Monday, July 28, 2008
Prague, Czech Republic
I have this to say about Prague. it is expensive. our little hamburger lunch today cost us around $100 today, approx $30 per person for a plate with two hamburgers and some french fries, a sprite or a beer....we didn't have the exchange rate worked out yet, we thought it was 15 crowns to the dollar, but turns out that is what a dollar with cost a person. It is actuall $11.81 to the dollar, and the hamburger plate (w/o the fries or drink) cost 195 crown...you do the math! arrggg.....it is the strong crown (against the dollar and the euro) that is creating some inflation here..the locals can't afford to come to the town center for a cold one anymore.
But walking around and looking up at the highly decorated, encrusted buildings and walking across the charles bridge, up the hill to the palace was wonderful...... dealing with crowds, signs, construction, (expensive drinks:$5 cokes, coffee makes paris feel cheap). at least our hotel rate is reasonable, and has a fabulous breakfast included. We walked for 7 1/2 hours today, in 80-90 degree sunshine with breezes. Water trucks drove by frequently, spraying out mist to cool us down!It feels a bit like the wild west here. As David remarked astutely, this country is in transition! Last night we ordered a Little Cesar's pizza at the entrance to a Tesco (grocery store we knew in England). We waited, and finally the store was closing (I tried to browse, but was sternly pushed away by a woman) we realized our pizza had not come...the woman we ordered it from had forgotten! She wondered what questions we had? and after a few seconds/questions back/forth, she realized she'd left it sitting in the box on the warming shelf. We gobbled it down and cleared our table. We walked around till 10pm, thousands of people out walking. We also drove around a bit, down the cobbled lanes, to dead ends, all crowded with people. Crazy.Stuff is expensive here, don't let anyone tell you otherwise! There are statues (all blackened with carbon, I think) EVERYWHERE. It reminds me of the Peter Falk, Natasia Kinski movie set in Berlin, where the real angels hang out with the statue angels at the tops of buildings! We are off to Poland tomorrow, the pottery making area in the town of Boleslawicz (or something like that). Looking forward to a more rural experience.The best part of today was walking everywhere, shooting hundreds of photos and knowing that we hiked all the way to the top of the hill where the castle/palace is.The Charles Bridge is pedestrian only, and many artists/artisans are set up selling their photos, enameled jewelry, wood hair clips, and watercolors.
Prague, Czech Republic
I have this to say about Prague. it is expensive. our little hamburger lunch today cost us around $100 today, approx $30 per person for a plate with two hamburgers and some french fries, a sprite or a beer....we didn't have the exchange rate worked out yet, we thought it was 15 crowns to the dollar, but turns out that is what a dollar with cost a person. It is actuall $11.81 to the dollar, and the hamburger plate (w/o the fries or drink) cost 195 crown...you do the math! arrggg.....it is the strong crown (against the dollar and the euro) that is creating some inflation here..the locals can't afford to come to the town center for a cold one anymore.
But walking around and looking up at the highly decorated, encrusted buildings and walking across the charles bridge, up the hill to the palace was wonderful...... dealing with crowds, signs, construction, (expensive drinks:$5 cokes, coffee makes paris feel cheap). at least our hotel rate is reasonable, and has a fabulous breakfast included. We walked for 7 1/2 hours today, in 80-90 degree sunshine with breezes. Water trucks drove by frequently, spraying out mist to cool us down!It feels a bit like the wild west here. As David remarked astutely, this country is in transition! Last night we ordered a Little Cesar's pizza at the entrance to a Tesco (grocery store we knew in England). We waited, and finally the store was closing (I tried to browse, but was sternly pushed away by a woman) we realized our pizza had not come...the woman we ordered it from had forgotten! She wondered what questions we had? and after a few seconds/questions back/forth, she realized she'd left it sitting in the box on the warming shelf. We gobbled it down and cleared our table. We walked around till 10pm, thousands of people out walking. We also drove around a bit, down the cobbled lanes, to dead ends, all crowded with people. Crazy.Stuff is expensive here, don't let anyone tell you otherwise! There are statues (all blackened with carbon, I think) EVERYWHERE. It reminds me of the Peter Falk, Natasia Kinski movie set in Berlin, where the real angels hang out with the statue angels at the tops of buildings! We are off to Poland tomorrow, the pottery making area in the town of Boleslawicz (or something like that). Looking forward to a more rural experience.The best part of today was walking everywhere, shooting hundreds of photos and knowing that we hiked all the way to the top of the hill where the castle/palace is.The Charles Bridge is pedestrian only, and many artists/artisans are set up selling their photos, enameled jewelry, wood hair clips, and watercolors.
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