Photos are: guard dog out side of shop. Jay and
I at lunch. The Old Town Square, View of west Prague at night from The
Charles bridge, Me and Melissa on The Charles bridge.


I have been bad, very bad at keeping up with my blog. I’m going to start with
what has been going on the past week and work my way back.

This past weekend I went to Prague with my friend Jay. We meet up with
another friend of mine from Portland, Melissa. The three of us had
quite the adventure…..first our flight was delayed, I put Jay on the
wrong plane, we went on a quest to find the hostel Melissa was staying
at and discovered “slum Prague”, I was pick pocketed on the metro, we
spent an hour at a police station, went to the Opera, had great beer
and food, saw great art……….

Jay was traveling in Norway and planned on coming to see me on the 20th
of September. Then his travel plans changed and he decided to travel to
The Hague a week early. I had already made plans to go to Prague to
meet up with my friend Melissa who was already there and I invited Jay
to come along. He was keen to add himself to the party.

Thursday the 13th Jay and I were scheduled to leave at 5:10 pm from Schipol
airport. Once at the airport we discover that our fight was an hour
delayed meaning we were going to miss our connecting flight in Munich.
We werere booked and were going to be getting into Prague almost three
hours later then originally scheduled. This set off a change of events
that affected our ability to meet up with Melissa that night. I wrote
her an urgent email (she does not have a cell phone) and hoped she
would get it. She was also in the process of switching hostels and I
did not know where she was staying. Then next I changed the time our
driver was picking us up at the airport.

After all that was done, Jay and I headed for the gate. We had a bit of time to kill so we sat across from our gate and enjoyed a sandwich and beer. I told Jay
that I wanted to buy a bottle ofJenever (Dutch gin) at the duty free
shop down from the gate. Then the boarding announcement came. I headed
down to duty free and told Jay to wait for me at the gate and I would
be right back. I was gone for about ten minutes and once back at the
gate there was no Jay so I figured he just got on the plane. I walked
up to the gate and gave my ticket to the lady at the door. She looked
at my ticket and said I was an hour early, that my flight was the next
one an hour later. I told her that my traveling partner was let on the
plane by mistake because he was no longer in the waiting area. She
assured me there was no way he would have been boarded. I insisted that
he was on the plane. We discussed this for a while longer and getting
nowhere, I gave in and sat down; and waited. About ten minutes later I
saw a red faced Jay getting off the plane. He came over to me and said
“you evil woman you, putting me on the wrong plane”. I told him that I
argued with the lady at the counter knowing he was let on the plane.
Gee, I guess the imposable is possible after all.

Who knew there would be two flights going to the same place at the same time,
just one hour apart from each other? I told Jay that I got theJenever and once in Prague we were going to break it out.

At 19:10 we got on the right plane and made it to Prague at 23:05. Our
driver was right on time. We were then taken to the apartment I booked
for us by an enthusiastic driver who was pointing out all the sights
between the airport andKarlova 32. As we drove past the former KGB
training center, Prague castle and all the other grand sights. Jay and
I sat back with our mouths open. All lit up, the city was breath
taking.

Once at our apartment we were greeted by the manager.
She showed us up to our home for the next three days and nights. To my
surprise, there was only one bedroom and one bed; the couch was too
small to sleep on. I had requested two beds from the booking agent,
however this request did not make it to the manager of the apartment.
She quickly remedied the situation by taking the top mattress off and
pulling the twin beds apart. I looked at Jay and said I feared our
friendship might be taken to a level we were not expecting though the
manager saved the day. After settled in, I opened up theJenever and poured us both a much-needed shot.

The next day we went on a trek for an ATM machine. We were told there was
one 30 feet down from our apartment. We could not find it and circled
around two blocks looking for it. Just before giving up Jay stood in
front of a store window right down from our place checking out a cool
rocking horse, then he saw the ATM next to the window staring at us,
taunting us. We were able to get our first CzechKrouna.

After breakfast of a cheese filled bread pastry for me and sausage for Jay,
we were off to try and find Melissa. She was not at our morning meeting
point so I was hoping she got my email the night before. We decided to
wander around the town square, watch the Astronomical clock do its
thing at the top of the hour, and then head to the hostel Vesta were
she could be staying.

The Astronomical clock is the big draw in The Old Town Square and can be found on the south wall of the old Town Hall. It was constructed in 1410 and I have to say it is
impressive. At the top of every hour a skeleton hits a bell to ring in
the new hour. Then there are Apostle’s that dance past a window that
opens up at the top of the clock. To learn about the clock I encourage
you to read about it onWikipedia.

Anyway, after seeing the clock do its thing we were off on our quest to find Vesta. Along the way we did some window shopping. Prague is the place for amber and
garnet jewelry. The crystal in every form is amazing and they have
puppets everywhere. There was also painted eggs, painted lacquer boxes
andmatrioshka nesting dolls in every size. And of course souvenir shops are overflowing with Russian style hats and the usual fair.

The architecture on every street was overwhelming at time. We walked past the Municipal House that had its exterior done by Mucha, the famous Czech art nouveau artist. We stopped to take some pictures, then continued on.

