Oct 09 - 10th, 2010 River Cruise

Our last two days in Prague were packed with many memories. Yesterday we toured the Strahove Monastary by the Prague Castle. The view of the city from the outdoor cafe where we had lunch was fantastic. The weather was perfect, Czech food delicious and the beer cold. The 12th century library with thousands of books and hand painted ceiling was something to see. The perfect evening was walking the many little streets in the Old Town taking in the sights and sounds of Prague. Many languages but everybody switches to English whether you are Czech, German, Italian, Russian, etc. We found a small Italian restaurant in an old cellar. The service was perfect and the food delicious.

On Saturday we had a city bus tour with the cruise group and ended up at Prague Castle. Unbelievable the size of St. Vitus Cathedral.After touring the Old Royal Palace, St. George's Basicilia and the Lobkowicz Palace, the walk down the hill on cobbled streets towards the river thru the vineyard, and the walk across one of the many bridges over the Vltava River made the perfect end to an afternoon. After we were back to the hotel there was a huge peaceful demonstration on the streets by the hotel. It was hundreds of students but nobody seemed to know what their issue was. Vicki and Blake had never been to a NHL game so off we went to see the Bruins and the Coyotes play. Great game and one of the best parts was coming back to the hotel on the subway. Thousands of people and it was a piece of cake. Half hour from rink seat to hotel. Needed to fill our tummies again so off we went walking. Another old cellar restaurant, and since it was late, no one but us to enjoy the piano music and delicious meal. In Prague when you order meat espically the Czech food, there is no veggies or potatoes - order seperate. We tried a lot of goulashs, pork dishes and Czech beer.

Sunday was a tour to Trizen concentration camp outside of Prague. It was interesting and very sobering. The communist era makes up a lot of their history and from the guides we discovered many stories. The demonstrations, the invasions, the Jewish prisoners, the war, the liberation, the destruction of Stalin's statue, communist bldgs destroyed, the rebuilding of Prague and the change to the people of Prague. Also the floods of 2002 affected the city dramatically.
Sunday eveningwe wandered the streets again taking in the sights and sounds.Climbed the Clock tower to view the city lights, the Castle on the hills and the many Gothic towers and churches. Prague is a very clean city and safe. Thoroughly enjoyed the 4 days.