4 days in Prague

The night train that brought us into Prague was quite nice. No bedbugs and a private cabin...so no snoring strangers. Getting there at 7 am with no where to finish sleeping was not. Exhausted and smelly, we walked through the city, admiring the Charles Bridge and the old and new towns. Eventually we just jumped on a tram (streetcar) and rode around looking at the city.

After a day and night of rest we took ourselves to the Prague Castle (more a palace than anything). It was interesting with an audio guide, but the thing to note was that the surrounding palaces of the elite of the time were just as grand or more so than the King's. (It also looked very similar to the castle in Krakow).

Our major culture event came in the form of Aida, the opera being performed at the National Theatre. While the theatre was cool, the best thing about the performance was the ridiculousness of it. According to a local we met, it is a moneygrab for tourists. This was proven true. The singing was wonderful, but the lack of professionality was hysterical. We spent most of the night giggling at the girl who could not stop fidgeting while on stage, the 2 Egyptian soldier who bumped heads when bending to pick up a sword, and the 5 minute set changes.

Our last day was spent at Vysehrad cemetery. It provided a great hike, wonderful view of the city and some interesting historical tidbits.

The trip, however, ended on a sour note. In Prague, the transit system does not have a person checking the tickets, so you enter with a ticket and if you are asked by the police to show it you do, but if they are not there...you don't show it. If however, you do not have a ticket or your ticket is slightly expired (as ours was by a few hours), then you pay a very large fine. The irony is that we rode the system for 3 days without even hearing of a police check, then on our last trip with a barely expired ticket we get caught and fined by the very pleasant police *please note the sarcasm.

price of 3 day ticket = 660 kc
price of fine = 1400 kc
understanding the true hospitality of the czech authorities = priceless


As alsways, we hope things at home are great as we head to our next destination.
Pictures will be posted as soon as possible.