Day 2

My post will be short and sweet tonight.

We met Bethany (another roommate) late last night, as she was out to dinner with her friend who has been traveling with her for the past few days. She's done a bit more sightseeing here than Schawnne or I, so she's got some great tips on places nearby to check out.

After a much needed "sleep-in," Schawnne and I got a tasty fruit and croissant breakfast near the Charles Bridge on our way to do a little sight-seeing. After breakfast, we decided to check out "Old Town" which houses the historical Astronomical Clock--and we made it just in time. Like most clocks, it goes off on the hour, every hour. Two skeleton statues ring bells while the Saints appear in the windows above. Afterwards, a trumpeter plays and waves to the crowd below in finale. We're told that we can go up into the clock tower for a small fee (which we decided to save for another day). The whole spectacle lasts less than 1 minute, but people gather in crowds to see it. Unfortunately, my camera died right before we made it to the clock so I wasn't able to capture the action or any photos of the clock. Luckily, Schawnne had her camera and took a video which she posted on my facebook wall (look there if you want to check it out).

We also walked along Parizska Street which has lots of "high-end" shops (Burberry, Prada, Louis Vuitton, etc...),  and is akin to Newberry Street in Boston and then headed back to our apartment (I didn't want to do too much sight-seeing without my camera).

Still feeling a bit jet-lagged, we decided to nap while my camera charged. After a nap, we decided to venture out to find a grocery or market where we could buy the essentials for breakfast and lunch. Because of  our 9 a.m. classes and the nature of Czech dining (the food is phenomenal, but it takes FOREVER to eat out), we won't have enough time to eat out for breakfast every morning. Three blocks away from our apartment, we found a small grocery/market that had the bare essentials: bread, peanut butter, jelly, milk (don't worry Dad, it is pasteurized), bottled water, chips, cereal, bananas, and a couple ice cream snacks for our walk back. Turns out that grocery stores (or at least this grocery) do not provide you with carts or bags unless you pay extra. We decided to forgo on the cart cost but purchased the bag, allowing us to eat our ice cream while walking home.

For dinner we decided to try a pub recommended by Rick Steves -- U Medvidku (which started as a brewery and is now a flagship beer hall of the Czech Budweiser (the real Budweiser)). The food was great but the service was sub-par at best. And dinner lasted almost 3 hours (not by our choice)! Like the rest of Europe, the lifestyle here is just plain slow compared to our American ways. Looks like we'll be trying out a different restaurant tomorrow night.