Lesson painfully learned: figure out which public transportation gets you where you need to go on time, then take the one before that one! Getting from our Airbnb to Hauptbahnhof for our train to Prague was a stressful endeavor — we got on the train by the skin of our teeth, printing the ticket on the platform at 9:01am for a 9:03am departure with Mark straddling train and platform in desperation (much to the chagrin of the German conductor who thankfully helped us out of sheer pity for our sweaty and stressed selves).
Once aboard, we encountered a new type of seating configuration: a 6-person cubicle with 3 seats on each wall facing each other. Rather than be crammed in this small space with the extraordinary amount of luggage carried on by our cubicle companions, we opted for the dining car, where we spent the entirety of the 5-hour ride playing Hanabi and enjoying our first sips of Czech beer, Staropramen Dark.
The Prague train station is huge with a newer part attached to the original. We found our way to the older part to check it out after seeing bits of it through windows as we exited the train. It did not disappoint!
Oh hey, did we mention that it was also MARK’S 30TH BIRTHDAY?!? After checking into our rooftop Airbnb, we decided to get the celebration started. We were staying a few blocks from the Vlatava River and easily walked along it toward the center of town.
We had arranged a Jazzboat tour for Mark’s birthday celebration and, after finding the exact dock where we would embark the ship, we went in search of pre-dinner cocktails. Near Old Town square we found a restaurant called MeetBurger which boasted a large cocktail menu.
Good cocktails were surprisingly hard to find on this entire trip. Back in Barcelona at the cocktail bar ‘Why Not?’ we had a conversation with the (excellent!) bartender about it. He suggested that since mixology was only a few years old in Europe, the skill set isn’t there yet in most places — for example, we had to explain what a vodka soda was everywhere we went and always encountered incredulity once we did. The norm is either straight liquor or a VERY sugary cocktail. So our hope was that this large cocktail menu would result in some tasty drinks. It did!
While enjoying them, however, it began to rain, and with some encouragement from our fellow diners we moved to another group’s table under an umbrella and near a heat lamp. We got to chatting with the people at the table and discovered they were fellow Americans, were in town for work, and had an affinity for sports. When it came time for us to head back to the Jazzboat, they generously insisted to pay for our drinks since it was our honeymoon! Such lovely people and we were happy to meet them.
Despite it being cold and rainy outside, inside the boat was toasty warm! It was packed with people and we had great seats against the window and directly in front of the band, the Vesna Cáceres Quartet, performing swing jazz.
We decided to take a cab back to the Airbnb. We had been warned to make sure that the meter dropped when we got into a cab (there is a reputation that they try to rip off tourists). We had no reason to worry, however, getting a jolly Santa-like taxi driver who spoke fondly of the US and his friend who moved there 30 years ago and now is a rich man who owns hotels in Florida and Aspen.
The next day was bright and crisp. We ventured out in search of authentic Czech food and ended up at U Kroka, a fabulous Bohemian restaurant near our lodgings. It was so popular, delicious, and packed that after were were seated at a 4-top, an older gentlemen asked if he could join us. A bit of awkward English small talk ensued but all and all it was a a superbly tasty and well-priced meal surrounded by witty bike-loving posters.
We made our way back to the river and found a tiny pop-up bar to have a beer. In the summer this spot is where one can rent “Party Grillboats,” which are basically giant sturdy inner tubes with a grill in the middle. You and your friends float on the river and cook up your food! But as it was chilly and just us, we logged it for a future trip.
One of the things we did not want to miss seeing was the Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square. First installed in 1410, it’s the oldest astronomical clock still running. It has multiple dials telling the time, current zodiac sign, and the phase of the moon. Every hour there’s a little show: doors open to reveal a procession of the 12 Apostles of Jesus, jovially accompanied by a skeleton representing Death and chiming a bell in time. We snagged a table at a restaurant on the square to watch the spectacle under a heatlamp.
After a bit more wandering and allowing dusk to fall, we went up the clock tower to check out the view.
We exited through a different door on our way down and found ourselves in a room full of beautiful mosaics.
Day three we took an E-bike tour (originally scheduled for the day before but rain prevented us. The tour guide thanked us for rescheduling because he didn’t want to take us out in the downpour!) E-biking was new to both of us and was a trippy experience: while you do pedal, it’s probably about a tenth of the exertion of a regular bicycle on level ground. The tour guide described it well — pedal about three times and then the motor kicks in and it’s like an invisible hand appears and starts pushing you along. We were able to travel 10 miles uphill in 4 hours (including a brewery break!) The motor also helps with all the cobblestones in Prague streets — since it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the cobblestones are here to stay!
We visited where most of the area was underwater in the 2002 floods (causing millions of USD of damage and being named the biggest natural disaster in modern Czech history). As a preventative measure, the city added to their streets divets that allow the erection of a flood wall to prevent damage. There are some buildings on the wrong side of the wall that are uninsurable.
After the E-bike tour began our 6-hour trek to find food…it was strangely difficult and we helped ourselves along the way with a few beer and pretzel stops.
We finally settled on returning to MeetBurger. Sadly we didn’t find anyone to pay for our drinks this time, but it was dry and warm near the heatlamps and there was music being played by a busker nearby. After our meal we walked the riverwalk home one last time and prepared for the journey to our return to Reykjavik!