Th Great Danube Cruise, Day Four - Prague

Will we ever get to the God Damn Danube?

Our last day in Prague was lovely and surprising. We took a walking tour from 830-12 around the old city. We crossed the Charles Bridge again but this time we had a guide so we learned about many of the statues, the people who were thrown off (and now Saints!) and other random tales. 

                                                 So that little balcony? It's the ye ole turlet!

The highlight was the Senate which I assumed would be a bore. Turns out it was a palace built in the 17th century in the Mannerist era. It resembled so many buildings I have seen in Italy with amazing gardens, bronze statues with elongated necks, arms and legs and even a grotto! 

For some reason the king decided three massive walls needed to be 'grottoed' so there they are in all their drippy sand glory. He also decided to have a grotto pavilion filled with three hundred singing birds to calm his nerves after a long day on the throne. Today the pavilion houses three massive owls. 

As an added bonus we saw a white peacock in the tree above the carp pond. 

We then said goodbye to this decadent city and cow herded onto busses for a four hour drive to Nuremberg. While I slept a good while, I did hear some pretty amusing conversations and 'pull my finger' jokes. It never gets old!

We arrived at the boat at 4pm and got onboard, organized and champagned. It really is a lovely boat that was just christened in April. The one beef I have with it is the artwork. Awful! They need to work with young artists and sell the work so it rotates. My two cents. 

It's wonderful to be on such a small boat. Only 166 passengers and 40 crew. 

We had to do a mandatory life jacket drill, then straight to a reception then directly to dinner. It's great to get to know some more people on our trip. I grew up with some of these folks but others are new to me. 

As we dined we watched the sun set over the industrial complex where we are docked. We don't sail till Thursday. We were cooing over the colors of the sunset when Meg said, 'Oh that is sky blue pink, my favorite color!' Perfect description. 

And that was it really. Off to bed in a tipsy slumber. Tomorrow we begin!

The Great Danube Crusie, Day Three- Prague

Today was uber busy. Sensory overload!

                                                                  Flat Paul in Melnik!

While mama took the morning off i jumped on a tour of Melnik, a town thirty minutes away. The castle is where widows to the king were sent to live out their days. New queens could ride out there for advice without having them hover. Wise idea. 

The castle still has a Prince and of course he is 55 and his wife is 38 and there are glamour shots of her dotting the castle rooms. We saw the prince at the castle cafe conducting a meeting while rocking his babies stroller. 

We first toured the wine cellar which was built in the 14th century and was massive. The casks were over ten feet tall with regal crests carved into them. Sadly they are all empty. Apparently the Communists drank every drop. No worries. They have made more wine since the 90s and it was quite good. They don't sell it internationally since Czech's are such booze hounds it sells out locally. 

After tasting two whites and a rose we headed upstairs for a castle tour. Some rooms were rather amazing. Very World of Interiors with old royal portraits with holes in them hanging on the walls and old chain mail shirts hanging from the wall. 

                                                           My dream bedroom!

The ultimate highlight for me was the crypt! I really wanted to drive an hour out of Prague to see the Sedlec ossuary where they have made chandeliers and architectural decoration out of human bones. But it was just too far away.  So this was a great surprise to be able to see this crypt which houses 15,000 people from 15-1700s. 

Have you ever been alone in a room with 15,000 people's bones? It was a really profound experience for me. It was beautiful, shocking, amazing and mind boggling. One sign read, "We were once like you and you will one day be like us." How very simple and true. I stayed in there for about 20 minutes, gazing, thinking, day dreaming, running my fingers over the skulls and bones. It was pretty spectacular. Walking out of there I felt transported. So much so that I missed the group meeting time and place and nearly got left! I was found by our guide walking in circles in the town square and got back to the bus with very little harassing by the group.

                                         I'm not sure what MORS means. Still investigating....

                                                      Spot the heart made out of skulls? 

