Prague day 1.5

I am skipping Dresden in this blog, not because it was bad, but because I can only remember as far back as yesterday. Actually we loved Dresden and wish we had scheduled more time there and less in Berlin.

We arrived in Prague on Wednesday afternoon and passed up 5 money exchange offices in the railroad station to join the long queue for the ATM. Actually you can't say ATM here, they won't understand; you have to say "Bankomat". The Bankomat didn't like my WAMU card so we used another one to get our money. They use "crowns" here - the Czech word is "koruna" - and there are about 23 to the dollar. So we figure a crown is worth about 4 cents plus. Things are a lot cheaper here than in Germany.

After we got our money we headed for the metro. I had specific instructions as to which metro to take, which stop to get off, etc. so I was confident about that. But getting the tickets was made more difficult by a taxi driver who wouldn't take "no" for an answer, kind of like a Turkish carpet salesman. He expressed doubts about our ability to get anywhere without him, especially after he heard where we were going. I was trying to read the ticket machine and he finally sent me away to the tobacco store since they could sell me metro tickets there too. That was helpful and we were on our way.

We found our pension (B & B) without any trouble and the host was the most gracious, kind man we have ever had for a host. He spent lots of time with us and gave us plenty of advice and time for questions and answers. The room is fine; the only weird thing is that there is a big bathtub and hand-held shower but no shower curtain. So I am trying to be careful while cleaning.

After we set up our room we walked over to an old castle by the river for some fantastic views and sunset. We walked the walls around the old castle keep. I used my new telephoto zoom lens for the first time and it is really nice.

Yesterday morning we were met at 9:00 am by Sarka, our personal tour guide. She has a degree in philosophy and knows lots about history and architecture. She was great to spend the day with. She gave us a whirlwind tour of Prague: Wenceslas Square, Old Town Square with the astronomical clock, the Charles Bridge, the main castle area, St. Vitus cathedral. She never stopped talking, either to us or on the cell phone. We had booked her last December, because I knew she was popular, and people were calling her for tours that day! She has 20 other tour guides that work for her and an assistant who manages all of this touring business. Anyway, she was a delight and we were fortunate to get her.

Last night we went to the opera. We saw "The Marriage of Figaro" at the Estates Theater, which is the theater where Mozart himself conducted the premiere of "Don Giovanni". We got the last two seats and they weren't together; we had to wave at each other across the space from balcony to balcony. There are four balconies full of private boxes and each of us shared a box with some other people. The people in my box left after halftime so Karen finagled her way past the door ogre and came to join me for the second half.

I didn't expect to enjoy the opera, just the music and the setting, but the opera was a lot of fun. It's a big farce. I've never seen this opera before so I don't know if their rendition was normal. Can any of you opera fans tell me if there are usually food fights in Figaro? Besides the comedy there was wonderful singing and good costumes; the sets were rather plain but that was okay.

I will now try and post a picture or two. Last time it didn't work, so this time I'll upload these comments first, then edit to add pictures. There! Finally got one to work. It took about 10 minutes to upload. This photo (at the top) is the interior of St. Vitus Cathedral. It's in the middle of the palace complex in the main castle in Prague. The style is "vertical Gothic" - designed to impress you with the majesty of God and direct your thoughts toward Him.

No time for more pictures now, sorry. Web site to follow.