Day 11: Every Day is Leg Day or Ducks of Prague

Today was HOT. So hot. I can't even deal with how hot it was. Have you ever imagined what a loaf of bread feels like in an oven made of black cobblestoned streets and large, beautiful buildings? That's me. The loaf of bread. Okay, bad metaphor, but you get the idea. Hot. So hot. 

We started out searching for a bakery and a phone store because Casey's cable for his phone decided to die. Sunday in Prague means most things are closed so we didn't find the bakery but I found 3 adorable pairs of shoes, a purse, and Casey got his cable, so it was a pretty successful morning. Then we went back to the place where we're staying because we didn't want to carry around 3 pairs of shoes all day and went out again.

 Have I talked about where we're staying yet? Well, it shares an entrance with a strip club, so it's easy to find, and is in Praha 1 or 2. I'd say there is a good amount of local color here. Last night, we had to close the windows because in addition to being a stone's throw from a strip club, we are also next door to the techno bar I mentioned in my last post. We are one room in a suite of 3. Our neighbors are some Dutch girls and maybe French girls, I'm not sure. It was a really good deal to stay here but I wish I knew everyone in the suite. That would be nice.

The door to the club as seen from the bottom of the staircase that leads to our suite

 We walked to the river because that seemed like a good place to stay cool and found this adorable, informative sign next to a playground. Apparently, the playground is not only a playground, it's one of the few places in Prague where drinking is actively discouraged, and also is not a toilet. That's what the sign says so it must be true.

 As we watched the river, we saw a grand amount of paddle boats and row boats going by so we decided to rent one for an hour to try and deal with the heat. I'd never been on a paddle boat before so it was a really fun first experience! I took a lot of pictures, mainly of ducks, but you can get a really good view of the city from the river.

Aren't they so cute?

They're so fuzzy!

Some sandals. I mentioned I found shoes, right?

This looks a lot more relaxing than it was :-)

 An hour of paddle boating definitely took its toll on my quads. After walking so much so frequently, I was a little surprised my legs reacted at all. After this trip, I'm going to have super buff legs and be scrawny everywhere else because this is one serious way of seeing Europe. Maybe we could invent a new type of tour where you see everything via paddle boat. That could be cool.

You can't tell from this picture but that staircase leads to a public toilet. Possessing the insatiable curiosity of a child, I had to visit it. The fact that I needed a restroom after the paddle boating was a complete coincidence. The bathroom costs 10 crowns and is quite clean, if I do say so myself.

 After the boats, we went and got a couple of beers and a pretzel at a restaurant and tried to cool off. Then, we paid our respects to the waxen baby Jesus of Prague, which is a great idea on a Sunday. The church was very cold and nice and there were many tourists. Mass had just gotten out. I was looking for the museum with all of Jesus' clothes from the last time I came to Prague but they must've gotten rid of it. Instead, there were little infant Jesuses from all over the world under glass and a large wall of prayers to the waxen baby Jesus in many languages. We also witnessed what sounded like a mass blessing over a large Latin family by a priest. There were many nuns.

 Then, we walked a bit more and price shopped souvenirs. I was asked for directions again, which I'm pretty sure I messed up, but that's what tourists get for asking random people in the street where important landmarks are. Everyone should just get lost in cities and wander randomly until they find something cool. It's the only style of travel guaranteed to work out because plans inevitably go awry in foreign countries. Better just not to have them.

 We walked back to the place we're staying to make dinner and passed some more cool graffiti and part of a shoe, both of which are documented. Overall, it was a fun day if unbearably hot. Tomorrow, we're planning on waking up early to see the castle, which may or may not happen, then hike Petrin Hill as both are in the same area. We'll see how much actually gets accomplished because it promises to be equally hot tomorrow.

Quack on, Dear Reader,
Maria