Prague – Day 1-4

Mandy’s Recount

Wednesday, June 12th

To help ease the hassle in the morning, we decided to stay at the Holiday Inn, across from the airport.  My sister & niece were awesome to give us rides to the airport as we sold our cards 1 hour before we left town.  We were super grateful that they had a great restaurant/grill open.  This was one of the first minutes that we have had the chance to breath in the last month.  Both kids were super sweet. It all seemed to hit Grayson (and the lack of sleep the night before) and he broke down.  Maren was so sweet comforting him and trying to make him laugh.  They seriously have their own language that drives us crazy, but seems to work for them.  Grayson had a bracelet that his sweet friend, Romey, made for him and that made him feel good. Grant and Maren slept together and Grayson and I did.  In my genius planning, I thought that considering I require less sleep than the other 3, having Grant sleep with Maren and me sleep with Grayson (who is like sleeping with a cat during a carwash), made the best sense to ensure that the 3 of them got some sleep.  I think the other two got decent sleep, but Grayson woke me up 30 mins before the alarm and was wide awake.  Oh, sweet baby Jesus, pray for us…as it is going to be a LONG day.

Thursday, June 13th

On the shuttle at 5:15, through security and it was fun to see Jackie, a designer that I work with in line at security and before we knew it we were at the gate at 5:30 AM.  Small airports have SOME benefits!!!

DSM – ORD was a breeze.  ORD – Newark was a ok. They announced we were going to have a 4 hour delay because the weather and as I stood at the United counter next to a nun (legit nun), staring at her, as if she had the power to change this news. They came back on and said it would only be 1 hour delay. I smiled and told her I was giving her credit for the good news. We met a nice man in line named Eric who was kind.  You know what…people really are great if we get our heads out of phones and make eye contact, smile and talk.  That was what my time was like at Newark, lots of eye contacts, and lots of smiling.

Newark’s airport sucks. We went out of terminal C to check out the United Priority Pass lounge in Terminal B and take advantage of a nice 3 hour break. We got there and found out that they were closed until 7. That was fine with Maren because whenever we got more than approximately 20 feet from the gate we were leaving from she got kicked off her axis. I used that time to exchange some old currency. I come to find out they only exchange bills that are the most current in production, so the Egyptian bills from circa 2006 and the Francs from circa 1997 that had been thrown in the bottom of our change jar (that I had methodically sorted beforehand, were no good. I left with $7 USD and still a crap ton of bills and change. Considering I can’t throw anything anyway, I decided I would “just hang onto it, just in case”.  Anyone have a need for worthless bills or are you traveling to Eqypt or France?

Back through what I refer to as “Jersey style” security. Rude, loud and with completely made up rules. For instance, I had to take out all snacks, including gum. FOR THE LOVE, I’m traveling with 2 kids. Where do I have snacks packed? EVERYWHERE. It was a nice treat that Jenny from the Block was booming in the background. Yep, 2 bags got held back. Mine and Maren’s. She looked at me and said, “What’s in my bag???” With the same discussed tone a drug mule would ask their boss. (Yes, I watched The Mule with Clint Eastwood on the flight). After boarding at Newark, Grant and Maren snuggle up in a two seater next to the window for a long winter’s nap as Grayson and I are in the 2 of the 3 middle seats. He PASSES out like a corpse instantly. He was sweating with his had on my lap but he was asleep. That Xanadu only lasted 50 minutes, then we ate dinner and the next 90 mins he tossed and turned every 45 seconds. Super awesome!  I may have said some threatening words to him and held the promise of allowing him to  watch Spiderman over his head and booted him to a makeshift “bed” on the floor under our feet. I know, Eew!  Don’t judge until you have slept, I mean laid in bed with this sweet angel the night before with only 2 1/2 hours of sleep. All the prayers for restful sleep the kids came in a form of a sweet, Russian man named Boris. He pretty much let Grayson expand to now his feet section for the next 4 1/2 hours of the flight. Grayson woke. I’m chugging airplane coffee as fast as I can get it, while Maren and Grant are still peacefully sleeping….Good for them…. As for me, keep the coffee coming.

Riddle me this. Why do chin hairs grow 10 x faster while on an overnight flight? I left Newark a well groomed lady and arrived Prague a prepubescent young man.

