Cobblestones

Cobblestones--not good for high heels, not good for old people or small children, and many stones are MIA. Prague is a beautiful city and from the architecture we really felt we were in a central European capital. However, along with all that charm comes the threat of danger. Watch your step or you could end up spending part of your vacation in the hospital. Missing cobbles are part of the city's charm but RT nearly tripped over the missing one in this photo. And sadly there is a lot of grafitti which detracts from the Baroque buildings.

After a full 8 hours sleep we enjoyed the hotel's buffet breakfast this morning then walked to the Charles Bridge (Karlov Most). Great views of the city on both sides of the river. From the bridge we walked back to the east bank and the Stare Mesto or old city which is also where we are staying. We wandered through the small streets and discovered that whether large or small, the cobblestones are uneven and many are missing. Both the streets and sidewalks are cobbled so there is no escaping them. We saw the astronomical clock mark the hour along with dozens of other tourists (can't imagine what the crowds are like in summer).

When it came to meals we avoided TGI Fridays and Subway in favor of local restaurants. For lunch we ate at a large beer garden called U Vejvoju(no beer for TT yet even though the Czech Republic is the beer capital of the world) most of the other diners were Czech speaking. Later in the afternoon we found the perfect spot for a rest and some "dezerty". Really, that's the Czech word for dessert. We haven't gone too native when it comes to restaurants yet. We need to see the English menu so have visited those with menu translations. Last night's dinner at Palatina in the Hotel Leonardo was very good.

For those of you reading this in Cedar Rapids, TT also tasted his first Kolac. We had a good first day and are looking forward to visiting the cathedral and castle up on the hill and St. Nicholas church among others.