My visions are of a Prague at night, filled with small dark cobblestone streets, cafés, marionette shops, and vampires.
We arrived on Friday by bus just as the sun was setting, so we took a taxi to the address on our reservation confirmation. Our driver drove around, eventually called the number on our email printout, and finally stopped on a small side street. We were to wait here for Frank. Soon, from another side street, a man appeared out of the dark. He introduced himself and welcomed us to the Mozart house. It is believed that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived here while he was composing his opera Don Giovanni.
We were led into the house through a locked front door, down and interior corridor, through a locked wrought iron gate . . . . .
. . . . .and up a spiral stair case, to our apartment that had double locking doors. Frank admonished us to not forget to lock the front door and gate. . . . . Why all the security?
We quickly freshened up, and headed out to explore the old city center and get something to eat . . . with lots of garlic. The old town square was alive and busy. All the shops and cafés were open and buzzing with people. We stopped briefly to hear the tolling of the astronomical clock at Old Town City Hall.
Then it was off Kolkovna a traditional Czech pub for a great dinner of goulash, bread, and beer.
It was getting late, so we walked quickly back through the quieting town square, but even though we tried not to stand out, not to draw attention to ourselves, we were spotted.
A young couple, pretending to be out strolling, fell in behind us. We pulled over to the nearest window and pretended to do a bit of window shopping and let the couple walk past. We were safe. We continued on. But they were wise, and mimicked our act of window shopping and fell in behind us again. We stepped up our pace and when that didn’t work, we ducked into a brightly lit shop. The vampires couple walked past, and disappeared into the night.
Saturday we were up early and off to the train station to spend Halloween day in the creepiest place on earth . . . . . Sedlec Ossuary just outside of Kotná Hora.
(see my previous post for details)
Arriving back in Prague as the light was fading, we headed out for our second NIGHT in Prague. We stopped at an outdoor café on the square and had a light dinner of garlic soup, salad, and hot drinks. Then we were off to take a 4 hour walking tour of Old Prague with McGee’s Ghost Tours of Prague, which included the ghost stories and legends of this medieval city.
About halfway through we stopped at the Strahov Monastery (and brewery) where we sampled the Sv. Norbert beer and grog. The beer is still brewed from the same recipe that was used by the monks of the 1500s. Then it was off to Prague Castle, more stories and a amazing view of the city below.
After we finished the tour, we headed back to the apartment, exhausted and thirsty. We stopped at a small tavern a few blocks from our apartment for dessert and drinks. We stayed a bit too long at the tavern, because on our short walk to the apartment, a figure appeared from the shadows. She was tall, a mane of white-blonde hair, and knee high boots (obviously a vampire). As we passed, she quickly turned and followed us for the next block. We dashed across the street and into our building . . . locking the house’s door behind us. . . . . quickly through the passage way . . . . then the iron gate . . . . up the stairs . . . . and into to apartment . . . . SAFETY. Now, it is clear what all the locks, doors, and gates were in this house were for: to keep away the vampires.
For the next several hours, unable to sleep, we peered out the window, and there she was, still standing at the corner. She would walk back and forth, pacing in the shadows, appearing whenever someone walk near, hoping to find someone to fulfill her nightly thirst.