Today as I write, it is Sunday, January 2. We attended church this morning and we were also blessed with a beautiful sunny day, so we got the kids out on a much needed walk to burn some energy and soak up some sun. We headed over to the Three Swords - the walking trail was still very icy and slick, but we managed without incident and enjoyed the outing. The water by Three Swords is still frozen especially closer to the beach area, so we walked out a little ways. I actually took a picture on my Blackberry with Spencer and the kids standing out in what is usually water with the swords behind them. The kids thought that was pretty cool. Brendan's comment..."I am walking on water...like God!" Ha! Clever little thing!
Anyway, back to Prague...
So December 24-25 were the Christmas holidays for the city. Their main day of celebration is actually the 24th, so most things were closed with the exception of some restaurants and a few souvenir-type stores. We spent the day wandering a bit and taking in some sights. We walked over into the Jewish Quarter and then made our way over to Charles Bridge from the Old Town to the Lesser Quarter. We did make an attempt to walk up the steps to the huge metronome (to represent Prague being the home of classical music) but it was just too slippery to go all the way up! There were plenty of tourists and site-seers out and even some tours going on. It was a pretty wet weather day and the kids were ready for a little break so we found a nice restaurant that was open. One thing about many of the restaurants, especially some of the ones that serve traditional Czech food and are a little more expensive...they are actually built into underground cave-looking areas. This particular one was this way and when you opened the door, you immediately took a staircase down underground. It was a lovely restaurant and gave us a chance to warm up and get a light lunch. The kids ate the potato mushroom soup served in bread bowls and Spencer and I shared a bowl of the traditional carp soup - it was delicious!!!
From there, we headed back over the Charles Bridge and enjoyed checking out all the statues along the foot bridge. One we had heard about from our tour had a part that was supposed to bring luck to those who touched it and made a wish. We were able to easily spot it because of the bright spots on the statue where the shine came through from all the wishes!
A little later that day, we headed back over to the Hard Rock for our Christmas Eve dinner. They had told us the day before they would be open and the kids wanted to go back, so...they had a limited/special menu for the day, but that was all good with us - we had plenty of great things to choose from! I had a sirloin steak and mashed potatoes and Spencer and the kids had burgers!
Shortly after dinner, we had tickets to attend a concert in the library of the St. Michael's Monastery. We had seen fliers for various Christmas concerts and such going on and this one caught our eye. It included a soprano, a harpist, a violinist, and an organist/pianist. It was a combination of traditional Christmas hymns, Ave Maria, Czech songs, and some classical pieces as well - what a treat! It was a beautiful way to end our Christmas Eve in Prague! On a funny note...Brendan discovered he had a loose tooth shortly after we left for our trip...he lost his tooth just before the concert began here at St. Michael's. He was quite pleased, needless to say. I think we are keeping the tooth fairy in business lately! He received 20 Czech Crowns with a note and promise for some NOK upon our return home :)
December 25 was another holiday for many places, but more things were open on this day. We had reservations for dinner at a restaurant on the other side of Charles Bridge so we took the day to walk some other areas and ride the funicular up to one of the highest points in the city where there is a miniature replica of the Eiffel Tower. Once at the top, there was a playground area that, despite being covered in snow, the kids enjoyed playing on. We also went through a "mirror maze." We intended to take the elevator up to the top of the mini Eiffel Tower, but at the time we were there, the elevator seemed to be having issues, so we just enjoyed the view from where we were.
After our trip to the funicular, we decided to head over to the restaurant we had reservations at to see if we could eat a little earlier. On the way over, we passed by the famous John Lennon wall full of graffiti art. Kyla was, of course, quick to pose with her hands in the "peace sign" for a picture.
Luckily the restaurant wasn't too busy and could take up sooner, so we settled in for a nice early dinner. Brendan and Spencer had pork and I ate roasted duck. Kyla tried the goulash. It was a great meal - oh how we love Czech food!
On our walks around town, we had noticed several Black Light Theaters around and one kept catching our eye. We stopped in to see if we could get tickets and sure enough, we were able, so that evening, we enjoyed a show called "Aspects of Alice" in the Black Light Theater. It was a bit of an odd show, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.
By the time it was over, it was time to get the kids to bed! The weather had been getting really cold that evening and by the time we left the show, it was basically snowing ice crystals and things were getting pretty nasty out. I think that was the coldest the weather was the entire time we were there!
So, despite the holidays, we managed to keep ourselves busy and found plenty to do!
