Our trip starts in Prague, or Praha as it is known to the natives. Why must we change every foreign name? It's not like it's hard to say Praha. Anyway...

These two pictures are from the U Zlateho Tygra, or "Golden Tiger," a famous pub that several books call a "literary" tavern. We haven't figured out exactly what that means; as you can see, all of the customers are drinking, not reading. In the picture below, Jenn is reading, trying to figure out how to say basic stuff like "please" and "thank you" in Czech so we don't seem like complete oafs.

Ordering beer at this pub is easy: they only serve Pilsner Urquell, and the waiter just keeps bringing 'em 'til you say, "ne." Pilsner Urquell was not nearly as boldly hopped as I was expecting. Softly malty, with a lingering, gentle hop bitterness in the finish, it proved to be a brilliant session beer. Since our apartment is right across the street from this place, we could indulge with no fear of getting lost on the walk home.

This was a great place to spend our first jet-lagged night, and being Sunday, it wasn't too crowded.

Marionettes seem to be quite the rage in this town. There are several puppet theaters where one can experience puppet opera.
This is a Smart Car, designed by the same Swiss gentleman that brought us the Swatch. It is built by Mercedes, although you won't find a Mercedes logo on it. There was no manipulation to this photo; it is a very small car. You can park it nose to the curb and still not stick out into traffic! The perfect urban mobile!

They are now selling Smart Cars in Canada, and if gasoline prices keep climbing, we'll be seeing them in the States, too. I love 'em!

Marketing people take note: it's not just an artsy photo, it shows yet another place you can sell ad space!
Prague is the kind of city that takes forever to get around. Every building is so beautiful, every street so medieval, the entire town is a museum. On the way to Prague Castle we were distracted by the tower on the Charles Bridge. We climbed to the top, and on the way met this spider. The spires of St. Vitus's cathedral dominate his view.
Even on a Sunday night the streets in the city center are crowded with people. Aside from the many tourists, there are wandering groups of singing Czech teenagers. They can be quite loud, and carry on until the very early morning hours.

We went to bed at 3 on Monday night, and still were awakened by the crooning bastards! It doesn't really quiet down until about 6 a.m. And they say New York never sleeps!

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