Prague Recap

Prague….meh.

I went into Prague with high expectations, based on how every person (except one) that I know who has been there gushed about how much they love it. I don't dislike it, I'm just not 'feeling it' like I thought I would. Some possible reasons:

1. Rainy weather…we've had perfect weather until Prague

2. Big crowds when it isn't raining

3. Our housing is basically a small college dorm room with crappy wifi (this is probably the main reason)

4. The tour guide on the first day really set a negative tone by pointing out the problems ('don't use these ATMS" "the only safe x is over there" "this is a bad area for pickpockets", etc.)

5. Travel fatigue is setting in, which includes food (too much bread, sauerkraut and potatoes in Central Europe) and travel group (although I thoroughly enjoyed watching the 20 somethings meltdown when they realized the wifi wasn't working at the hotel.)

6. It is coming on the heels of Krakow, and I loooooovvvvvve me some Krakow.

The bus trip from Auschwitz to Prague took much longer than expected (over 6 hours) thanks to road construction. It was a 4 lane highways and while still somewhat scenic, not early as much so as the drive from Budapest to Krakow, through the Slovakian countryside. Once we arrived, we went to dinner (more saukerkraut! More bread!) and then our depressing hotel. By then it was late, and that was the extent of Day 1.

Day 2 was a guided walking tour of part of Prague that went on for 3.5 hours. This was the downer tour guide. It was also huge crowds. It was a lot. Once done, Susan and I decided to have a nice lunch to decompress, and that was great. We stumbled upon a place that did a 3 course lunch that included beef (not pork!) carrots and a salad (not sauerkraut!), and, ok, I'll admit it, kick butt bread and potato pancake. For dessert we had pretzel ice cream with apple. Everything was very high-end and delicious. There weren't many people in the restaurant, the setting was beautiful, and the staff was wonderful. (Note: I once again had my cheat sheet of words , this time in Czech, sitting on the table, and it makes all the difference. The manager, who looked like Putin's son, thought it was so funny he asked to see the list so he could see which words were on it.) I should have stopped after dessert, but this cute little waitress who looked about 13 years old convinced us we had to have a special after dinner drink that is the Czech tradition. She brings three different bottles of the drink out, one was carmel apple (which Susan had), one was pear (which I had), and I forget the third flavor. She talks about how great they are and which is her favorite (the pear). Susan notices the bottle says 50% alcohol, but the girl is so innocent looking and persuasive, we decide to try it. The drink comes out in about the amount of a shot or maybe a double shot, but in a very fancy glass. That is where the cuteness ended. OMG…the burn. I hated everything about it…the taste, the burn. I've never had vodka, but I'm guessing this was similar. Of course I finished it.

After lunch we split up, and I checked out the Jewish Museum, which is spread out over 5 synagogues. Its history is the most interesting part….during WWII, Hitler starting collecting Jewish articles for a new museum he wanted to build in Prague. Of course his vision was that the museum would be to highlight the community he eliminated.

After a break in the day, we went back to the city at night for a special event on the river. The highlight of it was watching a parachutist come down from a plane and land perfectly ON SKIs in the water.

Today (Day3) in Prague, the whole group (except me) did an excursion outside of the city. I went to the Museum of Decorative Arts, which was outstanding.

I'd planned on doing much more in Prague, but the energy and the time just wasn't there. I have a feeling if I did Prague again but did it 'my way" (rent an apartment, stay for a longer period of time, etc) I would really like it. As it is…meh.

Tomorrow we leave for Vienna.