July 7-9:

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we will be able to go to the UK due to the new delta variant. With this new reality, we have been able to add new countries that we originally didn’t think we had time for. We added Germany to our list and then figured since we were already on the east side of Europe, we should head down into the Czech Republic to visit Prague.

Old Town Square

One thing that we have come to appreciate as we have traveled to many European cities are their town squares! Why do we not have these in the States?! You can usually find some beautiful churches, buildings, statues, fountains and clocks in these squares. Most have restaurants and cafés around the perimeter with outdoor seating to enjoy the liveliness of the square. This is usually the first thing we head to when we go to a new city. Prague’s Old Town square did not disappoint.

As we arrived, we heard loud persistent honking from the streets near the square. Our first thought (as Americans) is that someone was very mad at another driver. The seemingly furious drivers happened to stop in the square. We stood aside ready to watch an intense encounter between these drivers. It turned out not to be angry drivers, but a wedding party! It seems to be a tradition to have the whole wedding party follow the couple to the church and honk the entire way there, weaving through the city. We have witnessed this cultural tradition a couple times since and always makes us grin. Maybe we should bring this tradition to the States?

Astronomical Clock

Inside the town square is the famous astronomical clock attached to the town hall! This clock is the oldest astronomical clock that has been operating since 1410! The clock shows the position of the sun and moon in the sky. Every hour there is a show where the twelve apostles walk past the windows of the clock while a skeleton rings the bell.

Prague Castle

Overlooking the city on top of a large hill is the Prague Castle built in the 9th century. It is actually a “castle complex” with streets and multiple buildings. We walked up what seemed like several thousand steps to huge walls and a gate to enter the complex. It felt like we entered a new town. It was huge! There were shops, the active presidential residence, guard houses, halls, towers, and churches. We came to the center of the complex to find an absolutely breathtaking cathedral – Saint Vitus Cathedral. After the many steps, we just sat down and enjoyed the magnificent view. We also have become total nerds when looking at historic architecture. We sit and talk about the intricacies that go into designing and building such amazing works of art. We are continually amazed by how old these buildings are. If only walls could talk – the history they have lived and the stories they could tell.

Trdelník

Trdelník is a fried rolled dough pastry covered in cinnamon sugar and usually filled with ice cream, chocolate, fruit, or a combination of all three. We had walked past many bakeries making the yummy Trdelník, but decided to wait until our last day to grab this tasty treat. We ended up having the sweet treat for breakfast before our train ride to Austria. This brought back happy memories of staying at my grandmas house. She would always let us eat ice cream for breakfast (don’t tell my parents). Personally, I think it’s a great way to start the day! Graham felt like it was a bit odd, but didn’t complain when he had finally the yummy pastry in his hands. Graham got jam and ice cream in his and I got strawberries and ice cream in mine. They were delicious!! The ice cream especially was SO good!

From train to bus

Friday afternoon we boarded our train to Austria. It was going to be a 5 1/2 hour train ride, but it changed into a more eventful traveling day. Due to bad weather earlier in the day on the tracks, all of the passengers had to exit the train after an hour and load onto several buses. We crammed into one bus and then transferred to another. It was nice to see the country roads, but my stomach didn’t exactly appreciate the winding roads with little air flow while wearing a mask and backpacks on our laps.

After such a long bus ride, we have come to appreciate the actual train system even more!