June 29, 2022

It had been forty days since we came to Europe, and we didn't seem to want to go home yet. The weather in Prague was much more comfortable than in Budapest by now. We didn't want to rush today, so we went out for breakfast and wandered around the farmers market nearby. Those fresh fruits in the market looked very good.

We purchased a 48-hour Prague tourist card for each of us from the tourist office and started our sightseeing near noon. Our first tour was the free guided tour to the old city hall, covered with admission to the hall. The tour guide took us around the old city hall and told us how the city hall and the town had evolved over time. The entire old town has been raised by more than five meters over the years. The street floor from seven or eight hundred years ago has now become underground basements or cellars. There was an underground city under the present town. He took us to the basement and showed us various rooms under the hall. The underground structures were only open to the guided tour. But the highlight of the city hall visit was to see the astronomical clock tower and twelve Jesus apostles from the building inside, just behind the clock. After the guided tour, we went to the city hall tower to have a panoramic view of the square.

For lunch, we bought smoke sausages at a stall in the square to make our stomachs happy and then took the bus to Prague Castle on the other side of the river, not far from the Old Town. The castle is home to the most famous and largest Catholic church in the Czech Republic, St. Vitus Cathedral. The Prague Royal Palace in the castle was not as impressive as Schonbrunn in Vienna. Still, some of the other buildings in the castle have some unique characters, including the Golden Lane, where the former bars and the houses of the lower classes were, not too far from the castle.

The private Lobkowicz Palace of the Prince Lobkowicz family is inside Prague Castle. The visit to Lobkowicz Museum was rewarding. The family lost the palace and the valuable collections twice, the first during World War II and the second under Communist rule. The family fled the Czech Republic and went to the United States during the communist period, and of course, all the real estate and collections were "raided." After the fall of the Communist Party, they moved back to the Czech Republic and began to rebuild and restore the former palace. The country even passed a new law allowing their family and others to get the raided treasures back. The collection in the museum was unique and worth the visit.

After a whole afternoon of sightseeing, we eyed a big Czech dinner, a large crispy pork knuckle, a traditional Czech dish at Pork’s. The knuckle was tender inside and crispy outside, very, very tasty. It was ten times better than the last time we had in a German town outside Seattle. We also had pork schnitzel, one of the best schnitzels on this trip. This restaurant knew how to cook the meat. The food was amazing and service was excellent. With the local beer, fried knuckle, and pork schnitzel, the fatigue of walking and sightseeing in the afternoon quickly went away. In addition, we also learned a few things about beer ordering in Prague, Snyt, or Mliko. Snyt beer has 50% foam and Mliko 90% foam. We had one Pilsner beer with 90% foam and a black beer. The Prague beer tasted delicious. Of course, we couldn't finish a big pork knuckle and brought half of it back to our apartment. After we paid the bill, the waiter gave each of us a shot of honey whiskey. Although it was sweet and tasted very good, all we could take was just one sip due to the very high alcohol concentration. While we liked our knuckle, schnitzel, and beer, our daughter enjoyed her Vegan dish too.

After dinner, the sky got dark, and suddenly the rain poured down when we walked across the Charles bridge. We got all wet but found the Old Town Bridge Tower was still open, so we climbed up the tower and got a panoramic view of Prague's old town.

欧洲游第四十天：来欧洲已有四十天了，好像还没有想回家的念头😜。布拉格的气候比布达佩斯舒服多了，今天不用赶路，安安心心地出去吃了个早餐，近中午时才开始外出观光。第一件事是每人买张48小时旅游卡，开始我们布拉格游。先去了老城市政厅，跟着导游转了一圈，包括上到天文钟楼，近距离看到那整点报时出来的十二个使徒。了解了不少事，整个老城区提高了五米多，七，八百年前的底层现在变成了地窖。午餐就在小摊上买了根香肠充饥，然后就去了河对岸离老城不远的布拉格城堡。城堡里有着捷克最著名，最大的天主教堂-圣维特大教堂（St. Vitus Cathedral) 。城堡里的布拉格王室宫殿比起奥地利的要差一些，但城堡里其他一些建筑有些特色，其中金色小街是以前的酒吧和下层人居住的地方。最后参观了洛布科维奇宫，是私人宫殿，属于以前亲王贵族家的。先后失去了二次，第一次是二战期间，第二次是在共产党统治下，全家逃离捷克去了美国，当然所有的房地产和收藏品都被＂抄家＂。共产党下台后，他们搬回捷克开始重建修复以前的宫殿。看了整整一下午的景点后，晚餐是捷克餐。一大个脆皮猪肘子里嫩外脆，非常非常合胃口，比上次在西雅图市外的德国小镇上的好吃多了，再配上啤酒，把一下午走路看景的劳累全带走了😜。另外学了新的东西，啤酒可以要大杯但沫多酒少的那种，他们的黑啤很好喝。当然一个大猪肘子一个人是吃不完的还带了一半回去。