Czech Republic: Prague

We flew from Thessaloniki, Greece to Prague, Czech Repulic on June 8, rented the car we will be using as we drive around Europe and pretty much crashed the rest of the day.

June 9 we headed out to explore the city and had just a fantastic day as a family.  From a wonderful setting in red roofed Prague, to fun experiences, interesting conversations....it was just one of those great days.

After finally finding parking (at a huge mall near the center of the city), we ate our packed lunch next to this interesting fountain.

Then headed to the Old City Square...

The clock on city hall was originally built in the 1400s.  In the picture below the girls are mimicing the time (ie 11:20am) with the result being H having a most unfortunate hand position on V....

When they realized what had happened there was much laughing...

Prague was largely untouched during World War II until the last day.  On the May 8, 1945, the day Germany surrendered, the Germans in this area apparently went crazy and started shelling the city.  The clock tower was severely damaged so the clock seen here is a replica of the original.  The 4 figures (2 on each side) represent things that Czechs hated in the 1400s...a man with a mirror representing pride, a man holding a bag of gold representing greed, a skeleton representing death, and a Turk representing Turks (who apparently were not well liked back then or perhaps were trying to attack the city at the time the clock was built).  The figures move with the skeleton specifically ringing a bell every hour....

...and the tourists lining up to see the clock is a great thing for these guys as they were playing close enough to be heard (and were really good).  We bought one of their CDs...

Another street performer captured AJ's attention as he made huge bubbles...

Look at that face...

He had soooo much fun...

And then AJ got a turn making the bubbles.

We took a tour of the old city hall starting with an inside look at the 12 Apostles (who circle around when the clock mentioned above strikes the hour)...

This tour goes underground showing old homes from the 1400s.  This little door allowed people to get water but was too small for a soldier with armor on to get through.  The tour was actually quite good and very affordable (less than $20 for all of us to go on the 1 hour tour).

Cross made from burned out ruins from when the Germans shelled the Old Town...

On the tour, the guide showed us what looked like paintings on the building that it looks like H is holding up.  But the 'paintings' are really carvings.

We headed up to the top of the tower at the old city hall for some wonderful views of the red roofed city...

The next day we took a look at the castle on the other side of the river from the Old Town.

It was a rainy day and AJ showed us his Spider Man moves...

So everyone else joined in....

The new security team in place...

Not sure where all the gun poses came from...but look at that baby bump on Rachel!

The cathedral inside the castle gates...

After a 'go, go, go' tour from Ephesus and then throughout Greece, it was good to have some rest time and family time...

Storage places at the place we stayed = excellent play places for little boys and sisters...

He's cool and totally in control....

The baby was 22 weeks at this point and was moving around a lot on this day....

AJ loves the baby and has decided he wants a sister...

Strawberries and powdered sugar ;)

AJ made a fort with S's help.  Then it collapsed and we said he was in archaeology mode examining the ruins...

We read the book Rena's Promise as a part of the girls' home schooling.  It is a remarkable biography of a Jewish teenage girl who was sent to Auschwitz on the first train and somehow lived for almost 3 years in Auschwitz without ever being sent to the gas chambers.  It really is an incredible story and we highly recommend the book.

After the war, Rena ended up in the Netherlands.  The director of the transition facility told her that she would never be short of bread or food while she was there, but she still would take bread and hide it under mattresses.  She did this for months before finally believing that she was going to have access to bread.

Apparently, the same thing happens to women who serve in Maasai land in Tanzania where there is little to no toilet paper.  Ever since then I have noticed more and more toilet paper rolls landing in our bags.  So, I finally piled it all up and said to Rachel and the girls "Ladies, we are in Europe now and can buy as much toilet paper as we want.  You do not need to save it and squirrel it away 'just in case'"  We had a good laugh over it, but we'll see if they let go of the TP

We had a short but nice stay in Prague and will end up back here at the end of July to return the rental car and fly back to the States.  See you in about 6 weeks Prague!  On Jun 11 we headed to Vienna which is where we are now.

Til next time, God bless...