The Cousins

We were back on home turf, and still fighting jet lag, when we welcomed my brother, sister-in-law and their boys for their very first European vacation.  We had all been looking forward to their visit all summer, and since they were only going to be in Prague for two days, we made the most of it...after we slept, of course.

We took off on foot after a hearty breakfast.  First stop - the Castle Grounds.  B and I have been before, but it was the first time seeing the whole thing for my girls and our visitors.  And it was as amazing as I remembered.  We toured St. Vitus...whose beauty never disappoints, and wows me every single time I enter.

We hit up the Old Royal Palace.  No pictures are allowed inside so I snapped one in the gift shop and one on the outside balcony overlooking the red roofs of Prague.

St. Georges Basilica allowed pictures but it was so crowded inside that I only snapped one or two...

Lastly, we finished our tour of the grounds in Golden Lane.  But not before snapping a picture in one of the guards houses.  Strangely, all of the guards were missing that afternoon.  We saw armed military men, but none of the usual Castle guards.  Which means we also missed the changing of the guard ceremony.

After taking one last peek at Prague from the Castle complex, we headed down towards the river to take a peek at the famous peeing statue, and then to the Vltava to feed the swans.

It was late afternoon by now and time to head over to the Charles Bridge.  Why did we cross the Charles Bridge?  To get to the other side, of course.

Halfway across, we looked down and spotted a French Festival.  Fortuitously, it was right next to the stairs, so we headed down and took a quick walk through...

Back up on the bridge, we finished our walk and headed to our destination of the Old Towne Square.  Luckily, we made it just in time to line up to watch he Astrological Clock do its thing.

We also stopped to play with our favorite bubble blowers before heading to our dinner reservation.

And no walk would be complete without seeing another intriguing Černý statue.  

We finally made it to Lokál for dinner and beer.  And beer and tartare.  And beer...

Dinner done.  It was time to head home.  But not before stopping to watch the bagpiper...

And a stop to share our favorite Prague treat with the cousins - Trdelník.

Day 1 was a huge success.  But we were tired as we had walked almost 10 miles.  And we were all still fighting jet lag.  So Day 2 started a little slower.  And a lot more relaxed.

We had a late lunch/early dinner at our favorite restaurant for views - Grosetto Marina.  It is a large boat, docked right on the Vltava, with stunning views of Prague.  We had a very leisurely meal and the kids had a great time being silly.

And this one did her usual...

A last walk back to the 22 tram took us right past a Trdelník stand.  And it is impossible to pass a stand without stopping for a treat.  At least for these kids.

And suddenly, two days in Prague were behind us.  The cousins were leaving the next morning to continue their European adventure, and we were back to recovering from our previous weeks of travel.  But we wouldn't be home for long - we were meeting up again in two days in Munich.