Trip to Prague

Saturday 30 JUN 2007

We depart from Catania through Alitalia @ 7:00. The flight arrives in Rome @ 8:30. We walked from Terminal A to Terminal C, went through Passport control and boarded the flight to Prague @ 11:00. The flight arrives in Prague @ 13:00. We had a sandwich and a roll. We then headed to the CEDAZ, the taxi service that runs from the airport to any hotel. We arrived at the hotel around 16:00.

Sunday 1 JUL 2007

Breakfast buffet – On the RHS they had cheese and cold cut meat. On the LHS, they had hot stuff like fried potatoes, stirfried veggies, mini sausage, fried eggs and hard boiled eggs. Then they had cereal, breads, rolls, pastries, cakes etc. They also had the fruit of the month concept. Each day, they would have fresh fruit juice and fruit tart made out of a certain fruit. This month was designated as month of melons.

We took the 4 hour Prague City tour on a coach.

Monday 2 JUL 2007

Got up at 4:30 in the morning. We all got ready to head out to vienna. Since the driver didn’t show up, we cancelled the trip. I took a walk outside in the park. I returned back from the walk around 8:00 AM. Me and Ajit went for breakfast buffet. After breakfast, me and Ajit went to take a nap since we were tired. DS went to the casino on the 2^nd floor. Me and Ajit woke up at noon, got ready and took the train to New town (Wenceslas square). I bought a Chicken schnitzel sandwich for each of us from the roadside kiosk. It was delicious and huge. It costed only  45 KCR ($2). We walked from the New town into the Old town square.

The Staré Město (Old Town) is dominated by the twin Gothic steeples of Týn Church (1365), the baroque wedding cake of St Nicholas Church (1730s) and the clock tower of the Old Town Hall, where the famous astronomical clock (1410) entertains the crowds on the hour with its parade of apostles and a bell-ringing skeleton. At the centre of the square is the Jan Hus Monument, erected in 1915 on the 500th anniversary of the religious reformer’s execution at the stake. Me and Ajit waited for the astronomical clock to strike 4PM to watch the apostles parade. It was a short one though, lasting for about a minute. But the old town square was jam packed to watch this spectacle.

Later, we headed towards Charles bridge. It was a nice long walk. Entire old town was flocked by stores selling Garnet jewellery, Bohemian crystal wares, Swarovski crystal jewellery etc. The elegant Charles Bridge (Karlův Most), is graced by 30 statues dating from the 18th century, and lined with jewellery stalls, portrait artists and the odd jazz band. The bridge was one of the most crowded places in Prague.

Tuesday 3 JUL 2007

Lunch at Indian Restaurant.

Bohemian crystal shopping.

I bought 3 pieces of bohemian jewellery.

Around 2:00 PM, we took a taxi (250 KCR) to the hotel.

DS fell asleep.

Me and Ajit waited for the shuttle to come pick us up for the Prague Boat tour. The shuttle picked us up around 15:00. The boat trip lasted for about an hour. We had cake and juice in the cruise. After the boat cruise, the guide took us around the Jewish quarter, and dropped us off at the old town center.

I got 3 chicken sandwiches for the night.

Wednesday 4 JUL 2007

Got up in the morning, took shower, packed all of our things and headed for breakfast. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel, left all of our luggage at the lobby and took the train to New town square.

DS went for a Thai massage. I went shopping for bohemian crystal jewellery. I didn’t have money. So, I just selected all the jewellery, left it with the storekeeper and promised to return back later. Then we walked to the opposite side of the street and bought couple of toys for Ajit. By now, DS was done with his massage. We all then had Thai food for lunch. It was way too spicy. We couldn’t even eat it. I got money from DS and went back to the jewellery store. Ajit and DS went for suitcase shopping. They bought a suitcase to carry our Bohemian crystalwares. We left from the New town at 3:00 PM and took the train to our hotel. We were there by 3:30 PM. We then packed all of our crystal wares into the suitcase and waited for the CEDAZ aiport pickup shuttle. The minibus arrived at 4:30 PM. We arrived at the airport around 5:15 PM. The plane took off at 6:30 PM.