Czech Please!

I was just reading another blog about Prague and reminiscing about our trip there in September-so I thought I'd better post something before I forgot!
Sofie and I took our first plane ride together (sans Daddy) to meet Daddy who was in Prague on business. Since Chris had been there before, I didn't do my usual trip planning/research which was a very fun change with surprises around every corner! The first night we got there, we headed out for dinner hear the hotel, we ended up on a row of Italian places, so Italian in the Czech republic it was! They seated us, brought a bottle of wine, and Sofie cooperated by napping in the stroller.  About a hour AFTER we had concluded that we were SO European in the way that we waited patiently for our food to arrive- we noticed the wine was almost gone, and yes, the waiter had forgotten our order.  The patience was over, we were American and starving once again!
The next day we took the metro to the downtown area.  The subway was the only non-beautiful aspect of the entire city- very dated, wooden super fast escalators, trains that looked like they were from an old communist movie.  We headed for the "old city" which in Europe, always seems to be the best part.  I never knew how into architecture I was before coming to Prague and seeing the most colorful, intricate buildings, bridges, streets, and palaces.

We saw the astronomical clock, and took a tour of the underground which remains from before they literally built the city higher to avoid flooding.  This tour turned out to be a private one (no one else signed up for our timeslot) which was great- although Sofie was babbling (loudly) over the poor guy's commentary making for a very distracting tour.  
We saw lots of pretty etched glass, puppets and mannequins, and drank Pilsner Urquell which was good, but not as good as Belgian beer ;)

One of the hundreds of little alleyways lined with artsy shops

Delicious street food! Cinnamon buns cooked on a rod

 The next day we stayed on the other bank of the river and visited the royal palace with amazing views overlooking the city, and the Charles bridge. For lunch we found a fabulous Czech pub and had goulash and beef stew. Delish! My beef stew was served with some kind of berry topping (interesting) and whipped cream (surprisingly good)  They served all dishes with dumplings in them, which were kind of like huge slabs of white doughy bread. Very filling!

A look back at the city from the Charles bridge

 

A view over the city from the Palace

Anyways, we couldn't have asked for better weather and would love to walk around Prague again.