Prague – Day 1 – Zombie Walk

Today began about 29 hours ago.

With complete giddiness, kids and parents hitched a ride to the airport (thanks, Ginger!) on Thursday around 11 a.m. Our flight to Atlanta was perfect. Quick layover, no problem. Overnight to Prague – nobody slept.  Actually, Mae and I got about 2 hours, but that was it.  With a 9 a.m. local time arrival, it felt like 2 a.m. to our bodies, but if we were to sleep then the jetlag would only continue.

So, we tried to power through it.

Neil, a Brit-married-to-a-Czech, picked us up at the airport and deposited us at the Golden Apple apartments, which sit in the shadow of the Prague castle.  We met Dragan, our host, dropped our bags, and headed out to lunch.  On the way, I asked a group of loafing taxi drivers where I could find an ATM machine.  Actually, I first asked in Czech if they spoke any English.  I understood a ridiculing reply about them only speaking Czech and this is the Czech Republic!  (I wonder how they feel about immigration reform?  I digress.)  So, surprising myself, I switched to Czech and asked where the nearest ATM and bank was located.  Their surprised look somehow made me feel like I had just gotten revenge on an arch enemy.  Mainly, it impressed my kids, which is all a dad really cares about.

A local Czech restaurant recommended by Dragan was a great re-introduction to the Czech cuisine.  By the way, Czech food doesn’t get much press, but it should.  It is awesome.  But when no one has had any sleep, some goulash with a side of minced cardboard would have fooled us just the same.  And Molli’s entree had a very strange name for a side dish.  See menu picture for details.

Determined to stay in motion, we wandered towards the pedestrian Karlov Most (Charles Bridge) and browsed the street kiosks, finding ourselves getting weaker.  Just a bit of history about the Charles Bridge: construction began in the 1300s under King Charles IV and finished in the 15th century. The bridge has been witness to centuries of historical events. One of the more interesting was that 27 leaders of the anti-Habsburg revolt were executed in 1621 and their severed heads were displayed on the Old Town bridge tower in order to deter Czechs from further resistance. Works every time.

While on the bridge, Mae started to demand that we carry her.  That’s when we realized her stroller was back in the Golden Apple apartments.  How could we forget that?  Sleep deprivation wins again!

One of our stops on the bridge was to listen to a jazz band.  That same band has been playing on the bridge since we lived here in ’96.  And they are selling the same CD, which we bought long ago.  Click here to see a brief video of their performance.

After listening for a while, that’s when our first mishap occurred.  We all decided to move on and see some more things.  About 50 feet later and 150 people in between, someone said, “Where’s Grant?”

No one panicked, but we retraced our steps to the jazz band to find that he had smartly waited there for us to return.  Let’s not do that again.

Souvenirs shops, glass shops, t-shirt shops came and went. As we moved through the streets of Malastrana (Little Quarter) and Staro Mesto (Old Town) we found that they were surprisingly familiar. Molli and I were able to remember the next thing around the bend, even though I was beginning to feel more zombie-like by the second.  We cruised past the famous astronomical clock, which is one of the major Prague icons. (We will get back there before we leave town). Our main goal at that point was to find food for tomorrow’s breakfast. Tesco, a once frequented grocery store, was where we found what we needed for the morning.

Outside Tesco, we hopped on the tram and rode it up past the castle to work our way back to the apartment for an early evening.  The tram finally did everyone in.  Head nodding, folded bodies, and drool was in full force.  After dragging ourselves unsteadily off the tram, we walked through a beautiful tree park that had a robotic, three-wheeled lawn mower that was roaming aimlessly.  We had never seen any of that previously.  (Or did we dream that?)  We crossed the castle grounds and took a staircase alleyway to our street – Uvoz.

No dinner tonight.  No one has the energy to go look for it.  So, at 7 p.m. everyone is in bed, except me.

And now I’m wide awake.