Events of Wednesday, June 17, 2009 (Prague)
On the first stop of the day we visited the Loreto. This one is a replica of the one in Loreto, Italy. The Loreto is said to be the house of Mary that floated from Jerulsalem to Loreto, Italy. A more accepted theory is thetat it was taken apart in pieces by Christian crusaders/pilgrims. It was first rebuilt on the Dalmation coast in Croatia, then moved a second time to Loro, Italy. I was stuck by the large size of the home. It was nearly two stories high with a simple brick arching ceiling and dirt floor. The building is surrounded by an open walkway that contains many confessionals and Catholic paintings. The grounds also contained a very ornate church. It was small in comparison to many of the ones we have seen in Prague, but due to its quaint size we were able to really appreciate all of the details of the decor and statues. At the front of of the church were two wax replicas of saints containing there actual bones. The church also contained many chubby cherubs which became quite disturbing. We also visited their vault containing some magnificent pieces covered in precious jewels.

We then walked down to the Prague Castle complex. It is very large and the exterior of the buildings were amazing. Once in the complex we toured the Schwarzenberg Palace museum containing Baroque art in Bohemia. We both decided we prefer the stone statues (chiseled) versus the Baroque (casted) statues. On display were time-telling (sundials, clocks, etc) devices which were interesting to see their progression over the centuries. In the basement were many liturgical robes. We both commented on how heavy they must have been to wear, and the more honor you had the Catholic church, the heavier the garments and head pieces. We had been being watched very closely the entire time, but when I pointed to a piece of jewelry that particularly caught my eye I quickly learned that you do NOT point in museums. At that "point" we ended our toured.

Dave & I then wandered the castle grounds some more and ended up in a torture chamber full of paraphernalia from the time. Dave found the Czech Republic military uniform display in the Powder Tower Mihulka particularly interesting. This was one of the few museums where one is permitted to take photographs.

We finished our day at a yummy bohemian restaurant several blocks from our apartment. It was a wonderful experience to enjoy the local fare in the locals' hangout. Dave enjoyed more Prague beer and I had an orange cream ice tea that we both enjoyed and will be looking for in the US. (As a side note, I don't know how the Czech's don't suffer from dehydration. Water is not served with any food unless you buy a small bottle (about 6 ounces) of it for about $3. It often cost twice that of a beer that's three times the size.) We shared a large plate of french fries that was served with a pile of both ketchup and tarter sauce. To our surprise, it was wonderful; the combination of sweet and sour was very good. For dessert Dave tried the honey cake, but it wasn't worth repeating. On the contrary, Laney had deep fried marzipan stuffed plums in a Bailey's cream sauce that was amazing! Dave ended up giving a 30% tip. Their custom is to give no more than 10%: stupid Americans or God Bless Americans. We don't know which they said.