September 25, 26, 27, 28 2015. PRAGUE

Today, Friday the 25th,  we packed up our stuff and wheeled our suitcases to the bus stop taking us to the Hauptbanhof or main train station of Dresden.  Thankfully Jorg had booked reserved seats that identify carriage and seats as the train was quite full. Once again, our seats were occupied by others including one who " no damned way was going to be kicked off the train".   He was quite irate and was upset with his wife telling her "why do you believe everybody?  What proof do you have  that these people should have these seats"?  Jorg came along, trying to make a friend of his enemy. He had purchased an extra seat in case we needed it for the baby which was never the case so he offered the seat to this angry guy.    We noticed a change in his demeanour.  The rest of the voyage was good and very relaxing.  At the train station in Prague, we were met by Miroslav who walked with us to the apartment.  It is a large and well located flat with large windows but it is really grubby, with sort of dilapidated furniture and a really really dirty kitchen.  It can sleep 11 people, 4 in what we will call the master, 3 in another bedroom, 2 in sort of a bedroom and 2 more in the dining room/living room.  The bed are clean without bedbugs, comfortable enough except Jorg and Maria's who have to try their best to sleep between the springs that stick out.  We all decide to make the best of our time here by accepting our surroundings.

For our first afternoon here, it was decided that we would relax a bit since we had been quite busy in Berlin and Dresden.  We, the girls, gathered all the laundry and dropped them off at laundromat.  We then went grocery shopping for mostly breakfast food because there is no way I was going to cook in this filthy kitchen.  After all our chores were completed, we all set out to explore our neighbourhood.  We ended up stopping for dinner in a very nice restaurant serving really delicious local dishes.  The meat in Prague seems to be very well prepared and really tender. Lynanne and I had a very good pork tenderloin.  How they could BBQ this meat without drying it up, leaving a little pink hue and still have it so tender baffles me. We also shared a plate of roasted vegetables that was very tasty.  I am sorry to say that after such a succulent meal, we still all shared a desert.  I have mentioned it before, this is not a slimming holiday even though we walk for hours every day.   One thing for sure, Valery is gaining weight rapidly but, of course, she never walks.

We all managed to sleep even if I slept fully dressed.  The sheets on our bed are made of a sort of very rough terrycloth, they are orange and I could not bare it.  Covering myself from head to toe seem to work.

We all woke up happy and in a good mood and after breakfast, we headed to town. Another rather big mishap  befell us.  When the last person left the apartment, it was impossible to lock the door.  The second door locks automatically.  We were all downstairs waiting to leave when Jorg and Maria annouced that we had a serious problem.  To make this very long story short, a key was left in the deadlock inside and, unlike in Canada, in Europe,  if you do that, you are in big trouble.  No key can be inserted in the lock.  It is a security measure.  After a lot of calls, the problem was solved but not without costing us about 25 euros and a lot of aggravation.  This whole thing started in the morning and was finally resolved around 3pm.

Public transportation in Prague is very good and we are all careful having heard that it is the capital of pick pockets.  This is one beautiful European town.  The architecture is Eastern European and really very beautiful.  On Saturday, we went in the more known area of town and the place was alive, not only with local people and tourists but with musicians of all kinds, entertaining us, with dancers and acrobats, all delivering very good quality entertainment.  The square has all kinds of small markets were one can over indulge, from delicious and well spiced grilled meats and sausages to Trdelnik a very different sweet pastry which is a large hollow roll of sweet dough, baked over charcoal, on a constantly rolling metal skewer and then rolled in  cinnamon sugar and cut into rings. Not only is it delicious but it is most interesting to watch them prepare it.  There are outdoor cafes everywhere and we frequent them daily.  Some of us enjoy their beer and wine, their tea and coffee but, best of all for Maria and I, is their rich hot chocolate.   That night Jorg and Maria took us to a restaurant they knew, having been here before.  We enter at ground level and start going down into a quite dark dungeon like basement, we pass a sort of chamber with prison bars where we see a skeleton, of course it is very dimlt lit to make it more eery.  Having reached the bowels of the earth, we are seated at a long table.  No other customewon.are there until a very large group arrives.  Thankfully, our orders have already been taken.  The food is authentic such as goulash, and assorted grilled meats.  The meal is enjoyable and, as usual, Valerie is no problem.  She feeds every couple of hours and we are witnessing her growth on a daily basis.  She is an amazing little person.

 The day was filled with pleasure, art, good food, great walking and probably too many calories.  Life is good.  In the evening, we play a game called Taboo and we all have a great time.

Sunday and Monday are spent pretty much the same way, eat, play and be merry. There is a more quiet and beautiful neighbourhood to explore and as we walk in that direction, we pass a university, where there are greenhouses that pique our curiosity.  We decide to enter by a large open gate and we discover beautiful gardens and a very large park where we could probably spent the whole day.  There is also an exhibition of, believe or not, budgies.  There must be over 100 birds, all so beautiful and colourful but, for a bird lover like me, seeing then in such tiny cages, is heartbreaking.  I hope it is only for one day.   It would have  been nice to spend more time exploring this really beautiful park but our aim today is the fortress.   And here we are passing through the large gates. Once inside, we all meandered through a very old but very well kept cemetery before going to a outdoor cafe for refreshment.  We were quite high above the city, so the scenery was beautiful.  After walking through the park, stopping to enjoy a drumming circle, we stopped for lunch before undertaking our long walk back.  Later that evening, we were back on the road for a quick meal.  We have been having a lot of fun playing Taboo especially since tonight, the women's team won.

Tomorrow morning, we will leave the apartment much cleaner than we found it.  We are pretty certain that the one in Vienna will be better.  We have a four hour train ride to look forward to.  It will be relaxing.