Monday 1 August 2011
After a nice breakfast prepared in the hostel kitchen, we went out to see the rest of the best in Prague, with recommendations from our friendly desk people Marketa and Karel. The famous moving figures in the clock in the old town square drew thousands, and we too enjoyed the show.
Browsing our way back to the hostel, we gathered our things but could not locate the all-important ticket for the car park. A distressed hour was spent searching everywhere (5x) and freaking out. Will they charge us for a month? - $1,000? Impound the car? Put Charles in jail? Turned out Charles found a sympathetic guard who only charged us for 24 hrs - "only" $50, less than if we had the ticket. So much for the low cost of hostels - not if you have to securely park your car.
We worked on the blog before catching the tram to see the famous clock open at noon. We saw the Kafka Museum, where Nicole purchased a keepsake for one of her existential-lit buddies. Had lunch next to the river Vltava and then saw the John Lennon wall which was started in 1980 partly as an homage to the great musician but also in protest of the oppressive government people endured at the time. Of course we contributed -- Dian with a sketch of John and Charles and Nicole with quotes: "I'm just watching the wheels go round and round" and "If you want to be a hero, well just follow me," respectively.
As we walked home along the river, Nicole found a children's park where she made some friends of all ages (approx. 8-18) and savored being a little kid on a swing again. After a quick pic in front of the Fred & Ginger building (two conjoined buildings intentionally evocative of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing), we got back to our hostel and prepared to check out.
We hightailed it out of Prague for the south of Czech Republic, Cesky Krumlov, one of Rick Steves' favorites. (We love Steves, still a cool guy even though his guides and TV show have turned him into an industry.) A gorgeous drive into beautiful wooded countryside, following a river. We finally pulled into our campground, Kemp Vltavan (found on www), as darkness fell, and settled in with a great, large bowl of lentil soup with sausage ($1.25). It cost us $12.50 a night to stay. A giant glass of Pilsner Urquell on tap was 3 bucks. Oh yeah.
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| The smallest pedestrian street with a light signal |
Browsing our way back to the hostel, we gathered our things but could not locate the all-important ticket for the car park. A distressed hour was spent searching everywhere (5x) and freaking out. Will they charge us for a month? - $1,000? Impound the car? Put Charles in jail? Turned out Charles found a sympathetic guard who only charged us for 24 hrs - "only" $50, less than if we had the ticket. So much for the low cost of hostels - not if you have to securely park your car.
We worked on the blog before catching the tram to see the famous clock open at noon. We saw the Kafka Museum, where Nicole purchased a keepsake for one of her existential-lit buddies. Had lunch next to the river Vltava and then saw the John Lennon wall which was started in 1980 partly as an homage to the great musician but also in protest of the oppressive government people endured at the time. Of course we contributed -- Dian with a sketch of John and Charles and Nicole with quotes: "I'm just watching the wheels go round and round" and "If you want to be a hero, well just follow me," respectively.
We hightailed it out of Prague for the south of Czech Republic, Cesky Krumlov, one of Rick Steves' favorites. (We love Steves, still a cool guy even though his guides and TV show have turned him into an industry.) A gorgeous drive into beautiful wooded countryside, following a river. We finally pulled into our campground, Kemp Vltavan (found on www), as darkness fell, and settled in with a great, large bowl of lentil soup with sausage ($1.25). It cost us $12.50 a night to stay. A giant glass of Pilsner Urquell on tap was 3 bucks. Oh yeah.
Lentil soup and a bargain rate in a fabled campground. Sounds awfully close to the vision you've been imagining! Adventure on!
ReplyDeleteSouth Czech Republic is heaven!
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