After settling into our hotel we decided to go explore the city center of Prague. Within moments you notice just how detailed and beautiful Prague truly is with its very old style of buildings and intricate molding and sculptures on what appear to just be apartment buildings. There are several gothic cathedrals scattered around the city and a gorgeous clock tower that overlooks the main city center plaza. We then found ourselves going on our daily dinner search which can be a bit trickier in the cities we are not yet familiar with. We found a place that served traditional Czech cuisine (or at least it advertised it), and ordered some delicious rosemary chicken and some of the chewiest (similar to what a dog experiences when chewing on a raw hide) steak you could ever imagine. After dinner we returned home to get ready for our eventful next day.
We narrowly caught our 8:15am bus to Cesky Krumlov the next morning which apparently is a big tourist attraction even amongst Czech people. The bus was completely full, so much so that Liz and I were not able to sit near each other and people were even lying down in the aisles between seats. After a grueling 4 hour ride we finally made it. From just outside the bus station you get a panoramic view of the gorgeous city that is built around a medieval castle and surrounded on 3 sides by a river that flows all the way through Prague. I had heard from some good family friends who visited here that it is a great place to rent a canoe/raft and go paddle down the river for the beautiful scenery as well as stop at the various campsites and towns along the way. Considering how much we have been sweating bullets for the previous couple weeks here in Europe, we figured it might be a fun and more refreshing way to see a city. It proved to be a great idea after we finally got going about 4pm for a 4 hour journey down the river. Initially the company we used gave us a raft with a hole in it and we had to wait an hour in the heat for him to return with a functional raft…rough start. After floating for some time we chose to stop at a campsite and get a sausage and a beer for lunch. It seemed to be a very normal place to visit except for one thing we noticed hanging from a tree about 30 yards from us. There was a full size Confederate Flag on display at this campsite and in such a way that it was tied between 2 trees and required a ladder to get it up there. It seemed a bit odd for several reasons, but most of all what was it doing there??? So we continued on for another hour or so until this group of Czech people around our age came up beside us and anchored themselves to us. They were clearly drunk but were hilarious and very nice to us. They offered us a beer of theirs and wanted us to stop with them at the next campsite and join them for a bite to eat and a beer so we joined. We ended up having a great time and 2 of them even hopped in our raft to help us paddle the remainder of the trip where they were stopping too for the night. They were disappointed we were only going down the river for just the day as they were on a 4-5 day camping trip down the river and raved about how much fun it was and even offered us a place to stay with them in their tents. Sadly we had already paid for our hotel room and needed to get back to town. Upon reaching the campsite where we needed to call the driver to come and get us we realized we had lost the number and could not find anyone who spoke English well enough to understand us. After 20 minutes of running around we caught a break and our driver randomly showed up to our rescue as we were about an hour later than he thought we would be. He was not happy with us to say the least. Aside from being cold and bitter towards us, he refused to talk to us and made us feel terrible for keeping him waiting as the raft that left an hour before us with 6 people did the whole trek in 2.5 hours…I decided not to explain simple math to him that there were only 2 of us so naturally it would take us much longer. Needles to say, it was a very awkward car ride back. Upon returning we went for dinner at a local place and went home as we had to do that same lengthy bus ride back to Prague again the next morning. We were very glad that we made the trip though as it turned out to be a great experience and a break from everyday site seeing.
The real Budweiser!
Rafting!
At the place where we got sausages and beers
Confederate flag...
Our last day in Prague got off to a late start as a much needed nap and desire to stay out of the heat of the day were big priorities for us. Once it cooled down we made sure to go check out the King Wenceslas Bridge and the Prague Castle which were both great sites but unfortunately undergoing construction. We stumbled upon the St. Nicholas bell tower where we decided to climb to the top as it was a former Communist Observation point used during WWII. It was very strange to be walking around the same place where such cruel and inhumane history was rooted. As the night went on we began walking back down the hill and found a great winery that served wine and snacks from tables that overlooked the entire city. It was a very relaxing time for us as we had been continuously on the move for the previous four days, and the setting beautiful. After the wine we returned home to get ready for our flight to Milan that next day.
At the winery
View from the bell tower of St. Nicholas
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