{ Prague } Interesting Bits

This sculpture, made out of keys (almost 86,000 of them!) donated by the Czech people, was installed this year to mark the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. The fall of Communism in the Czech Republic in 1989 is referred to as The Velvet Revolution. Keys are a symbol of the revolution and the resulting freedom to open new doors. The jingling of keys was also used by democrats to tell the Communists it's time to go. Installed on March 9th in Franz Kafka Square, this sculpture serves as a reminder of the past and a nod to future of Prague.

Trams run through out Prague. They were an easy and affordable way to get from our apartment to Old Town. Once in Old Town though walking is the easiest way to see the sites.

We wanted to take the girls to a puppet show since Prague is known for it's marionettes and puppetry. We followed the recommendation of my mom's guide book and ended up in a small little children's theater that clearly was not a part of the tourist trail. There was a show that evening based on the story of Thumbelina, spoken all in Czech. We decided to go for it, knowing we could follow along since we were familiar with the fairy tale. It was an intimate theater with cushions on the floor for the children and seats behind for adults. The props, puppets, and music were done very creatively. It may not have been exactly what we had in mind (traditional marionette show) but was enjoyable in it's own unique way.

My mom mentioned that she'd like to have some goulash while in Prague. So our last night in town, Bryce got Czech food and brought it back to the apartment. We had a feast! Venison goulash, something labeled pig knee that looked like a big hunk of fatty BBQed meat (clearly, I wasn't in charge of ordering; you do remember my squeamishness about meat!), roasted potatoes, dumplings and a tortilla type thing with spinach inside and sour cream on top. Naturally we had some Pilsner, that the Czech Republic is so famous for, to wash it all down.
Grandma got her goulash.

We played Scrabble every night we were in Prague. The competition was really between my mom and Bryce, who are very skilled players. Just when my mom thought she'd lost her mojo, she beat Bryce. Even if it was 1 game out of 10, she could go home a winner.

Prague is the first place I've ever been where I didn't know how to say hello, thank you or even yes in the native language. Have you ever been in such a place? It is really a strange feeling. Here is a pack of Smarties written in Czech.