Wheeling it through Prague.

We decided that exploring other slightly off-the-tourist-trail paths was required during our stay. So we succumbed to the sales pitch of the Segway guide and booked a tour for early Saturday morning. He arrived at out hotel before 11am - gave us our ten-minute tutorial, ran through the safety guidelines, and we were good to go. My son, who is eight and had has his fill with 'walking' Prague was overjoyed.
 It was the first time I has tried the Segday rides, and I would most definitely recommend them for any city that allows it. It took us away from the sites we had already seen, and added an entirely different perspective to our sight-seeing. We started with the John Lennon wall in Lesser Town; moved on to get a viewpoint from high above the city up Petrin Hill, one of Prague's greenest spaces; through the Rose Garden; past the Stefanik Observatory, named after Milan Rotislav Stefanik - astrologer and pilot. Then made our way to Strahov Monastic Brewery where we sampled the local beer. We then made our way down again after a highly interesting tour with a very enthusiastic guide.

Gastronomy in Prague: Ginger & Fred

Having recently written about Frank Gehry's newest architectural marvel in Paris, I was eager to see the building he has designed for the city of Prague, and as it so happened, the restaurant we had chosen for lunch is located in a building designed by him.  I have decided that the next exhibit I see will have to be at the Pompidou Centre where there's a current exhibition on Frank Gehry. I may as well take it all in while there's still all this attention on him.

Ginger & Fred is on the seventh floor of this Gehry building in Old Town. Oddly, no signs reveal its location. The charming young lady at the reception asked where we were headed before directing us to the seventh floor. Oddly mysterious. Very spy movie-like, given that we were in a city where most spy movies seem to be set.

The restaurant was a lovely surprise given the austere building and its minimalistic interior decor of the grey, beige and white colour palette.

Exploring Old Town, Prague - A Photo Tour

Exploring Prague's Old Town was a morning filled with the sights and sounds of a truly vibrant city. Armed with our list of places to visit, we headed out early to avoid other tourists. We walked along the famous Charles Bridge, so named because it was commissioned by King Charles IV in 1357. It is a cobble-stoned pedestrian bridge that spans the Vltava River and is a very important part of Prague's history. A sighting of the Astronomical Clock at the Old Town Square saw us competing with the hordes of people also out to do the same thing: view the hourly chiming of the clock with its moving figures, a marvel really, given that the mechanism dates back 600 years.

A photo journey inside the St.Nicholas Church, Prague

Described as one of the 'most impressive example of Prague Baroque ', the St. Nicholas Church  in Lesser Town Prague, is described in superlatives in almost every reference one reads. It is a beautiful church.
It dates back to 1703, but was built on a former parish church site that dated back to the 1300s. It is also the largest of Prague's churches founded by the Jesuits.
We took our time in this one, and you can see why.

On Prague Castle, the Changing of the Guard and...Starbucks

Fuelled on a huge breakfast, we decided to walk through the city and make our way towards Prague Castle, loftily situated up a winding road, and overlooking the city.
First off though, we spent an inordinate amount of time inside St. Nicholas Church - with some of the most impressive interiors of any church I have ever seen. From the frescoes to the statues, we took our time taking it all in. Who knew that spending time in a church would hold everyone's attention that much. The church is still used for masses, and the solemnity within probably explains why we didn't rush the visit.

A contemporary Eurasian feast in an old European city

Service: Excellent
Food: Excellent
Though admittedly the ambience could have been warmer, the impeccable service and scrumptious food more than made up for it. Dinner with the family last night, as we plotted what the rest of the weekend in Prague would entail, was a feast. Essensia at the Mandarin Oriental was a true delight.