Jason: “I love it when we don’t screw things up.”

This was our first full day in Prague, so we started it out with a walk though the city’s primary attraction: the Prague Castle. Jason’s quote happened right after we managed to take the tram from near our hotel to the top of the hill by the entrance to the castle. The castle was founded in the 9th century, and its most memorable part, St. Vitus Cathedral, began construction in 1344 and was finally consecrated in 1929. We have both now adopted St. Vitus as our patron Saint – according to my guide book, “Vitus is a patron of actors, entertainers and dancers, and is said to protect against lightning, dog bites and oversleeping.” Sounds like everything I need!

While in the castle we also toured the Toy Museum. It has an interesting collection of old toys, and one of the world’s largest collections of Barbie dolls. Of course we weren’t interested in that part; we wanted to see Lego and Action Figures.

After touring the castle we walked down the hill back to the hotel. Along the way we sidetracked though Valdštejnská (aka Wallenstein) Gardens and came across an ad hoc choral concert being given in the Senate courtyard by a group of kids on tour. We sat and listened to a couple songs before they took off for the rest of their tour. They had beautiful voices, and we were lucky to have been able to hear them perform – that’s our second incredible free outdoor concert so far.

After lunch at the hotel we toured some more on foot, visiting the John Lennon Wall where graffiti artists liberally paint tributes to Lennon and others. In fact, we caught this tagger in the act:

Prior to this trip Jason’s friend (and evidently the most awesome real estate agent in Boulder) Daryl connected us with Tijana – a friend of his who has lived in Prague for the past 14 years. Tijana came by the hotel around 6pm and took us on a walking tour of the city. We had a great time – she told us about the architecture of the city, stories behind the buildings and people, and educated us about what it’s really like living in this city.

Part of my vacation algorithm is to go to the top of things, so when she took us up the funicular railway to the base of the observation tower I was thrilled. Not one for heights, Tijana wasn’t that interested in going up the tower and Jason was ambivalent – so I bought my ticket and went up without them. “The Top of Things” paid off once again with panoramic view of the city (the top picture of this post).

She then took us to a wonderful small local restaurant that we never could have found ourselves, and we eventually ended up in a beer garden along the river drinking and chatting. Thanks Tijana!

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