Gelato or Bust
Chris & Gina’s Travel Blog

Gina - So far Praha has simply been a joy!  After figuring out the new transit system (which is of course the first challenge we face in every city, but once you figure that out… you’re golden) (and yes Shaun… we have both been comparing the systems in Europe to ours at home and see a huge difference) we quickly made our way to our hotel room.  Our “room”, however turned out to be the same size as our house.  I don’t know if we can get video on here… but if we can we have taped a tour of the room .  It is a HUGE change of pace from the 7′ by 8′ room we had in London and the not much larger room we had in Berlin.  It has its own living room, complete kitchen (better than our own at home as it has a dishwasher), bathroom, balcony and massive bedroom.  Needless to say… we looked like giddy children running around when we realized that indeed there was no mistake and we are only paying 38 Euros a night!

Chris - I had been thinking before getting here that the language was getting progressively more challenging as we went from city to city. In London we only had those British accents. In Berlin of course everything was in German, but I had taken classes in high school and many of the words are easily translateable to English. Thinking about Prague though and having no language guide I thought we might be in trouble. However, It’s much easy for an English person in Prague than it is in Berlin (as far as I’ve observed).

Gina - Observations about Praha: everyone owns a dog.  On our way to the hotel I felt like I saw more dogs than people (obviously an exageration… but it makes a point).  Secondly as we walked through the park it looked like everyone was just enjoying themselves and having fun… it’s definately a different atmoshpere (I don’t know… maybe these two observations go hand in hand).  Anyway, Grandpa John, as I’ve been walking through the streets I’ve been thinking about you a lot and wondering why on earth I didn’t get you to verse me in some of the language before we came.  Anyway, it’s neat to visit your birth country.

Chris - After we dropped our stuff off at the hotel we had a short walk to a park. As we walked through the park, we realized we were on top of a hill and we actually had a magnificent view of the city just across the river. It really was a spectacular first view of Praha (Prague), especially since the sun was setting. For me - definitely one of my favourite moments of the trip so far! I don’t think the pictures we took will do justice though.

Gina - It was a bittersweet day, however, as this was the day we said goodbye to our travel bug “Gelato or Bust”.  We place him in the “Travel Bug Hotel” which overlooked the magnificent view Chris mentioned.  Goodbye old friend… we wish you well on your travels.

Chris - First, yes, Gina really is that emotional about the travel bug. Anyways, after we walked through the park we crossed the bridge into the City and ended up walking into the Old City Square where the Astrological Clock is located and as it turns out there is an Easter fair on all month. The square was filled with stalls with vendors selling their goods (marionettes, czech desserts, hand painted Easter eggs, etc.) And every day this week there is scheduled to be free entertainment in the square (including cultural dances/performances, etc.). It’s certainly great timing.

Everyone had told us Prague is a beautiful city and it certainly lives up to its reputation. Even the dark creepy alleyways that Gina led us down were “romantic”. We’ve certainly enjoyed this city so far, we look forward to the next three days.

 Love Chris & Gina.

PS. Brenda/Sharelle - where was it that you had your “train incident”? Also, how much did you pay for internet here?