My Adventures in Prague—Monday, the 26th

Monday Morning

So there are three days that I'm totally on my own here in Prague: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Secretly I was a little nervous about being a woman traveling alone in a strange European city, having ridden a metro only on a handful of occasions, and knowing a total of 3 words in Czech: hello, excuse me, and thank you. But, I've learned that you won't do anything in life if you let fear rule, so if no one else seemed to have any qualms about me touring alone, then I would proceed. Besides, I knew that Prague has a very low violent crime rate, but a fairly high number of pick-pockets, so I would just have to be careful.

First I slept in, (which was awesome), took a long time to read my scriptures and get ready, ate breakfast at the hotel, and even took time to pluck my eyebrows. After all of that, I decided on the Mozart museum first, since it was within walking distance—it didn't seem as daunting to me because I wouldn't have to navigate public transit. What I didn't anticipate was the poorly marked narrow streets that run into each other, and cross and change names without any rhyme or reason, and Czech names of places that my brain could not hold onto for the life of me. The whole vacation, I struggled remembering names that people had just told me moments before. So, after I got directions from the concierge at the hotel, I set off. (This is lesson #1, btw, the concierge at the hotel is your best friend. They know everything!) So, I walked in the direction I was told to go, and kept walking, and walking, and walking—and never saw "Mozartova," the name of the small side street I was supposed to turn left on. I also could not remember the name of the hotel that was the landmark, the Movenpick. After several minutes, I realized that I would have to ask someone on the street for help. I knew I would have to be smart about it, so I avoided talking to anything that looked male. I found a kind looking older woman, and addressed her, but she spoke only Czech, and couldn't describe how to get to "Mozartova." Then I saw a nicely dressed young woman, just about to get on the tram. "Prosim," I said (excuse me). "Do you speak English?" I could have hugged her right then and there when she said yes! She gave me great directions, and I learned lesson #2: If you are ever lost, a professional looking woman is your best candidate to ask for help.

The Mozart museum was actually just an 18^th century home that was the "country" estate of one of Mozart's friends. He lived there to get away and finish his work on Don Giovani. It contains a few original manuscripts from Mozart, a harpsichord that he played on, a lock of his hair, information about the family who owned the home, and instruments used at the time. It was fairly interesting, but my favorite part was the beautiful gardens surrounding the estate. Concerts were held there, and you could just imagine being there; it was easy to see how Mozart could gain inspiration from such a beautiful place. I think the craziest thing about that museum was that when I arrived (in the middle of business hours), no one was there. There was a computer on at the front desk, an empty office chair, and not a person in sight. I waited and waited, but finally just went through the museum without paying. There was nowhere to leave money in a safe place. Even afterwards, I waited for an attendant because Kari asked me to pick up something for the music class. There was a small 3-inch bust of Mozart and Dvorak that I wanted to get for her. I was just about to give up, but walked the grounds instead and then tried one more time. Finally! A greasy guy was there, and he helped me. It all worked out.

On the way home, I found a shopping mall where the concierge told me that I could find an adapter for Spencer's and my laptops. If anyone has any question about whether the Czech has recovered from the communist regime (less than 20 years ago), all you have to do is go to a shopping mall. It's the same as anything you could find in Des Moine, Iowa. It was big enough, that I couldn't find the electronics shop. After walking the whole ground floor, I again had to ask for help. Once I found it and got the adapter, I headed for the hotel, but not without finding "TESCO," the oh-so-cool American-style grocery store. It was great! I bought fruit, baguettes, cheese, and what I thought was chocolate milk for my lunch (and snack for later). It was actually a chocolate yogurt drink that I choked down. I'm sorry, but chocolate should never taste sour. Ewwwe!

I was going to figure out the public transit as well, and go up to Prague Castle to tour St. Vitus Cathedral during the afternoon. So, I once again asked the concierge how I would get up to St. Vitus. I forgot to ask, and she didn't mention how I actually paid for and used the tram. So, I figured it was pretty easy, and expected to pay once I got on. I found the number of the tram I should take, and I hopped on. No one was there to take any money. Everyone just sat down. So, I sat down too. But then felt a little panicky that I hadn't paid, so I asked the nicely-dressed professional woman next to me how I was supposed to pay for the tram. She spoke enough Engish to understand me, but not enough to answer. There was a British man in front of me who asked if I needed any help. Once I told him my issue, he told me I needed to get off at the next stop and buy a ticket, at any news stand or store, and then get back on. So, I tried that, but not only did the woman at the drugstore not speak English, she didn't have any tickets to sell. So, I decided to use my feet again, and just start walking. I knew I could make it back to the hotel.

Once I got there, I remembered rule #1, and asked for the low-down at the concierge. The guy there totally hooked me up, told me I could by a 24-hour ticket that would work for the metro or the trams; I just had to validate it with a stamp the first time I used it. I bought the ticket from him, and I was good to go. By this time, I figured I should just try out my new adapter, to make sure my phone was charged in case of an emergency, and my camera too was running out of juice. Couldn't have that before my tour, so I thought I'd take some time to take care of things.

Once I got to my room, I figured out that the adapter wouldn't work for our cords—it was a 2 pronged one instead of 3. We would need all of our electronics for our trip, so out I went again! I went back to the electronics store, and it took 20 minutes just to try to return the adapter with a receipt. And then I had to find the other shop that carried the right one to buy. My plans to go up to Prague Castle again and tour St. Vitus were looking pretty slim. Spence will be back at 6:30 for our evening together on my birthday, and it was already 4:30. I also wanted to "freshen up" a little before we went out, so that is how I ended up staying here and writing. Not all is lost. I've learned much, and I'll be ready to go tomorrow.

That Evening

So, because of all my experiences, I am becoming a pro at the public transit thing. Spence bought a ticket from the hotel; I checked out the location of our event on the map, and we headed toward the metro to get off at the old town in the heart of Prague. It was beautiful. All the old buildings looked even more amazing with the gas lanterns that they use to light the Old town. We asked a Marriot concierge (rule #1) for directions to our building, and then we headed to see the "Best of Swan Lake" ballet. We debated getting the $30 or the $60 tickets, but I told Spence to go for the cheaper ones. I was spending plenty of money on this trip! It ends up that the difference of price ended up being about 10 rows, and we still had great seats. So, the ballet was beautiful.

The main character, Odette, really stole the show. We figured it was probably a B-rated group or so, because they didn't have much for sets, there was no live orchestra, and aside from the stars, the dancers in the company were not as clean or precise. But, it was fun just to experience the beautiful music, and the artistic dance. And for the price, you couldn't beat it. Afterward, we headed toward our hotel, and found a cute little Italian restaurant and ate pasta and pizza there. It was tasty and cheap for what we got. What a birthday! Lesson #3: I have a great husband who knows how to take care of his wife.