walking through Prague - pics

Below are various pictures that I took while we walked from the Old Town Square to Charles Bridge.

It's great how the sun was hitting the building at the end of the street.

We were shopping along this little market...   : )

What is the meaning of the Facebook poke anyway?!

Someone's doorknob.

Like the locks in Cinque Terre along the 'Pathway of Love' - Via dell'Amore

Note: it's worth clicking the link to Old Town Square to see its Wikipedia page! - I love love love the picture that can be found there, showing the entire square.

Also - for Charles Bridge... the photos of the bridge and surrounding buildings with a haze of fog around... it stunning. I saw many paintings of this view as well. ...But I'm still glad that we had a gorgeous sunny day!

Prague's Old Town Square

Prague's Old Town Square is very pretty - and full of visitors!

This city is bizarre in that there are people all over... yet it rarely feels crowded... and it seems to be more quiet than possible for a capital city buzzing with tourists.

Below are a few random photos from around the Old Town Square:

Jaye and Nathalie walking into the square:

balcony lunch with a view! - PRAGUE

Two of my friends in Milan recommended the same place to eat in Prague: Maitrea.

I suppose this will have to wait until next time though... it was closed when we tried to go.

Instead, we went to a restaurant off of the Old Town Square... and it had a rooftop balcony overlooking the square and the city. It was awesome.   : )

View of the Astronomical Clock Tower and Tyn Church - both in the Old Town Square:

Yup - I'm in love with this city   : )

Looking away from Old Town Square (but through glass...) you can see the red roofs and the lovely colors of Prague on this beautiful day:

daytime Prague

Wow. The weather has been unbelievable since arriving in Prague. Thankfully!

I guess the winters here are usually cold and gray.

Well - there has been sunshine, blue skies... and yesterday I didn't even wear a jacket! A sweater was enough... and after the sun went down, I added a scarf and some knit mittens.

I love this city. It is gorgeous, the food is yummy, and not only is the city walkable... but the public transport system is great as well. It took a bus and a metro ride to get to the center of the city - super easy.

Yesterday the conference ended mid-day and I was able to get into the city with Jaye and Nathalie during the daylight hours! Yes!

Walking around, I really loved the variety of colors among the buildings -- often with the red roof, decorated with amazing details, and set in rows side-by-side.

In the Old Town Square:

Other side of Old Town Square:

At one end of Charles Bridge:

Prague's Astronomical Clock Tower

Prague's Astronomical Clock Tower is located in the Old Town Square. It was apparently first installed in 1410!

I would really like to visit this spot again during the daytime and take another look at the actual clock part again. It looks gorgeous.

Night 1 in Prague

Well... I figure that I might as well continue with posting about Prague while I am here... and I will get back to the Christmas travels after that.

Day 1 of the conference went well and then I headed into the city for the evening.

I know a few people at this conference! It is truly amazing how small the network of international schools is.

Nathalie and Jaye are both at this conference and we taught at the same school in Vietnam. Jaye was the head librarian my first year and is now one of the librarians at the International School of Prague (where the conference is being held!). Nathalie, like Jaye, was also based at the high school campus in Vietnam and she now lives and teaches in Spain.

Nathalie and I also ran into each other in Phu Quoc when I was there with Tracy toward the end of my time in Vietnam.

I knew that the two of them would be here... but THEN... as I set my things down at a desk yesterday morning to begin, a woman came up to me and said hello. She then said she is Kerrie. ..."The Kerrie." I didn't understand (I felt bad and bewildered!).

Turns out - she is someone that I have been in communication with through email since last spring! Another friend of mine from Vietnam - Angela... she is a librarian at another international school in Saigon, put me into touch with Kerrie once I was hired at ASM in Milan. Kerrie and Angela know one another from their time living and teaching in Hong Kong. They are both Australian and Kerrie used to teach at ASM! Small, small world.

Funny enough - the leader of our session sat us by experience as a Teacher-Librarian, to mix us up... and I'm sitting next to Kerrie!

Ok - to move on to the evening though... Nathalie and I went into the center of the city and met up with Jaye. We walked around a bit and grabbed some dinner at a lovely bar/cafe.

We were in the Old Town area... lovely! The buildings are all gorgeous. We saw the astronomical clock tower and the Old Town Square. We even grabbed some delicious mulled wine (...my first time trying it and I like it!)

Now for some photos...   : )

Mulled wine and kielbasa tents!

Jaye, Nathalie, and myself (clock tower behind us)

Old Town Square: