Europe Czech Republic	Spain Mar 2 - Mar 25 Germany Mar 26 - Apr 4 Netherlands Apr 5 - Apr 8 Germany Apr 9 - Apr 14 Czech Republic Apr 15 - Apr 21

It was raining when we arrived in Prague. Even with the rain, Lon and I came to the conclusion that Prague is one of the most beautiful European cities we've seen. What makes Prague such a beautiful city is the architecture and cobblestone streets. We walked around for hours enjoying the beautiful statues, doors, windows, clocks, shops, etc... Lon says that a side-effect of communism here was that the buildings are all "preserved". It's as if the views haven't changed for the past hundred years ...and that's the appeal. We saw a few music concerts (Vivaldi) in various old (Baroque) auditoriums.

Prague is a fairly expensive city ...tourism has definitely taken root here over the past 10 years. However, if you look hard (or have locals to show you around), you can find some good Czech restaurants and pubs that are down-right cheap. Czech food is very filling! Many dishes have dumplings, cabbage, potato, and meat (usually stewed). The beer is also very good! I didn't know that Pilsner Urquell is made here! So, we just added more to the weight we already gained on this trip.

The rain stopped and we had good weather for the remainder of our time in Czech Republic. I think the good weather is following us! We spent days just walking around the central square, the Charles Bridge, and the palace. We also met up with Lenka and Zuzana (we met them in Thailand during the Chiang Mai hill tribe trek). It was neat to see them again and hear them speaking Czech. We explored the old Jewish ghetto area and some other scenic points together. In the evening, they introduced us to a few local pubs and tried to teach us a few Czech words and phrases. I did learn a little bit, but the Czech language is still VERY confusing to me!! I thought it was funny that in the Czech Republic, I am Martha Fickeova.

The next day, Lenka and Zuzana took us to the Karistejn Castle just outside of Prague. Charles IV lived in this castle. The tour through the castle was pretty good ...even I paid attention through most of it. The day just flew by ...kind of like these past 14 months. We really enjoyed our time with Lenka and Zuzana ...Thanks!! Prague was definitely worth the visit!

region	lodging	$US / night	rating	notes
Prague	Pension Brezina	$60.0		clean comfortable, free internet & parking