After we landed in Prague, we Ubered to a Luggage Storage center towards city center.  Luggage Storage is a loose term, and more like a dude with a room that is “hidden by a curtain”.  Grayson considered the place a bit “sketchy”, so that is really saying something.  I keep our passports, money and technology stuff, so if they wanted our clothes…go for it.  The four bags cost around $25 to store for 5 hours. Off on foot we went to find…coffee. After coffee, we decided to join a free tour at the square by FreeTourGuides. Tours started at 11 and we showed up at 10:30 to get a ticket.  We took the tickets and meet them at the determined location at 11.  Funny to find out our tour guide, Brandon was from Santa Barbara. He moved here 5 years ago and met his wife on the second night. The tour was through Old Town Square and the Jewish Quarters.  It was great and Grayson was asking questions about the astronomical clock that was created in the 1400’s. 1/2 way though the tour they took us to a place to eat, grab a drink and use the bathroom. I swear the only partons in this place were from this tour group, but oh well. The boys got a plate of food to share while I took Maren to get a Trdelníks (or chimney cakes) that we had seen all over town center. Image a donut chimney stuff with a twist cone. Yeah, she was in love. When she got it, I decided to learn about Trdelníks. Well, they aren’t Czech at all, they are really a tourist thing and only found in the town center. Doesn’t really matter though, she loved it.

We went and picked up our luggage and checked into our Air BNB, just to drop off our luggage as they were in the process of turning it over from the previous night.

We still had 4 hours to kill before we can sleep to “get on Prague time”, so we went to Karlovo Namesti park near our Air BNB. On the way, we picked up drinks and down a side alley saw a fruit “market”. It looked hidden, so I figured it was pretty legit. The fruit looked great. Apples, strawberries, nectarines, kumquats, peaches, etc.  I found myself telling the kids, “yeah, I think that is “like a peach” and I still don’t know what it is. We grabbed some delicious looking strawberries and found someone to give our money to. The fruit is by weight. I opened my hand with a pocket full of changed and she took 42kc/$1.84. This definitely helped the process of me flipping over every coin to see what it was worth and count it out to her. After our picnic, where we laid on the grass while the kid played hangman, we walked by the river Vltava, kids found a park (Misto Pro Vase Sdeleni) to play at and walked to the Charles Bridge. The bridge was the main entrance into Prague. Kids were doing well but so tired. Maren has a HUGE blister but hasn’t complained about it. I told her that is what happens when you leave your shoes on and don’t let your feet breath (friends who have heard her story about why she leaves her shoes on will enjoy that). We also are pining for air conditioning. Not the “I think there air is on” air conditioning, but the “I need to put my sweater on to go inside” air conditioning.  Yeah…we are already resolved to never finding that air, but we were sure the Lego Musuem would have air, so there we head. On the way to the Lego Musuem which was on the way to our air BNB, we let the kids stop by one of the MANY candy shops to get some goodies. It helped perk them up for sure. Later that night, they were messaging friends and I heard them mention the candy shop. I have a feeling regardless where we go, It won’t be the 600 year old clock that makes their highlight real, but the candy shops and ice cream. 😉 I guess we will see.

The LEGO museum was about $25 (570kc) for all 4 of to get in.). Reviews on the place were a mixed bag, but we thought it was awesome. 1 1/2 floors of LEGO exhibits and 2 areas to play. We were totally running out of steam at this point, but managed to leave an “Iowa” mark on the board.

We grabbed some food, which we hoped would have AC, but then were just resolved to having a 1/2 liter of beer with some food and getting to sleep. The saying in Prague is that the beer is cheaper than the water and it is true. A liter of Toma water is 47kc and Pilsner is 42kc ($2.06 – $1,84)

The “things” from home that I thought I would miss besides the people were my slippers and my neck pillow. As I lay down for bed with the duvet comforter rolled up in a way that would make Macguyer jealous, I do miss my neck pillow. It will indeed be a year of adventure and changes for all of us….let’s go.

Currency: CZK – Crowns

Coins – 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 / Bills – 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000 /1000 crown is $43.87

Language: Mixed. Most all speak some English

Major sites: Tyn Church, Astronomical Clock, Powder Tower, National Theater, Charles Bridge, John Lennon Wall, Prague Castle, Funicular Railway, Pectin Lookout Tower, St. Wenceslas Statue, Old Town Square, New Town

Observations:

• It’s hot.
• Grayson talks…a lot..like all the time a lot.
• Grayson touches everything: dirt, walls, bricks, everything. How does he not have a communicable disease? Or does he?
• Maren walks really fast…
• Prague is absolutely beautiful…Everywhere is a postcard quality picture.
• Seriously Prague, what’s your beef with air conditioning?
• 23K steps

15^th Saturday

We decided to adopt a plan that Grant and his buddy’s do when they travel.  They alternate who selects the meals next.  The deal is whoever picks, picks and everyone has to go with it and not complain.  They don’t have to eat, but no eating until the next meal.  Grant’s choice, an English breakfast where we learned that Vienna sausage is just a super fancy name for a hot dog.

