Prague

So we rode an all night train to Prague.... 2 hours to Basel on the border then we switched trains to head on to Prague. The journey took about 14 hours total. We didn't get sleeper cars because it cost about twice as much, so instead we got the sleeperet car, which basically means reclining seat so its a bit like riding an airplane. I slept pretty well (thank you Ambien) and we arrived in Prague about 11am. We were staying in a hotel with Dad on a business trip but he was flying in (lucky bastard) and not due to arrive until 5 pm. Mom read up about how the taxis were run by the mafia and was throughly freaked out but the hotel was walking distance and we found our way pretty easily. I say "we" loosely there. I found the way. Mom walked right past every street I told her to look for so I took over navigating. Kelly said Prague was very confusing, but that probably had to do with his rule of no maps and no backtracking. The streets all run every which way but once you get a feel for it, it's not bad at all.

We checked in to the hotel and then headed into the city for lunch. We went to the communist museum first, which was pretty cool. I found it ironic that the museum is located behind a large McDonald's and next to a casino. I also noticed that there were quite a few casinos and McDonald's in Prague. There are two McDonald's in Wenceslas square alone, which only covers about 1km. Our tour guide the next day was proud to mention that Ray Krock's mother was Czech. After the Museum of Communism we stumbled upon another museum that had a Leonardo da Vinci exhibit so we went in. Mom was shocked because she thought he was just an artist, she didn't realize that he was the Renaissance Man! They had various models of his designs: parachutes, an early model of a helicopter, catapults, even a robot and a tank. Afterward we had a cappuccino in a cafe near Wenceslas Square and then headed back to the hotel for dinner with Dad and several of his colleagues.

On our second day in Prague we had a 4.5 hour walking tour. We went all over the old town, the new town (new means founded in the 1300's), St. Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, the Astrological clock, and all the other main sights. Mom is officially hooked on walking tours after we had one in Rome in 2007, and they really are very interesting. One cool thing about Prague is that they did not suffer much damage in WWII so they have a lot of old buildings. They also take great care to protect them. Our tour guide kept saying "in Prague, just because something is old doesn't mean you can tear it down." Actually, they have strict laws protecting old buildings. In one case she showed us a shopping center that was being built when they discovered archeological remains from the 14th century underneath. Building had to be put off for two years while an archological crew was brought in, all this at the expense of the owners.

After our tour we had a nice lunch and thawed out. It was freezing but we were lucky it did not rain like the forecast said. We took a nap at the hotel and then headed back out to explore a bit after dark. Prague is a beatiful city. I loved it, but more importantly, Mom loved it.

Dad returned to Lausanne the second day, while we spent one more night at the hotel and then headed to Insbruck, Austria.