this part of the world and to understand more fully how maps have been drawn, lands divided and cultures have endured despite great oppression.  While we found the Czech nationals to be a little more serious than those we found in Hungary, we felt welcome wherever we went and always felt safe in this lovely city.  Traveling always makes me appreciate how fortunate I am to be an American too.  The currency is the Euro and if you care, the kids joke that the beer is cheaper than water!  I hope you can make it there sometime.

Well, I hope you enjoyed a little armchair travel with me today!  I am happy I got around to blogging about this part of the trip because it brings back a lot of great memories!

See you next week!

One Year Ago:  Spicy Thai Shrimp & Baby Bok Choy Stir Fry

Two Years Ago:  Kale Caesar Salad