30 May, 2018

Prague - Day 4

On day 4, we had another leisurely morning, with breakfast in the hotel restaurant. The plan was to see the Astronomical Clock and then visit a monastery restaurant that multiple people had recommended to Matt.

After we had eaten, we set out for Old Town Square. It took just a bit longer to get there than we had anticipated (have I mentioned that the twisty-turny streets were not easy to follow on the map?), but there was plenty to see on the way.





They were doing work on an old church we passed. The kids were impressed with how high the workmen were.


Do you see the guy all the way at the top?
Once we arrived in the square, we discovered another Easter Market! The kids were hungry, so we let them share a trdelnk.






After the snack, we went round the corner to see the oldest working astronomical clock in the world. The oldest part of the clock was made in 1410, and every hour people gather to watch the Apostles and other figures mark the time. I didn't necessarily need to see the show, but I was looking forward to seeing the landmark.

And this is what we found.


Yes, that is a picture of the clock projected onto a tarp that's covering scaffolding around the real clock. Turns out that renovations are going on until August, so we missed this popular site (womp womp).

We were still optimistic about the day in general, so we headed off toward Strahov Monastery. Google maps told us that it was about 3 km away, and would take around 30 minutes. I really wish Google maps had a setting for "walking with kids."

So we walked...




... and crossed the Charles Bridge...



Views from the bridge

... and walked some more...





When we finally arrived at the monastery (which was founded in 1143!), we were all exhausted and hungry. It turned out to be a late lunch because of how long it took to get there. We were all a little bit cranky, so when I saw a sign pointing the way to a restaurant, we jumped on it.

The restaurant was in an old cellar, and it looked really cool. Once we sat down and looked at the menu though, we thought we had to be in the wrong place. This was more of a fine dining place; surely Matt's co-workers wouldn't recommend something that wasn't suited for the whole family?







The server told us about a kid's plate that wasn't on the menu, so we ordered one for our three to share. I had goulash in a bread bowl, and Matt had some kind of meat. The food was good, but nothing I would have raved about, and we were still a bit cranky from the walk. When we finished our food and began wandering the grounds, we discovered that there were three or four restaurants in the compound. We had gone to the wrong one. Instead of being too disappointed, we decided to stick around for a couple of hours and go to one of the other eateries.




The kids were full of beans by this time, so we let them run around most of the time. I had read about the Strahov Monastery library, and Matt offered to stay outside with our feral children while I looked inside.




I opted to pay an additional fee (it wasn't much) for permission to take photos.

There were examples of animals...


... artefacts...



... and a great collection of ancient coins...




But the libraries were my favorite part.





The whole area was pretty small, but I'm glad I had the chance to go in.

Back outside, it was almost an acceptable time to have an early dinner. The kids ran around a little more, and we chose another restaurant.





The monastery brews their own beer, which was really good. And we honestly preferred the food at this place better than  the fine dining cave. We had a burger and more goulash, and the kids had chicken schnitzel (basically pounded and fried chicken breast).




By this time, we were ready for the long trek back to the hotel.


Letting the kids burn off energy



As we approached the Charles Bridge again, Miles wanted to go to the top of this tower. Lily did not, so I stayed at the bottom with her and Clara.

I see you!

Views from the top


Again, my phone battery was getting pretty low, so I only took a few more pictures on the way back.




Since we had a early dinner, we bought some chips on the way to the hotel, and the kids ate those before going to bed. So the day did not go as planned at all (are you getting a theme for this whole vacation?), but it still wasn't too bad.