After the tour, we walked back past the riding school to catch the buses down the hill and across the river to the hotel. Although a few dropped out, the walking part of the tour continued as we walked down the Paris Street to the Town Square and got the guide's description of all mom and I had seen the night before. Our tour concluded at 11:00 am at the Astronomical Clock, where we watched the bells ring, statues dance, and rooster crow to mark the hour. It was another place packed with tourists (and pickpockets).
Leaving the old town square following the tour, we walked from the old town to the new town, which was founded in 1348. Most of the buildings here date back to the 19th century, so it is "newer" than old town. Wenceslas Square (good king Wenceslas was Czech) is really a very wide street that stretches for several blocks. Mom and I paused for a drink (diet coke for me and cappuccino for her) at an outdoor cafe. After resting for a while and doing some more people watching, we wandered back to the hotel for a little bit before a late lunch.
Dropping one of our jackets and our umbrellas at the hotel, we walked back towards the old town and Wenceslas Square, pausing to eat a late lunch (with beer) outside near the Bethlehem Square. Using the map, I took mom across the Charles Bridge and we stopped along the way to take in the lovely views of the city. We found a small cafe on the other side (in the Little Quarter) and had coffee/diet coke before heading back to the hotel, arriving at 4:30.
That evening we went to a Czech folklore show and dinner. The Czech folk show was great fun. The restaurant was a very typical touristy place, with buses from various river cruise lines, tour companies, and hotels. We had groups of Americans, British, Canadians, Aussies, and Kiwis; Turks; Russians; and even one guy from Nicaragua! The wine and beer flowed very freely. In fact, a young man had large glass wine flasks with long tubes and he could squirt the wine into your glass from a couple of feet away. (or more) Very entertaining, and we never saw him spill a drop. He would refill your glass if it got a quarter inch low! Dinner was typical Czech--very heavy. Our guide said that Czechs don't eat many veggies and consider them garnish. We started with a large bowl of small dumplings about the size of a big cashew nut. The dumplings were flavored with ham and butter and cream. They were good (of course), but very filling. The main course was kebabs (lamb, chicken, and pork), some fried potatoes like tater tots, and another potato dish with thin layers of potatoes and cheese in a sour cream sauce--like potatoes au gratin. Dessert was cake with ice cream. Talk about being stuffed! The meal was okay, but the portions were too big and it was way too heavy for most of us.
Interspersed with all the eating and drinking was a lot of fun entertainment. They had a small combo consisting of a dulcimer, two violins, and a bass fiddle. The four musicians (two women, two men) also threw in a few Czech instruments, one of which reminded me of an Australian didgeridoo, and another reminded me of a bagpipe, but it was made of fur and had a much softer sound. They also had a woman singer/emcee who got everyone involved in the singing and dancing. (after we had all enjoyed copious amounts of wine/beer) Mom was drafted to dance with a guy from Turkey, and she did fine. We all laughed very hard and soon it was time to go back to the Intercontinental Hotel. Glad no one in our group had to drive.
Since our flight didn't leave until late afternoon, we used the next morning to take a walk around some more of the old city, seeing the Powder Tower and the Jewish Quarter, which features a cemetery with graves from the 1300's to the 1700's--none since. The cemetery is tiny, but people are "stacked" 12 deep in the graves.
All too soon, our time in Prague was over. After our first day in Prague, I had already decided it was one of my favorite cities. I certainly didn't change my mind the next two days.
The Paris to Prague "Central European Experience" cruise tour with Avalon Waterways exceeded my expectations in many categories. The itinerary was marvelous, with two great cities bookending a wonderful river cruise through some of Europe's most beautiful landscape. The ship's cabins and baths were large, had lovely views, and the galley featured consistently excellent food. This ship and itinerary would be a great choice for either first time or experienced river cruisers.
As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with a discounted cruise accommodation for the purpose of review. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our ethics policy.
