We arrived late Monday afternoon at 5pm. Prague sparkled amongst the peak hour traffic as we drove in over the river Vltava. Sometimes we stop and say, “I never thought I’d be in…(insert city/country/former Soviet controlled territory) but here we are.

 

It had been a particularly long trip due to:

1. Me being sick
2. Trying to find an auto bank (bankomat) to get some local currency
3. Doing a quick shop when we did find the autobank, and,
4. It’s just a long way (5hrs +)

 

Our apartment is in Prague 1, (the centre of Prague) and is heritage listed. 31 stone steps wind their way to the front door. The ceilings are 12ft high. Rod does a great job with the car (again) and finds a park around the corner; however this is just for residents and he later ventures out to find something legitimate for overnight.

I cook up a hearty chicken soup and get the washing on, only to find the machine is not rinsing or spinning (to be fair, it’s probably not washing either). I call the landlord who is able to hook me up with another washing machine in the building next door from midday tomorrow. This takes up a big chunk of my day Tuesday, but gets the job done and gives me a bit of a rest from being ‘on tour’. It can be very tiring being on holidays. Tuesday is a bit of a down day for all of us. Hamish has found an abandoned kids DVD ‘Wreck it Ralph’ – He is in luck, it’s in English.

 

Rod and I plan out some activities for the next two days, in order to see as much as we can with our limitations (Hamish and the weather). After the run in with the Polish secret transit Police, Rod spends a great deal of time researching the purchasing and legal use of the tram ticket.

 

Prague Castle

As Hamish’s interest in the Berlin Wall/Conrad Schumann/barbed wire/soldiers/Stalin’s lawn persists, we decide to head to Prague Castle and watch the changing of the guards and go into the Powder Tower Museum. This Tower is dedicated to the Castle Guard and houses uniforms, weapons and colours from past to present. We follow the crowd to the main castle square for the midday guard ceremony, which, from what I could hear, was great (had it not been for one man, built like a brick scheissen hausen). Hamish is on Rod’s shoulders but keeps yelling, “I can’t see anything!” Mr Hausen did not take this hint, so we just watched the soldiers march down the street, which was pretty good anyway.

 

John Lennon Wall

After lunch (and then a second lunch of sausages from a small market stall for the boys), we head for the John Lennon Wall, which as the name suggests, is a wall decorated with art/graffiti dedicated to the life of John Lennon. During the Soviet Era, no-one was allowed to express their admiration for John via the wall and if anyone did, the Soviets would paint over it. However, now the Czechs can do as they please; the wall is pleasantly full of admiration and there was even a busker playing John’s music. Hamish continues to spend our Czech Krone coins (which are inflated beyond belief eg 50 CK = $2.50 AUD)

 

Lego Museum

Rod, Scottish by name, Scottish by nature, throws me 1000 CK (you do the maths) and I head into the shopping centre to find a few Christmas gifts. After speaking to Rachael (one of my friends back in Vic) it dawns on me we are two weeks out from Christmas – time to get some stocking fillers (because with 1000 CK, you’re only going to get stocking fillers). Rod and Hamish head to the ‘Lego Museum’.

 

(Written by Rod)

It costs about $17 for Hamish and me to enter the ‘Museum’. It’s basically a (very impressive) collection of Lego constructions, most of which barely catch Hamish’s eye. He likes pushing the buttons to watch the Lego trains move a little bit forward, then a little bit back. The goofy mirror is diverting for a while. There are several tables where you can play with Lego to your heart’s content. We do this for about 2 minutes. He is too young to be interested in the floor dedicated to Star Wars. We are through the guts of the museum in about half an hour. On the way out, just next to the exit turnstile, there is a vertical board for Lego play, where a few people (staff?) have written their names in Lego. Hamish takes the better part of 30 minutes trying to create his name. I speed things up with the ‘S’ so we can complete the final 50 cm of the ‘museum’.

 

Walkabout Prague

We spend Thursday walking around Prague 1. The sun is out and it’s expected to be a bearable 6 degrees. We’ve had worse, so I dress ‘light’ (no beanie, cons not boots, puffy jacket not wind proof jacket). The mercury struggles to get over 3 degrees and not long before we get home, it’s zero. I think this might be the last time I wear anything but boots; the rest of me is warm enough, but my feet are painfully cold. Hamish tells us his feet are killing him, but this is due to walking across 3 bridges and into the city market place twice.

We have found his currency. Sausages. In the Christmas market stalls sausages are plentiful, tasty and the size of a big banana. We get him around the city by reminding him of the sausage he is having for lunch. It works.  We watch a local folk band (complete with Czech bagpipes) for ten minutes, get some hand cooked chips (crisps, not hot chips) and I find myself a small hot chocolate. This is the first for the trip, but it won’t be my last. This little cup of melted chocolate it the best thing I’ve ever tasted in my life. I share it with the boys. Rod and I think it’s better than gluhwein for warming the soul.

 

Last comment from Hamish:

My tummy is getting full (he’s eating dinner at the moment). I have an advent calendar; it was hard to find number 7.