We hiked up to take the Funicular train car up to the top of Petrin hill.  Thinking we were SOOOO smart and at the front of the line, we did the same thing any normal person would do at an amusement park, We went to the car that was facing up the hill, which was the first car.  We sat in the seats, and then EVERYONE ELSE in Prague joined us.  It was so hot, with no windows to open.  We instantly regretted our decision.  When the doors opened, we realized that the quickest way to feel cool outside when it is a balmy 90 degrees, is to put yourself in a situation where you are hotter.  Outside the funicular felt instantly wonderful! 

A walk to the Petrin tower had a great view, but not without effort, as it was 289 up and 299 down.  Then more walking to Prague castle, up and down, and round and round.  The castle grounds is thought the be the largest castle grounds in the world.  Inside the cathedral was beautiful, and was free to get into to see a majority of it, including the CIRCLE stained glass.  You could pay more to go inside additional parts of the cathedral and the church.

Observations:

• We need a budget line item for WC/toilet.  Do not assume toilets in Prague are free.
• When you ask a guy, “how much to get a photo with his snake?”, that is the same as asking him to drap it around your kids and ask for your money. 
• 21K steps today

16^th Sunday – Father’s Day

Father’s Day!!!!  Grant woke up to see a Yak card from the kids.  It was my decision for breakfast, and we decided since it was Father’s Day, Grant got to pick all day, but since it was his day, he defaulted to us.  So…back to me and, of course, it involved COFFEE.  We stopped and got croissants and coffee.  Off to King Wenceslas statue where we started the Rick Steve’s Audio Tour of Prague.  Confession, I am totally a Rick Steves junkie.  Big fan.  HUGE!  The kids were as excited, as you could imagine, after I announced that we would be listening (not watching) Rick Steves for 1 ½ hours.  The tour talked about Czech history, Art Noveu architecture, took us through New Town, to a favorite local ice cream and pastry shop (kids perked up here), to a secret rose garden where locals use as a rendezvous point (supposedly), playground, Old Town Square to see Jan Hus statue that led to religious freedom, Astronomical Clock, which we went into and back to Charles Bridge. 

After the tour was over, Maren said, “that was good”, which surprised me because she had the same expressions during the tour as when she had her tooth pulled (no joke). 

We hiked up to a local beer garden that had a fantastic viewpoint and rewarded ourselves with a beverage where Grayson and my beverage (Mine=cidar with berries, Grayson a strawberry lemonade) looked surprisingly alike.  Truth be told, after tasting it, we still were 100% sure which was which.  I figured maybe the cider would make him more sleepy.  As he took off parkouring on the railings on the way down, I **still** wasn’t sure. 

Dinner that night was at U-Fleku, which was an authentic Czech restaurant.  We had goulash, roasted chicken and pork & dumplings.  The beverage decision was easy as we had one option for beer…Dark, as it was the the only beer they brewed.  It was SO good that I told Grant, we should consider coming back tomorrow to try 3 different dishes.  We figured it out, to eliminate food waste, we only need 3 meals.

We logged our 20K steps in without really trying but were heading back to the Air BNB after dinner, but yet one more stop as Maren, Grayson & Grant are convinced to find the best ice cream place.  The top on the list was not *GASP* the local place that Rick Steve recommended, but rather Crème de la Crème.  The flavors were unique: Pistachio, Chili Mango, Chili Chocolate, Salted Peanuts, Bailey’s, Mix Berries, Pomengrants, Dark Chocolate.

Observations: 

• Maren HATES the pigeons
• Kids love playgrounds…any playgrounds.  Playgrounds have benches and fences to keep the kids in = On the Road Kidsitters.
• They have lots of ice cream in Prague.

17th Monday

Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in Terezin through New Europe Tours.  We will catch a bus at Old Town Square and take a bus ride about 1 hour away.  Supposedly, this wasn’t an extermination camp but a work camp, but 18,000 people die. It was built as a fortress, then a prison and then the Nazi’s kicked out the Czech who lived in the town. They made the town the Jewish Ghetto and the prision a concentration camp. They recommended that we watch Anthropoid. Most event where filmed around Prague and seem to be accurate. (Side note: Geraldo Rivera and his family walked right past us a couple of times as they were in the Ghetto Musuem in Terezin.)

