Prague: Grog and Old Town Square

I never really thought I'd see the Czech Republic... come to think of it I've never said or thought, "I want to go to the Czech Republic." Until last week. And then I did. And I'm really, really thankful for it.

Prague is unlike any place I have ever been. It is a beautiful place. It's sort of dirty with trash and dog doodoo on the ground. The sky is ideal for vampires: gray and overcast. But these things are easily forgettable and unimportant because everything else is so grand. And then when the sun does come out, like in the last hours of our four day trip, you just say "Woah."

My favorite things were the street vendors selling grog, these amazing pastries and the Old Town Square. So the beer (choices: dark or light), the castles, cathedrals, bridges, and everything else will have to come later. Do not fret, Dave has approximately 600 photos of these things.

Grog (called glühwein in Germany) is warm red wine with spices. If that wasn't good enough you can buy it on the street! Think hot apple cider, but wine. Today I found the spice packets that you add to the red wine at my local grocery store. I've been told the best are sold at the Christmas market here in Esslingen which starts Nov. 22. We also found street vendors and small bakeries making this amazing sugary pastry called 'trdlo'. I'm not sure how to describe it. It's like a sweet-dough pastry with caramelized sugar and a doughy inside and crusty outside. I don't know, but here are the photos!

Old Town Square: My favorite spot. It should be sort of difficult to pick a favorite place considering all of the views and castles, but I really like this square. And so do a lot of other people because it was always packed with tourists. It is very alive and full of energy. Oh yeah, everywhere in Prague according to locals like our (awesome) hotel manager and all the tour books is 'magical', 'spellbinding' and 'energizing'. We were told this about a castle and when we got there, it was 95% cemetery. Anyway, the square. Visually it's mesmerizing and makes you gaze up with that silly and spaced 'pick my pockets' look. It's very open compared to all of the small, windy cobblestone streets that lead to its center. Here are some shots that I hope say what I am trying to say. We spent quite a bit of time here and kept making out way back everyday after visiting other sites.

Dave's iphone isn't connected to service, and I (the navigator and map holder) got lost once. So like a true pirate I used our trusty iphone compass. On the map, the bigger circled area to the left of the bend in the river is Old Town Square. The trash in my left hand is from another one of those pastries...

And here are some of many shots of the square and it's famous astronomical clock.

~Kara