Saturday dawned bright and beautiful. We decided it was time to wash our bedding - something that we have been procrastinating about because of the relative size of our kingsize bed sheets and our mini sized washing machine - plus the lack of a dryer. Liz had a great idea as it was a sunny, breezy morning. We would wash the bedding and then hang it on the curtain rods in our bedroom with the windows open. That plan worked beautifully. We put the sheets in the washer knowing that the wash cycle is at least ninety minutes and often two hours. Hence we had some time to kill as Liz had gotten up at 5:00 AM after an excellent night's sleep. I had arisen shortly thereafter after smelling the coffee. Rachel was still asleep and we did not want to wake her as twenty-year-old's need there morning sleep!
One of our tasks besides laundry for the day was to renew our public transport passes. We had bought one-month passes when we arrived, now we needed to renew them as we have been here for a month. You can tell we have been here for a month by observing my hair in the picture below - I need to get it cut, but have not been bold enough yet to venture into a salon.
Liz and I took a brisk thirty minute morning walk to Mustek Metro stop where one can get the transporation passes - it cover metro, trams, buses and the funicular. We arrived at Mustek and were again surprized at the efficiency of the metro workings. We got our new passes within sixty seconds of communicating our need. The lady at the counter produced them with amazing alacrity. The cost for the two, three month passes was 1320 Kc or about $77. If you think that this amount covers what you pay for a car, car insurance, gas, etc. in North America, it turns out to be dirt cheap for three months of transportation.
To celebrate our success with bureaucracy, we stopped at a McDonalds on Wencelas Square and had breakfast - an eggMcMuffin type sandwich but with bacon and lattes. We ate outside even though it was the coolest day since we have been in Prague. It was 52F when we left home. Interestingly, since we were there around 9:00 AM we got to watch the street and sidewalk cleaners at work in this heavy tourist district. They had several street sweepers working on the streets with smaller versions on the sidewalks. There were also tanker trucks spraying water forcifully to clean after the sweeping.
We ventured on a little farther to Narondi Trida to a large Tesco store where we bought a whole chicken, some Jack Daniels barbeque sauce and sundry other items. We hopped on the 9 tram and returned to our neighborhood and tried to find a little shop where Liz had bought a lightweight seater a couple weeks earlier. However, the shop had disappeared from our memory banks and though we seached diligently we could not find it. We had differing ideas on where it was. We could remember only that it was near our 9 tram stop, Lepansaka. With no luck, we walked home and found Rachel awake and well.
John and Rachel decided to be tourists for awhile while Liz did some school work. So after successfully getting the sheets hung over the curtain rods in our bedroom and a sandwich Rae and I ventured out. I wanted a vigorous walk so we took our trusty 9 tram farther west and got off at a large park at the foot of the hill where Prague Castle lies. We walked quickly up the hill and came to the model of the Eiffel Tower that resides at the top. Being adventurous and full of cool-weather-energy we paid the piper and walked the three hundred steps to the highest observation platform. This Eiffel tower does not really rival the original in Paris in size or view, but I did take some pics from the top which are displayed below.
From the top oberservaton platform, the picturesque Charles Bridge, which was started around 1000 AD. It is a main tourist destination in Prague today and is alive with musicians, souvenir sellers, painters, etc. Rae and I later walked across it on our way home.
I thnk this pictue shows the new football stadium where Sparta Praha - the perennial league power now plays. I am really guessing however. Bohemians Praha play at a small, old stadium near our apartment. I am hoping to get to a match there in the next month or so.
Here is a better shot of St. Vitus and the Castle grounds around it. This is taken from the higher platform.
Prague is a great tourist destination. We heard lots of English spoken yesterday, but the majority of the tourists are German, Italian, etc. This picture shows you just how many people might be at a given tourist site. And remember, this is October. I would not like being there in August when the hoards are present. We found just passing over the Charles Bridge very slow going in the part made narrow by renovation and cleaning.
We ventured on home via Wencelas Square to get back on the metro at Muzeum. But first we made a stop at Starbuck for an afternoon pick-me-up. Then strolled to the Wencelas after passing through Old Town Square where a great number of preparations were in progress for the ending of a motor race or race of some sort - which we were unsure of.
One intersting tidbit from early morning was that Liz called Trevor at 5:00 AM our time, 10:00 PM his time. Trevor told that KU was playing a Friday night game so we turned on the TV and navigated to NASN. We were able to see the last two minutes of the KU v. CFU. This morning Liz saw the last few minutes of the USC v. Ohio State game, but I did not get up in time to see anything but the postgame.
All for now...
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