Day 9 - Prague and the Flooding

We left our safe harbor on June 2, transferred by bus to the Prague Hilton where our luggage was unloaded.  Our bus then took us to the Castle Hill where we were to walk through the castle complex.  Because it was Sunday, the Cathedral of St. Vitus was closed to tourists.  As we walked around it, the wind and rain increased, making sight-seeing practically impossible.  All I remember about the cathedral is that St. Wenceslas is buried there, and is not known by the Czech as the king of the Christmas carol.  Because a Slav princess married an English nobleman, the fanciful story of Wenceslas was born as an English carol.

Our bus tour continued to see a few of the highlights of Prague, including a 250,000 seat stadium built not for Olympics or soccer, but for other competitions; a look at some of the unique architecture and elegant housing of the city; and the famous King Charles Bridge, spanning the now ever-rising river.  After a brief lunch of crepes and cappuccino at a little cafe, we walked around the Old Town, watching as the town employees began to erect a flood barrier along the river in anticipation of the flooding that was sure to come.  (The photo shows the extent of the flooding in the middle of Sunday afternoon.)

In another rainy moment we walked across the King Charles bridge and on through winding cobblestone streets to the Old Town Square to watch the Astronomical Clock mark the hour.  As it did, there was a procession of figures of the apostles past windows that opened above the clock, while smaller figures representing attributes such as vanity, greed, and death moved their arms to ring bells.  It was a charming little show that took about two minutes.

We then walked through a section of the town with elegant homes which had been converted into stores for some of the most expensive outlets and back to the bus.  We returned to the hotel, found our room, and tried to warm up.  At 5:30 p.m. we took a hotel taxi back to the castle complex to an evening of classical music performed in a medieval hall by five string musicians.  The acoustics were so good that it sounded like a small orchestra.

We're home now, after an uneventful flight with good airline food (love the European airlines!).  All in all, it was a great trip, and now we look forward to next year's cruise on the Rhone River.