#2981 vacation memories: day 11 - Prague (Monday 15 Sept)

ussie with Prague Castle in the background on the left

The original plan for the day was to take a tour of Prague Castle with a guide, but since the castle was closed this day for some diplomatic thing, the tour was canceled. I think a high-ranking Taiwanese official was in town to meet with the leader of the Czech Republic or something, and there was also something about the crown jewels; whatever it was, we couldn't go to the castle, so we decided to do a self-guided exploration of the east side of the Vltava River. We wanted to go to a particular bookstore, see the Jewish Quarter, and soak in the vibes. Lizzie built a map and off we went.

SPOILER: there are a lot of pics in this post!

After breakfast at the hotel in the Cafe Mozart (cool!), we set out to see the town. It was cloudy and cool, perfect weather for walking around. Prague is really beautiful.

the buildings are all different

I mentioned in my previous post that one of the things that makes Prague so charming and unpredictable is that none of the buildings are the same. There are different colors, different rooftops, and different window treatments. In contrast, the buildings in Paris are very beautiful, but all similar because they were designed by one person, Haussman, and it was done with purpose, and it is gorgeous and very identifiable and charming in its way.  Prague is quirky, charming, and well, bohemian.

Prague Castle

This is my first view of Prague Castle. We found a palace with a green space that we could enter free, and gazed across the river to the castle. It's big, and I was enchanted.

Old Town Square

Old Town Square was our home base. If you look over to the right, you'll see an archway with a point; it's the tallest building you can see on the right. That was our hotel. On the left, you see Old Town Hall where the Astronomical Clock is (you can't see the clock from this angle), and of course, Our Lady Before Tyn (pronounced "teen") in the background. This photo was taken later in the day after the sky cleared up. I'm not going in order of how we walked around.

A place that Lizzie and I wanted to go was The Globe Bookstore. I wish I'd taken photos inside the bookshop. It is cozy and full of books, of course, and it's just really, really inviting. In the back of the shop, there is a cafe with indoor and outdoor seating. We sat outside and had a coffee and enjoyed a moment of peace away from the tourist throngs. The Globe is in a neighborhood, not a touristic area. I liked it a lot. I didn't buy any books, but I did buy a lot of postcards and a tote bag. Here's a pic of Lizzie outside the shop:

We loved The Globe Bookstore & Cafe!

We walked around for a few hours, passing by huge, beautiful buildings. We walked by the Jewish Cemetery and the Spanish Synagogue, and a statue of Franz Kafka - not the giant head, but the headless one.  I am not posting my photo of it because I took two pics and both of them are missing the top of the top hat. Honestly, I knew I was seeing something well known, but I didn't know exactly what it was. LOL (That's why you take guided tours!)

We were getting hungry, so Lizzie suggested finding a restaurant she's come across in her research, Cafe Imperial. I was down for it, so we following the blue dot (that's the guide on the Google map program) to the cafe. We were fortunate that we did not need to have a reservation for lunch, and we were seated right away. This cafe is bonkers beautiful. It is over-the-top Art Deco, and I felt super-fancy having lunch there.

 

Cafe Imperial

Even my lunch was super-fancy, but pretty simple. They had a salad on the lunch special menu of arugula with goat cheese, walnuts and pears dressed with a light vinaigrette. Along with a glass of sauvignon blanc and some bread and butter, we felt like fine ladies.

lunch at Cafe Imperial

The main reason we had a light lunch is because we really wanted dessert. There was a display case as you walk in, filled with samples of the cakes that were available that day. Here's an example but there must have been a dozen or so options.

dessert options

I couldn't tell you what Lizzie had, but I had the Imperial - it's the one on the right. It's their specialty, so I thought I'd give it a go.

OH.

MY.

GOD.

This is the part where I tell you that this is the best dessert I have ever had. Ever. Full stop. The top layer was chocolate caramel with a fudge-like texture and consistency. The cake inside was a tender, mild gingerbread cake. The bottom half of the cake was covered in dark chocolate. I don't know if I'll ever get over it. I almost got another piece of it to go. If I am ever fortunate enough to find myself in Prague again, I will make every effort to get back to Cafe Imperial just for this dessert. It was truly incredible.

At some point during our wandering, I got a message from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, that they would be on strike on the 17th and that our flight to Amsterdam was cancelled. As you might imagine, this was upsetting. We went back to the hotel and started messaging The Amazing Candice. This situation right here is why you need a travel advisor on your travel team. She immediately started working on a solution. KLM had rebooked us on a much later flight, but we had tours booked in Amsterdam based on our original flight that we would miss with the later flight. Candice was able to get us on a very (very) early flight out of Prague on the 17th so we wouldn't miss anything in Amsterdam. We would miss something in Prague, but more on that in the next post.

Although it was a little stressful, it was good to have a bit of rest after lunch. We'd walked five miles in the first part of the day, and we wanted to get back out in the evening, so the break was good. I recommend taking a break at your hotel or wherever you are staying in the afternoon. Being out all day, seeing new things, being surrounded by people everywhere you turn, and walking so much can be tiring. It's tempting to say, "But (your city here) is out there waiting for me!" but you'll get more out of your time in the city if you have a break. I don't think this is an age thing (I mean, I am older, but I don't think my age has anything to do with enjoying the break.) After hours out in the city, everything I'd seen was starting to run together and I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all. To rest and regroup and form a plan for the evening was really good for both of us.

Now it is getting to be evening and I really wanted to see the Charles Bridge, which was quite close to our hotel, so that's where we went.

east entrance to the Charles Bridge

Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge

view of the east gate and beyond from the bridge

one of the beautiful statues on the Charles Bridge

another view of Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge

Yes, I have a crush on Prague. Look at it! It's gorgeous.

The small salad and exquisite dessert were long gone, so we went to a pizza place with outdoor seating in the shadow of Our Lady Before Tyn. We'd passed the place several times, and it was always busy, so we had pizza in Prague. It was really good, too! After dinner, we weren't quite ready to go back to the hotel, so Lizzie suggested going to a bar she'd read about, and I was down for that. It was less than a ten minute walk from the pizza place. It was early, maybe 9:00 or 10:00, and there wasn't anyone else in the place, so we were on our own to enjoy a fine Czech pilsner and some popcorn at this really cool bar called Tynska Bar and Books.

Tynska Bar and Books

umm...

so cool!

I'm not really sure what Lizzie was doing in that middle photo. She said she'd seen someone doing this pose somewhere and so she wanted to do it. We often crack up about people posing in weird ways in front of landmarks, like they are having a photo shoot. It happens A LOT. Anyway, since it was just the two of us, it was pretty funny and pretty fun, too.

ussie by Lizzie

I could have stayed in this bar and had more drinks, but it had been a long day and we had to get up early the next day because our hotel would not have water beginning at 7:30, so we wanted to be sure to be ready to go before the water was unavailable.

Since our hotel was right in front of the Astronomical Clock and there wasn't much of a crowd, we were able to take photos.

me!

Lizzie!

Fun fact...we stood right there in front of the clock and called Mom so she could see us on the Cameras Around the World website. She did see us! (We also did this in front of the Pantheon in Rome too, and it was really fun!) 

In case you're wondering, I walked 18,176 steps that day, just over seven and a half miles!

Up next, we explore the city on the west side of the Vltava River including Prague Castle.