Day 44: Friday 25th September
A disturbed night for both of us – Jill with a sweaty fever and me just waking early and not being able to get back off – first hints of a cold plus minor noises from outside.
But we’re out and about early again – in time to use our 24 hour metro ticket again to get in to Wenceslas Square and the statue at the top end. It’s still pretty cold in the shade but the sun is up and the sky clear. We continue to be impressed by Prague’s ever-changing street scene – the buildings are so varied, unlike St Petersburg with its impressive but almost monostyle splendour. But what a shame it is flooded with tour groups and all that comes in train – shop after shop full of tacky souvenirs, non-stop food joints, designer outlets and views obstructed by too many people like us.
After Wenceslas we wind our way through the streets to the Museum of Czech Cubism – quite well presented and housed in a cubist building too – known as ‘the Black Madonna’ after a small statue on the outside of the building. By lunchtime we’ve seen all we want to and Plan B comes into effect – return to the van for lunch and then make tracks. The holiday part of the trip is over.
It’s still pretty warm, 27 degrees, as we drive through the afternoon. One hundred kilometres down the road and we decide to stop over on a motorway services after an abortive search for a quiet country hideaway. We’ve found water on another motorway stop so are well set for the night – as long as the gas holds out now that we are having to use it in the mornings to warm the place up.