Praha

The next stop was Prague. We were only supposed to stay in Prague for 2 nights, but just driving through we decided we needed a third. Then we saw our awesome hotel and decided to stretch it out to 4 nights.

First of all, the city is BEAUTIFUL. I know I’ve written this about other places, but it just gets better and better and has culminated in Prague. As I learned (from Magda, thank you Magda) Prague is one of few cities that was untouched by either of the World Wars, so the architecture is original, and flawless, and gothic, and detailed, and just so beautiful. Every street you walk down you can turn your head and be looking at an old gothic cathedral that’s been there for a long time. Sorry for the ambiguity on the timeline, no bus tours in Prague.

We spent a day wandering around the old city center, with narrow, cobble stone streets all around, and grandiose buildings everywhere we turned. Another day we crossed the Charles Bridge (so beautiful, so many tourists) to go to the Cathedral of St. Vitus. It was pretty rainy that day, and the Cathedral is a dark, gothic structure, that with a bleak, rainy backdrop looks pretty creepy. We made our way up anyway, and got a look at Prague Castle and St. Vitus. We actually went up another million stairs to see out from the top of the Cathedral, and it was amazing. I think we have a picture somewhere...

Our hotel in Prague made Prague that much more awesome. It was actually a suite, so we basically had an apartment, and we even got to do laundry for free. Is that sad that I should get excited about doing my laundry for free on vacation? Anyway, our first night there we asked the concierge where we might go for dinner and drinks. Here is a rundown of the conversation:

Kim: Where should we go for dinner and drinks?

Concierge: Do you like entertainment? (before we can answer) I have just the place, let me call and see if they can seat you tonight.

Bill: What kind of restaurant is it?

Concierge: (Covers the reciever with his hand and gives Bill a knowing smile as he says) Stone Age.

Bill: Stone Age?

Concierge: Stone Age.

We told him we were to pooped for Stone Age that night, but we were lucky enough to get a reservation for our last night in Prague. I was a little nervous, because, well, what the hell is ‘stone age’? Lemme tell you. We walked into the restaurant which was appropriately called ‘Stone Age’, and Bill was grabbed by a scantilly-clad girl with dirt on her face, messy hair, and various animal hides covering her body.

We were pulled to a table and told to write down our order and pound on the table or grunt when we were ready for them to take it. The food was pretty good, nothing to write home about but it wasn’t too bad, and of course, you had to eat it with your hands since there were no utensils in the Stone Age.

It gets better. About halfway through our meal, several (undoubtedly underpaid) cave men came storming through the restaurant, with face paint, and crazy animal hides, grunting at people and certainly creeping a few of us out. They got really into it, making noises at each other and getting into some kind of cave man altercation. They came back a few times, and each time it was a little more involved and strange, especially when they sacrificed a virgin. I’m gonna miss Bill.