We got up and had a full day planned. Okay, not planned planned, but there were things we wanted to do. I mentioned geocaching earlier. Well, the device that had the cache details now busted and experience tells us that finding a cache without the description or hints can be very difficult. But, I had my iPod Touch for music and such, and it had a web browser, so before we left for the day, I loaded a couple of cache pages up (using the wireless internet from the hotel). We wanted to get at least ONE since it would have been a milestone for us, 400 finds and being able to claim it outside the US would be even more memorable!
We went down and had breakfast. All the hotels had decent spreads for their complimentary breakfasts and U Prince was no different. This morning, however, the eggs were more runny than we would have liked, so we opted for other things.
After breakfast, we set out to find the entrance to the clock. We had been around it the day before and had not noticed the observation area until last night. The town hall to which it was attached had been destroyed, but other buildings had been built in its place. Next to the clock was a tourist information center and attached to that was the stairs up to the clock. We found it and headed up for photos.
We set out to the first site we wanted to search for a cache, the Jewish Quarter. We had walked it yesterday and it was quite busy. Hopefully it would be less in the morning. No such luck. The GPS pointed us to the right area and I walked right past the cache the first time, but caught it the second time. Whoo hoo! Number 400 in the Jewish Quarters of Prague! We retrieved the cache and logged it and then headed for the second cache.
The second cache location (left) was around the Rotunda of Saint Cross. It was built as a part of the romanesque court at the end of the 11th century on the trade trail which leaded from Vyšehrad to river crossing. We easily received the cache here as well and I then took some photos. This is one of the oldest Prague structures which kept preserved till now.
There was another reason we wanted to retrieve the above cache. I had read about a restaurant in the area nearby called “Lehká Hlava” or “Clear Head”. It is a vegetarian restaurant found in a fairy-tale house (built in about 1410) on the shortest street in Prague, in the place of a formerly well-known teahouse. We pulled out the maps and walked the area without finding it. We had given up and was heading back north when I spotted the restaurant down a small alley (street). If you are ever in Prague, you have got to try this place. I ordered Couscous patties. They were so good. It was nice to be able to share with Teresa too.
By this time, Teresa’s toes were hurting her really bad. We had taken precautions and all, she was taking Tylenol, wearing her smart wool socks, and wrapping her toes in band aids. While the Tylenol was taking the edge off and Teresa was refusing to complain, she was in obvious pain. Still, she wanted to see more and she is persistent if nothing else.
All around Prague, you can find horse and buggies and these old cars offering tours. We agreed this would get her off her feet for a few hours and give us some local flavor. We picked a car, are decided to go on the longer ride that would take us back up to the castle. Our driver was a character. He explained that the car was built in the 1920’s and was a built in Praha. He swears “Mic Jagger rode in this very car” for a tour to get to the Rolling Stones concert. Whether he did or not, it was good to get off our feet.
It was a wonderful tour. The driver took us to see all kinds of sights. Some we’d been to and others were new and off the beaten path. Some sites, like the Rope Street (the narrowest street in Europe, even Teresa can spread her arms and touch both sides) we had walked right past without knowing it. He also took us past the stadium, which I believe is the largest stadium we’ve ever seen! The Great Strahov Stadium is no longer in use for sports events; it is a training centre for Sparta Prague (the football/soccer team), and is used to host pop concerts. The stadium was the largest in the world, and is still the second largest sports facility worldwide after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, seating around 220,000. Wow! The future of this place is still uncertain, with many groups vying for this prime piece of real estate.
Our tour took us across the river, past the National Theater and into the New Town Square. Here, shopping was more modern and less touristy. Sculptures and paintings depicted more modern themes. Once mural depicted a mobius loop with soviet era tanks and other war machines traversing it’s length in a never ending parade. Is humanity doomed to this constant power struggle?
When the tour was over, we walked around the old town square area. We finally found postage stamps(in a book and gaming store!), checked out the Hard Rock (again), and found another restaurant on the square for dinner. The restaurant had vegetarian entries, but it was not as tasty as what we had for lunch. We had a 06,00 flight the next morning and we talked about how we still needed to (re)pack. After dinner we walked the square one last time. The sun had set and the moon rose. When we turned the corner, we saw the lovely site that is the picture a top this page.
As we returned to the hotel and started to enter, the bell captain stopped us. He had only met us twice, however he knew us.
He asked how we were enjoying our stay. We assured him it was marvelous. He showed us that he knew us and our schedule by talking to us about our check out in the morning. He went on to tell us that the kitchen would not be open at 04,00 for breakfast, but that they would gladly open it for us for coffee or tea and would make us a sack lunch of breads and cheeses. We declined, saying we did not want to impose. It was bad enough we had a driver up that early taking us to the airport. He told us it was not bother, but we declined again. He bid us goodnight and we went to the room feeling good about the service of this place. Teresa started packing while I went outside and took a few evening shots and then we went to bed. As I was returning, there were several groups gathering for “Ghost Walks” in various languages. If Teresa’s feet had been any better, I would have gotten her and we would have been in one of those groups. I stopped in the restaurant on the way back up and listened to some live jazz.
Four o’clock was going to come too early. Other than our non-eventful flight home, our trip was now over.