Sunday September 27, 2009 Prague, Czech Republic

Day 30 of 36

Prague, Czech Republic

I woke up a little before 8 am and went to breakfast in the hotel restaurant. A big breakfast to begin my day with lots of coffee to wake up.

The day is another beautiful one in Prague. I headed out a little after 9 am and headed back to one of the street bazaars that was just closing when I got there yesterday. The very first booth had these small witch puppets. When you clapped (the owner banged a piece of wood on a block) all of the puppets started jumping up and down and loudly cackling. It was a riot. I stood there and watched for a while and laughed. Really funny.

I roamed around for a while, took a rest on the wall by the astronomical clock and then headed to the Jewish Ghetto. There were an old synagogue and a new synagogue. Lots of tourists here, but I decided to forego the tour. I walked around the block that contained the Jewish cemetary - a large one. Took pictures of it through a small window from the street. Headed over to the river and paused to take in the scenery.

Walked down to a performance hall - beautiful building - and headed across the Vltava River. Went to the Senate where they have a beautiful garden with the "drippy" sculpture. It looks like eerie faces in the structure. Took a break there. A young gay couple was having an argument - they were very young.

Left the Senate and walked up the hill again to see if I could get into Prague Castle - and yes, the Pope was gone and the grounds were open. There was a HUGE line to get into the cathedral so I decided not to wait. The line was wrapped around the front and all of the way down one side. Too many people. Oh well, "A B C", I guess.

I walked down from the Castle a different way and then back to the Charles Bridge. Not quite as many people around today. I headed back to the Old Town Square and had a sausage on brochette with mustard and ketchup - it was good - a large beer - and another trdelnik. Yum. I took a seat on one of the benches and watched the crowds for a while. There have been a lot of lesbians visiting Prague - all holding hands. Why can't guys do that?

Headed back up one of the streets with shops and did some more window shopping. Then headed back to the hotel as my feet were killing me at this point - it was after 3 pm. Took a short nap and updated email, blog, and FaceBook. Made plans for my departure from Prague tomorrow morning and did some preliminary packing. Off to Paris tomorrow.