Prague with Kids: animals, water and illness

As I write this, we are in the throes of another child sickness (Jacob this time) and my parents are visiting from California. Prague seems a long time ago, but since the kids and I did some things apart from Matt, it is only fair that I share some of the kids and my adventures.  Jacob will add his colorful commentary shortly as well.

Day One-Thursday
It was a day filled with introductory sessions for Matt and the students, so the kids and I were on our own.  We started the day with some school lessons until lunch. On the plane over, I had told myself that we would not stoop so low as to eat McDonalds or other American fast food in Prague.  However, I very much underestimated the language barrier for us.  So after trying to pop into a local pizza joint and confusing the person behind the counter and myself, I broke down and took the kids across the street to McDonalds.  The manager waiting on us spoke English and went out of her way to help us, plus the kids got both toys and balloons- win, win!

After lunch we decided to walk around the neighborhood a bit.  We happened upon an amazing church that I thought must be important for how ornate it was...but it was just your average, everyday Gothic cathedral.

Matt and the students returned and we went on a walking tour of Prague.  It was cold, but very interesting...at least for the adults.  The kids were cold and tired.  Our tour ended at the restaurant we had our opening dinner.  It was a lovely dinner, though not exactly kid friendly.  Zeke took one look at his pancetta with goat cheese appetizer, shook his head no and buried his face in my chest.  This was repeated at every offering of food except for the bread, of which he ate four slices.  See photos below to view what he was so upset about...

Chicken stuffed with spinach and cheese

Pancetta with goat cheese and rocket

Vegetable Spring Rolls

Beef curry

Day Two:  Friday
Matt and the students had company visits, so we headed off for the zoo.  Our Prague program host had written down directions for me, so I didn't bother to look them up myself or really orient myself to the Prague metro or bus systems.  This was a mistake we discovered when we got off the metro (subway) and looked for the bus to take us the rest of the way to the zoo and it was no where to be seen.  Again, the language barrier was a problem- I ended up asking two different people where to find the correct bus by using my fingers to show 112.  The first waved us off in the opposite direction, but the second man walked us the whole way (through a tunnel) to our stop while I gratefully called "Prosim, prosim"...which means please, not thank you. Oops!

Once there, we enjoyed the zoo.  There were cage after cage after cage of birds, which delighted the kids, particularly the section I called the birds of doom which included four different breeds of vultures.  Delightful for a bird phobe like me.  Below you see the kids delight at my torture in the birds of doom area.

After we got out of the bird area, the zoo was amazing.  The gorilla house in particular was truly amazing.  There were several gorillas including a baby and one that looked exactly like King Kong who was right next to the glass.

Other than the gorillas, the most exciting part of the Prague zoo was that we finally got to see polar bears!  We have been to many different zoos over the years since our children were born that were supposed to have polar bears only to arrive and find out their bears have died or are sick or are on loan to another zoo.  It had become a family quest to see a real live polar bear and in Prague, we managed it!  So fun!

We had a relatively authentic lunch, so dinner was at the Prague Hard Rock Cafe.  Jacob absolutely adores Hard Rock Cafe, so we have been to many of them since his infatuation began.

(Notice Zeke is practicing his rock star avoiding the paparazzi pose- he has perfected it this month).

Day Three:  Saturday
Matt had a monster day of meeting with each student group working on their projects, so the kids and I were on our own again.  Again, we got some school work done and then headed to explore Wenceslas Square and surrounding area in search of fun shops and lunch.  We had already agreed to make dinner our authentic meal, so it was McDonalds again (I dare you to be on your own in a foreign city with three picky and somewhat cranky children and NOT end up at McDonalds).  We happened upon a street craft fair, so had fun looking at all the toys, art and food the vendors had to offer.  At this point, I was reminded yet again that European sensibilities are not the same as American.  At one wood crafter's stall, we found lovely children's puzzles, spinning tops and graphically carved, anatomically correct...positions dice.  We moved on very, very quickly.

After Matt's long day, we went in search of an authentic Czech meal.  Matt likes to follow a fellow economist's advice in searching for good foreign food (because when you think foodie experts, you think economists), which states that you go a block or two off the main drag and search for the small, non descript places.  We struck gold in finding Boem a few blocks from our hotel in the basement of a smaller hotel.  It was a small Macedonian restaurant, but definitely had some Czech pub flair including fried cheese, a renowned local favorite.  The kids even enjoyed the meal, so it was an all around win!

Day Four:  Sunday
Our Czech host invited us to come  with them to the Aquapalace an indoor water park.  We were very fortunate that Pavelina came with us because the staff did not speak English at all (most service people speak at least a little bit of English).  We had heard that if we arrived early, it was pretty empty...apparently we weren't the only ones who heard this, because it was very crowded.  Within ninety minutes, it was mobbed and there was a green wigged clown yelling into a microphone about contests.  Mass chaos!

After the water park, we had a lovely Italian lunch with Pavelina and her son Ota, who is a little younger than Zeke.  It was great fun to chat and the children were able to find out about kids in the Czech Republic.

Finally, we explored the Prague Castle.  Most things were closed, but we walked the grounds.  It is an extraordinary place, beautiful architecture, statuary and stained glass.

With Prague in the background from Castle grounds

St Vitus Cathedral

Goofing at the cathedral gates

Castle Guard

Day Five:  Monday
This was the big day for the students, giving their consulting presentations to the local businesses.  Again, the kids and I were on our own.  We started with school again, intending to head out to the Toy Museum near the Castle after picking up lunch.  This plan changed when Allison started feeling sick.  Instead, our day was spent in the hotel room, trying to stay quiet and entertained.  Since the local television options were BBC news, German sports and Czech programs, we were grateful to have wireless internet and i-gadgets to keep us going.  Matt returned in time to take the boys out for a men's night out at the closing dinner.  Apparently, Z still didn't eat much more than bread, but this time he was a little more subtle in his refusal.

Day Six:  Tuesday
Fortunately, Allison woke up feeling back to normal, so we were able to spend the day doing some last exploring before our evening flight.  We started off at the Charles Bridge, which is truly remarkable.

One of many statues on both sides of the bridge.

Next we walked around Mala Straha (Old City) and found the Lennon Wall.  This wall of graffiti began as a tribute to John Lennon after his murder in 1980.  The Communist police did not like the wall and would repaint it only to find it full of tributes again in the morning.

We made our way slowly to the funicular train to go up to Petrin Hill.  The train ride was fun and gave us great views of the city.


We had one last fabulous meal in Prague, attempted to visit the National Museum, but it was closed and then poked around some shops again.  It was a rainy, miserable day, but the kids were pretty tough about it.  Soon it was time to meet the students at the hotel and get ready to head to the airport.

Our first trip with the students was a success.  The students did a great job in their presentations (the program directors called the group one of the best they'd had) and we had no major issues.  Most things went as smoothly as they could have.  However, I was very happy to finally get to our flat late on Tuesday night.  Two more student trips (to Rome and Wales) and one family trip to Paris before we go home.  Hopefully, the next trips will go as well as Prague did!