Hi again,

Just about to finish up in Prague so thought we'd fill you in on our time here.

The sleeper train here was not quite as nice as the one to Cracow, though the guard was particularly friendly and quite cute I thought (Zoe), though Becca says not! Still we had a cabin to ourselves again, so can't really complain too much.

Got to Prague on Sunday morning and guess what- still raining! Not that impressed, but after a very expensive taxi to the hostel and a wander around the city at 8 in the morning we decided it was actually very pretty even in the rain. We went to get some breakfast in the main square, and sampled the best ever hot chocolate (basically melted chocolate in a glass) and then went off to be cultural. First off we decided to visit the old-new synagogue (oldest in Europe) It was surprisingly tiny inside and didn't take as long as we perhaps expected. The men were made to wear skull caps as they entered and although we tried to pick one up for Robin, the lady on the door was a bit fierce looking and was taking it all very seriously, so no joy!

We pottered round some very expensive shops, though not going in them I might add! After this, we headed back to the main square just as the clock struck the hour, a massive crowd had gathered to see the very special clock on the town hall which has little people that move every hour. This excited the japanese tourists no end. To be fair it was quite cool, but I have no idea how you tell the time on it! We went up the tower to see some really good views of the square and the church opposite.

On a bit of a sight-seeing mission we then decided to go to Wencelas square to see that statue of Good King Wencelas. Unfortunately on the way there I had a bit of a fatal accident with my flip-flops that I had only bought a week earlier! After a quick fix job with some safety pins that were meant to be holding Becca's bag together we made it to the square and found his statue surrounded by anti-Chinese communism demonstrations.

The flip-flops weren't holding out too well, so we then went to check in at our hostel. The hostel is quite nice and we managed to get our laundry done at last. We managed to blag our 2 for 1 drinks at the bar with our ISIC cards and then headed out for a meal. We found a really nice little Italian place so sat outside and ate pizza and pasta and drank wine. The best bit came at the end where we were brought out 2 blankets by the waiter as it was getting a bit cold! Needless to say, we stayed a bit longer and I had another drink! On the way back we stopped off in another bar that resembled a jungle. I had a very strong and not partiularly nice long island ice tea and Becca managed to order probaby the nicest drink on the menu - some alcoholic strawberry milkshake.

Next day, was still a little coudy but not looking too much like rain. After enjoying a free breakfast, we headed off to spend a day doing Prague Castle. We eventually found the bridge, which is very picturesque, and filled with artists, photographers and crafts and usually some sort of band playing music as well. Prague Castle is at the top of quite a large hill, and by this time the sun was just about out. At the top we were somewhat dismayed to find a notice pinned to the gate, stating that for the 4th and 5th of June it was shut for 'technical reasons'. Annoyingly had we known we could have done it on the Sunday, but I suppose on the positive side it gives us an excuse to come back to Prague one day!

Instead of the castle we walked back down the hill a bit and visited St Nicholas Church instead, which is an old baroque church, with some impressive decor inside and an organ that Mozart once played on. Becca and I thought we may have some more things we'd like to confess to each other, disappointingly most of the boxes seemed to be roped off, we did find one, but it was not as easy to use as the one in Cusco as the door was locked.

The bridge at each end has two towers that you can climb for good photo opportunities and views of the city so we climbed one of these.

Trying to think of other things to fill our day, we noticed a cable car type thing, going up a hill and thought this might be fun. So we headed off in that direction, however on the way we got distracted by a boat trip down the river and decided to do that instead. It was lovely and really relaxing enjoying the sceanery on both sides of the bank.

After this we headed back to the hostel for a bit. In the evening, we decided to use the money my gran gave us for a meal, thinking we could get good value here in Prague We went to the main sqaure and decided to sample the local cuisine, ordering a traditional Czech dinner of duck, pork and dumplings followed by some yummy apple strudel and mulled wine. It was very much enjoyed, so thanks Gran! The only frustrating thing was when they charged us for tax and service (getting away with it for the location).

Today, we had a nice lazy day. Once again we headed off for the cable car thing across the river. We got distracted again though, this time by a giant wall that led up the hill that Becca wanted to climb up (unfortunately this was not possible), and instead we sat down on a particularly sunny bench and both read our books. An hour or so later, thinking it was a bit warm we got up to get a drink somewhere. We found a nice little cafe by the river. The waiter sat us down at a really comfortable table and although the drinks were more than we really wanted to pay, the comfotable seats and nice location persuaded us to stay. The waitress came round to get our order, where we were then told if we were not ordering food to move to the less comfortable smaller tables in the middle of the bar- nice!! The Czechs seem to be full of sly little moves like this.

After a spot of shopping and a little more wandering we headed back to the hostel and after a shower and a change are now ready for our last night out in Prague.

Off to Vienna tomorrow morning on a day train for once as the journey isn't that long.

Lots of love

Rebecca and Zoe

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