DAY 2 – Monday, June 24, 2019 – Arrival in Prague, Czech Republic

After about 18 hours of travel (approximately 24 hours without sleep, except for my two-hour nap from Chicago to Switzerland), we landed in Prague.  We collected our checked bags, and I exchanged $80US for about 1,400 Czech crowns.  Then, we met our bus driver, Vladymir, and tour guides, Misa and George.

In 1993, Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.  With an area of approximately 30,000 square miles, the Czech Republic is located east of Germany and north of Austria.  Prague is the capital city of the Czech Republic.

On our way to the bus, I heard a high-pitched scream behind me . . . Barbara was walking next to Dick, and she got HIT by a taxi van!!! What a way to start the trip?!? The tax driver got out and looked at her suitcase, but he didn’t apologize and didn’t seem very concerned about her health.  Luckily, she seems to be OK – nothing a Czech libation won’t cure!

Barbara, Marlene and I took a seat near the back of the bus with “the kids” – Marlene’s daughter and son-in-law and four other travel companions in their thirties. 

We took the bus to Branik, in District 4, of Prague.  The bus squeezed through the narrow cobblestone streets and pulled up in front of the Penzion Ganymed. We moved our bags (fur drei Madchen) into room 6 of the adorable, family owned hotel.  Marlene had paid extra to have a single room for the entire trip, but there was a mix-up at the Penzion Ganymed, so Barbara, Marlene, and I had to share a three-person room for the first few nights.

After a little freshening up, our new friends from Minnesota, Jan and Cecelia, stopped by to let us know they were heading to the bar.  Barbara and I had a little snafu with the keys, but we made it to the bar – Two Kozuls for 140 crowns.  The bar is no longer operating, but the hotel opened it special for our group. 

Once our entire group assembled, we walked to U BLAHU for dinner.  We started off with a traditional Czech liquor, Becherovka.   We had a yummy soup – beef broth with finely shredded carrots and then noodles and liver dumplings.  The main course was a hunk of beef stuffed with an egg, pickle, and onion slice plus rice and dumpling bread.  For dessert, we had a peach dumpling. 

At U BLAHU, I was sitting near one of the “kids”.  I quickly learned, he’s kind of a know-it-all.  It doesn’t matter what the subject is, he has experience or information to add.  I’m not convinced he’s as smart as he pretends to be.  The conversation on the other side of me – about the lovelife of one lady in our group – was much more interesting than listening to him drone on with “facts”.

We walked back to Penzion Ganymed for an informational meeting, and then to Room 6 to crash for the night.

Have you been to Prague? Where did you stay?