day 2 - adventures with robbie

01.10.08
today was quite exciting.  we are talking a real page-turner.  here it is:
i woke up early and took the kids to school and also did my first driving in praha.  it's a little different as i have yet to encounter a stop sign.  the traffic lights go to yellow before they go to green and everyone drives like a bat out of hell on icy roads.  i didn't die or wreck - mission accomplished.  
next i caught the tram for a 20 minute ride into city center of prague to meet everyones best friend from fairfield, robbie "thriller" miller.  i couldn't have asked for a better welcoming gift.  it was funny, he told me to find him on the charles bridge and he would be easy to spot because he'd be wearing his bright green rain jacket.  well, unfortunately he and all the sanitation workers wear bright green, so everywhere i looked i thought robbie was walking towards me.  anyway, we finally met up and began walking all over.  





these first pictures we took on the charles bridge.  it's quite famous and i believe was built in the 1400's.


then we went to the prague castle which has an enormous cathedral inside that began construction in the 1300's.  it's ridiculous to think you're standing in something so ancient.  this picture is of the entrance.  i think he's trying to play some baseball...very american.





next on the agenda was a healthy dose of frolicking with a dash of tower climbing to see this amazing view...





then night hit and our day of sightseeing concluded. so we found an off-the-beaten-path pub and enjoyed a glorious dinner with a glorious beer. cheers!



oh...you thought it was over. wrong. so, i left robbie at the tram stop and was feeling very grown up when i boarded. very prepared to read the czech signs and arrive at my final destination. not so easy. i did get off at the right stop, but with the way prague streets wind and turn and not knowing where the heck i was at 10pm on unlit streets...i was terrified. quite confident that i was going to be murdered...i began climbing the streets hoping to magically run into the gated home. 1.5 hours later (practically in tears) i run into an english speaker. she was 100% no help and confused the heck out of me...so i carried on. more winding and wandering was had when i walked past a house with barbed wire on the top of their fence. when i looked into their yard i saw two dead birds caught in their side fence. they were probably the size of a chicken. there eyes were pecked out and bodies decomposing with feathers falling everywhere. that was the icing on the cake. scared out of my mind, i carried on. about 20 minutes later i chased down a couple i saw about 100 yards away screaming, "do you know english?!" luckily the boy did. i was able to tell him the place i was looking for (which was a bus stop close the house. quick reminder...i'm trying to pronounce czech words and it was a mess.) anyway, i demanded that he walk me to the bus stop...so he did. once i arrived there it was just a quick 10 minute walk uphill and i made it home safely.

the end.