This weekend I was visited by a few members of my family in the lovely city of Prague. My mother, brother, and sister-in-law have taken upon themselves to do a month long trip throughout Europe and experience 7 countries this summer. With my presence in the Czech Republic, they decided Prague was an appropriate place to stop for a few days and we had a weekend full of activity. I took some time off work to spend time with them and they got a brief glimpse into my life at NTK as well.
They arrived Friday afternoon via train and I helped them navigate to the apartment they stayed in for their stay. I then took them to one of the pubs I have frequented here, to Charles Bridge, and to the neighborhood that they stayed in before sitting down to get a plan in place. Our Saturday has been partially planned due to the visit of one of my sister-in-law’s friends from the other side of the country, but we had to determine the plan for the rest of our time. We then ended the night with a quick trip to a bakery (for Saturday morning’s breakfast) and a night of cards.
Saturday was a day at the zoo and then an evening spent at Prague Castle. I had some great conversations about the history of the castle and other places I have visited in the Czech Republic while also discussing my experience of culture and work here. We ended the evening at one of the pubs below the castle before retiring to their apartment for more card games.
Sunday led to a trip to Vysehrad before the experience of the final match of the World Cup. We started the
morning slow but made our way to the other castle in the city by early afternoon. We took in the views and some of the attractions (like the Gothic Cellars) before making our way across town for the match. The pub I chose was packed, but we made our way to the back room of the basement to find a spot to watch the match. On our way back to the apartment that evening, we stopped for gelato, but called an early night due to my need to return to work on Monday for a brief time.
Monday started at NTK, where I gave a tour to a group of librarians from Dresden (which will be discussed more in next week’s blog) before spending the last full day in Prague with my family. They joined the Dresden librarians for a tour before I took them for pizza and off to enjoy our day. We started near Mustek, where we spent some time at Hamley’s (mostly for the Czech RepuBrick display) before heading toward Old Town through the Powder Tower and past the Black Madonna Building. By the time we made it to Old Town Hall, we were got in a thunderstorm, so we stopped for desert before deciding to head back to the apartment and wait out the storm.
As we made our way back, the storm cleared, so we stopped at the Senate Gardens before a quick stop at the
apartment for jackets. I then took them up to Strahov, to show them the stadium and the place I have been staying. With the hopes of feeding them, I took them down through Petrin to see the gardens and observation tower before making our way back toward the castle. We stopped in the mirror maze, which I feel needs renamed, as it is no maze at all, and arrived to the square outside the castle a bit too late to find food. This led to a trip back near the apartment, where we found a small place to eat before we said good night to one another.
Tuesday morning I met them for breakfast, where we tried Cafe Savoy together, before I bid them farewell. I set off to return to work while they returned to pack and continue their trip, as they flew to Rome that afternoon. It was a long and grueling weekend full of laughs and plenty of food. There were a few hiccups, but all-in-all, it was a pretty typical family visit with an out-of-country twist.
Raven K 