Friday morning we took the ICE train to Dresden, a 7 hour ride. We then took a train to Prague. The Dresden-Prague train followed the Vltava (the Moldau) river the whole way, it was beautiful. Arriving in Prague, we hiked our way to our fancy hotel. Venturing out for dinner, we struggled to find an ATM, and then ate a nice Italian meal. It was very hot on Friday, and once the sun went down it was pleasant and lots of people were out and about. We walked to the Globe bookstore and purchased a traditional Czech cookbook. Following the river, we walked toward the castle which was lit up beautifully at night. we walked a little on the Charles Bridge, and continued to the Old Town Square which was lovely at night.
Saturday we rose early and took the metro up to the Prague Castle. Walking up the hill to the castle we had a wonderful view over the city of Prague. At the castle we walked in the courtyard and immediately entered St. Vitus's Cathedral. The cathedral was beautiful and had both mosaic and painted stained glass windows. Next we visited the Royal Palace was also nice. St. George's Basilica was painted red on the outside, but had a traditional inside. We stopped by the Powder Tower, where the alchemists sought the Philosopher's Stone. Leaving the castle grounds, we headed toward the Loreto. It was closed for lunch, so we decided to take a break and had lunch at the Loreto restaurant. Chris was happy drinking Czech beer and eating the traditional Czech goulash. Returning to the Loreto, we walked through the beautiful courtyard and Santa Casa situated in the center. Taking the metro back to the New Town, we visited the Dvorak museum. It included his viola and piano, and a kitty cat (which I do not believe was part of the museum exhibit).
After a quick nap at the hotel, we walked through St. Wenceslas Square and over to the Powder Gate (not to be confused with the powder tower at the castle). The Powder Gate was used to store gunpowder during the 17th century. Back to the Old Town Square we experienced the Astronomical Clock chime 6:00 pm, watching the bell ring, the figures move, and the trumpeter trumpet from the very top of the tower. We had a nice dinner just off the square, and walked across the Charles Bridge. On the other side of the river we found the John Lennon Wall, and Chris contributed to the graffiti by writing a note for Dad Q. We wandered back across the bridge and did a little shopping in the numerous shops.
Sunday morning we were up early again, and took the metro right up to the Jewish quarter, Josefov. We went in the Ceremonial Hall which exhibited the burial rituals. The Spanish Synagogue was beautiful, the inside was decorated with Moorish designs in burgundy, blue, green, and gold. The Maisel Synagogue had several silver items on display. The Pinkas Synagogue was amazing, the walls were covered with the names of Czech and Moravian Holocaust victims. From there we entered the Jewish Cemetery. Returning to the hotel, we packed up, checked out, and made our way to the train station for our return trip home.
We had a nice time, and now that we're home we realize how nice it was to get away for the weekend. Chris has been very very busy at work, and I'm feeling overwhelmed with work and school as well. I have a new piano student, she is a natural. My guitar lessons are going okay, I need to make more time to practice. On the train from Dresden to Prague I had a "Katie Pawling this is your life" moment because in our train compartment were a composition major and three teachers who were in Leipzig for a month intensely studying Bach. I also met a woman at the bank who is a professional accompanist, and I am going to work up some pieces so we can play together.
We only have 11 months left in Germany. Chris is counting down the months until we return to the states, and I am seeing the time get shorter and shorter while my travel list is still very long. I have to stop and remember that I have been to several places already. I think that when we return next summer I will enjoy being in the states for a few months, and then be ready to go back to Europe. We're starting to wonder where we will go too, Chris keeps looking at placement lists to see where finance people are needed. We should find out our next base in the December-January time frame. It is starting to get hard, several of my good friends are starting to leave Germany. I like my friends, and I like my house. I suppose I'll get used to the moving eventually, or at least it will be easier to deal with. I'm thinking of it as an adventure, our opportunity to see the world! And see the world we will.
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