Breakfast at 8 a.m at the hotel-all I can say is that I am not a fan of Czech food. I had some warm yogurt. They just don't use ice so the drinks are either at room temp. or out of the frig. but don't stay cold long. On the buffet were these skinny foot long hotdogs, hard breadsticks, strange granola, and the yogurt. Nobody has offered tap water-it is all bottled. One night cost $50 and to be honest, I didn't see any other hotels worth staying at.
Jakub has been a blessing, you have no idea. I think he is very conservative. He has a master's degree in history and law but not sure if he is a practicing attorney. We had an interesting conversation about education in Czech R (CR).
Our first destination was a small village that I cannot even spell and really have no idea where we were. But the ride was beautiful. I told Jakub it was neat to be off the beaten path. He is getting kicks out of our strange expressions. All the young people love the word "awesome." I took the picture of the two young servers and told them I was going to show them to the American ladies.
We went to the village in search of handmade glass beads. We found an absolutely incredible shop. I have never seen so many beads. There was a woman making beads. We could either buy jewelry that was finished, all the parts to make our own jewelry, or they would make it on the spot to our specifications. Peggy and I were very good customers.
We then had soup at a typical Czech pub. We sat at a table with a retired local who got a kick out of meeting American women. We took our picture with him and he wants a copy so he can show his wife. His shirt said, "I lead a healthy life. I only go to the pub on foot." We asked his name and a tradition is that if you become on a first name basis you have to drink a shot of whiskey together. He bought three shots that we all drank. Thank goodness I had a beer chaser. I really hate whiskey.
Jakub pointed out a house that was exactly like the house of our ancestors. The one we saw in Liberec had been plastered over on the outside. The original was kind of like a log cabin made with boards and plaster inbetween the boards.
On to Prague. The drive seemed very American. American companies, semi's all over the place. Prague has over a million people. We arrived around rush hour, no different than in the states. We were so sad to leave Jakub. It was so nice having him explain everything to us. Our hotel, Dahlia Inn is actually one floor of a very old building. The elevator was broken so we had to walk up four flights. It is kind of a cute place. The room is clean, nice bathroom, comfortable bed but no air conditioning. It is supposed to be hot tomorrow. We were greeted by Mark who spoke fluent English. What a nice surprise. He spent the first eight years of his life in America and one year of college at Georgetown University. He is either the manager or owner or something. He gave us some hints about how to get around and what to see. He also told us to lock everything up in the safe in our room and to be careful on the streets. Boy did I miss Jakub. We walked about a mile and half to the Old Town Square, one of the tourist traps. Once we got on the main street, it was packed with people, a very diverse crowd. Pictures will be much better than me trying to explain the things we saw-quite incredible. We ate dinner at a place recommended to me by Todd Golding and I ordered the Morovian Wedding Plate. Sorry, Todd, not really my kind of food. Again, I took a picture. I got my first cola with ice! There were all kinds of shops selling all kinds of souvenirs. Kind of like the strip in any tourist town except it is surrounded by fabulous historical architecture. Rather strange. One funny site was a couple in front of us walking down the street and the guy was holding the right side of the girl's butt pretty firmly in his hand. She had on a sheer white outfit and I think she may have been going commando. But what made it more funny was that there were four young guys right behind them just really enjoying the view. I may have gotten a picture.
We then went to a bakery to try the apple strudel recommended also by Todd and this was a winner. We walked home in the dark; Peggy is much more adventurous than me.
Tomorrow we are taking a 5 hour tour and the next day will go to Prague Castle and other famous sites like the Jewish Cemetery. We get up early the next morning to fly to Warsaw to meet our next guide, Michal. I have to admit that I miss America a bit. Maybe everyone needs to leave the country for a while to appreciate what we have. If I can figure out how to post a picture, I will try to do that tomorrow. Sleep tight!
