Prague with Paul and Betty Ann

On the Thursday after they arrived in Jena (October 15th), our trip began! We'd waited awhile to book anything, to be sure that we'd be up to another trip, but Béla travelled so well that we decided to go for it. We ended up doing a similar tour to that which we brought my parents and Baba on the first time that they came - Prague, Vienna, and Dresden. Here we are at the station, bright and early, as the train was pulling in for the first leg of our adventure.
We only purchased reservations for the longer legs of the trip (Dresden-Prague, Prague-Vienna, Vienna-Dresden), as the trip to and from Dresden was broken up over Leipzig, and each train ride was less than two hours. We did, however, manage to get seats in the compartment devoted to small kids and their families, which was conveniently empty. These compartments are great, and usually come with a sort of motorcycle toy in the corner to ride, a change table, another table, and they often have ikea carpeting with roads on it. Some have even more toys built in. But most importantly, especially when travelling with a baby this young, they're dedicated to families with kids, so you don't feel guilty when your baby's crying and the guy in the next seat is trying to work on his laptop while talking business on his cell phone.
Here Béla's getting changed at the fold out change table. This also has the benefit of smelling a lot nicer than the bathrooms, which sometimes have change tables as well. Especially if I'm feeling a bit nauseated from motion sickness, it can be unpleasant to spend too long in the smelly bathrooms.
Béla kept us entertained most of the way.
He loves the train!
And we all love him!
Everyone got a chance to hold him for a while.
Once we made it to the train station in Prague, which isn't right downtown, it took some time to figure out exactly how to get to the metro, get cash (in the right currency), buy tickets, and get to the hotel, but it all went smoothly enough.
We got to our hotel by around 2:30 or so, and got settled in, and checked out the money, before heading out.
From there we walked toward downtown, enjoying the sights along the way, including the powder tower:
...until we made it to the old town square.

There we were able to see the astronomical clock, which we saw chime on the hour.
Inside the municipal building with the astronomical clock and the observation tower, there were lots of beautiful doors. Here's Betty Ann framed by a lovely one in a small, mosaic-walled chamber...
...and Paul in front of an ornate wooden inlay door, acting like he owns the place.
Finally we made it to the top of the tower, which provides a lovely view over the city. Unlike the past three times Jeremi and I have visited Prague, the statue in the square, seen below, wasn't covered up this time! After leaving the tower, we headed down Pariszka street, the tree-lined avenue that you can see at the left side of this photo, and which houses the most expensive boutiques in Prague. While gawking in the window at Cartier, we noticed the security guard outside staring at us. He didn't speak much English, but had to stop Jeremi to ask if there was a baby in the sling. He thought this was really, really cool. In general, people think the sling is really cool, though people do ask sometimes if he isn't cold in it. I usually explain that next to Jeremi, no one is cold, and Jeremi often invites them to stick a hand in to see how toasty it really is.

From there we headed to the old Jewish quarter. Here's the old Jewish town hall, which has two clocks, one with roman numbers, and one with Hebrew numbers. Because Hebrew is read from right to left, the clock also runs counter-clockwise. (You can see that both clocks are reading about 5:27, but that they're mirror images of one another.)
After wandering around the city some more, and walking along the river in the cold rain, we decided to find a cozy place for some warm food. We ended up eating in the cellar of a restaurant, with live music, and good Czech beer. (Pretty well all Czech beer is good, so that's a bit redundant.)
Here we are enjoying some traditional Czech fare.
It was there that we discovered that Béla's cute little carrot hat fits him because it's stretchy enough to fit on my giant noggin as well. (Jeremi commented that I looked like an adolescent Sikh boy in this hat.)
Béla enjoyed the meal as well, and showed as much by sleeping through the whole thing.
Upon getting back to the hotel room we had a few beers and played some cards, and Jeremi determined that another one of Béla's hats fit on his head. Here he's doing his best crying baby impression.
The next morning I wasn't feeling great, so Béla and I decided to sleep in while the rest of them headed out to explore the city a little. Jeremi brought them to Wenceslas square, with this impressive museum and its fancy fountain at one end.
And of course, the giant statue of Wenceslas on his horse. Paul and Betty Ann were able to see this statue from afar from the window of their hotel room, so it was good to see it up close as well.
When I finally got up, I called them, and came to meet them for lunch.
After lunch we again walked to the river, where we admired the decorative cobblestones...
And this Gothic fountain, that looks like it's lost its church.
Then we crossed the river, going over the famous medieval Charles Bridge (Karlovy Mast), which is covered in statues. Our destination, Prague Castle, can be seen up on the hill behind them.
Jeremi and I (and the well-wrapped Béla) on the bridge.
On the way, we stopped at a deli which has the most delicious garlic potato chips in the world. They are so strong!!! The deli also features some unusual taxidermy, as seen here behind Paul.
After a long walk up lots of steps, we made it up to Prague Castle. But the view is worth it!
Unlike the two other times that Jeremi and I have been up at the castle, St. Vitus' cathedral was not closed for an event this time, and we were able to go inside.

My favourite part was this art nouveau-style window by Alphons Mucha.
This was a pretty cool wooden relief showing the city of Prague, with the castle at the lower right.
This enormous pile of decoration was built on top of someone's grave inside the church, but I can't remember whose.
This is the cool knocker on one of the doors to the chapel which contains the body of King Wenceslas.
And then, when we left the church, it was like a miracle - the sky was blue!!! It was still good and cold, but it wasn't raining anymore at least.
After stopping in a little shop for some mulled wine to warm up, we started to head down on the other side of the castle. Here I am next to one of the brick walls, which must have been two feet thick.
That night, after walking back to the river, and checking out the dancing buildings, we found ourselves a bit south of downtown, and hungry. Luckily we were near a seafood restaurant that we'd previously visited with my parents, and decided to go there again. Béla put on a little show during the supper, being ridiculously cute as usual.
Here Paul and Betty Ann are being shipwrecked in the giant waves seen behind them. (This makes a little more sense if you remember this post.)
But not to worry, they were rescued by their adorable grandson.
And then we headed back to the hotel room to play some cards and get a good night's sleep before the long trip to Vienna the next morning.