Day 43: Thursday 24th September
The night has been quieter than anticipated – no noise from the metro, which is just behind and above us, nor from traffic on the adjacent road. Nevertheless I did wake at 4am – which is really 5am as we’ve had to turn the clocks back.
There’s a lot to see in Prague so we make an early start – at the metro station before 9am. I press the button for a 100 koruna ticket each, not realising till later that we’ve wasted about 160 koruna on them (over £5). Thing is, when all the sights you want to see are within walking distance, and in an interesting city, then you don’t want to ride, you’re happy to walk. We then waste even more money – big money this time – by paying for the longer tour with audio guide for Prague Castle, and in euros. Around £55 in all! Unless you are a Prague history fanatic or have a lot of time to kill then it is just not worth paying for the longer tour – and the detail in the audio guide is far more than the average tourist needs.
This waste is compounded yet further by having lunch within one of the castle’s pricier, yet rather cold and uninteresting, cafés. My stroganoff is tough – not cooked anywhere near long enough. Has our luck run out? The waiter advises us to pay in koruna rather than euros because the exchange rate is unfavourable, and we realise too late that we paid over the odds to get into the castle by using euros.
The castle and town are thronged with tourists – Prague is a real tourist trap. Thousands, of souvenir shops and attractions – it’s hardly a real capital city at all. The old Charles Bridge, key tourist attraction, is undergoing major repairs. How often have we had this on our travels?
Between the two – the castle and Charles Bridge – we visit the Franz Kafka Museum which is very quirky but excellent in giving an idea of the man’s life and psyche. It’s well worth a visit, not least because much of the information has been translated into good English. Then we’re lucky enough to be in Town Hall Square at 6pm on the way home to see the famous astronomical clock do its bit.
After the high temperatures of yesterday (30, even 32 degrees) we have had a much cooler day. We find a restaurant which is more like a pub with food (and football on the box) and fortunately we find we can pay by card – we have gone through almost all the koruna we got out, on top of the euros we used to get into the castle.
Jill is feeling very poorly again so we cut back to the van early – 9pm – just in time to beat the rain that’s starting – and allowing me to empty the cassette in to the car park portaloo. Has the weather finally broken? Another sign that our luck has ended?
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