The week of Thanksgiving we were back in England to see Tony's mother.  And since we were already that close, we decided to take a quick trip to Prague  We have heard so many good things about this city and the flight from Nottingham on BMIBABY was ridiculously inexpensive. We arrived at Praha after a two-hour flight and as always Cheri wanted to take the public transportation despite The Renaissance Hotel offering to send a car for us.  Okay, the bus we took was only a $4 fare and it took us right to the hotel from the terminal, so we really could not complain.  The hotel again gave us a wonderful reception, an upgrade to a suite on their club floor and a gift every day.  Our first gift was a bottle of Prague's local liquor, Becherovka, which after a nice quick shot gave us a feeling of warmth to begin our "walking tour" through the cobbled streets of Old Town just as the snow started to fall. As we left our hotel, we spotted Santa climbing up The Marriott across the street.

We soon found a "local" pub, much like the Hoffbrau House in Munich, but this was owned by Pilsner Urquel, by far the best known beer in the Czech Republic.  Tony could not understand why they never filled his glass to the top, but no matter as a pint cost less than $1. We decided to stay and eat dinner, and were in shock when presented the bill - $36 for two beers, two dinners, soup, a bottle of Czech red wine and a lovely dessert. No wonder locals flock to U Vejvodu.

We also found the local PUMA store but no Hard Rock Cafe in this city ... Yet.  With a McDonalds on every corner, the Hard Rock Cafe is sure to follow.

We never did take a horse carriage ride or even get on a tram, we walked everywhere but Cheri had to find a place to sit and relax for a while

The Old Town square was surrounded by great buildings and the usual clock.  This one's called the Astronomical Clock.  At 12 noon it has a little show. At the right you can see the dieties looking down on the square as they dance around.

The best walk, despite the cold, was over The Charles Bridge and up to Prague's Castle, a very impressive view and it's just as good once you have navigated the steep cobbled streets and look back over the city

It was a little chilly but as always we were prepared with hats, scarves and long leather coats.

We even got to see the changing of the guard but we had to admit it was not on the same level as the one at Buckingham Palace.

We left the posing outside to the statues this weekend, only warm coats and scarves for Cheri outside, OK we had to do a couple of elevator shots though one night.

Prague is called "Sin City" of Europe but it's not blatantly out there. It's a very popular for stag (and hen) nights because it's so cheap to get quite merry, either on beer or local spirits, especially Absonithe (our advice is to stay away from that) and the clubs stay open nearly all night. We did find that the majority of the strip joints are mostly brothels and that "trade" is legal in Prague and most European cities. These places are very clean, tight security and most have good reputations, such as Little Darlings and K5. We did not venture in to any of these establishments on this trip but of course we had our own fun!

We could not understand what was on the local TV channels so we had to put our own entertainment on.

On our last night we decided to eat out, literally. In the Old Town square many of the restaurants set up tents and no matter what the weather they are very busy until late in the evening with locals and tourists either having dinner or just stopping for a nightcap.  This evening was quite special as not only was it snowing but we ate dinner listening to Christmas music sung by the local city choir.  The wine, a wonderful dinner and of course the heaters kept us warm on this magical night.

Prague

The architectural style seems to be a cross between Munich and Paris, with older 15th century buildings standing side-by-side with more "modern styles from the 17th and 18th centuries.

The down-side of the free-speech that comes with the fall of communism is the graffiti.  It's everywhere ... on buildings, signs and statues.

We'll definitely return to Prague.  There is much we didn't do and although we're not much for museums, the look of the National Museum at the top of Wenceslas Street is very enticing to Cheri.  And Tony must see Little Darlings ...

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