Prague

We spent the long Thanksgiving in Prague, Czech Republic.  We've heard great things about this city and were excited to visit what is meant to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.  Erin and Elisa came with us and we had a cold, but fun weekend!

We stopped an hour before Prague in Plzen, where Pilsner Urquell beer is made.  We were told this was a "must see" brewery tour.  It was pretty cool to see the assembly lines and taste beer direct from the barrel, unpasteurized, but I still liked the Guiness tour better!  The kids enjoyed seeing all the machines working in the factory.  I couldn't take any pics inside, only Erin broke the rules, so if she sends me any of her undercover shots I'll add them.  The factory totally reminded me of the opening shots of "Laverne and Shirley", you know, where they are working at the beer factory and Laverne takes off her glove and puts it on the bottle on the conveyer belt?  It look JUST like that!

Lainey by the tour bus

Here we are enjoying some fresh from the barrel beer!

We made it to Prague around 4:30pm.  We decided to walk down to the Charles Bridge area.  It and Prague Castle were lit up and beautiful, but it was COLD!  We took a few quick pics and headed into a cafe for some warm beverages.

Entrance to Charles Bridge

We spent the rest of that evening poking in souvenir shops and wandering the Old Town Square.  Prague is a really well preserved old city.  It is called the "City of 1000 Spires" and there is at least that many.  It reminded us of the beauty of Zurich, but on a much larger scale.  I was a little put off by how many souvenir shops and tourists there were, but otherwise I loved it.

The second day we went to Prague Castle.  It is huge and magnificent, but I'm getting a little jaded on castles.  We didn't go in, just seeing outside was enough.  Here is Lainey on Charles Bridge overlooking the castle:

The Castle at night

Inside the castle walls was this big church!

Later that day, we went to the Christmas Market and to Wenceslas Square to do some shopping.  The Christmas Market was really pretty and festive, but the wares weren't the same quality as in Germany.  Wenceslas Square was a new part of town with lots of shops and hotels.  Here is a statue of "Good King Wenceslas" which is the main meeting point for people.  We met Missy and Chris's friend, Radek, here later this night under the horse's tail.

Radek took us out for a traditional Czech dinner.  I shared pig knee with him!!  Seriously, pig knee is a specialty of Czech.  It was good I have to admit!  After dinner, we went to a semi-child-friendly pub all together where Aidan scarfed down pretzels and Lainey played with Polly Pocket.  I took the kids back to the hotel then the others went Prague bar hopping.

We finished our trip with a little last minute souvenir shopping and picture taking.  Here we are overlooking the river and Charles Bridge and Prague Castle

We also went to a restaurant recommended to us by Radek.  It was a train themed  place, which was perfect for Aidan!  Trains were all around and even brought us our drinks!

Aidan LOVED it and wished we could eat every meal there.  Lainey had fun playing with her Matrushka (sp?) dolls and having them "wait" at the station for our drinks :) 

Here is one last pic of the Old Town and the astrological clock dating back to around 1000AD.  My pics are out of order, sorry!