Feast for the Eyes - Praha

Whoever commented that Prague was a "Feast for the Eyes" on our blog was right. From Vienna we took a 5 hour train ride to this beautiful city. We found a flat on www.craigslist.org, take a peek: http://www.prague-flat.net/Apartment-information.html. We love craigslist. The flat was very cute, and large enough for our Hungarian friends to join us for 2 of our 4 nights. Zsuzsa, Lina(cookie man's girlfriend), Krisztina(veggie man's wife) arrived early evening, each with a bottle of plum schnapps tucked in their suitcase. You'll now be happy to know, that we have proof, no hangovers from plum schnapps, we're certain. In fact, we are considering shipping back cartons of this stuff. It's amazing. That evening we found a Czech beer hall, filled with two things, smoke and men. Czech's have pilsner beer and it's great, the best beer in all of Europe according to Rick Steves. We tend to agree. That night we laughed alot, sang along with a group of German boys, and had a great meal. Zsuzsa speaks very good English and German and Lina and Krisztina know enough words for us to all roll with laughter. It becomes quite fun to learn the German, Hungarian, English, and Czech word for intoxicated. The next day was Julie's birthday and the Hungarian girls headed out for some sightseeing, it was their first time in Prague and they only had two days. What did we do? What every girl likes to do on her birthday -- Shop! Many of you won't believe this but so far we haven't bought much. In addition to Prague being beautiful, it's a shoppers paradise. Bohemian Crystal was on our list, and we succeeded getting some leaded crystal candlesticks and oil and vinegar bottles. Now to answer your question, no we are not packing 100 lbs of crystal around on our backs -- we have our rolling carts! Just kidding. It is on the slow boat home from the post office in Prague. Julie's parents, make a little room for the first souvenir box. It's a heavy one. Wade, your birthday present is enclosed. Not crystal - don't worry! A little about Prague's beauty. Everywhere you look is magical and you feel as if you are in the middle of a fairytale. The old world main stuare, with dozens of colorful facades, a gothic church, and a fancy astronomical clock makes you want to stand in the middle and spin around and around to take it all in. Saturday night we had a blast celebrating Julie's birthday. We treated the Hungarian girls to their first Happy Hour experience. More schnapps plus wine. The least we could do after the "Hungarian BBQ." After a rather long happy "hour" we headed to dinner. A very fun evening concluded with a chocolate souffle birthday dessert. Sunday we all headed for the Castle Quarter, walking over the famous Charles Bridge and up the steep steps with great city views. Up at the castle we ended up in the middle of the changing of the guards, we mean in the middle. Melissa almost was run over by the incoming guard. We had loads of fun touring that area and it seemed that every 10 feet we were stopping to take a picture. That afternoon we said goodbye to the Hungarian girls. It was very special that they were able to join us and we'd love for them to visit us in the states, or for that matter Munich next week. Girls? Since we had a kitchen in our flat we headed to the grocery store and cooked. We weren't exactly sure of the contents of a couple things. No English, only Czech. A bit worried about a dip purchase, but after tasting we think cucumber? Regardless, the meals were great. The following day we relaxed and explored. Rick Steves says that no other place in Europe has become so popular so quickly. Prague was the only Central European Capital to escape the bombs of the last century's wars, so it's one of Europe's best preserved cities. If you come to Europe put it on your list! It's a definite must see. 4 nights was perfect and on Tuesday morning we took a bus to Cesky Krumlov in the south of the Czech Republic. On the bus ride we both agreed that being on a bus on a beautiful sunny day heading to a small village in the Czecg Republic would never have entered our imaginations as even a remote possibility, yet here we are. As we arrived and walked down the cobblestone streets and into the very old square before our eyes was....