Day 8 : Prague

As we arrived into Prague I could tell this city was going to be amazing to explore. I think I commented on the buildings about 20 times within the first hour of being in the city. Every corner we turned around there were more beautiful buildings that were so intricate and well designed. But I've gotten off track about the buildings again, this was a common theme for me. When we left the train station we had to walk through a rather sad little park, well this park has a walkway that goes through it and the walkway isn't very well maintained. While typically my travel buddy is the one who trips and stumbles I think I took the crown for "spills" this trip. To say the least, I fell.

To explain the mechanics of it you need to understand that I have a 40lb pack strapped to the back of me, another 5 - 10 on the front and was carrying a bag full of water and peanut butter. So when I started falling I fell foreword and skinned my knees, but due to the continued motion of my pack and the weight of my pack baby I continued to fall foreword, almost face planting into the ground. It was at this point that (aside from pure embarrassment) I had one single thought, ROLL OVER! YOU'RE GOING TO SMASH YOUR FACE IN THE GROUND!! So that is what I did. Christie's peanut butter is only slightly battered and she forgave me for it right away.

Now that I was on my feet again we continued towards the hostel. Before finding it (down a tiny side street) we stumbled upon a concert that was happening in Old Town Square. There was a stage and a band and lots of little food stalls everywhere. Let's find the hostel first…. WAIT! What are those?!

Oh, we'll be back.

Once arriving at our Hostel, which was extremely hard to find due to some wonky instructions that could have been easily simplified, we threw our packs in the room and went for a walk around Old Town Square. Since it was about 3 at this time we were able to gather into the crowd of people all standing around waiting for the amazing show that is put on by the Astrological clock. Not really sure what all the fuss is about… it's not overly spectacular of a show, however they have recently added a little trumpet man at the top that plays a song every hour. We also just walked around the street (old cobblestone streets *heart*) and saw some of the amazing architecture that is on almost every building and street in Prague.

We went all the way to Charles Bridge and walked to the other side, but didn't actually go into New Town. I understand that these two towns were built during different time periods, but I feel like more creative names could have been given to them.

Returning to Old Town Square we decided to try some of the local cuisine, which all seemed to be in enormous bowls and weighed to determine price. There were about 4 dishes that kept popping up at each of the stalls, as well as corn on the cob. I opted for something that was slightly familiar to me. Potato gnocchi, sauerkraut and cubes of ham all mixed together with a little bit of parsley and a smaller amount of the vegetarian dish Christie got, which was absolutely delicious. From what I can figure out, it had potato gnocchi, spinach, garlic and possibly some olive oil or lemon juice in it. And of course, a beer. As I am in Prague and they are known for having the best beer.

Now, back to the amazing, albeit strange looking, creature I showed you earlier. It can best be described as pastry dough wrapped around a large wooden stick, rolled in cinnamon sugar, cooked over an open fire then rolled in more cinnamon sugar to finish it off. It was much like a cinnamon bun, but crispy and not as doughy.

We took our delicious treats and went back to the hostel to enjoy them. After awhile we decided to venture out and get some supplies for the next morning's breakfast. It was at this point that we found a small grocery store and Christie received a vivid description of her future husband. Unfortunately for the store clerk she thought 5 kids was WAY too many and he had to settle for a dog, one dog.

Not bad for our first day, battered then bandaged and a clear view of Christie's future husband.