Pretty, pretty Prague!

Driving from Grafenwoehr to Prague was a fairly quick two hour drive. Autobahn/highway all the way, it was an easy drive with the GPS. Our GPS had a decidedly proper British voice, and it was interesting how "he" pronounced some of the names. While in Prague, we were driving to a restaurant, and the name of the street is spelled something like this: Marastranske hradke.

Mr. GPS pronounced it: Mary Ann's crappy.

Well, alrighty, then!

This is the border into the Czech Republic--it has many places for guards and inspections, but is, of course, all closed now. We flew through. We pulled off the highway when we saw a mall at an exit--we needed fuel, food and a bathroom break. I was somewhat surprised at how trendy and cosmopolitan the stores at the mall were--this mall was sleeker than most malls here in the US.

There was also a Hypernova at this mall, and we had to feed our foreign grocery store addiction...and I even took pictures. (Geek, I know...)


Hello, Lays potato chip people! Why don't we get chips like these in the US? (They even have a Roasted Chicken flavored chip in parts of Europe!) Are Barbecue and Sour Cream & Onion the extent of the flavored chips we can have here???

I'm just' sayin'....





We drove into Prague and saw this beautiful mix of old and new! Relatively new, tall office buildings mixed with church spires from long ago, punctured the skyline.


Our first day there, we took a bus tour around the city--to sort of get the lay of the land. The city is brimming with beautiful artwork! Sculptures, mosaics, buildings, engravings--it is everywhere! Modern, classic--you name it, and you can see it outdoors in Prague. One of the buildings I enjoyed was the "Dancing House" which is also known as the Fred and Ginger House.



Later that night, we went to the Charles Bridge--this is one of the towers at the foot of the bridge.




The bridge from another perspective...




Baby, it was coooo-old out there on that bridge!

The next day, we did a Frommer's walk through Old Town (Stare Mesto). I swear by the walks Frommer's does--and this one didn't disappoint. Charming, ancient, and historic, the walk along cobblestone streets took us next to municipal buildings, churches, and shops--tons of shops! (yaaa-ay!) We were disappointed that the Church of St. James was locked and we weren't able to view the 400 year old dried up shriveled arm in the vestibule. Here's the story:

It belonged to a thief who tried to steal some jewels from the Madonna on the high altar one night. But the Madonna grapped his hand and didn’t want to let it go. The thief had to wait there until the next morning. The next day, when the Minorites came to the Church, they tried to separate the thief from the Madonna, but in vain. They had to cut his arm. Then the Madonna let the hand go. The monks hung the arm to remember this event and as a warning for other thieves.

One of the things you can buy in many of the shops is pot vodka! I guess if the liquor doesn't give you a good enough buzz, the pot will. Or, vice-versa...





Old Town Square



The Astronomical Clock



The Hanging Man



















Gorgeous, no?

Tomorrow--the view from Petrin Hill.