Jim's Holidays: Prague in Spring

Saturday we three (me, Debbie, Lily-Rose) tube out to Heathrow for a late afternoon flight delayed by an hour (I swore I'd never fly BA again) so landing late in Prague. As there's 3 of us and it's getting on we Uber into town to the apartment which Maya has checked into already. She's excelled herself having shopped and makes us a delicious pasta meal. The lovely apartment in the Old Town is the same as Maya and I stayed in back in November. We hand over a bag of clothes and other food gifts (Marmite, pesto, crumpets) to Maya and yak away over a couple of beers and wine.

Sunday is a beautiful sunny day and although cold at first it soon warms up. I really didn't need woolly hat, scarf and gloves. After a leisurely breakfast we take a look round the old square then wander through the old town and Jewish quarter which is packed with tourists. So is Charles Bridge which we traverse and then go see the John Lennon graffiti wall which is pretty cool although not much about Lennon on it any more. Maya says it's opposite the French embassy presumably to give some protection to the original graffiti artists who would have been risking a lot in the communistic (that is arguable but I won't go there) regime back in the day when even pop music was banned let alone graffiti about liberally minded folk. We then climb the steep cobbled street towards the castle (which isn't our aim today) and lunch in a lovely restaurant that does a vegan take on traditional Czech meals in the roof of a building with views of the castle when you pop your head outside. A fantastic place and Lily-Rose is deciding how to deck it out as her bedroom. Back down the hill into town and we visit the Church of St. James the Greater or Jakob church (Kostel Sv. Jakuba Vetsiho) which was patronised by the town's butchers. Apart from a glorious inside and magnificent chandelier it's most interesting feature is a desiccated withered thief's arm. Apparently as he reached out to nick some of the church's gold a statue of the virgin Mary reached out and clasped his wrist. Next day the only way to free him was for the butchers to saw off his arm whereupon Mary released his arm. It was dangled near the entrance to dissuade other would be tea leafs. Then we wander up to the newer Wenceslas Square then back home via the trusty Albert supermarket. Me and the two girls go out for a wander in the early evening round the old square and side streets before coming home into the warm (the temperature drops fast at night with no clouds) for a stir fry and watch a DVD.

Monday is another beautiful cloudless day. Maya has to go to a lecture (it is a working week for her) and us three wander more around the old town and Jewish area. We meet Maya by the river and walk up to the castle via the traditional potato on a stick seller. There's no queue at the castle security checkpoint, unlike in November, and so easily go in and wander around the buildings. You can wander the streets and peek into buildings for free and as it's such a lovely day and the views so beautiful it seems and shame to be stuck inside. The most magnificent building is the St. Vitus Cathedral with a fresco of the judgement day on it's side. Inside is beautiful with amazing stain glass windows with sunlight spreading colours across the stone walls. Awesome. We get away from the numbers to the small palace garden where we have coffee before descending into town again. With hearty appetites we lunch at a fantastic Buddha inspired restaurant which Debbie says is very feng shui (rounded edges) and macro biotic. Tasteful water features too. I sample not so oriental vegan goulash and dark beer. We meander back to the apartment through the old square via one of the many Captain Candy sweet shops and good old Albert's. I decline to buy strawberries at our local market as they are £15 a punnet which at first I don't clock until I work out the exchange rate. Maya cooks another lovely meal and after the girls seeing how dads really think watching Outnumbered we settle down for the thoroughly more depressing DVD Vice which is about Dick Cheney and how the far right and enemies of liberalism have taken over the USA. Depressing but a great film.

Tuesday we have another leisurely morning breakfasting and chatting and packing before taking a taxi to Maya's pad with all her bags of goodies and then for the three of us back to the airport for an one time flight back home. A lovely trip. Thanks Maya!