(Events of June 16, 2009)
Dave and I didn't get to bed until 0230, so we had yet another late start. There seems to be a pattern starting here. We went for a nice tram ride today, only to find out that our tourist map was wrong, so after reorienting ourselves we changed our plans for the day and walked back over the Vltava river into the Old Town. The first official stop of the day was the Museum of Decorative Arts. The pieces that we admired most were inlaid furniture from the 15&1600's. Here I said goodbye in Ukranian instead of hello in Czech. Oops! I can't understand why people keep laughing at me when I attempt to speak. As a side note, I am able to blend in with the locals and even got the nod of approval from two grandmas. I just need to not open my mouth and I might pass, except Dave seems to hinder my incognito approach.

We toured the Powder Tower which is full of rich history, but I won't bore you here with the details. In the Old Town Square the Prague astronomical clock "goes off" every hour. We didn't pay nearly as much attention to the clock as we did to the huge crowd that surrounded it. We got a good laugh at the huge flock of people watching something less exciting and more frequent than watching the apple drop in Time Square.

Our next laugh of the day came during the beginning of our guided tour of the Municipal House. Laney and a German college student got verbally scolded for talking while the guide gave her sales pitch. Needless to say, that made us laugh even more and so we hung out with her during most of the tour discussing our opinions on the male versus female rooms' decor.

We ate dinner at Kolkovna where I had Petron goulash (excellent!) and Dave had the meat platter. Dave's 0.5 liter beer cost only 39 cK while Laney's 6 ounces of water cost 65 Cz. It is so different here in that respect. I do not know how the people in Czech Republic do not become dehydrated. Water comes with no meals, and since it is so expensive everyone drinks soda or beer instead. I normally don't drink much water, but really started to miss having it with each meal.

When starting to head back to our place, I realized in the subway that I needed to use the facilities. This was an odd experience that I am not desiring to experience again! You walk into the bathroom and a chain-smoking woman of Soviet stock puts out her hand for money. Thankfully, this part I was prepared for. However, looking over to see that she was just standing between the male and female "rooms" with a view of both made me a little uneasy. Then I proceeded to the stall only to realize there was no toilet paper. What had I just paid for? I decide to check the other two stalls and realize I must go attempt to ask Svetlana where the TP is located. Thankfully, I did not have to ask as it was hanging right by her. Once again I wondered what the money was for as the TP had to have been left over from a Soviet infantry stock. Let's just say it was not Charmin soft!