Petrin Hill and beyond

One of the loveliest views in Prague is from Petrin Hill. It overlooks the tile rooftops of Old Town (Stare Mesto) and I'm sure that the hill itself is as spectacular as the view when the trees and flowers are in bloom. There is a funicular that will take up you to the top of the 1500 meter hill--but it was under scheduled maintenance when we arrived. Of course!

We hoofed it up Petrin Hill--almost a mile up the steep incline and twisting path. There was an older couple hot on our heels and Shelby was determined that they were not going to pass us! We pushed onward until we arrived at the top. My knees were burning!

At the top of Petrin Hill is a reduced copy of the Eiffel Tower, built in 1891. Standing between me and the top of the Tower is a $3 charge and 299 steps. I was fine with the three bucks--but, after that climb, with its' serious incline--I was in no mood to climb 299 stairs! I waited on a sunny bench while Shelby "took it for the team" and trudged to the top.



Obviously, the most beautiful view in all of Prague!









The rail of the damn funicular that was not in service!







After the trip back down, we wandered the streets and found a great little coffee shop. One thing to note--hot mulled wine is less expensive than a cup of coffee! I'm jus' sayin'...






On Nerudova Street, there was a a film crew and a very skinny actress (not in the picture) who had on a sleeveless dress, and had to walk up the stairs to do her scene. Over and over and over. It was about 40 degrees outside. She had to be freezing!





We decided to go to dinner at Hergetova Cilhelna, recommended by our Frommer's guide(which had been spot on so far during the trip.) It was such a tasty meal! Shelby ordered the burger, and I had a pizza. The pizza was like the ones I had eaten in Rome, and Shelby's burger tasted like steak! We both agreed our dinner was delicious! The restaurant is on the Vltava River and the view of the Charles Bridge just simply wows you! I will definitely eat there again!







Walking out of the restaurant and into the neighboring courtyard at the Kafka Museum, we stumbled upon this David Czerny sculpture, which we dubbed "The Pissing Contest." (click on the link to see the...um, "action"...)It's hilarious in that the bottom half of the statues' torsos rotate side to side, and their...um..."tools" move up and down. In researching it since I've been home, I found out that you can text message the statues and they will "pee" your text. Well, alrighty then!



While we were there, we found the Metro/subway and tram system incredibly easy to use! (It also helps that Shelby is a mole and doesn't need to read any signs--she just has an internal GPS that guides us to the right train!)





We left on Sunday with a plan to drive to Stuttgart, Germany to stay the night at Kelley Barracks, another Army facility. Staying at Kelley Barracks would make our drive to FRA short the next day. On our way out, we just had to go to a Czech McDonald's. There they had this little dish of fried cheese and a sort of cranberry like dipping sauce. By the time we got there, we were hungry, so this held us over until we could get to Nurnburg, where we planned on having lunch.

For future reference, it is very difficult to find a non-fast food restaurant open in Germany on a Sunday. Very, very difficult. Etch that in your brain, please. You'll thank me later!

We did manage to find a German restaurant in Stuttgart that was open, and we both had a dinner of salad and ram schnitzel....mmmmmm!
The next day, we headed to Frankfurt, turned in our rental car, and took the train to the airport. On the way back, there were no paying passengers in First Class, just three non-revs. We implored the Flight Attendants to not make a fuss and to enjoy an easy dinner service. Faris is the Flight Attendant who took care of us the most, and she is just about the best I have ever seen! She has an easy smile, is graceful--and funny, too! She did a nice job for us!

Once arriving in Washington, Shelby had to hurry through Immigration to catch her flight home. Knowing how much she wanted to sleep in her own bed that night, I was pleased when she called to let me know she had made her flight back to Columbia. Driving home, I reflected on this awesome trip to Prague! My eyes were opened: the beauty of the city and its people and outdoor artwork was something unexpected--and, I learned the depth of a friendship.

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.

I wanna go back to Regensburg!

