Lost in Prague

Well, not really; but Mrs. Ref and I did spend the day -- alone -- in Prague. 

We received traveling instructions from our exchange daughter and made our way into town.  I don't know how big cities in the U.S. do it, but in Prague you can pay for a bus ticket with your cell phone.  That's a pretty cool deal.

Anyway ... we got into downtown just fine.  Stopped at the castle and Cathedral of St. Vitus.  We made it in time to catch the noon changing-of-the-guard and that was rather ceremonially impressive.  After that, we bought tickets to climb the tower.  We got a great view of the city from there, despite the fact that today was cold and windy.

From there we went to downtown proper.  I bought a crepe on the way (which was very tasty) and we wandered here and there among lots of streets we hadn't seen before.  We bought a few more gifts for friends back home and then went to the center square for lunch -- ham and potatoes.  Trust me, it tastes much better than it sounds.

After that, we found our way to the Jewish Quarter and a gift shop that had luggage.  The shop owner remembered us from several days ago and he gave us a discount on a piece that Mrs. Ref wanted.  We picked up one other souvenir and then headed back home via public transit.  We bought a couple more tickets with the phone, managed to get on the right tram and right bus, and we were home by about 4:30.

Tonight we celebrate Monika's birthday with the family, and we'll give her a gift from GP.  Tomorrow is our final day in town, then we pack, get a short night's sleep and head to the airport Friday morning at 0400.  We will be in Portland around 12:30 p.m. Friday.

Then it'll be a few days of recovering, and we're both back in the office on Monday.

It's been a great trip.  I could just might consider living in Prague.