Prague, part 3 : Nik returns!

Happy to be reunited in Prague.

After three weeks back in Oregon for work, Nik came "home" to us in Prague, tired and jet lagged, but happy to be here.  The kids and I rode the subway and bus to the airport to meet him, and then we returned the same way to our apartment, with a stop in the city center to show Nik some of Prague's beauty.  It felt like our town, and we were eager to share it with him.

A beautiful time to arrive in Prague!

Scenes of the Vltava River:






An important first event to take Nik to was the beer festival, held near the Prague Castle.  The kids were not so excited about this, but they were good sports, even though they had to sit in the rain waiting for us to drink our beer.  There were some good eats they could enjoy at least.

Pivo = Beer.  Minipivovaru = Microbrew.  Now you know.

In search of the beer festival, as the rain started to arrive.

Queen Anne's Summer Palace (as seen on the way to the beer fest.)

Found what we were looking for, along with a lot of other happy people!

The rain just brought the beer fans closer together.

Rain can't dampen one's spirit, with an exquisite Czech microbrew in hand!

Another day we took advantage of the many classical music concerts offered in Prague.  Again, the kids were not overly excited, but the string quintet was excellent, and everyone seemed to enjoy the music.  Vivaldi's Four Seasons is played a lot at this type of concert in Prague (suits the tourist's ear no doubt), and Dvorak is a must as well, since he was from Prague.

We enjoyed sharing our expertise on the Prague public transit system with Nik:

The mysterious ticket machines.

A beautiful old style tram.

And the sleek new style tram.

Mellow moment on the tram.

And energetic moment on the subway!

Our home direction was Depo Hostivar.

We took Nik up to Petrin Park via the funicular.  There we showed him the observatory, rose garden and Petrin Tower.  Then we all explored the Mirror Maze,  a very fun place just next to the Tower.

Funicular

The roses were in full bloom for Nik.

Nik and Madeleine climbed this tower this time and enjoyed the great views from the top.

Petrin Tower

On the way up.

The reward.

Mirror Maze

Funny family photos.

On the walk down, we stopped for dinner at the Nebozizek Restaurant (at the middle funicular stop) with views of the Castle.

His and hers: hearty Czech beer and Aperol spritz.

Our sunset dinner view

Our ride home.

We had postponed a tour of Prague Castle until Nik arrived, so we could all enjoy it together.  We strolled up the hill to the castle, found the guards on duty and toured the stunning St. Vitus Cathedral, founded in 1344.  It is the third church on this site; the first was founded in the year 930.

Up the stairs to the Castle

St. Vitus Cathedral

We toured the smaller and older St. George's Basilica, founded in 920.  Also Golden Lane, named for 16th century alchemists who (according to legend) tried to work out a reaction to produce gold.  Although alchemists never actually lived and worked on Golden Lane, Franz Kafka did live here for two years; he was seeking elusive peace in which to write.

Little houses on Golden Lane

Finally, we had to check out a display of torture devices previously employed at the castle.  Yow!

One of the last things on our Prague bucket list was a boat tour on the Vltava.  We chose a "coffee and dessert tour" that was two hours long.

Entering one of the locks.

Refreshments for a crazy dude

Lovely views from our tour boat.

A tour boat similar to the one we rode.

Along with touring Prague, Nik managed to catch up a bit on his sleep, and we prepared to move on to see more of Europe.  We arranged to stay a couple of days in Cesky Krumlov, a few hours away from Prague, and then on to Munich.

A little grooming was needed before we left Prague.  The stylist did not speak English, but she got the job done!

Na zdravi! (Cheers!)  Goodbye to Prague that we enjoyed so much.  We will be back!