Day 9 : Prague

Still cold out, we haven't seen sun since the 2nd day in Berlin. It's getting to be a little much, it's colder here than at home. Come on now people, this is Europe!! At least we got to sleep in a little this morning as our FREE walking tour wasn't until 11. Once the group was ready to go we walked all over Old Town and learned a bunch of the history of Czech Republic and Prague from the story of King Wenceslas (NOT Saint Wenceslas, although we learned about him too) to their "Velvet Divorce from Slovakia.

It was probably about 11:30 when it started to rain, let me tell you, it continued… of all days to forget my poncho.

Mostly we learned the history of Prague but when we stopped at a church around the corner from our hostel we stopped and learned that it is the most haunted church in all of Prague. There was a great story told about a statue and a thief, which is much too long, but basically it is the reason that there is a human arm hanging in the church.

Also, look what I found!! You'll probably be seeing a couple more of these as I go. I've just stumbled across the two I've found so far. It's like I'm drawn to them or something… I can sense them. Clearly means I need to open a combo MAC and gelato store. It is in Wenceslas Square for those of you interested. Ps - Carla, I saw about 3 Sephoras!

There were also some much more educational things that I saw. For example this is a statue that is in memory of Mozart. Apparently the people of Prague just loved him, and he loved them just as much. He felt they were the only people that truly understood and appreciated him.

After the tour was over we went over the bridge and up the hill to.... Grandma's house! Kidding… we went to Castle Prague in New Town. Once at the top of the rather large hill there were some incredible views. AND soldiers guarding everything. They also had one of the biggest churches I've ever seen in my life to date, I'm sure one in Rome is going to quickly take the lead spot.

If you can see those two blurry peaks in the background, in the middle, that's basically where our hostel is. We walked all the way from there! Too bad it wasn't a nicer day, we're both looking a little worse for the wear. Luckily we also got to see the changing of the guards at the Castle, not quite as impressive as the Royal changing of the guards, but it was still nice to experience it.

Our trek back down the hill was significantly less exhausting, however it was also significantly more windy and more rainy. We walked down the side of the hill and saw a cute little winery that had a field of grapes just set into the side of this mountain and almost completely hidden from view unless one walked down this side of the castle.

We stopped at a souvenir shop on the way back to the hostel and Christie, once again, had a bit of a hard time at the store. It would seem that blonde hair and blue eyes are very desirable around these parts. At least we have a free place to stay the next time we're in Prague!

Finally we made it back to the hostel and decided to go out for some dinner, then set off in search of a classic Czech dinner. A great meal of cabbage salad, pork roast and potato pancakes. Oh! and a beer.

Since this was our last day in Prague we didn't want to waste any of it, so we headed off towards Wenceslast Square to do a little shopping and some sightseeing. There wasn't much shopping that was done, but we did end up right in front of the Bohemia Museum that used to be where the Russian government was stationed during their occupation of Prague. We found a place for gelato and gave in once we discovered flavours like cookies and ferrero rocher.

I've not been happier to see my little warm bed yet. So cold and wet, but we can't let things like that stop us! We're only here for a short while!