After spending time in the smaller cities of Strasbourg and Stuttgart, we are finding Prague a bit overwhelming. It's as the guidebooks say, it's the city of spires and it's golden. Prague is a large and busy city. It very old, with many beautiful, beautiful buildings, all elaborate and some dating back to medieval times. It is an obvious holiday destination for Asians, Canadians and European travelers. The crowds are amazing. People!!! On our first night, crossing the Charles Bridge, I felt as though we were walking through the throngs of people usually seen at the Arkansas Livestock Show, or the Texas State Fair!!! (I just can't shed those roots!!) Times Square might be another fair comparison.

We are finding our way around, taking pictures and trying to learn more about this city that we hope to come to know a bit better. I hope our pictures only begin to capture the breathtaking beauty of this city.

The weather is unusually hot for this time of year and there is no air conditioning. :-) Out on the streets, it's very tolerable. But in the apartment, it's warm -- thank goodness for large windows and a nice fan.

We love the food! And it is reasonably priced, but you get charged for everything -- the potato chips on the table, the condiments they bring (whether they are used or not), and of course, water. Oh well, everyone needs to make a buck! -- or rather, a fist-full of Czech Korun. It takes 17 koruns to equal one American dollar so a modest dinner could cost 850.00. A must-have dish here is Goulas served with dumplings (slices of quasi-baked bread) and marinated, maybe pickled, cabbage salad. We see a lot of pig knuckle dishes, which actually look very good and of course, Strudel. We've also seen an abundance of Subways, KFC and McDonalds.

Of course we walked yesterday. We found the daily outdoor market, a supermarket, took pictures and spent the afternoon in a riverside park where people were renting paddle boats, picnicking and frisbeeing with dogs. The people watching was fabulous.

Today, Monday, we plan to take a walking tour to famous sights and possibly take a river cruise--if I ever get finished posting today's update!