We got back to Prague and I had a quick lunch with mama and then we headed out on the Jewish ghetto tour. We visited three synagogues and one amazing cemetery as well as walked around the area to learn about it's past. I learned more than I can possibly write down here but what I loved is that our guide, who is Jewish, said, "There is so much to know and I'm sorry if I sound rude, but I can't teach you everything in this short time. The Jewish culture has so much to understand!" I was relieve when a Jewish woman on our tour said, "Oh Honey, I can't even remember it all!". 

                                                            Note the clock in Hebrew!

We came back to the hotel for a cat nap before an early dinner at the top of our hotel which was like being at the Boom Boom Room in NYC for the views before we met the bus to go to a Dvorak concert at his summer house, Villa America. This was such a treat one for the music but two for the VILLA!

For two hours we sat in this incredibly frescoed room while listening to some of the best opera singers, pianist and violin players in the Czech Republic. "Oh, Dear Moon in the Deep Sky" was a favorite as were the Gipsy Melodies. And on a high note we glided into our bus and back to the hotel for delicious dreams of water nymph's and arias. 

                                                             Flat Paul at Villa America!

The Great Danube Cruise. Day Two - Prague

This has been a rather rough trip on the jet lag front. 

I woke up at 4am wide awake. Stayed in bed till five then went down to the bar and had a croissant with all the flight crews heading out to work. 

I lobby lounged and wrote this mornings post and finally at 6 the ballroom was open for breakfast! And then at 630 the gym opened and I went swimming since I've been a bit sore after all of this traveling. 

                                                     Flat Paul in the castle gardens!

Mama woke up at 7 and at 830 we were on the bus to head to Prague castle. The tour was ok. The castle interiors are not on view so we just doddled around the exterior. There were some amazing buildings and I love the sgraffito buildings with faux stone carved into the stucco.

 I did learn about King Rudolpho who sounds like a total dandy turning part of the castle into an exotic zoo and owning thousands of horses. 

Sadly, while we were touring the church one of our friends got pick pocketed. I didn't know that still happens! Wallet in front pocket the rest of the trip. 

                                                         Flat Paul and the castle guard!

                                                                    More Sgraffito!

                                                              Flat Paul in Church!

We then drove down to the old town and walked last the Jewish ghetto. We are touring that area tomorrow but walking by I was dazzled by the Art Nouveau villas piled high with peacock ornaments and Jugendstil text. 

We made our way to the famous astronomical clock along with thousands of other people. Gross. But we heard it ding and I liked the skeleton who rang the bell as a statue across from him stared in the mirror refusing to see time pass by. 

Then we experienced our first and hopefully only 'Goddammit' moment of the trip. I heard great things about the Decorative Arts Museum and we asked five people where it was and everyone told us a new way to walk. After an hour of exhaustion we made it to the museum. It was closed. After I let out a massive F bomb we regrouped and found a cab to take us to lunch at Cestr.

Yet another amazing creation by the Ambient team they focus on even more meat. 

We dined on:

• Shoulder Clod with whipped potatoes (delivered in a copper pot) 
• Beef Tenderloin with truffle sauce and a side of gorgeous spinach
• Two big Urquells of course to wash it all down

That really did us in so it was back to the hotel to nap for the rest of the afternoon. 

We booked dinner at La Degustation a Michelin star restaurant with a massive tasting menu. And yes, you got it, it's owned by the Ambient group. 

This was probably one of the most amazing meals I have ever had. While it was over the top there was a coziness to it that made it comfortable. enjoyable and relaxing. Not like a high energy dinner at some hot spot in NYC.

We decided on the six course meal opposed to the eleven course meal. We weren't sure we could stay awake that long. 

We had:

Onion, leek, cauliflower, pumpkin pasta

Tomato sauce, mustard ice cream and carrot shavings

Boletus mushrooms, celery root and cracklins

Catfish, yeast and kohlrabi

Beef tongue, yellow pea puree and apple

Bread ice cream, plum jam and beer kocour

Those are very vague descriptions but it's what's on the menu.

