As indicated when I left you, we rested up and were ready to hit the ground running.

But first….food. The apartment where we stayed was affiliated with this lovely little restaurant that became our “go to” and landmark for our stay in beautiful Prague. The decor was homey and every morning it was filled with students, families and others visiting the city.

That first morning I tucked into their creamy eggs and hearty bread made into toast. Except (perhaps this was a Czech Republic thing), we had to ask for butter and jam wasn’t offered up either. A good way to maintain my slim figure-ha ha!

Upon leaving the cafe, we spotted this church spire in the distance and thought that it might lead us to the square.

We didn’t know at the time, but this was the steeple of the Basilica of St James.

Just beyond the church was this lovely little square which I will elaborate upon in a moment. But see the two spires at the top of those trees? That was our first peak at the Church of our Lady before Tyn, or simply Tyn Church. We were that close to the square without knowing it at the time.

A couple of our favourite shops were in that square. We had been lured into the first of many glass shops where we got our first look at the lovely blown glass pieces. The place had the feel of a gallery more than a shop and Sister #2 and I spent a lot of time oohing and awing over the displays.

We continued on passed Tyn Church and were in the Old Town Square. It reminded me of the scene in the Wizard of Oz when all of a sudden, the black and white film morphed into the most vivid colours! While the square may not be colourful, it was truly a transformational moment for me.

My husband D had been to Prague many years earlier, when he and our son backpacked Europe together. He knew at that time that I would fall in love with the city and always wanted me to see it. It was he that originally found us the affordable tickets to Dublin which was the basis of months of planning to get us to this very moment.

I twirled around the square with my camera, recognizing Old Town Hall and landmarks I had previously only dreamed of seeing. Being brought back down to earth, was the statue of Jan Hus above, I had read that he was a Czech priest, philosopher and Christian reformer who had been burned at the stake for his threat to Catholic leadership.

I find that travel is both exhilarating and somewhat depressing as you witness the joys and sorrows of a country.

Next up, we were off on a Hop On, Hop Off tour of the city.

Kath’s quote: “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Unknown

Love-that is all.