Day
1
We easily found the meeting room with the help of the hotel staff. After grabbing a couple refreshments that were just outside the room, we chose our seats. Our guide, Katka, had a couple tasty treats waiting for us when we sat down as well. As the room filled up, we introduced ourselves to our neighbors, and Anne happened to sit next to the other Ann in the group (that never happens in life).
The brief orientation included a quick introduction of everyone (name, where you live, who you are traveling with and why you picked a Rick Steves tour). Katka also handed out our portable speaker/ear buds and ensured they worked for everyone. We were not super happy we had to use these for the tour (so cliche!)... at first. But so many of the tour sites are crowded and loud, plus they really helped when we were on public transportation because you would clearly hear Katka give you next steps. They would be nice to have in life sometimes when you need to wrangle a group...
We were then off for a short walking tour checking out the astronomical clock and over the Charles Bridge to get to the restaurant, Malostranska Beseda. Dinner was a traditional Czech meal - probably the best group dinner we had as part of the tour. There was also a fun SPOILER!
Day
2
The morning began at 8:15 with a tram ride up to Prague Castle, after picking our "buddy". At the tram transfer point we ran into the Best of Eastern Europe Tour group! It's a small Rick Steves world out there.
Katka was our "local" guide for the Castle complex and she was a great guide. We hurried along to St. Vitus Cathedral to get in before it was too crowded, stopping for a few minutes to get pictures of the amazing site. After checking out the window that started World War I in the Palace, we wondered over to Golden Lane. We were "set free" for about 30 minutes to check out the shops but it was a madhouse. Katka managed to wrangle everyone back together (thanks to the ear buds!) and we were off to the Strahov Monastery's Brewery for lunch.
This lunch was not for the faint of heart or picky eaters. Anne loved it and Ben survived. Lots of interesting foods including pickled sausages. Great beer! From there it was time on our own for the rest of the day.
We checked out the Monastery Library (additional fee) and went to climb the Eiffel Tower (replica...) The elevator line was long and taking the stairs was cheaper so we went that route. The ticket man was surprised to be selling a stairs ticket. The views were beautiful and it was worth the climb. We took the funicular on the way down the hill which happened to drop you off almost directly in front of an ice cream shop.
By now it was late afternoon and we debated renting a paddle boat but our legs were tired so we went back to the hotel. We ran into some of The Group in the lobby and made plans to meet up for dinner in an hour. We retreated to the room to rest a bit (and set the alarm!).
We wanted to try out our "live like a local" skills and go to one of the restaurants from our Food Tour, but when we got there it was packed. One of the group members we were with wanted to show us the Lennon Wall so we walked down there and found the John Lennon pub and dined there.
What we learned The 2002 floods covered the Charles Bridge Trams do not stop for anyone Dumplings are a gravy delivery device
What we learned Being able to take photos costs extra Get down for breakfast early - get ready after you eat Anne always regrets taking the stairs after step #5 Feet hurt way more from standing than walking You should not buy 12 oz of beer shampoo when you travel with a carry-on You always deserve ice cream Some things are just too crowded to enjoy Everything about Prague is charming