Dobry den! This mornig I woke up early and tried to sniff out some coffee. We don't have a coffee maker in the room. There is a kitchen below our room though with an enticing cappicuno machine.... I didn't want to take advantage, so showered and got dressed to go out for a light breakfast. Alex was still asleep and didn't want to disturb him. While coming downstairs, I ran into the attendant and she made me a cup of lovely cappucino - even though breakfast isn't served for another hour. One cup just wasn't enough so I went off in search of more.

Just across the street is a little cafe with a beautiful little bird holding court. I ordered my coffee and then stepped outside to take the picture I've included for this blog. The street was quiet and peaceful - the last time I'd see it that way. We are on the main road leading up to the castle.

After Alex woke up we walked up to the castle area, snapping photos of all the glorious architecture along the way. We side-stepped the actual castle and St. Vitus for now and head back towards Strahovsky klaster, Strahov monastary founded in 1140. It had escaped demolition in 1783 by declaring itself a scholarly institution. A mass was being held so we could not go into the chapel yet, and decided to take a little tour of their library. The first room is the Philosophical Hall with bookshelves reaching to it's frescoed ceilings painted by a Viennese artist. Walking down the hall the walls are lined with book cases filled with monochromatic white bound books. So beautiful, and so ancient - but the sun is filtering in on them! The next open room is the Theological Hall; a completely different feel from the first. Philosophical hall is dark and library-ish, this room is filled with globes and is much lighter, like a "wedding cake."

We left the library and mass was over. We went into the chapel and the aroma of incense lingered. It was beautiful (I'll have to expand my adjective verbiage, everything here is beautiful). The entrance is Baroque with a statue of St. Norbert presiding.

Leaving the church, oh happy sight, those industrious monks also had a brewery! We found a seat outside in this sunny, but chilly, patio and had onion soup, beef goulash and St. Norbert pivo!

We walked around the gardens some more and then headed back to our room, jet lag had caught up with us.

After our nap, we bundled up again and walked into Old Town, this time going across the Charles Bridge. The sun was heading down and casting a beautiful light on the castle behind us. We lingered along looking at all the street vendors. The corridor into Old Town is busy and crowded with tourists from all over. We had made reservations for dinner at a place called Mlejnice, a tucked away restaurant recommended by Trip Advisor. Oh my goodness, this is THE place to go for traditional Czech food. Our meal was wonderful, the pivo excellent and the cost: $33.00. Love it.

Tummies full, we hit Old Town Square. There was a light and music show happening at the Astronomical Clock. All the buildings are just too awesome to describe. Still wanting to sample more pivo, we looked for a club to go to and found a cool little jazz place in the cellar of one of these old buildings. The cellar was lit with candles and while I was rifiling through my purse for something my scarf caught fire! Burned my fingers putting it out, attracted a bit of attention and made the place smell of burnt wool for a while. We weren't kicked out and we sat with the hip crowd for a couple hours and then headed out for home. Back across the bridge at night we see the castle gloriously lit up against the night sky.

Look forward to more exploring tomorrow!