Grant’s Recount

The very first thing that comes to mind about describing Prague is ….beautiful. Around every turn is a postcard quality picture waiting to be taken. Great architecture, shops, cobblestone alleys, and river views. In full disclosure, I love small, narrow alleyways (really love). And Prague has roughly 4 million of these. I think it would be hard to find a person who doesn’t like Prague, simply because there is so much to love and do. A little something for everyone.

The old town is where you will find the most tourism and historic sites. But, New Town, which is just 600 years old or so, also has a lot to offer. 600 years may as well be biblical times to me, but apparently it is still “New Town” in Prague. Since old town and new town is right next to each other, you really can’t tell the difference between the two and where one meets the other.

You only need to find a rooftop to find a great view. You can also go to the top of the astronomical clock or one of the many churches in city center. However, the best view of the city are viewed from the other side of the river, where Prague Castle is located. The Prague Castle grounds are reportedly one of the largest castle grounds area in the world, and it sure seems that way walking through the area. It is hard to tell where the castle ground start and stop, with many buildings situated in many square blocks. We saw old stone walls hundreds of meters away from the main castle area, but we weren’t sure if these were the castle boundaries or not. We did not go into the castle itself, but the church in the middle of the grounds, St. Vitus Cathedral, should not be missed. Although there are many great churches to visit in the immediate area.

We also walked up to the top of Petrin tower which is close walk from the castle. A lot of stairs and getting dizzy, but the view can’t be beat to see the entire city. Nothing more needs to be said about that. It is in the middle of a huge park, with many flower gardens, trails, and little restaurants. Lots of hills and steep climbs at times, but we loved it.

Food wise, there is no shortage of restaurants for everybody’s taste. We tried to stick with more traditional Czech restaurants, but usually just stopped at ones that looked good when we were hungry. One restaurant we made sure to go to was U-fleku. I had been there about 5 years before and “needed” to go there again with the family. U Fleku has been around since 1499 so I figured they have ironed out the kinks by now. Great traditional Czech food, music, and courtyard ambiance. Also, they make their own dark beer that is delicious. And they will keep serving it to you until you say stop. Like I said, my kind of place. Probably a complete tourist destination, but that won’t stop me from going there again in the future.

Mandy may have mentioned a few dozen times, but good air conditioning is scarce. Places may say that they have air conditioning and that it is actually on, but we respectfully disagreed on many occasions. I guess we will continue fortifying our ability to be resistance to heat.

On the last day in Prague, we went to a Concentration camp 30 minutes north of Prague. Terezin wasn’t an actual extermination camp, but was considered one of the worst camps to be in due to terrible conditions and torture methods. Tens of thousands of Jews were killed here, mostly due to starvation and disease. Terezin was originally a fortress built in the late 18th century by emperor Joseph II of Austria, so fortress walls can be seen in every direction of the town. We even walked through a 500 meter tunnel that was a part of the original structure. The camp is adjacent to the town of Terezin, which housed the Jewish Ghetto and other administrative offices during the war. I think this should be on the top of anyone’s list visiting Prague. It is a powerfully sad and disgraceful part of history, but should be experience if you have the chance. Our kids voted to go here, and they were able to get at least a small understanding of the suffering that occurred to millions of people.

So in the end, Prague was a perfect start to our trip and we would go back in a heartbeat. Kids loved it, English was spoken almost everywhere, and there were endless opportunities for fun, views, food, and drink. Just need a few additional heating/cooling professionals to take this country to the next level:)

Maren’s Recount

Some of my favorite memories was walking down the street and seeing all the dancers and artist trying to make money. I love that everyday we would eat ice cream, eat a little lunch and dinner and maybe ice cream again.

We would walk everywhere we went and probably got the most steps from doing tours. They were very interesting and it was crazy how Czech Republic was involved in WW2.

We walked 20,000 steps per day.

Grayson’s Recount

I loved Praque for many reasons:

1. There is always an amazing view.
2. There is Ice cream everywhere
3. The food is delicious

I am going to miss Prague but I am ready for another adventure. I am relieved to know that most people speak at least a little bit of English.

I went to the Prague Castle. I also went to the top of the Petrin tower. I went to the Nazi Concentration camp / Ghetto, it was called Terezin. It was very sad but very interesting. The locals are very nice and I figured out that Czech was involved in many wars, including WW2. The architecture was really cool and the look from above the city is so cool. I like that the Czech bills come in high numbers.

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