We are less sleepy!

After a good night's rest we are feeling much better and have already completed a full day of exploring! We walked quite a bit to get to the Prague Castle and took some pictures of the view from it. This was a great place to start to see all the streets we would visit next!




(Charles Bridge)

(Charles Bridge)

(Charles Bridge)

(shopping area in-town)
Since we have been in Prague for over 24 hours we have seen a lot of beautiful places. When we first arrived, however, we weren't so sure. When you walk out of the airport, for example, the first thing you see is a huge McDonalds. Then, on our drive to the hostel there were run-down buildings, communist-era apartments and graffiti filled walls. Here is an example of one of the better pieces:


We also noticed that while walking down the streets close to our hostel, most people did not understand English and many people gave us strange stares. It became clear to us that after visiting the castle and charles bridge (filled with tourists) that our hostel is located in a working class residential area well off the beaten tourist path. We cannot even find information about restaurants, etc. in this area in our tourists books.

(zach looking for information in our tour books)
However, the buildings are still beautiful, the metro is nearby, the people are friendly, and we have seen so many cute babies and doggies it is ridiculous!

(the entrance to our hostel)

We have also gone to a few restaurants which have good, but very non-vegetarian food. Last night we had a fried block of cheese (imagine a large, square mozzarella cheese stick) and french fries...not our idea of healthy! However, after walking 5 hours today around the city I think we are not feeling so gross! We liked the giant piece of fried cheese, but were not so fond of the ketchup - it tastes very very sweet and fruity. It's sort of strange. This was a big deal since we consider ketchup a main part of our diet! :)

We experienced another small bit of culture shock upon our arrival in Bubenec (our neigborhood). In this area of town, dogs regularly go without leashes. In fact, we saw more children on leashes in the American airports than we have seen dogs on leashes here in Bubenec. This is understandable as Czech dogs are much better behaved (and likely smarter) than most American children! tee hee! The dogs will stand outside groceries, restaurants, etc. patiently waiting for their owner to return.


We are really enjoying our time here and falling in love with the city.