We left Vienna sadly behind us. I could have stayed longer..........but it was time to move on. We took the train to Prague in the Czech Republic, joined by a young man from London whom we met in the hostel. The train ride was a long, full day, but we enjoyed conversation, reading and napping as we travelled across the grey lands in the rain. By the time we hit Prague it was already dark.
I was glad to have Darren along. He too is a "mappist" and with his younger eyes, can see much better than I after dark. We took a tram and then walked until we located the recommended hostel we had heard about. Molly and I have a luxury suite compared to hostel history......2 rooms, a huge private bathroom, a full kitchen and even one chair. The three of us had a wonderful dinner at a neighborhood pub for a bargain price......although I couldn't see Prague in the dark, I already loved it!
The three of us managed to get out our first morning by noon.....this is after all the little tasks of the day like showering, checking email, finding an ATM, getting a decent coffee and pastry and mapping out our travel plans for the day......we headed to the Prague Castle: "the biggest ancient castle in the world", according to the Guinness Book of World Records. What is "ancient"? Anyways, it was old and cold. Great views of the red tiled roofs, great views of the city. We saw a nun carrying skis and wondered, does a nun ski in her habit? If anybody knows, I would love to learn the answer.....We ran into more friends from Vienna and stopped for hot mulled wine to warm our hands and insides, before carrying on to the next stop.
My mission today was to find the Miniature Museum I had read about in the Lonely Planet book I carried. I think I had seen a show on the Discovery Channel about writing names on pieces of rice and sculpting whole cities on the head of a pin. I was so glad the rest of the gang would humor me and go along to find this place. It was a hoot! We saw a picture of Jesus painted on a poppy seed. We saw a sailboat race on the wing of a fly....we saw a zoo on the antennaes of a bug and golden horseshoes on the legs of a flea.....we saw a band of camels on a piece of hair in the eye of a needle and more........incredible......I took pictures, but you can't see anything (hahahaha)
The museum was miniature. The man running the museum was miniature. He had a small man complex and was quite rude and unpleasant. Molly made him the tiniest paper crane she could finger and gave it to him......trying to win him over. He could only smile and say they would put it on display. I think it made him feel even smaller..........
Still fighting the cold, we opted for a restaurant for a late lunch......a traditional Czech lunch: a glorious garlic soup, a piece of pork with creamy, sweet cabbage and dumplings. Hot apple strudel for dessert.......mmmmmmmm. It was nummy and filling. Warmed us up enough to wander across the famous Charles Bridge and tram ride back to our hostel, where we are warm and comfortable and even have our own bar downstairs........which.........I am off to.
