The Road to Budapest - Day 7

27/03/09
This morning we met up with Antonio again who had been able to cancel his bank cards and phone, and make a few other arrangements the day before. I met Diane – my tour leader from the Umbrian Experience (the last leg of my Italy tours last year). It was so strange seeing her again in a totally different country! The Intrepid bosses and leaders are having meetings and training days at the moment in Prague, so that is why she is here – it was great to catch up with her again.
We started the orientation walk again in the main square – the square is surrounded by incredible buildings – the Tyn Church, Astronomical Clock, other beautiful buildings and then a huge statue in the centre. The Easter Fare is being set up in the square so it is a little hard to see all the buildings at once, but it still looked stunning. We then walked to the Powder Tower and then down the main shopping street/mall. At the end of the mall we came to another square with a wide road that leads up to the National Museum. This was the street in which the protests/demonstrations of Czech people asking for a new government were held in 1989. We walked down to the Jewish Quarter and then along the river to the Charles Bridge. Just before the bridge is a university, outside of that is a monument to Jan – the young man she burned himself alive in protest against communism.
We walked over the bridge, past the St Nicholaus Church and up the grounds of the Palace. The view from up on the hill is breathtaking – you can see the many spires of the city jutting up along the horizon and you can see the many colours of the buildings surrounding the city. We were at the palace just in time to see the ceremony of the Changing of the Guards. (Later in my trip I watched Barrack Obama (US President) make a speech to the people of Prague in the same square, and I was quite excited to know that I had been standing in that same spot a few days earlier!) We then went to the exquisite St Vitus’s Cathedral and then down the Golden Lane towards the river.
Gail & I stopped for lunch, yet another sausage, then went to the Communist Museum. The sign for the Museum was quite funny / ironic in so many ways: the sign said: “Museum of Communism is here! 1st Floor next to Casino”. Right next to the sign is a McDonalds bin stating – “I’m loving it”. The museum was quite interesting, a little confusing and contained a lot of information – a lot of reading. It was described the rise of communism, the power of Stalin (and others) and it also contained footage of the protests of 1989. We then went back to the apartment for a rest before hitting the town tonight – we are having a big Friday night out in Prague!
For dinner we went to a restaurant that serves potato in many ways – you chose the size (250g, 500g or 1kg of potatoes) and then how you would like them cooked! We shared a few dishes – potato with bacon and apple; and potato with mushroom, bacon, onion and cheese. After dinner we had a few cocktails at the Orange Bar (a place the locals go) before going to Electro nightclub to dance the night away into the wee hours of the morning. I am finding it difficult to handle the smoking in Europe since it has been banned in Australia. They can still smoke everywhere - including restaurants and cafes, so each time we go out for dinner and drinks I leave with my skin, hair and clothes stinking of stale smoke. I don’t know how I didn’t really notice it before the ban in Oz, but I really don’t like it now.