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.

Royal Wedding

I couldn't go without mentioning the wedding of HRH Prince Henry of Wales and Meghan Markle.

Most of the shops I've seen have had some sort of "wedding sale," and there are loads of commemorative items for sale. You've got the standard fare, like china, mugs, buttons, and flags. Then you've got some... stranger items. Like a china KFC bucket.

From trendsetter.com

And check out this list from Cosmo. Seriously, who is buying the bathing suits?

Anyway, sales and merchandise aside, I haven't heard much about the wedding. Some people I know have mentioned it in passing, but they've never lingered on the topic. I don't know if it's just not an interest to the people I know, or if the English in general aren't bothered about it.

That's not to say that nothing wedding related is going on in our area. On the Wednesday before the event, there was a high tea celebration in town. I bought a ticket and a fascinator, and arranged for a babysitter for Clara. I was excited to dress up and go to tea.

And Miles got sick on Wednesday morning. Poor kid missed a class trip, so he was disappointed also.

I was already dressed...

The kids' school had a special tea party the day before the wedding.  There were decorations, biscuits, and a general air of excitement.

The Royal family made an appearance at drop off.

And the children had researched the states of the US as well as the counties of England.

They hadn't yet put up the US decorations when I was there

Near the end of the school day, the kids gathered in the hall for tea. The school had invited some seniors from a nearby care home, and the kids sang for them. Lily was chosen as part of a small group that sang the British national anthem . Unfortunately, there wasn't room for parents to attend, so I didn't get to see, but the teachers said she did a beautiful job. For me, the best part of the day was that the excitement really wore them all out, and they slept very well.

I did look online to see if there were any events nearby. There was one pub and one church that had something going on, but that's all I saw. We were just planning on watching it on TV anyway, so I didn't mind.

I did order these sausages, and set them out with blueberries and pea chips for the kids.

Sweet ginger and American mustard flavor

We waited until nearly 10am to turn it on, and immediately Lily was fully absorbed. She loved seeing people dressed up, and pointing out the unusual hats. She was excited when Harry appeared, then the Queen, then Meghan, and she was undistractable until the service was finished.

She piled the cushions up so no one could block her view

I found myself sucked in too. I found the American bishop particularly interesting. I haven't been to many church services here, but the English are way more reserved than that guy. Some attendees looked like they were trying not to giggle, and I wonder what the Queen thought of the sermon.

We went to a birthday party in the afternoon, and a few of the other parents did ask if we'd watched. And their impression of the American bishop was, "Well he definitely wasn't English!" (But the tone seemed lighthearted, not overly judgemental.) I also participated in a group chat with a few friends, and we happily chatted about the fashion and celebrities. So despite the lack of pre-wedding talk, there was much to be said afterward.

In all it was a lovely ceremony to watch, and I'm glad we did it in our own casual way. The couple looked very much in love, and I wish them a long and happy life together (you know, because they care what I think).

Craft Gin Club - April

I'm interrupting our holiday posts to talk about our April gin box (before I forget about it).

Our April gin box arrived the first week of the month, and I could hardly wait for Matt to get home from work so we could open it. And we seemed to have a lot this time!

Manchester Gin Distillers Cut 

The tasting notes in the magazine are as follows:
On the nose, a burst of pine and lemon is tickled by hints of creamy vanilla. This moves to a sweet and citrusy kiss on the pallet from elderberries and succulent grapefruit. A light, peppery warmth gives way to a seductively smooth finish.

My notes:
Smooth, slightly sweet. I did get the creamy vanilla, which was nice. But there are several gins we've liked better, so we probably won't seek this out.

Manchester Gin Raspberry Infused

This had a tart and true-tasting raspberry flavor. We're not huge fans of raspberry, so this was not our favorite. I tried it with the rose botanicals and lemonade (sprite in the US), which was better, but still not one I'd choose again.

Not only did we receive two types of gin, we also got three tonic samples!

Schweppes 1783 

This is a new line of higher end tonics by Schweppes. We received cucumber, salty lemon, and light.
The salty lemon was good. A mild lemon taste at first, but earthy with a salty finish. It went well with the Manchester Gin, and definitely was different than the kinds we have had before. 
Cucumber was our favorite of the three. It had a light, fresh cucumber taste. It would go well with Hendricks, but I'd probably still use my regular tonic with cucumber garnish.   
Light tonic. Not bad. It didn't have a heavy bitter taste, which I liked, but I think I'll stick to my standard Schweppes Slimline tonic.

Ginfusion Bespoke Gin Botanicals 

I admit that we tend to get stuck in a rut with our drink garnishes. Our favorite is lemon, although we also like lime or cucumber. But I'm up for trying new things, so I was happy to try these dried bits of fruit, herbs, and flowers. We received samples of each of the four flavors, which you just tip into the glass and let sit for a few minutes before drinking.

Rose- I tried this in the raspberry gin with tonic. It had a nice soft flavor, and I would try it again with different gin.  It was my favorite of the lot.   
Spiced- We didn't try this because it has star anise in it. We don't care for licorice, so we didn't subject ourselves to it.   
Citrus- This had a light citrus flavor, with a hint of green (probably from the lemongrass). Not bad.           
Tropical- This had a very mild flavor. Floral and a hint of pepper. I thought it wasn't bad, but Matt didn't really care for any of these samples. I might try a different brand if I found something that looks good.

Kallø Pop-Crisps, Himalayan Pink Salt with a hint of Black Pepper   

These are pea and corn popped snacks, so they're light and low calorie. There's not a heavy pea taste, which is good for me. The salt and pepper flavor isn't overwhelming either, but just enough so they aren't boring. I would definitely buy these for a snack.

Willie's Cacao Raspberries and Cream 

I love chocolate, but this was just okay. It isn't made with lots of sugar, so it doesn't have that overly sweet vanilla kind of flavor that white chocolate sometimes has. But again, I think it was the raspberry flavor that missed the mark for me. I might try a different flavor if I came across it.

There seemed to be more items this month that weren't our favorites. But there was a lot to choose from, and overall I still liked the selection. I'll be posting about the May box soon!