TravelingGirl2005

September 15 - Prague

This was a bus day. We took the bus from Dresden to Prague. The Czech countryside was beautiful. Being so used to California's late summer golden brown everything, it was wonderful to see such beautiful green countryside. There were deer in the fields, and all kinds of different trees and greenery. Gorgeous.

As a surprise for the group, Ben took us to a luge park. We were each to get 2 runs on the luge. Since someone else didn't take one of their runs, I actually did 3 runs. I still felt like crap, but the prospect of going fast made me rally long enough to do the luge stuff. Basically you get on a little sled. There's a metal wire with studs on it. Your sled gets hooked on it, and then you get pulled up to the top of the hill. Then your sled is in a little metal half-pipe that snakes down the hill. There's a brake that you pull backward on to slow down. I think I pulled on the brake 3 times on the first run, and then twice on the other two runs. It was so fun going down the run with the wind in my hair and the feeling of speed. I was giggling like a little kid every time. That was so much fun, and a great surprise.
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47006145/in/set-1024707/

When we crossed the border from Germany into the Czech Republic, it took somewhere between 1/2 hour and an hour. There was a tourbus in front of us, so that took a while. Then the border guards came on the bus and collected our passports (I was asleep, but the female border person was nice when she woke me up.) It was pretty uneventful.

Once we got over the border, we saw workmen on the side of the highway. They were doing repair work from flooding that had been in that area a few years ago. I had seen a couple of girls on the side of the road here and there who were clearly "working girls". Then we passed a building that from one side was not really worth a second look (may have at one point been a gas station, but there were no pumps there any longer), except that on one corner of the building was a big window that had dancing girls in bikinis in it. I looked around the bus to see if anyone else had seen it (i.e. was I hallucinating). I saw the shocked expressions on Jim and Bonnie's faces, and felt better that I wasn't hallucinating, so I wasn't THAT sick.

We had a picnic lunch in a little town called Litoměřice. It was a really cute little town where we ate our lunches in the town center. I loved the signs since they were so similar but different (i.e. it feels like you should be able to read them, but the words don't connect to anything).
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47006221/in/set-1024707/
http://flickr.com/photos/cshell/47006291/in/set-1024707/

Once we arrived in Prague, there was some logistical activity to get our luggage loaded into the correct vans as there were 2 separate hotels about a short block apart that we were staying in. We went to one of the hotels (the one Kathy and I were not staying in) for our "innoculations" or "anti-virus screening". Basically we had shots of alcohol with the owner of the hotel (I forget her name - she was a hoot). There was a shooter alcohol and a sipper alcohol. I don't know which one I did, but I think I regretted it until I was all warm and toasty. Then we went on a short orientation walk from the area where the hotel was situated (an area known as Mala Strana) (Lesser Town or Little Quarter) down to the Charles Bridge (Karlov Most). We walked around the bridge, got an orientation to the area and the history of the bridge.

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about what could be so great about the Charles Bridge. It's just a bridge, so why is it such a big deal. But now that I've been there, I do kind of get it. It's just magical. Maybe it was because of the time of day that we were there - the light was beautiful (which is only partially captured in the pictures). But it's also a cool place - it's a pedestrian only zone, and there are artists selling their pictures and tchotchkes. There are musicians on the bridge and tourists and people hawking various concerts. The place is just full of life and fun to be in the midst of.

From there we went to dinner as a group (venison in sauce with potato croquettes - yummmm) with salad and plum cake for dessert. I had a bit of Czech beer (no idea which one, probably a pilsner) which was good. But this was the beginning of the portion of the trip where I was really sick. So I just went straight back to the hotel (although I think some of the group might have gone out after dinner to wander and/or drink).

posted by Unknown @ 1:09 PM