Had a slow start reading the paper, listening to the news, sending off a small job and doing a load of washing.
This trip has been planned for a while and I originally bought my Interrail ticket in hope of better things to come on the very bleak night that was New Year’s Eve 2020. I have had second thoughts about setting off to do something so frivolous and enjoyable when people are being blown to smithereens a few hundred miles away, but as Simon Calder pointed out in his excellent Travel Week newsletter, the countries that are giving the most support to Ukrainian refugees need income from tourism more than ever.
I follow a few Italy travel planning pages on Facebook because of my holiday house rental venture in Italy. Worryingly, Americans are already talking about postponing their trips on the incorrect assumption that the war is affecting the whole of Europe.
Anyway, I was out of the house by about 9 and set off intrepidly in the direction of the Prague Metronome high up on the other side of the river, affording great views.
Once I’d got to that vantage point I wandered on through Letná Park, coming across very few other people, most of them dog-walkers.
Eventually I worked my way round to Prague Castle. At first it seemed more modern than I expected for a building with 9th-century origins, but then I realised the “Castle” is a large complex of buildings in different styles from different eras.
Every square centimetre of Prague’s streets and pavements is cobbled and tiled and lots of the tiles are very small. It must have taken literally armies of people to lay them all.
Cobbles and tiles everywhere
The way back down to my Old Town base was very scenic too and by that time the sun had come out.
Having done the sights and had a good hike, I felt entitled to confine myself to the fleshpots of the Old Town for the rest of the day. Trouble is, there are so many temptations, I might struggle to fit them all in before I leave for Budapest tomorrow morning.
Later: just finished a stodgy and immensely satisfying dinner. I decided to eat on Old Town Square again. It’s touristy but the covered eateries are really comfortable and cosy. Plus it takes 2 minutes to walk home.
This afternoon I did a bit of work and then set out to find a replacement for the pyjamas I accidentally left on the ferry. When I saw an old favourite name, I couldn’t resist.
C&A is alive and well in Prague.
2022 and all that 