Our trip to Germany and the Czech Republic was terrific! We had so much fun and saw another gorgeous part of the world. Prague has officially replaced Paris as my favorite city!

Shelby flew up from Columbia (CAE) and we settled in to wait for the Gate Agent to give us our First Class seats. While we were waiting at the gate, a cutie pilot came up to us and asked if we were non-revving to Frankfurt (FRA). Why, yes...we are! He then handed us a Dunkin Donuts goody bag, courtesy of Sherri, our Flight Attendant friend on Twitter (and my colleague)! She had tracked us down and made sure to our trip started off with a sweet treat!

Can you believe it? The Company actually sold paying customers inexpensive upgrades for this flight! The nerve! Didn't they know we were standing by for a comfy seat! We did not get our seat in First Class, and opted to standby for the next two flights to FRA. We got out on the last one, a Boeing 777, in First Class. Worth every bit of the wait!


You may recall that we plan on entering the National Geographic Peep contest--here is our Peep with a glass of champagne and the menu when we boarded. He was comfy!

Our flight over was great--the Flight Attendants were very sweet and were enjoyed a nice meal and some good wine!








Arriving in FRA a few hours later, we took the train to the main train station--because, while Enterprise Car Rental will pick you up--they won't pick you up at the Frankfurt airport! You have to meet them halfway! The very nice man at the car rental place then started to explain that they had no GPS for us to rent--even though we had reserved one. After we balked a bit, he decided to find another car, with a built in GPS. A Mommy-mobile!

As Shelby says: "Hell to the NO!"

And, to add insult to injury, the GPS was only in German. They didn't have the CD to upload the English. Deciding that we weren't gonna be pushovers, he asked us to wait, and they would have one sent over to us.

God bless Garmin!

After being in the rental car agency for a couple of hours, we were now on our way with a cute VW Fox and our Garmin GPS. Off to Grafenwoehr--the US Army base several hours away that we would be staying at that evening. Shelby is a US Army Reservist who has been serving on active duty (full-time) for the last three years. She is currently outprocessing to return to her Reserve (part-time) status.

Having never been on the autobahn before--it was sorta freaky to see people whizzing past as fast as they did! But, the Germans have it done well--people in the left lane move to the right when anyone is behind them--it is all so organized and efficient. We could certainly take a lesson from them!

Arriving at Grafenwoehr, we settled into our room, and went to the commissary and PX to "lay in supplies." We picked up snacks and wine and shampoo--just stuff to have when we got to Prague. We both got a good night's sleep--amidst the sounds of freedom on that Army base: artillery being shot on the firing range. Yep, they were practicing out there in the distance. Like the good Navy Aviation brat I am, who sleeps soundly with F-14's screeching overhead, it lulled me to sleep. The sounds of freedom, indeed!

After a quick breakfast the next morning, we headed off to Regensburg, Germany. Shelby and her husband had been here before, and she wanted to stop in. I am so glad we did! It is a "cute as a button" town on the Danube River--with lovely shops and historic buildings and architecture from many centuries ago. It was a lovely afternoon there, and I would like to go again, one day. (photo from codyduncan.com)






Yes, I'd like to go back to Regensburg one day. Not for the quaint shops selling traditional German garb, like this dirndl in the window....











Not for the coffee shops and restaurants that even put out a blanket on the back of the chairs to cover your legs on a chilly day....







Not for the stone bridge built in 1146 (that is 863 years ago!!) or the cobblestone streets, or the beautiful Danube River....




No, I want to go back to Regensburg to eat at this tiny, 500 year old restaurant!

This picture shows exactly how big it isn't! I took this from against the wall. Located on the riverfront at the Stone Bridge, the menu gives you a couple of choices: 6, 9 or 12. I chose 6.



And this is what I got! Seriously, one of the best meals I have ever eaten in my life! The smoky brats were grilled and the sauerkraut was fresh and tangy! There was a line outside the restaurant to order this meal, and now I know why!

THIS is the reason I want to back to Regensburg!






Tomorrow, the drive to Prague!