2017-09-05 Prague Castle

The target for today was Praha Castle.  Praha is the Czech translation for Prague.  (It took Debbie awhile to figure this out and it is unclear if Larry is aware yet.  Debbie is pretty sure if she left him somewhere that he could not get back home).   Prague Castle is the number one tourist site in Prague.  It towers over the city and can be seen from most city locations.

Joyce had her group up early with “Boots on the Ground” outside at 7:30. (The group likes to delude themselves with the idea that they have a certain military precision.)  They marched to the tram and with assistance from locals were able to validate tickets.  They and the school children rode the tram up the hill.

Safety Moment:  It was explained on the first day that as long as one was in a crosswalk that the pedestrian has the right of way.  It has been our experience that this is not always true and you need to look like you are Czech or proceed with a stink eye to cross the road.  Debbie has asked that if she is hit to please drag her back into the cross walk.  However:  Trams trump everything.  They have the right of way over pedestrians who then have to fall back to red light/green light concept (somewhat similar to the game).  Trams are very quiet and go all over the road.  Debbie tends to stand looking left / right / left / right until she darts across the road.  (She has been yelled at by the group.  Joyce had her jacket grabbed to save her from the tram).  Anyway, it felt good to be inside a tram and not outside as the group traveled up the hill.)

The little group arrived at the castle before it opened.  (Yes, you read that right – before it opened).  It is an interesting setup.  The President of the Czech Republic has his office in one of the buildings.  Security searched all bags before entry.  Several cars came driving through at a fast pace to park by the President’s office building.  (There didn’t seem to be much concern for tourist safety as they whipped around the blind corners.  Maybe they don’t know that trams trump them? ) The four ran around and took pictures for about 45 minutes before opening thus you will see pictures without all of the know tourists in the shot.

Joyce was 4^th in line for the ticket office.  (We know that it would have been 1^st if Debbie hadn’t gotten into an incident with the toilet attendant yelling at her “Pay Now!  You Pay Now!”.  It is not Debbie’s fault that she got there before the attendant came to work.  Debbie was more than willing to pay.  What if she had already put her money in the box?  What about that “You Pay Now Lady?”)

Once tickets and audio guides were purchased the group set off with a strict time limit on the audio guide of 3.5 hours.  (The guides were almost the cost of a ticket – not cheap with a big penalty for being late plus a big deposit fee.   We are talking les cheap girl heart attack cost).  Tickets could be purchased for varying configurations. The group had purchased option B which included:

• Old Royal Palace – The Old Royal Palace is part of the Prague Castle, Czech Republic. Its history dates back to the 12th century and it is designed in the Gothic and Renaissance styles.  (You could not take pictures and we don’t know why.  It is a cement building with nothing in it.  They used to ride horses in it but you can’t do that now.)
• Basilica of St. George – St. George’s Basilica is the oldest surviving church building within Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic. The basilica was founded by Vratislaus I of Bohemia in 920.
• Golden Lane – Somewhat like Williamsburg but people don’t dress us and it is really crowded
• Vitus Cathedral – St. Vitus Cathedral is the largest and the most important temple in Prague. Apart from religious services, coronations of Czech kings and queens also took place here. The cathedral is a place of burial of several patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen and archbishops. (Debbie says this is why everyone goes to Prague Castle).

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As good tourists, they tried to go to several of the locations not on their ticket but were denied entry.  (Wrong tickets and they really didn’t want to go anyway. Much to Debbie’s relief, they were able to return the audio guides on time to get back the deposit.  They proceeded to the gardens and a 1000 more pictures.  Next was lunch  outside the castle and away from the main tourist drag.  By the time the group left, there were tourists everywhere so it was good that Joyce had them there early.  (As much as it hurts Debbie to get up early, this model may be used in other cities in the future).

Just a side note:  The castle was a medieval castle not a Cinderella or Versailles chateau.  The church was pretty spectacular but the castle was more rectangular and not that great.  .

After lunch, Joyce announced that we were going to walk back to the flat.

Debbie: “That looks pretty far all the way down there.  How far do you think it is?”

Joyce:  “A mile”

Debbie: “Really?  Cause I do a lot of walking and it looks pretty far?”

Joyce:  “It is a mile”

Larry:  “My foot sort of hurts”

Debbie:  “Can we have ice cream?”

Joyce:  “Yes, wrapped in those cinnamon things”.

Larry:  “We get ice cream?  I can soldier on”.

Debbie:  I can walk to the ice cream.

The group trickles off down the hill (no longer marching with military precision).  Three and a half miles later they arrived at the flat with no ice cream and a blister on Larry’s foot.

Note to Lindsey from Debbie:  “You will be happy to know that your Mom performed successful surgery that night on the blister.  We are thinking of inviting you on the next trip for medical support.  If you can’t come, could I take one of your surgical caps?  I think that I would look more professional.”