We arrived to our 6th country on Wednesday afternoon and quickly learned that this isn't going to be as easy as the rest of the countries we've been in so far. In France, Germany, and Belgium it seemed like everyone spoke at least some English, most were fluent. But here in Prague so far we haven't come across many who speak any English. It's definitely going to be a little tougher to figure things out, plus we are now in a new currency as well. They do not use the Euro in Czech, it is Koruna, roughly 23 Koruna to the US dollar. For me, that's not super easy math to do on the fly!

Our Airbnb is a modern little place in an old building right next to this huge TV tower with babies crawling on it. Very odd indeed, but I hear it's a great place to go up and see the view from, so we will do that one of these days. We are definitely outside the touristy areas, but there are lots of wine bars, cafe's, bars, and parks very close to us. On Thursday we became locals by obtaining a month-long Metro pass! I told the boys this was going to be our one and only souvenir. ;) We also walked across the infamous Charles Bridge which has been standing since the 1300's, then wandered the streets of Mala Strana.

Friday we took advantage of the TV tower being so close and went up it. It has a nice observation deck with three different rooms, one of which included these hanging bubble swings. The view out was very nice, we were only 93 Meters high so you could easily make out the streets and buildings below. We waved to our open window at the Airbnb. Afterwards the boys played Mini golf on the grounds, while Paul and I wandered through an old Jewish cemetery, where the graves are stacked upon each other and many were crumbling. It was a somber experience.

Kyle has been taking piano lessons for the past year or so in Charlotte, and I luckily was able to secure him a lesson here in Prague, which he did Friday afternoon. He enjoyed it and was able to practice his skills, also being allowed to play an accordion that his teacher, Esther owned.

Saturday we did some sightseeing, getting lost in Old Town amongst the crowds of tourists, and realizing once again how grateful we are that we are staying outside of the main tourist areas. This would be my number one recommendation to anyone wanting to travel to some of these main cities, stay where the locals live, and use an afternoon to visit the hot spots. It is much more peaceful, plus you get the opportunity to learn the public transportation system and see and hear everyday life in a foreign place.

That afternoon we took a Segway tour. Segways are banned in most of Prague, so we had to go to the outskirts of the city, which was really nice, we got to see the "Beverly Hills" of Prague, and great overlooks down onto the city, plus a stop at a monastery where they brew their own beer-Paul's favorite part! One of the stops was at a huge stadium build during the communist reign to hold 250,000 people, it has 12 fields for different sporting events. Unfortunately, it is not used today. But while we were there a big cycling race was being held in the surrounding area, using the parking lots and streets that go up to it. They also hold a drive-in theater in the parking lot, so the stadium isn't completely a loss. That evening we were all tired and Braydon suggested we watch 

Sunday, we had the opportunity to meet up with another American/British couple, that I'm pretty sure we met once in Charlotte many years ago. Alyssa is the daughter of a running friend of Paul's in Charlotte, she and her husband Rhys have been living here in Prague for a few years now. We all met at a brewery for lunch. The food was delicious and Paul enjoyed the beers. It was great chatting and getting to know Alyssa and Rhys, they are a fun and friendly couple who gave us some great ideas for things to do here. After lunch we took their advice and explored the ancient fort area of Vysehrad. This huge area is home to a beautiful church, cemetery and many park areas. We walked the wall around the complex, part on top and part below it. Saw some amazing views of the Vltava River. That evening Paul and I were itching to go see the new Top Gun movie that everyone was posting about on FB in the US, so we walked over to a local mall, which surprisingly looked like every mall in the US! The movie theater did not have reclining seats, but were comfortable nonetheless. Luckily for us, the movie was in English with Czech subtitles.