Goodbye to Prague

Well there we were, lost in the back streets of Prague and it was dark and very quiet. We walked round and round in circles and it was getting pretty cold. It was no use asking the way because there weren`t any tourists about, just locals that most probably didn`t speak English, and why would they? Then I spotted a road name that stood out a mile...Portabella Road!  Not the kind of street name you`d think of outside of London but I`d seen it earlier in the day and remarked on it then, we were just around the corner from the hotel and had been all the time...panic over...lol!

We decided on a drink in the bar but there was a noisy crowd of guests, not British I`m happy to say so we didn`t bother. Another early night it was so we`d be bright eyed for our last day. In the morning the weather had changed and it was snowing and raining and much, much colder. I tied my scarf around my face and we headed off back to the castle, this time we stopped off in Wenceslas Square for a bit of Christmas shopping and to warm up a bit while we were there. I bought Roman a warm hat, gloves and thermal socks for his trip to Russia in January with Slava. I also bought myself some thermal socks for work. Jim bought lots of local chocolate for some of our friends (and us of course!) and these little coconut cookies that we don`t have here...shame! I didn`t really by any serious Christmas shopping as it would have been too hard to bring home again but somehow I managed to spend quite a bit of money here and there. Afterwards we hurried off to the castle and this time we went onside, the weather had improved somewhat so it was nice to take our time walking around. The best bit was seeing St.Vitus Cathedral in the heart of the castle grounds. It`s a very holy place for the Czechs and there were a great many visitors inside. What I especially liked about Prague is that you didn`t have to pay entrance fees wherever you went. The exception was the loos where it cost 10 crowns ( about 30p or 60 cents) each time...lol!

We had covered a lot of ground over the weekend but it was certainly worth it, there was so much we saw and even more that we didn`t find time too. We both thoroughly enjoyed our long weekend and would recommend it to anyone who`s thinking about going there. We had a good flight there and an even better one coming home, it`s a pity that it was over all too soon. I forgot to mention our wonderful taxi driver who drove us to and from the airport. He was a really nice man who was about our age. He spoke almost perfect English and he told us so much about his country. The Czech Republic has found that things aren`t that great now that they are in the EU and that prices have gone up dramatically but wages are still very low. He also told us about famous people who were born in the city,  Antonin Dvorak and Franz Kafka to name just two. He told us about the battle of White Mountain between the protestants and catholics, he talked about the economy, he talked about the dreaded Tesco who has got it`s claws into Eastern Europe with three large stores in Prague alone...before long they`ll take over the world. Anyway, I`d like to thank our driver even though I don`t know his name, he was such a good ambassador for his country.

I`ve been back a week now and it shows too. My re-charged batteries have run down again and its business as usual. I`ve done some my Christmas shopping and wrapped it but I still have quite a bit more to do. At the weekend Jim brought the decorations down from the loft though I won`t be putting them up just yet. Last week I bought my Christmas tree, a real one that is rooted in a gold pot. At the moment it`s in the garden until I`m ready to dress it up. Jim wondered why I`m bothering with decorations as we`re going to Kerry`s on Christmas Eve until Boxing day but I wouldn`t hear of it. It wouldn`t be Christmas without the decorations. Tomorrow I`ll write out the cards, a job I hate as my handwriting is poor because of arthritis. I feel quite embarrassed about the scrawl I make when I once had nice writing...sigh.

At the weekend Jim and I are taking Roman to Kent for the weekend to stay with his sister. Kerry and Slava will have some time to themselves for shopping and decorating and Roman will be thoroughly spoiled. We`re all going to have a lovely time!

Anyway my friends, I`ll say goodbye for now. Take care and enjoy your day.

 

 

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