We planned to catch the noon sailing on the boat cruise from our tour that started yesterday so thought we would get an early start out for breakfast. We headed to our usual stop but they weren't open yet so we decided to head down to Wenceslas Square to see what they had there. It was really quiet on all the streets, few people, and even fewer vehicles moving. We got to the square and didn't really find much open and since we had timed plans we broke down and went to that evil place that I don't like to talk about, so we'll just leave it at that. As we sat down to eat on the patio, a few drops of rain started to spatter on the ground. George thought we might have to go back to the hotel to get a coat but I assured him that the rain would stop soon.
By the time we finished eating, my thoughts proved correct, the rain had stopped. We ended up walking back to the hotel anyway as we had lots of time, and we thought we would pick up a bottle of water we had in the room that we meant to bring with us. We also realized that since the boat starting point was on the other side of the Jewish Quarter, we could catch one of the tour buses we were on yesterday (the line without air conditioning) and ride it over to the other side again, this time possibly getting one with air conditioning! There was a stop on the tour a block or so away, right near the train station we arrived at and will be returning to tomorrow. Also spotted the ugliest doll I have ever seen on the walk back. I think it was once a former gymnast, now shrunken down and preserved forever.
After waiting about 25 minutes a bus came. I guess they were slowed down by all the traffic that seemed to build up since we had breakfast earlier. I was a little worried that the bus would be full and since there were 3 other people waiting there before us, I had said to George that we'll walk along the river if there isn't enough room. Well not only was there plenty of room, but the bus had the best air conditioning I've been in so far this trip. We were more than happy to go around on the green line tour again just to get us to our stop. It is only supposed to take about an hour so we had plenty of time still.
We drove around the castle again and finally reached our stop where the guide pointed out where we should go to catch the boat and what name to look for, the Classic River. Again we still had lots of time, so we wandered around the area for a bit, not going far as by now the heat of the day was starting to set in quite well. There was what looked sort of like a monument by the river, and on it were pictures of the river flooding over the banks 10 years ago. That would have been really high, as the river was down a ways from the road bank. We had to take either a roadway or walkway down just to walk near it.
People started boarding the boat around 11:30 so we hopped on as well and sat down for a drink in the shade before heading upstairs to the rooftop. We met a couple ladies from Manhattan Beach in California and had a really nice visit with them. They had been on a Baltic Cruise and then decided to spend some time in Moscow and Prague before heading back. Their trip was only 15 days and they regaled us with their rush through Heathrow in London and nearly missing their connection because one of them forgot to pull her laptop out of her carry on. She said in the states they don't need to do that and she couldn't understand the customs official when he asked her to. I thought it was the same language, but I have to remember that the British accent was probably confusing. They were heading back the same way, so I wished them better luck on the return.
We were getting pretty hot sitting under the canopy at the
stern of the boat, and thought we may as well head upstairs where we might
catch a bit of a breeze, plus get a good seat as more people were starting to
arrive for the cruise. We chose a spot to sit down but found no breeze at all,
just the hot sun beating down on us with the humidity making it sticky and
moist out. In the next twenty minutes, the boat would fill up, both on top, in
the rear, and in the dining area below (it also operates as a luncheon and
dinner cruise later). We had a couple from Mumbai sitting with us, their
children at other tables up towards the front.
We slowly got underway, making our way up river to a point
just beyond the Charles Bridge
before heading back. There was no commentary along the way, which I found a
little strange, but then again, when you are dealing with so many languages,
and no permanent seating, I guess its hard to install any sort of headset like
we had in Paris last year. Besides, the guide that was leading our new friends
from Mumbai and their group would walk by on occasion and point out something,
giving a small anecdote about it.
One thing I was glad we got to see was the Prague Metronome high
above the hill in Letna Park. It stands 23 metres tall and represents the
Czechs government swinging between the left and right (communist and
democratic). It replaced the largest statue in the worldof Stalin that once stood there. Most other things we saw on the cruise were places we had walked
past in previous days, so were familiar with them, but were nice to see from a
different angle on the river. We also spotted what looked like a hot air balloon, but it turned out to just be a hot air balloon tied to the ground with seating for 2 at the top. George said a resounding NO when I asked him if he wanted to go up.
We filled up the bus and then made our way downtown to see
if we could find anything more to buy at the New Yorker. George lucked out and
got a few more things. Me, well I didn’t find anything else that appealed to me
at the moment. I also didn’t really want to pack more stuff in my suitcase just
to carry to Phuket and then back home. I’ll wait until we’re in Phuket and
maybe have a little look there.
A little past mid afternoon, we went back to the hotel to do
a little relaxing and internet surfing. It was getting a too warm to walk
around anymore, and there were fewer and fewer shady or cool spots to hide in.
We did stop in Marks and Spencer for a sandwich and found a nice
air-conditioned café up on the 3rd floor. But going back outside in
the 32c weather (40c with humidity), was just too much. Also walked through one of the many surprise malls you encounter in what was probably once a courtyard and saw this interesting piece of hanging art.
Dinner time rolled around and we hadn’t really found a place
earlier to eat at but decided roughly where we would look down another road we
hadn’t been on before. Going back outside was like walking back into the fire.
It was really hot and humid and not a breeze to be found. We made our way to a
street just a block away called Reznickà where we found a couple restaurants,
but nothing that really appealed to us. A little further up we came to a
crossroad called Śkolska so turned down there. Still nothing of interest and we
finally ended up on one of our usual streets for walking to Wenceslas Square.
Here we saw a sign for a restaurant called Restaurace u Českÿch Pánū, a gothic style restaurant set in the cellar
areas amongst the original foundations of a building built in 1348. The food
here was traditional and delicious. I had a potato and mushroom soup (with a
few vegetables at the bottom) followed by another style of goulash with bread
dumpling and lots of ale based
gravy to sop up in the dumplings.
After dinner it was a walk down to Wenceslas Square and a
stop at Starbucks to check out some mugs for a friend and so George could catch
some Wi-Fi time on his iPhone. Then it was back to the hotel for some pre-packing
for tomorrow trip to Phuket, followed by a face time call to our neighbour who
was at our place with Odessa. It was nice to see Odessa playing with Linda, but
I don’t think she understands how it works and that she could actually see us
in the phone.
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