Prague with a friend

I can't believe I got to go to Prague!

We decided to rent a car and drive there from Wiesbaden. We looked into taking the train, but the time and cost of it just didn't make sense. The main reason to rent a car was because I didn't want to leave David without the van. The added benefit to that was so that I had something that drove better than the Dodge Grand Caravan, and was also smaller. I made reservations for a parking spot in a garage, and Kathy found us what looked to be a nice Airbnb. Off we went on Friday morning.

First thing was to pick the rental car up by the train station. The reservation had said it would be a Mercedes sedan, but then when I got there, they said it was a Cooper Mini Countryman. Didn't seem to matter to me, I knew that would be a pleasure to drive. So off we went.

Google had told us it would be a five hour drive. We hit a lot (A LOT) of traffic, and it took us 8 hours to get there. I was already prepared for that from experience, so it didn't bother me too much. It was what it was. The German's reputation for the Autobahn is a lie, just so you know. It really only works late at night or in the wee hours of the morning. Driving the Mini was indeed a pleasant experience.

When we got to the parking garage, about which I was somewhat happy because it parked the car automatically and I wouldn't have to worry about that, they told me the Countryman was too tall. Oh, right. That's why I cared what kind of car we got. I had 1.6 meters of height. I just looked it up, and the Countryman is 1.561 meters high. Darnit, they were wrong!

But fortunately, they were very kind and let me use their house phone to talk with the reservationist to get a new location, and we drove there without incident. Man that garage was tight! Without hesitation, Kathy repeated her offer to park the car, and without hesitation, I accepted! (It is good to know one's limits, David always says.) Kathy was the BOMB at parking, and got us into a tight, awkward spot with no problem (mainly by not listening to the alarms, when I would have been stepping out of the car every two centimeters to see where I was--and I'm not exaggerating).

We had a bit of a walk to our Airbnb from the new parking garage, but boy, was the apartment ever in a good location, and just right for two friends!

We checked in and then immediately went back outside to walk around and find dinner. The atmosphere was lovely in that city. I felt welcome, and that was nice for a change. We checked out Charles bridge and went to Prague Castle. I was a little bit disappointed because the cathedral was closed for the day. I was a lot disappointed when I found out the the clock in the square was closed until summer. But Prague was still amazing in spite of all of that! It is a pretty impressive place. I enjoyed the food, the sights, and the weather. Most of all, I enjoyed Kathy's company. It was a great weekend.

Medieval helmets

Prague is a sort of paradox throughout.  Demonstrated in this photo.

Charles Bridge