Our German friend Barbara had recommended that, since it is on the way, we stop over in the town of Dresden on our way down to Prague. We got there around mid-morning and, after quickly stashing our bags in the lockers, got a tourist map and made our way up towards the river. The city was almost totally destroyed during the war, so many of the buildings look relatively new. We visited the Frauenkirche, a big church that was completely destroyed during the war (along with over 90% of the city) and then rebuilt like the original, and then walked along the river, eventually ending up at the old opera house and palace. On the way back to the train station we stopped for some traditional currywurst before continuing on to Prague. We pulled into Prague main station in the late evening on Sunday 25 November and managed to find our hostel fairly easily. We bought some groceries from a nearby supermarket and settled in for a night of admin and relaxing.

Monday we headed in to the main square to catch a walking tour of the city. We saw all of the main sights, including the fascinating astrological clock, the oldest one in the world that is still working. We wandered through the old, cobbled streets towards the river and then back into the old Jewish ghetto, now the most affluent part of town, finally ending at the Prague State Opera house. Afterwards we walked back to the river to see the famous Charles Bridge with all it's beautiful statues and then visited a quaint little coffee-shop down a small alley where we were able to enjoy some good coffee out of the cold. By now the sun had pretty much set so we made our way back to the hostel for dinner and some relaxing.

Tuesday saw Jason getting up early and heading out for some exploring, while Kevin and Monique caught up on some sleep. That afternoon we all caught a tram to the top of the hill and did a tour of Prague Castle, the largest castle in the world. The first part of the castle was built in 870 and they have been building and remodelling ever since - you can see pretty much every major architectural style for the past 1000 years. Our guide was also really knowledgable and shared some fascinating history and stories with us. At the end we walked back across the river and, after a short wander around a street market, we walked back to our hostel for another delicious home-cooked meal and some relaxing/admin.

Wednesday we didn't really have too much of an agenda, so after a bit of a slow start in the morning, we made our way down to the river and across the Charles Bridge to the quirky Lesser Quarter. It was cool to just stroll around the narrow, cobbled streets admiring some of the beautiful old buildings and interesting, artsy shops. We walked back up to the castle to get a good look at it in the daylight and then had delicious late lunch in a nearby canteen-style restaurant popular with the locals. On the way back to the hostel we picked up some more groceries for dinner (and cakes for dessert!) and after eating, we spent some time chilling and then went upstairs to pack for the next day.

Thursday we were up early and, after a quick breakfast, we walked down the street to the train station in the pouring rain :-/ We eventually found our way to the right platform and soon we were on a train back to Germany, to meet our friend Barbara in Munich!