Prague Day 2

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We both slept all night with the exception of Clay's phone ringing about 2am. We went down to the complimentary breakfast room on the 4th floor around 8:30 am. They had eggs, but only boiled in the shell for 10 minutes and served either hot or cold. There was salad, cold cuts, pate, pickles, cold cereal, yogurt, breads and pastries. The other hot food was beans and sausages. Oh, there was something labeled pancakes that looked about like an un-split English Muffin. There was only sweet curd to go with them. I tried it adding cherry compote from the yogurt bar. It was weird. The pancake was thick, dense and really hard to chew up. The sweet curd was sweet with a Greek yogurt texture. Coffee was small servings in tiny cups from a self service machine. There was a 3-juice dispensing machine that had a spout for water. I asked for ice and was told it was available at the reception desk. I had my wide mouth bottle with me and went down and got it filled up. (Spoiler alert: I went back after dinner and got it filled less enthusiastically. Clay took that bottle full for his Coke Zero and I went back where I was denied. I pulled a face and he assured me that he had given me all the ice he had. I made another face and he told me I could come back in an hour. We split the first batch of ice and since we were both desperate to strip off sweaty clothes, no one went back. Once again, finding ice in Europe is a full-time job.)

We headed back to the Old Town Square again with the goal of seeing the astronomical clock striking the hour today. We arrived about 10 of 10 am and had a perfect spot in the center of the eventual crowd. It was rather anticlimactic. I had read that you could pay to see inside the clock tower and we could see people up top. So we went inside and self toured for 250 CZK for me and 150 for Clay. There were 2 or 3 places in the Old Town Hall where you had to present your ticket for scanning to enter. We went to the top of the tower by elevator. There was a ramp almost all the way to the top with a short circular stairway. We saw it from the glass tube of an elevator. We walked down. On the 1st floor vs. 0, the ground floor you could climb some wooden stairs outside the Chapel of the Virgin Mary to see the 12 apostles that appear outside the clock tower on the hour from 9 am to 11 pm. We used the free basement restrooms and went back outside. Clay wanted to watch without recording video this time. It was twice as crowded and we weren't 10 minutes early either.

It got really hot today. The weather here is running about 10 degrees F hotter than their historical averages. Fortunately, we both packed shorts at the last minute. Unfortunately, we both packed needing to wear shirts twice and that isn't going to work!

Today being Saturday, the crowds were twice as heavy as yesterday which I wouldn't have thought possible if I hadn't seen it. Expecting tomorrow to still be bad we are debating a strategy for the next 2 days wondering if Monday would be lighter. We'll see.

Clay was interested in lunch after the 11 am clock ringing, but I was more interested in getting across the river to be near our Segway reservation meeting point. I figured we could eat over there. Clay already had a dinner place picked out over there. Clay wanted ice cream first but refused to have one without a place to sit in the shade with it. That is not impossible but the exception and he had to go without. Crossing the Charles Bridge was crazy! The crowds on and across the bridge were twice as thick as those in the Old Town Square. As we neared the opposite end, I called a drink stop and we pulled over the edge and drank some water. Clay looked down and saw a place advertising crepes under a giant tree right at the edge of a river side canal. We went. We passed the ice cream place he'd been wishing for on our way right off the bridge but I told him no more ice cream before meals. Choose one or the other. We made our way to Cafe Marnice. I've looked but they don't have a website. Also, they only have dessert crepes and a limited menu. Today's special was beef goulash. We shared a club sandwich with fries and each had a beverage and a dessert. Clay had Prague's special honey cake. I had a pair of strawberry jam crepes with whipped cream. It was all good under a nice shady tree by water and the perfect portions. We finished everything but the fries which weren't very tasty.

We had close to an hour to find the Segway meeting place and we meandered. We were too full again today to get a chimney cake and they are everywhere. Here in Prague, they stuff them with ice cream or Nutella or something, not just plain like Budapest.

We were a little early for our meeting and the 3 young women that were also on the 2pm tour were a little late. Segways are banned in Prague 1 so we had to ride tram from nearby for about 15 minutes to get to Prague 6. It was route 22 and it was jam-packed. We had to all squeeze on because we had already lost tour time. I have to say this was the worst Segway experience we've ever had. The Segways themselves were in the worst shape we've ever seen anywhere. The 3 young women were all 1st timers and terrified but he didn't worry about making sure they were confident or give them a chance to back out. Off we went into traffic and the worst road conditions we've seen in a first world country. The ride was rougher than cobblestones in Brugge because it was all broken pavement, curbs and potholes. We visited 2 monasteries and a defunct football stadium. We booked this tour because it promised a beer at a monastery. The guide said we could pick which one, but the 3 women out voted us to have no beer and end the tour early! No recompense for the skipped inclusion was offered.  Our guide had said up front that he'd take us back to Prague 1 but at the end of the tour he just handed out transit tickets for us to make our own way back. There still appeared to be a lot of Segway tours offered in Prague, not just the company we used but I don't think I'd recommend any of them Sorry.

We got back to the tram stop where we'd board before 2 pm. We found a bank within 100 feet of where we had given up finding one this morning. Clay used the ATM without fees. On the corner was an Amorino shop with flower shaped gelatos. We'd had these in Budapest and wanted them again. It was just 4pm and too early for dinner. So we again violated the no ice cream before a meal rule. Another mistake! It was delicious though and we sat inside, Clay's rule.

Clay wanted to see the John Lennon Wall that was supposed to be nearby. We walked there and watched the crowd and a graffitti artist for a while. It was after 5pm and we headed to Pork's, the restaurant Clay had picked. They specialize in crispy pork knuckle, one of his all time favorite dishes. Pork's may have been the best one yet! They were mass producing them in the kitchen which you could see in on your way to and from the restroom. We were seated near the kitchen far from the open front door breezes and near the heat and flies. It was a great and affordable meal, unfortunately it was so stifling hot in there I almost got sick and even though we were sharing one crispy knuckle meal and a side of potato pancakes with porkfat fried sauerkraut we couldn't eat half of the food and just had to leave the building. Back out into the crowds which hadn't diminished by much sadly.

We walked straight back to the Cloister Inn and cranked up our AC and had our ice and cooling box beverages. We had earlier debated attending at 8pm concert at a church but couldn't face the heat or crowds. I checked the prices as I typed this and the concert cost twice what our excellent meal tonight cost and I decided against it. It was a string quartet and pipe organ. It is on again tomorrow night, but I doubt we'll go then either.

More tomorrow.

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