Prague {The Rest of the Trip}

After a full first day in Prague, a delicious dinner and a good rest, we were ready to see more.  If you missed the last post, my In-Laws were over in Europe and after seeing them in Dublin, they met us for a weekend in Prague!

Along the Vtlama

I didn't show you the apartment we stayed in the last post.  It was an awesome attic apartment, right in the the middle of town.  The whole ceiling was old exposed beams.  The photo isn't great, but it's all I got.

I'm not sure this picture does the attic apartment justice.  It was cool.

And not too far from our apartment was the Bakeshop, which was an amazing bakery where we had breakfast 2 of the 3 mornings.  I had committed to waking up early and getting everyone breakfast from there the 3rd morning too, but just couldn't pull myself out of bed when the alarm went off.

Cappuccino and croissant 

The second day started in true tourist fashion, with a tour.  But this wasn't your average tour, it was in a refurbished Ford Model A.  Our driver was young, a local and pretty knowledgable on the city.  We were off to a great start. 

Ready to go

We saw some different areas of the city, learned some new things and were enjoying the ride on a sunny morning.

Before addresses, building would have a symbol.
This was "The Golden Snake" building

The Lennon Wall

All was going well, until the clutch gave out, just before we were heading up the biggest hill in the city to the castle.  Our driver was determined, and we putted up the road, waving everyone around us.  To give you an idea of how slow we were going, a few old ladies passed us - on foot!  

Plenty of time for a photo opp in our broken down car!

Yep, that's our car, and we made it to the Castle.

The Castle entrance.  Richard did not get a warm welcome feeling with the statues over the gate.
One is a guy being beaten and the other slain with a sword.

We didn't stick around long, as the plan was to take the tour of the castle later in the trip.  So, instead we headed up the hill to Strahov Monastery, which was founded in 1149.  There is a Monastic Brewery there that I thought sounded like a cool place for lunch and a beer.  It's not everyday you can go to a Monastery and have a glass of home-brew.

On our way up to the Monastery  

The beer was really good, like Oregon micro-beers.  

They made an I.P.A. but instead of calling it I.P.A. with each letter pronounced, like we do, they sounded out the letters into a word, calling it ipa.  Do you get what I am trying to say?  It was funny.

The view just below the Monastery 

That evening, we went up the bell tower to see the views.  It was one of the highlights of the trip.  We went up at dusk and the views were incredible. 

I love the colors

Looking down on the square

With the castle

In-laws with the castle in the background

Another shot of the square

The lights coming on

On Sunday, we spent some time exploring the Jewish Quarter in Prague and learning about the history.

See the 2 clocks, the one on the bottom goes counterclockwise
but I can't remember why... 

Inside the Old New Synagogue
Built in 1270 it's Europe's oldest, active synagogue 

Jewish cemetery.  There are 12,000 gravestones crammed into the space
but they say there are probably 100,000 people buried there

For dinner our last night, we went to a brewery that we had eyed earlier in the trip.  See the happy boys with their Pork Knee?  That is why we went there.

Big smiles in this photo

The last morning, we got off to an earlier start so we could tour the castle before we all flew home.  It was such a pleasant walk across the Charles Bridge in the morning, before the crowds were out.

Another shot from the Charles Bridge

On Guard - he just needs a sword - I know just the one he wants.

Golden Lane - tiny little houses on the castle grounds.

One last shot of the view from the Castle Gardens

Goodbye Prague

We had a great weekend in Prague with the In-laws.  They treated us to some incredible meals, we saw some incredible history and enjoyed many incredible views, all in good company.  A big thanks to Robin and Richard, and of course Brian, for another unforgettable weekend in Europe.