We did not not have any set appointments or tours planned today so we are going to sleep in a little later. Later is usually around 8:30 and since it does not get dark until nearly 10:00 pm, each day is full. We took showers, had pastry for breakfast and went to catch the Red line of our Hop On Hop off. Our plan was to ride over to the castle for the tour. Yesterday we had met a nice couple from India on our walking Jewish tour. They happened to be at the castle stop, also waiting for the tour. We had a 20 minute wait and the sun was hot. Finally the next bus arrived which should have been bringing our guide. We were told the guide was sick today so we’d have to take the tour tomorrow. As an apology for our wait without warning, the tour hostess offered to see what she could do to make up the error. She first offered the Jewish tour but we’d already taken it and they couldn’t extend the time of the ticket since we left in one more day. I asked if we could have the River Cruise. It was a $15 ticket. I explained we were nice teachers visiting from the states and on a very limited budget. She liked us and sent a text to her boss asking if the River Cruise could be an option. He agreed and we were excited as this seemed like a good solution at the time.
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| Beautiful swans |
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So many of these beer wagons.
Bachelor parties were HUGE here |
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| Tiffany on the river |
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| The Charles Bridge from the water |
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| The Charles Bridge from the water |
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| Tiffany with the Charles Bridge |
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| Some details on a bridge from the boat |
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| Look at the underworking of the bridge |
Before leaving our room this morning, we had booked a black light show and a puppet show – both big in Prague. After finding out the castle tour had to be delayed, we took public transportation back to our area of the city for the River Cruise. We found an area right around the corner from our room that had just opened. It was similar to the midtown area of OKC, with several eating places and a couple of shops all established in shipping crates. There were tables in the aisles so people could stop to eat and drink. We both had a pulled pork sandwich and lemonade. Both were very good. We caught another bus and headed to our River Cruise. We got a seat on top so we could enjoy a better view and breeze. The view was there but the breeze never happened. Our boat was so slow that people in paddle boats were moving faster on the water. The cruise was advertised as a one-hour tour of the river. The snail speed of the cruise allowed the waiters to offer drinks or snacks, serve them, and then collect for payment. There were some pretty sites along the banks but not enough to warrant an hour long ride in the heat. There was a group of six big college age boys that got on the cruise right before us. Four of them squeezed into the small booth next to us. We couldn’t help but laugh when the last two attempted to also squeeze into the booth, putting three large men on either side. This would not happen in America. They soon realized this would not be a comfortable ride. We offered the other side of our booth and two of them gladly took the offer.
After the cruise, Tiffany quickly navigated our brisk walk to the theater for the black light show. Black Light Theatre has been around Prague since 1959. The light used on stage is ultra-violet or UV-A. The effect is achieved because the human eye has trouble telling the difference between layers of black material. Black velvet is usually used and the performers are dressed in black. The performer uses florescent clothing or a florescent prop so the audience can see the shape and color but not the black part. We has lucked out with seats in the middle up close. We could see the performer coming out on the stage but it was still awesome. Since attending, we have heard you should definitely NOT sit at the front. Preferred seats should be in the middle or rear of the theater for the best effect. If we ever return to Prague, we’ll know where to sit next time. After the show, the audience was invited to the stage to play with the lights and have an opportunity for hands-on exploration. We used a paint type canister where you could push out the florescence and leave a shadow of your handprint or add highlight effects to a drawing. We would love to experiment with this with our students and they would love it!
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| Light Show |
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| Getting a turn to participate |
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| Some background information |
After the show we had a couple of hours to look at some shops and have dinner before the puppet show. We found a cute shop with inexpensive wooden ornaments and each bought an ornament, one of our personal goals for each city. We found a restaurant called the Fat Cat with a good variety of menu and reasonably priced. Tiffany had quesadillas and I had chicken skewers with rice. We had walked several blocks looking at shops so now how to navigate to the puppet theatre.
We went to the National Puppet Theatre for a presentation of Don Giovanni. It was advertised as a family friendly show and the puppet group toured all over the world. The reviews said it was very humorous and a delight for all ages. We read a little about the story upon arrival since it would not be presented in English. We arrived and found the seats very hard and narrow with wooden armrests. The theater was advertised as having AC but it was very hot inside. We watched the first half and although there were moments of comedy, for the most part, it was confusing and lacked humor. The show was two hours long. After what seemed like a long time, I checked my watch and it had barely been 30 minutes. At intermission, which they call Pause, we decided to leave. Tomorrow we would be leaving in the afternoon for our last city and we had hoped to do laundry this evening. It would be good to get back to the room early and get started.
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| Don Giovanni theater |
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| Johnnie with the Don Giovanni puppet |
Tiffany took the clothes downstairs to the laundry. It cost us about $5 to do a load of laundry and dry them. Washing machines and dryers in Europe hold very little so you can’t do an average size load. We were glad this would be our last time to worry about laundry on this trip. I like to air dry my things so I decided I’d get my things out of the dryer after about ten minutes so they could finish air drying. Tiffany started the laundry and came back upstairs to start organizing for our next venture. She went down and started the dryer and got ready for bed. I was not sleepy so I worked on our journal and was waiting to get out some of my clothes. We heard a knock at the door and our host told us it took two hours for the dryer to run a cycle. Two hours! Neither of us wanted to stay up that long so we decided we’d leave them until morning and then finish packing. Tiffany was quick to fall asleep. I waited about 15 minutes then got out a few things and hung them in the closet to finish drying. Now to bed.
WALKING ACTIVITY: 4.8 miles; 10,375 steps; 4 floorsTemperature 74 degrees, 6 mph wind
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