We arrived in Prague around 7:30 and then had an interesting experience; lots of people wanting to offer you accommodations and rides. LOL We went out to the taxi stand and you had to negotiate a price (later learned we overpaid) and our driver looked like he belonged in the Russian mafia (who are all over the Czech Republic). Also keep in mind that the Czechs use a different currency the kronin and it has a crazy exchange rate of like 20kc to $1 so trying to figure it out was nuts and there was no one open to exchange currency in the train station but there was an ATM. Imagine the shock however when the smallest denomination of kc it offers is 500 ( my card later showed a cash advance of $28 LOL) and goes up to 5000! LOL And the taxi ride took most of that!
We arrived at our beautiful Crowne Plaza Hotel at the castle; it literally sits in part of an old renovated Strahovsky Monastery dating from the 12th century. The place was gorgeous and so welcoming and the nicest hotel of the trip. We had dinner in the restaurant that night and then headed for a good nite’s rest.
The next day we headed off around the corner to see the courtyard of the monastery – literally a few feet from the hotel. There is a patio hotel with a breathtaking view down the hill to the Lesser Town and across the river into Old Town as well as the castle.
Next we wandered over to the famous Prague castle – the largest medieval castle still in existence and along with the Charles Bridge the most famous landmark in Prague. As we neared the main gates, we noticed there were quite a few people gathered about and figured something must be up. Sure enough! They soon had a changing of the guards ceremony; now it was pretty small but patterned on that of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in London and clearly meant to cater to tourists (like us). We had a great view and so were able to get some nice pictures and I took a short video. 
After entering the gates you suddenly enter a courtyard with a tremendous early Gothic cathedral, St. Vitus. This church has some breathtaking stained glass including an entire large window done in purple. 
We walked to the end of the castle grounds and again had wonderful views over the city. After some great lunch at a little sidewalk café – I had some GREAT goulash we were off again. 
Next we wondered down to the Lesser Town area that was below us and on our side of the river. What beautiful old city and reminiscent of Paris with quaint streets and the great red trams. We had fun trying to read the signs and understanding the Czech language as well as the menus.
After walking across the bridge and back we caught the funicular train to the top of the hill where the Czechs built a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower for a world’s fair in the early 1900s. Again, there were great views of the city and into the castle. And much to our surprise a spectacular rose garden that was in full bloom; the sweet essence wafted through the air and the subdued romantic statue presented a touching spot for lovers. 
We then had a short walk back to our hotel – we had made a circle. Our room was directly over the entrance looking into the small garden. Again everywhere everything is in bloom. 
We had dinner at one of the little restaurants on the monastery grounds and I tried the goulash again although it was not quite as good; unfortunately there are few sweet wines here but I did try a local Moravian wine. Little too warm for the hot wine! We returned to the hotel bar and they tried to make some mixed drinks for us but seemed to not really have a knack for it LOL. We were soon joined by 2 flight attendants from Lufthansa who had a layover in the city and this was their hotel. We had lively and fun conversation with them and the Czech bartender that evening and shared a lot of laughs.
The next day we slept in a little before heading on the tram into the Old Town where walking is a must. We first hiked up to Wenceslaus Square and the Czech national museum and then we headed toward the river. Along the way we took the time to complete our shopping and found some great stuff including jewelry (I had already purchased some Bohemian crystal). There were so many great shops! 
We also arrived just after the famous astronomical clock had rung for the hour and so we kept trekking down to the river area where we were able to take some photos of the Charles Bridge. We then began our trek back and luckily came back to the clock right as it struck up the hour and so could film the turning of the statues in the window and listen to the horn player blow. We stopped at the lovely sidewalk market that brimmed with fresh fruits, vegetables, candy and trade goods. 
From here we began our walk back to the tram stop that would take us back across the river and up the hill to our hotel. After stowing our purchases, we went out for dinner at another little local restaurant and then had a great dessert of tiramisu on the patio dining area overlooking the city. We returned to the hotel bar to try a local specialty, the Bohemian champagne first and then you mix it with the national pilsner beer. The champagne was dry but ok, but the mix with beer was just AWFUL! It was fun to learn the local custom and we enjoyed chatting with the bartender who had fled his nation as a nineteen year old immediately upon the end of communist rule and had found work on various cruise lines, eventually sailing twice around the world, before he returned to home and family. He also filled us in on the large impact Russian mafia and business has on controlling much of the money and business in the Republic.Now I have actually just returned home from this trip and will post my final thoughts on the trip with a post in the next day or two so stay tuned, and then I will be off again on a trip within the US!