Soon we knew finding the hostel was going to be a challenge. Jay popped into
a book shop and bought a better street map and the book seller pointed
us in the right direction. After asking about ten more people we found
the hostel above the train station in a really bad location. I was
relived to find that Melissa was not staying there. Then our next step
was aninternet café and lunch.

After getting a message off to Melissa we went to the Old Town Square for lunch. Jay got pork with dumplings and sauerkraut and I got goulash and dumplings. And of course
we both had beer. The food was pretty good and the people watching was
better. After lunch we did some more sight seeing then headed back to
the apartment to hang out for a while before venturing out again. We
were going to try and connect with Melissa one more time.

Finally at 6 pm that night we meet up with Melissa. It was really good to see
her. She was stowing away with some friends in the hostel she had been
at and never found the Vesta so she abandoned that idea. This is why we
could not find her earlier. After meeting up we decided to see if we
could get tickets to the Opera and headed to the ticket office. We were
too late for that night so bought seats for Saturday night to seeRusalka. From here we headed to the Charles Bridge.

We got there right as the sun was beginning to set. The three of us were
snapping photos and enjoying the sights. There was an air balloon going
up and down in the distance offering riders high altitude views and
people on the bridge good photo ops. Melissa and I did a bit of
souvenir shopping from some artists selling there wears on the bridge.
Then it was off to dinner.

Jay and I tried to find a place around the corner from our apartment that the driver pointed out to us as a good place to eat. But we were so doe eyed that we could not
remember exactly where it was at, so we settled on a place that had a band playing jazz. We made rough plans for the next two days and Melissa introduced us to the Czech drinkBecherovka. Jay and I each bought a bottle at the airport on our way home. If you are lucky and ask nice, we will share.

The next morning Melissa came by our apartment and after a quick breakfast
of doughy wrapped filled goodness, we went to the Jewish quarter. To
our disappointment the old Jewish cemetery was closed due to a Jewish
holiday. We wandered for a while then hopped on the metro and went to
the museum where we were treated to some great Czech art. On the way to
the museum we wandered into aquaint little coffee shop with a name that Jay pointed out looked very close to “dunken doughnuts”. After our museum experience we went back to the same coffee shop for something to eat before heading back to get ready to go to the
Opera.

Back on the metro and it was really crowded. We were rushing to get back and ready to make it to the Opera on time. Jay and I once ready left to meet Melissa at theMuzum stop so we could walk to the Opera building. We walked up to the Metro ticket machine and this is when I discovered my wallet gone. Jay and I debated whether or not
to go back to the apartment and check to see if it was sitting on the
table. Given the circumstances of needing to meet up with Melissa and
making to the Opera on time I just decided to deal with everything at
the end of the night, feeling that what ever damage was going to be
done was already done and there was nothing I could do. I was not going
to let this wreck my trip.

We made it to the Opera a little late after all the rushing and had to set in the “late seats” until the first break. The Opera house was amazing and just to be able to set in such a classic building was a little like being in a fairytale, which
oddly enough was the subject of the story we were watching that night.
The Opera was about a water nymph who fell in love with a human and
made a pact with the wood witch to become human herself to be with her
love. Of course it did not work out and the guy died in the end because
of his own foolishness. Tragic ending, nobody won. I know you are all
surprised. Melissa and I enjoyed it more the Jay, though all of us had
a good time.

After the Opera we went back to the apartment to find that my wallet was no where in sight. I know that my wallet was taken when I was on the crowded train on our return from the museum. There was a man standing close in front of me with his backpack between us. This allowed him to slip his hand into my bag and take my wallet.
Even though it was snapped closed and I had my arm across it and
clutching the bottom, he was still able to work his hand in using the
crowded conditions and the movement of the train to his advantage. The
rest of the evening was spent on the phone with the banks. What I
discovered is that fifteen minutes after my wallet was taken they used
my Euro bank credit care and charged about two hundred euros, then for
some reason the bank suspected fraud and blocked the card. My other
cards were untouched. I guess my initial thought was right. By the time
I discovered my wallet was gone, the damage was done. Jay really saved the day after this happened. He helped me every step of the way and help me keep my spirits up. He also floated me the trip. You are a great fiend Jay, thank you.

We were unable to meet up with Melissa our last day so Jay and I were on our own. The plan was to go to the Mucha Museum and do some shopping. If time permitted we wanted to also try and see a Salvador Dali exhibit or the Prague Castle.

The Mucha Museum was not disappointing, it was inspiring. It is a small museum
and I felt it did a good job at showing the progression ofMucha’s work and career over the years. After leaving the museum all I could think about is how I want to do my next house in art nouveau style.

From here Jay and I found a police station so I could report the theft of my
wallet. After forty minutes of filling out paper work, waiting, and
talking to a police officer. The one thing Jay and I learned is how
ramped pick-pocketing in Prague is. We saw four other people besides us
coming in to report the same thing. After leaving there was only time
to do some shopping. Everything else would have to wait for another
trip.

Prague is a lovely place and an interesting mix of old and new, peppered with former communism. Jay talked about trying to put together another trip some time next spring. Anyone interested in
joining us?

Cheers,

Kim