The Hardy Wench

Day one in Prague and Tina and I headed for the Old Town Square along the cobbled streets to see the famous astronomical clock. It was lively and buzzing and from the many languages I heard Prague is obviously a destination for tourists from around the globe.

We joined the jostling crowd and waited for the hour when the skeleton rings a bell and the apostles make a brief appearance in a small window. Everyone was jolly excited about this and clapped and cheered when the ten second show was over! I found the clock unfathomable, whilst it was very beautiful it didn’t actually tell the time!

We then headed to the Jewish museum, a collection of buildings in which would have been the Jewish ghetto in days gone by. Synagogues, a cemetery and a very moving memorial with the names of all Jews killed in both First and Second World Wars. Beautiful buildings, artefacts and a very haphazard cemetery with gravestones that had clearly moved over the years, reflected the long and often troubled history of Czech Jews living in Prague.

From there we headed back to he main square for a much needed cold beer; had to be tried in the country who invented lager, it was so welcome but I did feel a bit shortchanged when seeing how much of it was froth!

Back to the hotel for a quick refresher and then to a locally recommended restaurant to try some Czech fare. This was a very simple yet authentic Czech eatery with very hearty fare, potato seemed to the order of the day and accompanied almost every dish. We chose was Boar goulash and Pork with tomato’s pancakes, apple cabbage followed by apple strudel all jolly filling and very cheap! (We later discovered the restaurant was named after the original owner whose name translated into English was Lard, so hardly surprising the food was not vegetarian friendly!)

The following day we negotiated the tram and made it to the other side of the river where we encountered a fairytale like shop full of gingerbread biscuits in all shapes and sizes, a pair of black gingerbread children reflected a very inclusive ethos!

Outside the shop and in front of the Kafka museum a statue of two men widdling at each other made us smile. I did wonder if there was a Kafkaesque meaning to this but this was not the case. If you rang a phone number you could ask for a message to be written with their stream! We desisted!

We then made our way to the Charles Bridge, a tourist hotspot, luckily we were early so it was manageable, stunning views of the river from this very ancient bridge. From there, we aimed for St. Nicholas church, famous for housing the original statue of the Little Infant of Prague. It is held in reverence by many Catholics as a symbol for aiding recovery from sickness and is dressed in different clothes for different seasons.

We were greeted by a sour faced nun who indicated I was not appropriately dressed, the sleeve of my all in one had slipped off my shoulder. ~I placed it back was still refused entry! Possibly the colour red indicated I was a woman of ill repute! So, we headed up a very big hill to the castle to join a queue to see the Crown Jewels and then on to look around the castle grounds.

Here, I was challenged when I asked for a senior ticket ( I felt quite chuffed!) the ticket seller had the grace to admit I was correct about my age when she saw my passport! The cathedral staff in the castle proved a lot more liberal than the grumpy nun, and I entered without any trouble. Views from the castle over Prague were well worth the climb.

Back then for a rest followed by more hearty fare in Mr Lard’s restaurant.

Early night, ready to prepare for our last day the following day.

For our last day we headed to Wenceslas Square which was a bit like Oxford Street, It was strange seeing Primark and M and S, along with C &A and Bata shoes, shops which have long left British shores. Again it was busy and buzzing but very enjoyable. We headed for there through some narrow cobbled streets and when headed for the river encountered a bridal party waiting outside a church for the previous wedding to be over! One of the groomsmen was holding the wedding cake. It all seemed very relaxed and the bride waited with her groom, no appearance at the end of the aisle! As soon as the previous wedding left, they headed inside!

By the time we got tot he river the crowds were milling so we headed back and were lucky enough to encounter a traditional Czech procession, all singing and very jolly.

After this display of Czech pride we headed for the Communist museum to find out About life in this country during Communist times. En route we encountered another wedding, marriage is obviously popular in Czech Republic. This bride threw her bouquet into the crowd in the square, Tina almost caught it but had to make do with one rose as a consolation!

Onward to the museum, which was really more like an exhibition and incredibly biased against the communists, interesting all the same.

Back then (after another beer!) to prepare for the symphony concert that evening. More hearty fare (dumplings really are de rigeur here) and then on to the concert hall. Yet another beautiful building with a famed Art Deco glass roof. We listened to a Symphony orchestra play the ‘New World,’ (better known as ‘The Hovis Advert!)composed by Dvorak famous son of the Czech Republic. It was very striking how many classical concerts were going on in Prague in churches every day as well as concert venues.

Sorry to leave this city, have felt so comfortable here and still lots to explore but hopefully the Tobinator will be back one day!