Na Zdravi

Na Zdravi= cheers in Czech. It's about the only word that I learned while in Prague and I didn't quite get it right on the first day...or the second...and sometimes not even on the third day. Well wait, I also learned to say "Ne, ne, ne" and shake my head in a flirtacious way...which really means "yes, yes, yes".

I spent the Easter weekend in Prague and it was a fabulous 4 day break. My hosts for the weekend were Kristina and Alex, and they were beyond great to me. Krista and Alex packed up at the end of last summer to embark on their first grand adventure as a married couple. They are living in Prague for one year teaching English and will be heading back to the states in July.


I was kind of the guest that no one wanted. I showed up with a mean cough though they swear that I didn't keep them up at night.

I have a feeling that this will turn in to quite a long blog as I took about a million pictures while I was there (ok, in reality only 169). So if you want the abbreviated summary of Prague here's what you need to know. First, the city is beautiful. Second, they have AMAZING cornflakes. And when I say amazing, I mean amazing. They are thick, crunchy and substantial. I pretty much fell in love with them and brought a bag home with me. Some mornings Kristina suggested going out to breakfast and my response was "are you really going to take away an opportunity for me to have cornflakes?" As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I'm easily pleased.

Ok, let's get started. My first morning in Prague I ventured off by myself to visit the Prague castle. It's a good thing there were pictures on the signs so that I knew where to go...



Thankfully I had coughed all night long and didn't really sleep. So I was up and at em at 6:00 am or so and out the door way early. Needless to say, this helped to avoid crowds. There was a lot to see and visit at the castle but I didn't really realize at first that everything I was visiting was the castle. I kept thinking, wonder when I'm going to get to the castle. Finally it dawned on me that I was in the castle. Not my brightest moment I guess...we'll blame it on all the coughing.


I've lost my entry ticket, so I won't be able to tell you the exact names of what all I saw at the castle...

First was a church...





Then I climbed a tower...quite a hike I must add but it was entirely worth it because this is what I saw...







(Above is a picture of the main bridge in Prague. It is lined with statues and later in the blog you'll see pictures taken on the bridge itself. It was quite a hub of activity with performers and vendors lining the bridge).

On to another church...




And another church.. (Are you seeing a theme here? Kristina and Alex say that Prague is full of churches, yet a very small percentage of the population actually goes to church. Interesante...)




Ok so that's a brief viewing of the pictures that I took while at the castle. I was then off to find the Metro (the equivalent of our tube system) to meet Kristina for lunch.

On my way to the metro I double-taked...Erica, were you in Prague?



(Note: Erica is extremely afraid of birds...I usually "protect" her from them when out together. Hence, the humor of the statue.)

The metro system is incredibly simple with only three different tracks...and only two options at each station. Nothing like the maze of the London tube system.



Side note: I'm highly confused as to why they are not utilizing the wall space in the metro for advertising. Passengers stand on the platforms and currently stare at the picture you see above. In London, these walls are filled with advertisements that change on a very regular basis. It seems to me that they have a captive audience here... but are not utilizing prime advertising locations. I'm just a tourist though, what do I know?

It's comforting to know that everywhere I go, I can always find a McDonalds... (here you should pick up on my sarcasm. They do, however, have even less Starbucks locations than Dublin. They have zero).



Believe it or not, this is a political statement. Something about being pissed on. Apparently, if you send a text to a certain number, the fountain will spell your name... pure genius


KK...Kristina and Katie...we just couldn't resist



On Saturday, we journeyed outside of the city center to visit a Castle. Along the way, Kristina and I walked along the bridge that I pointed out earlier. Here are the pictures that I promised...





Alex biked to our castle destination but Krista, Joe and I opted to take the train. We met up with Alex at the train station and then journeyed to the castle.




The castle boasted a bear and angry peacocks...







We had a really quaint lunch on the castle grounds. Pretty much everything was fried...fried cheese, fried cauliflower, etc.




