Day 46. Saturday 16 May.

Train to Prague is now routine. Stepped out of the station and almost straight away onto the Vintage Tram. Stepped off at the stop closest to Prague Castle, to join thousands of our best friends jostling, filming, taking selfies, posing for photos, talking, stopping, drifting, overtaking, spreading out, walking diagonally, being an individual and walking on the left side…..D was gritting his teeth.

Dropped in to Wallenstein Gardens (home to the Senate), which was relatively quiet, the koi were calm & the peacock enjoyed the cameras.

Resumed the trek to the castle. Having reached a viewpoint, admired the city & river stretched below and faced with hordes descending and descending, took some photos and surrendered, heading for the Franz Kafka Museum. How appropriate.

On arrival in that area, needed coffee urgently and conveniently the pub where the ‘a Capella’ singers were singing a couple of days ago was just opposite. Tried the Czech Old Cake, Makovec, which is simple, sponge-like cake with a crumble top made with ground poppy seeds, served warm…rather nice accompaniment to (ordinary) coffee.

By now it was too late for Kafka, so instead a leisurely walk to Jazzdock. It was bliss: virtually no crowds most of the way beside the canal.

And a little bit of Venice in Prague…

We arrived early, secured two good seats and had a refreshment.

We’d booked the 1500 show – Jazz on the roof with the Petra Vlkova Quartet: Petra Vlkova – vocals; Libor Šmoldas – guitar; Josef Fečo – bass; and Tomáš Zelený – drums. The tunes were standard love songs, all in English & shared among the 4 musos. Petra’s voice was full & deep, the guitar & bass great…a good way to spend a cold (but thankfully rain-free afternoon).

Across the river to admire that crazy ‘dancing house’. The Dancing House or Ginger and Fred, is the nickname given to a building completed in 1996. It was originally called Ginger and Fred, and is still popularly called that, as it resembles a pair of dancers, but the name Ginger & Fred is now mainly used for the restaurant located on the seventh floor of the Dancing House Hotel.

Homeward bound we dropped into Knedlín to try their famous dumplings. We did two; duck and sauerkraut, and wild garlic and brined cheese. The dumplings are made of potato dough with different savoury or sweet fillings. Some are fried, others boiled. A Czech lass dining next to us with an Indonesian friend had worked on the counter there, and said they were really a fusion food rather than traditional. The long queue indicated a successful venture and it is apparently the only business doing these in the Republic. It’s almost a version of a pie & we can imagine a steak& kidney variation, cauliflower & cheese, lamb &…????

Back to our station & Home on the train: passports checked.