Czech it out

On Thursday morning, I was a mess when I had to say goodbye to Jen. It's a good thing Greg was still here to pick up the pieces and start a new adventure. We boarded a train and headed to Prague. Greg and I saw every inch of the city. We started with Charles Bridge and the Prague Castle on Friday. We saw the cathedral where we climbed 297 steps to get a better view of the city. I think the cathedral was Greg's favorite part. He videotaped everything! It was beautiful. We saw the changing of the guards at noon and spent the rest of the afternoon touring the royal palace, the museum, the convent, and the torture chamber that are inside the castle walls. In the evening, we headed to U Zlatého Tygra (The Golden Tiger). It's where President Havel took President Clinton to show him a "real Czech pub." The Pilsner Urquell was cheap and tasted great.

On Saturday, we saw the Astronomical Clock strike twelve. It wasn't too impressive. A lot of tourists gather around every hour to watch the giant cuckoo clock. The apostles pop out every hour and Death rings a bell. We walked to the Old Jewish cemetery and the Old New Synagogue. They were preserved during World War II by the Nazis because they planned to make a museum of the "extinct race." It's disturbing to see all of the grave stones piled on top of each other. In the afternoon, we climbed Petřín hill. I was not too eager to make the journey, but it ended up being my favorite part of Prague. There are a lot of trails and benches. It reminded me of Central Park on a mountain. There were a lot of people with their children and dogs. There's also a 60 meter version of the Eiffel tower and an old wooden church. The church was incredible. It was a nice way to end the trip. On Sunday, I had to say goodbye to Greg and ride the train back to reality. I miss the Waldos already.