June 7-10: Prague, Czech Republic
Ian and Justine were at the Prague Quadrennial this year and we wanted to see them and their kiddos, so we made the bold move to rent a car and drive to Prague with the dog in tow. Fortunately, Penny is a good car dog and you can drive very, very fast in Germany.
We made it to Prague and checked in to a beautiful apartment in Prague 7, which was close to the Garrett clan. It was a bit out of downtown, but actually a super cute area with some good restaurants, etc. Ian and Justine invited us over for dinner the first night, so we grabbed some snacks at the grocery store and headed our way. The next day was Miles’ birthday, so we amused ourselves (after the kids had gone to bed) by drinking beer and blowing up dozens of balloons. What we learned soon after was that the walls had a texture on them that was deadly for balloons. As was the cactus in the corner.
We spent Saturday at the zoo with the Garretts and some of their other friends celebrating Miles’ birthday. It was super fun hanging out with the kids and we do always love a new zoo.
That evening we went in to old town to check it out - it was not really what I was expecting. It was extremely crowded and mainly full of bachelor parties. It reminded me of the French Quarter in New Orleans. It probably did not help that there was some sort of music festival happening in the middle of the square. It was very pretty though and we grabbed some dinner and drinks and then walked over the bridge with a beautiful view of the castle.
On Sunday we decided to go explore the Jewish Quarter in the morning. We walked all the way in from our place along the river - there was a beautiful path along the water that abruptly ended in a pile of trash. So, we rerouted. We made it, eventually, only to discover that both the Spanish Synagogue and the Old Jewish Cemetery were closed for renovations. So, that was kind of a bummer. But, we met up with the Garretts (sans Ian) and some friends for lunch which was at a very traditional Czech place in Old Town. It was a very tasty meal and only slightly spoiled by the German couple seated next to us who seemed quite upset that we had both children and a dog in a restaurant. But fuck them.
Monday we headed to the PQ to check out some of the exhibitions - there were a lot of really interesting ones from all over the world and the space that it’s held in is super cool. We then met up one more time with the crew to have a picnic lunch in the park before we had to drive home. All in all, an excellent time had with friends!
