Day 18: Czeching out the... Prakgues? (Parks)

It has been a while since we have had any bagels, and after taking the tour through the Jewish quarter, we were inspired to find some familiar brekkie eats as to we have at home.

We set out with high hopes but a short search later didn't turn up any bagel places. We settled on a cafe that looked promising nonetheless. It seemed to know its coffee and it delivered. It also had a few eggs benedict options which I certainly couldn't turn down. Adelaide also tried them for the first time but got them on spinach while I had bacon.

Live music is plentiful in Prague and if you come here you have to sample some. There is no shortage of classical options, and so we booked a string quartet performing Vivaldi for the evening. A cute puppy appeared when we were eating so when we paid and left I couldn't help but pat it.

We moseyed through the Jewish quarter for a bit, before making our way across another bridge over the river to check out the Letenska Park and the metronome. On Google Maps it doesn't have any contours so its quite deceptive. The park is mostly set into the hill. The climb - after this long out of the gym and all the more heavier - was a task, but the views over Prague were rewarding. We wandered through the park and started to notice some unusual black and white poster boards up. Turns out there was an exhibit about modern history in Prague from WWII through the velvet revolution to the modern day. The installations were spaced along at each junction in the path before culminating at the base of the pendulum. The main art installation looked a little too abstract for our tastes (audio visual light show with strobe warning ehhh).

The metronome itself was also closed off as they were extending or renovating it. I'm not sure if it's a selling point but I feel it's a shame there's so much graffiti there. I felt I could have shot a scene from a futuristic dystopian movie there.

With that checked off, we set course for the next landmark we'd been tipped off about, the National Monument on Vitkov - another park. Back over the river and behind central station. This was also meant to have a big monument with more good views of the city.

I chose the walking route based on Google's suggestions. It took us through a more rundown part of Prague, until suddenly we hit the Hilton and some conglomerate HQs and we were out of graffiti and littered streets and into manicured sidewalks like night and day. The walk was also longer than expected and I started getting the moan and groan from Adelaide, despite my encouraging "it's just up here!" every few minutes. I think I might be becoming my dad...

Czech OB Truck!

Some cool locks

And a whitewater stage!

Our goal was up that hill!

The walk up to the monument at the top of Viktov Park was another hill climb stage, our legs were getting a solid workout. The place was empty, aside from maybe 4 other tourists - it was weird for a place that had such great views not far from old town. At the monument was a huge 5m tall statue and a very ominous concrete building, commemorating communism. It had a huge detailed double door which, too, was unfortunately closed. We hung around at the top to soak in the views and rest our legs for a bit.

Next stop on the extended walking tour of Prague was the national museum. We had been told it could be busy, and as it was cold and threatening to rain we didn't like our chances. We headed back down the hill and took a pit stop at a small cafe nearby to get some water and Addy got a blueberry muffin to go. The leg from Vitkov to the museum was a lot shorter than the previous leg before it, as well as being far flatter. It took us around the front of central station as we had gone the first night we arrived.

The national museum is a fantastic building with gilded trimmings on its roof, and it over looks Wenceslas square. The line of people snaking out and around the corner was not enticing however, and so we veto'd that idea. No matter, there were more Christmas markets on at the head of the square, and we were in need of replenishment!

Neopolitan Houses!

The view down the square

Keen to try all the varieties of food and drink on this trip, I gave warm honey wine a go. It's my new favourite! It's sweeter than normal mulled wine, perhaps a little too sweet - I don't think I could have had another after. Adelaide was feeling quite veggie deficient and wanted something that wasn't meat for lunch. Our prayers were answer when we found a place that had a variety of potato dishes further into the market. Adelaide opted for the stir fry one whole I went the cheese and bacon one. It wasn't till we paid we might have been ripped off a bit but oh well!

Full as a goog!

Down a block from the markets was 'Palac Knih' which was a huge bookstore Adelaide had spotted when searching maps earlier on in the day and we just had to check it out! I believe the store used to be a mall which had been renovated into one big building. It went back at least 100m and was spread across 5 huge floors. Adelaide found a couple of books she really wanted to get in a different international print, but resisted temptation. I found the range of English books surprisingly large and seemed to be nestled in with the Czech, at least for YA.

We were spent from all our walking and headed back to the hotel for a break before our 5pm concert. Luckily the venue was just around the corner, but we still had to spend a few minutes trying to find the entrance as all the buildings in the old town are layered over each other. When we entered it felt like we were late for an exam, with a geriatric tour group already keenly seated at the front. We slunk to the back and took our seats. Thankfully, the concert didn't start for another 15 minutes and some people even came in after the first few songs had been played. (You've already missed the first two seasons!)

The quartet were beautiful and it consisted of two violins, a viola and a cello. The first violin was very charismatic. They played through all of Vivaldi's seasons and others. At the end they even came back on for a short encore before receiving a standing ovation. It really was special! Leaving the hall we had to squeeze past the next waiting group for what we assumed was the Christmas concert.

The spectacular roof

By this stage we had worked off our late lunch and on our way home we took a longer route to find somewhere for dinner. Old Town has plenty of options and we soon found what felt like a classic restaurant with a wide menu (little did we know this was actually a chain - "we'd been spooned!" - but we wouldn't find that out until the next night). I got a traditional beef roast in a sweet sauce while Adelaide had chicken with chips and vege (she really just wanted to have some vegetables - traditional dishes are all meat and carb).

We umm'd and ahh'd over dessert there but decided just to get something on way home. You guessed it, another funnel cake. I feel it wasn't as good as my first one, but I think that's because it set the bar so high.

Cheers for now!
D+A