We slept fitfully last night. Carol's cold/cough kept her up and I was up with her sympathetically. But she finally drifted off to sleep and we woke at 8:30am, showered, dressed and enjoyed another delicious breakfast at the hotel. The Maximilian is a four-star hotel and we love it. The design is “minimalist” – very chic, and the accommodations are excellent. Free Internet access for guests is not wasted on us. The staff is quite friendly and helpful. One of the nicest hotels we have stayed at in all our travels.

Our young guide, Sienna, led us and did a great job of crowd control. Somehow she managed to keep track of the 12 of us amidst the thousands (literally – there had to be 10-20,000 people on the grounds of the Prague Castle and Cathedral of St. Vitus). The history of this place is ancient and steeped in mysticism, from the Golem of the Jews to the princess who could predict the future and thus directed the location of the Castle. We watched the hourly changing of the guard and then entered the grand, ancient cathedral with its beautiful stained glass, high stone arches and enormous pipe organ. The walking tour lasted 2 hours and was over too soon. The walk began with a tram ride up the hillside, then continued with the actual tour of the grounds, and then a (slow) walk back down the hillside. The $12 per person fee was worth every karuna and we highly recommend it, especially if you can locate Sienna, who walks very fast and is very knowledgeable of the local history.

Back to the hotel for a bit of a rest. Called partner Chris who has had what sounds like a bronchial infection. It was great to talk to Chris, who heads to New York City with his bride Toni when we return home. God bless Chris, Dan and Cody for watching the Fort.

Old Town Square: Church of St. Nicholas, stunning rococo Kinski Palace (now an art gallery,) the towering Church of our Lady Before Tyn with its twin gothic steeples, the central Jan Hus monument (a religious reformer, Hys is a symbol of integrity,) the Old Town Hall Clock – the famous astronomical clock draws crowds every hour. No traffic allowed except for horse-drawn carriages. Ringed with historic buildings. Unique atmosphere. Café tables on cobblestone. Estates Theatre – featured in Molos Forman's Amadeus. A university called Carolinum was founded here by King Charles IV in 1348.

Crossroads of Europe, at one time Prague was larger than Paris or London. Prague's Golden Age was during the reign of Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, during the Middle Ages (1346-1378). First university in central Europe. Austrian Hapsburgs took control in the 16th century. Prague became capital of an independent republic in 1918. In 1939 the Nazis invaded and occupied, followed by 40 years of communism. In 1969 a student named Jan Palach set himself on fire and burned to death as a protest against Soviet occupation, leading to the “Velvet Revolution” of 1989, which ultimately led to the demise of Soviet control and the fall of the Soviet Union.

Carol came back from her nice Thai massage, and we freshened up, dressed, and strolled back to Old Town Square. We have a special adventure planned for Friday/Saturday, so we walked many blocks up to Wenceslas Square to the Prague Train station, where we bought one-way second-class tickets from Prague to Berlin and first-class overnight tickets from Berlin to Paris. This adventure will allow us several hours to experience Berlin on the way to Paris and Normandy.

After visiting the train station (spooky) we walked back down into Old Town Square and had dinner. Carol had a delicious Greek salad, very nicely presented, and I had a chicken kebab with plums and sweet corn – out-of-this world. We honestly have to say that some of the best food we have ever enjoyed on our trips to Europe have been in Prague. Excellent and reasonably priced... However, one word of warning: don't be surprised if the prices on the menu do not add up to the bill. There are very often service charges and cover charges added almost sneakily.

It was around 9:00pm. After our delicious dinner we strolled slowly around large Old Town Square, took in the lights, the sights and the sounds. Since it was beginning to get late for us old folks, we decided to sit in one more outdoor café for coffee and dessert. We sat in Café U Prince in front of Hotel U Prince where we immediately met and struck up a lively conversation with Pat and Martin, a lovely and intelligent couple from Birmingham, England. We enjoyed comparing travel notes and discussing the upcoming British election. Pat, a fellow musician, took notice of my long right-hand fingernails (for classical guitar) and asked if I was a musician. No one else has ever made that deduction – now there is one astute woman. We very much enjoyed and appreciated the hour we spent chatting with Pat and Martin, but at around 11pm we said our goodbyes and wished them a safe journey back to merry England.

All-in-all, another interesting and fun-filled day. We fell into bed thinking about tomorrow's adventure.

Pedometer reading for today - 8 miles

Next Day