After our hour and a half of taste sensations, we hoped in a car back to the hotel and hit the hay in a big way. Jet lag be gone!

The Great Danube Cruise. Day One - Prague

Oh Captain! My Captain! 

How my mind reeled when I heard these words, half asleep on some pills from Boots and midway across the Atlantic headed to Prague. Over a year ago mama and I signed up for a Danube Cruise on a new boat from Avalon Waterways. Yes, yes, I know- Prague is not on The Danube. We start here and then drive to Nuremberg to meet the boat. 

I decided to lull off to Dead Poets Society but of course I couldn't sleep until it was over and a very melancholic sleep I had thinking of Robin Williams and this elegy written for Lincoln by Walt Whitman. And hell, I'm about to go on a river boat cruise where we will here the word 'Captain' innumerable times during announcements, cheers and dining table exchanges. See, the mind reels on overnight flights.

Vacation. The time for the mind to rest, ponder, stretch and learn. Although I never remember until I am on one of these amazing trips with mama that there is a rare moment to rest. We are constantly on the go seeing the wonders of the world and then cocktailing to slumber in the evenings. But what memories!

We landed in Prague Sunday morning from JFK and many of the boat group where on our flight. This trip was organized by some folks at mom and dad's yacht club so we are delighted to know lots of the people on the little boat that holds 166. 

I'm used to traveling with mother in her spangles, glittery eye shadow and endless wardrobe but it's still a wonderful thing when I see the rest of our group of Southern dames equally bedazzled and hootin' and hollerin' at each other.  It's like traveling with Designing Women and I revel in it. 

When we arrived at the hotel (a mammoth Hilton not directly downtown built for large groups like ours and perfectly nice but not on my must stay list) nothing is ready and the guide encourages us to dine at the snack bar. Honey, I've been snacking for 12 hours. Daddy needs Euro nourishment. And thank Gawd my friend Marion was just here and sent me a list of must visit dining destinations. 

Mother and I hail a cab and off we zizz to Cafe Savoy, a divine coffee shop with interiors from 1893. We order Viennese coffees and an amazing fresh omelette and brioche. The owners of this and several other top notch spots here focus on local vegetables and meat and even mention the variety of pigs they use and the name of the butcher. Bravo! 

Once we finish grazing we still have two hours till our room will be ready so we cab it over to the Charles Bridge started in 1357 by old King Charles himself. Apparently from what I read 'construction began on Charles Bridge at 5:31am on 9 July 1357 with the first stone being laid by Charles IV himself. This exact time was very important to the Holy Roman Emperor because he was a strong believer of numerology and this specific time, which formed a numerical bridge (1357 9, 7 5:31), would imbue Charle's Bridge with additional strength'. Hey, it's still standing! Maybe he was an 11'er. 

While the bridge is chock full of tacky tourists and crap peddlers it's still a wonder to stroll across and admire the old town from its angles. Mother wondered why the gold star bursts weren't twirling in the wind that are places atop this saints head. Let's blame it on the jet lag but I'm really glad that question came out of her mouth.

                                                             Saints with beanies! 

When we reached the end of the bridge we were at the end of our rope of exhaustion. We found a cab and headed back to Chez Hilton where our room was ready and we passed out for four glorious hours.

We rose to attend a 6pm reception in the ballroom to hear more about our time in Prague from our guide and then mama and I headed to another restaurant owned by the Cafe Savoy people called Lokal, a modern beer hall serving more amazing locally sourced traditional Czech food. We had two Kozel dark beers immediately and then we dined on:

• Sliced pork with whipped horseradish cream
• Beef cheeks with potato dumplings 
• Roast beef with bread dumplings and whipped cranberry cream

YES! Everything was perfection and after that light little meal we officially called it a day and took a cab back to pass out for the evening. So far we are definitely Prague-matists.