Haha Praha

Miss International 2008 4th Runner-up Zuzana Putnářová of Czech Republic was one of my favorite bus buddies.  I can't find her on Facebook so I can't really say we've managed to maintain the friendship through the years but she was an awesome representative of her country.  In less than three weeks at the time when there were only a handful of tourists in her city, she managed to pique my interest about Prague and how the European Union has affected her people and their economy.  

At that time I've never been to Europe and the best I could do was savour whatever story I could dish from my new blonde friends over breakfast while trying to remember as much as I could from 3rd year HS World History. Miss Venezuela said I looked exotic among the Barbie Dolls and she took pictures with us whenever she could to get more fans. 

But for me my admiration for the European culture was genuine; I watched how they could pack all their things and electronics oh so efficiently in their smart bags.  I watched them do their light makeup. Most of the European girls were well-travelled and sophisticated.  It seemed common for them to be fluent in at least 4 or 5 languages. Zuzana was fluent in 6; she spoke English with a flair and even Miss Poland loved her accent. (Miss Italy & Miss Peru were fluent in 8 or 10 languages but that's an entirely different blog post. haha) During our pageant she was an Erasmus Mundus scholar and she couldn't attend the events after the pageant because she had several deadlines to meet to finish her masters program.  

Zuzana mused about the castle-like buildings, the mysterious churches, the awesome chandeliers, their music, the affordable hard drinks and softdrinks in her city (I discovered during my stay with them in Japan that some Europeans refer to juice and other non-alcoholic beverages as "softdrinks" and they requested me to explain this to a Japanese waiter and our chaperones with my broken Japanese.  They also told me about their love for sparkling water & why they feel it is safer and more fun to drink than still).  My heart ached somehow and wished that someday I could take my kids to Prague so I could see all what she described in such detail.

Softdrink: Virgin Mojito on board the Prague River Cruise

Thank God (and my in-laws! :)) my wish came true a decade after!  Although hubby says it was less touristy five years ago (he managed to go there first in one of his seminars hmph!haha), it's still as magnificent as its splendid reputation. The historical buildings are well-kept and painted in subtle creams and pastels; and the summer heat only becomes bearable when you remind yourself constantly that you get better pictures of their architectural marvels when it's high and bright. Tiis ganda haha

We visited Plzen and tasted their local beer.  Our kids joined us for the Pilsner Urquell factory tour but we were all on equal ground in terms of understanding the tour guide as the tour we managed to book last minute was in Czech.  We just availed of the English tour pamphlet at the ticketing office.  Leji said the barrel storage cave with ice is awesome and she liked the sweet scent of barley.  Too bad photos were restricted within the grounds.

My daughter had fun taking photos with the cultural dancers in dirndls in their outdoor garden after our tour. It was filled with huge flowers in different colors.  Guests were free to stay chomping on pretzels and sausages with their beer, of course.

summer strollin' in the city

They usually charge each time tourists use the toilet but you could go pee for free if you eat/drink in the establishment.  I should have brought my coin purse (I forgot to pack a lot of things because I was sick in bed due to toothache and fever the day before our long haul flight. ugh) :/ I dunno if I just got lost in translation but some churches/buildings don't seem to have public toilets in them.  When I ask for information, some of them shooed me away saying: "I don't speak English."

They only offer the option for customers to eat inside when it's dinnertime.  When the sun is scorching hot, you have no option other than look for a shady tree.  Their local beer is too bitter for me; I like their fragrant, floral & fruity "softdrinks."  Czech Italian food was ok but a little too pricey for its quality.  Based on our brief trip, I think Slovenian Italian food is much better :p Wurst and beef goulash is better in Germany.  Cruise food is better in Hungary.  I dunno where to go for more affordable good food in Czech Republic.  But I still hope to go back with my kids when they're a little older; the buildings are definitely worth seeing again.

Whew! Castle watching while searching for a washroom

It's a blessing the Snap N'Go we borrowed from the
Ostreas have big wheels; cool for cobblestones :)