Then we were off to visit the rose garden... as you can see, it's kinda missing the roses part right now. On a positive note, I learned how to use the timer on my camera!


Time to go home! (What an action shot- the picture taker is pretty amazing)



Sunday, as you may be aware of, was Easter. Now, let's talk Easter traditions as Prague has a very funny way of going about this holiday. You'll be hard pressed to find an Easter egg hunt or an Easter basket outside your bedroom door in the morning. Rather, the girls can expect to be awakened by water being thrown on them in the morning and then to be hit throughout the day, while the guys get chocolates or shots of alcohol in return. Confused? Let me explain...

So the guys go to the girls that they like first on the morning of Easter and wake them by throwing water on them. The earlier you get woken up, the more he likes you. Then, guys are equipped with sticks that they use to hit the girls. The act of hitting the girls is to beat away bad spirits and increase the girls firtility. While beating the girls they say the following poem:

Hody, hody doprovody
Dejte vejce malovancy
Nedate-li malovany
Dete alespon bily
Slepicila Vam
Zatp snese jiny!

So, once the guy has beaten the bad spirits out of the girl and increased her firtility, the girl in return gives the guy an egg or a shot of alcohol. I'm thinking he's getting the better end of the deal.

Luckily, Alex only threw water on his wife Easter morning.


Give the lucky guy a shot...



After being beaten horribly for hours on end (and feeling more fertile to boot) we headed to a Sunday Easter church service (in English-bonus!). Unfortunately, I was not on my game when it came to this picture but I should get points for trying to capture the Kodak moment.



Afterwards, Kristina, Alex and I went out for brunch. While it wasn't corn flakes, I have to admit that it was fabulous. I also found a great alternative to mamosas called "sleeping beauty". You mix champagne with strawberry juice rather than orange juice- try it. If anything, it's got a great name.





The above pictures were taken from a rooftop restaurant and if you look in the center of the pictures, you will see the Easter festival in the city center of Prague. Below is a close up of the Easter decorations found at the festival.




Kristina and I at the roof top restaurant...



And I would like it to be officially noted that on my last day in Prague I finished my beer first for the first time during the 4 day weekend. They weren't even close...



On my last day, Kristina, Alex and I went out for breakfast to the only bagel place in Prague. (I know, no corn flakes...but the bagels were pretty good). We then set out for a wee walk (remember that term from my blog postings from the Scotland trip???) We were off to see another rose-less rose garden, church and one of the coolest cemetaries I have seen. Mom, would some place like this suit you? (Running joke between us...don't think I'm a heartless daughter).








(Dvorak's grave is shown above...)

Ok wait...am I in Bellevue, Washington or Prague? (I took this one for you Alec...crossing fingers that the location of your new apartment is Bellevue).



For lent I gave up chocolate and all sweets. Kristina, Alex and I debated about when lent actually ends and we decided on Easter Sunday (let's hope this is correct). They took me to an ice cream shop on the highest end shopping street in Prague (Alex said I would impress people if I told them that...did it work?)



Note: If you look closely, you'll see Kristina's reflection in the mirror.

I've got about a million other pictures from the weekend, but as you can see the blog is already really long. So I'll keep you on the edge of your seats for when I come home. Almost forgot to mention, we went to see the movie "Inside Man"...amazing. We're giving it six thumbs up (2 for each of us incase that wen't over your head) from Prague. Also, Kristina, Alex, a few friends of theirs and I went out dancing one night to an 80's club. How fun! They also had a large screen and showed the music videos of the songs being played. We had some pretty stellar moves I must say. And lastly, Kristina and Alex have two really fun roommates that added much laughter to the weekend.

So to recap, Prague is gorgeous, Kristina and Alex were absolutely fabulous and it was so great to see them AND the corn flakes are amazing. For another take on this weekend, check out Kristina and Alex's blog at www.2walkers.blogspot.com Hopefully they don't reveal that I was the guest that no one wanted with my never ending coughing sessions.

Couldn't have asked for a better visit in Prague...