So we have safely landed in the Czech Republic. And might we add, IT'S COLD! After spending 4 winters in Rexberg, ID Meghann thought she could withstand anything. Turns out, after only about 6 months in Phoenix, AZ any built up tolerances are now broken. Cold weather aside, the view of Prague is breathtaking.
Disclaimer: did not take photo ourselves (too cold to stop and take pics, must keep walking)
So we arrived at our hotel Friday night, met up with Brody and Kylee, said hello and went to bed! 18 hours of traveling sure takes it out of a person. But this is what we checked into...
We stayed our first 2 nights at the Riverside Hotel and it...was...AWESOME!
Our flight from Phoenix to London was 10 hours and NOT as bad as we both expected it to be. Upside, Meghann finally got a chance to watch "Michael Jackson's This is It." Downside, It was 10 hours sitting in one position in coach.
Day 1 we woke up and decided to take our first tour of old Prague. Sorry no photo's yet. Like we said, too cold. Had to keep all muscles in movement at all times. It was really interesting to hear all the difference languages. On the Charles Bridge alone (pic above) we heard over 8 distinct languages. It's such a touristy area.
There are 2 things for sure we miss about the States. 1) Free water. 2) Free re-fills. Note to those wanting to visit any foreign country, don't eat at the places where the tourist are, it gets expensive fast! So far we were able to see a lot of Old Town, Charles Bridge, the outside of the National Theater, a Czech shopping center, and a bit of the Mala Strana (the other side of the Charles Bridge).
Day 2 we were up bright and early prepared for the journey to church. Since we do not know the transportation system yet (plus the language) we decided on taking a cab to the building (after wondering around for about 30 mins trying to find the right tram). Sacrament meeting was different. We were given headsets and could listen to the whole meeting in translated English. Surprisingly, there are about 6-7 American families apart of the branch whose husbands are ex-pats and live in Prague permanently. It was nice to hear a familiar voice (or language).
We left church after sacrament meeting so we could check out of our hotel on time. We couldn't find a taxi anywhere so we decided to throw caution to the wind and take the Prague Subway. After a bit of bewilderment we began to understand the system and found our way back to the hotel. We checked out and are now in Celakovice, a town 30 mins outside of Prague. You are not missing much. We are isolated away from anything and we have been put up in an old communist training center.
You can imagine the absence of color and amenities lacking here.
For dinner we ate at a traditional Czech Restaurant. We both got the Czech special: Pork, bread dumplings, potato dumplings, sausage w/ cabbage (or what we call sauerkraut) and fried spinach patties?
Not horrible, we both kinda stayed away from the dumplings. Only one week here while Daniel completes a Regional Business Understanding course then we can finally get settled in our apt in Old Town Prague (where we can cook our own meals...)
Overall we are having a blast and having all kinds of experiences! We hope to fill you all in soon with more adventures.
