Prague – Day 3 – Lost and Found

Photo above is view of rooftops of Prague with St. Vitus Cathedral and Prague Castle in the background.

Despite the coveted but illusive rest that seems like it will never come again, we maxed out Day 3 fueled by adrenaline, the buzz of fellow Prague visitors and a lethal combination of coffee and chocolate ice cream.

Good sleep for Tate, Claire and Mae (who kept hopping around snapping her fingers and saying the things that only a Mae-Mae can say) forced a late departure from the apartment. That resulted in us eating brunch at Maly Budda, a Vietnamese/Thai place, just up the street from our apartment. It was as dark as midnight in there as we ate by candlelight, which felt strange at 11:30 a.m. Grant got the best dish – fried rice with chicken. The rest of the food was so-so. From there, we moved once again through the castle area and across the river (the Vltava) towards the Jewish Quarter.

After the caffeine boost, we moved towards Staro Mesto (Old Town) and on the way encountered a similar situation as our first day – a lost child. Only this time it was not my child, but it still hurt. A little girl, maybe 7 or 8 years old, came running towards us at full speed. She was crying and calling for Mommy. I could tell from her accent that she was not Czech and was afraid she didn’t speak English. I was right on both assumptions. I caught her attention and said, “You want Mommy? Your Mommy?” Although she said, “Ya.” I knew she didn’t understand me and was too frantic to stop for help. She turned and ran towards Old Town about two blocks away from where we were. People on the sidewalk knew something wasn’t right, but no one could make her stop. We walked quickly in her path, but by the time we turned the corner we could no longer see her. She was wearing a red zip up hoodie.

As we entered Old Town square we were hurriedly combing the crowd hoping we could find her. Molli said, “Is that her?” pointing to a man holding a child the way a toddler is usually held. But this child was bigger than a toddler. This child was a girl of about 7 or 8 years old, wearing a red zip up hoodie. And the man was whispering something to her in Italian and she was no longer nearly as scared. There were other family members there as well and they were wiping away a joyful tear mixture that only seconds earlier was undiluted by only fear. They asked how we found them and I told them the truth. We didn’t. We tried to follow her, but she found them. And now she was safe. Molli and I talked about how thankful we were to witness her return, and without that we would have always wondered. Thank you, God, on all accounts.

Relieved, we set our sights on the Astronomical Clock Tower. Until this visit, we didn’t know it was possible to go up to the top for a bird’s eye view. Two elevator rides later, we were perched high above the square and had a 360 degree view of Prague. It’s a good thing that a film camera is not in style as we probably would have gone through a couple of rolls up there. The outside viewing area is fairly narrow – wide enough for an awkward sidestep with a stranger. A half wall and small hand rail are all that is between a visitor and the cobble stones of the Square. One more uncomfortable effect is that there is a slight downward and outward slope toward the half wall that creates a feeling that this old thing is finally going to give way and today is the day! In spite of all that, the oldest kids and I spent at least 20 minutes out on the perch taking it all in. We played “I Spy” with the landmarks we recognized, especially the places where they have been on this trip, including the Apartment of No Sleep.

After a full family group picture with the Tyn Church in our background, we descended.

We hung around the Astronomical Clock to watch its hourly, on the hour, display of the twelve apostles rotating through its small windows. The moment only lasts a few seconds, but there is always a crowd waiting for it and then cheering when it is complete. The origin of the Clock was incorrect for centuries. There was the legend that Jan of Ruze was its creator and that Prague officials heard he had plans to make another. Upon learning that, the officials decided to blind him so he could not create the second one. For the real history, click here.

After the hourly chiming was complete, we hit a few souvenirs shops and looked for our last Czech dinner. A lady in the Blue Praha shop recommended U Medvidku, a Czech favorite that supposedly has been in existence since 1466. It was packed, but we somehow got a spot upstairs where a few other people were dining and the house brew is stored. With giant copper pots as our dinner companions, we had another great Czech meal. Three friendly and pleasant guys later joined us at the end of our table, but we left nothing on our plates for them except one miniature baby corn. I hope they shared.

The weather was a little cool, but warmer than previous nights, so we walked back to the Charles Bridge. That is one of the best spots to be in Prague at night. The Bridge transitions from a busy tourist atmosphere by day to a relaxing, hard to leave place at night.  From the Bridge we watched a synchronized dance routine that kept reminding me of the Saturday Night Live skit, “Sprokketts”. “Now is the time on Sprokketts, when we dance!”

The 30 statues on the Bridge were backlit by a sky that was full of a deep, but darkening blue. That accentuated their natural silhouette appearance even further. Further down the bridge, a duet of cello players had half the bridge-goers caught within their sounds. They were the type of artists that you can’t help but wonder why they only play on a bridge at night for spare Czech Koruna.

Those are the moments unique to Prague. The ones that can’t be properly articulated, but only understood when experienced in person. And we had a day full of them.