Prague - DD#1 Moves Back. Dornheim & Bogel, Germany.

Day 31 - Back to Prague!

Our morning started with a quick taxi ride to the Sofia airport. The airport felt relaxed and we had plenty of time to have coffee and chill while waiting for our 2.5 hour flight. Bulgarian Airlines was easy and efficient. In fact, as I write this blog more than a week later, I remember very little about the flight.

We gathered our things and used public transport to get to DD#1's new apartment. She's a pro with navigating Prague's trams and metros. In less than an hour, she had her keys and we we made our way up the 81 stairs to her apartment for the first of many trips. The studio apartment is small but it came furnished with everything she needs. Luckily, the bed is bigger than it looks in the pictures. Despite not having air conditioning, we slept quite well with windows open and a fan on full speed.

The neighborhood is perfect! There are so many cafes, grocery stores, and restaurants all without being in the touristy center. I loved the view from her 4th floor window.

The exterior of her building:

DD#1's closest college friend came to meet us for lunch and to help with some moving chores. We tried their favorite sandwich chain in Prague, Bageterie Boulevard. Next was a two tram trek to DD#1's old apartment where she stored all her stuff over the summer. So much more stuff than I expected!

We used trams to transport the first batch of things across town. We looked pretty funny rolling an IKEA cart, shoe rack, full length mirror. and large fan across town!

DD#1 was excited to see friends so we split up for the evening. I explored her new neighborhood and made little discoveries like the most beautiful elementary school.

I had an amazing Vietnamese beef noodle dish for around $7 and headed out for a long walk along the water.

I didn't intend to walk nearly 40 minutes to the old town, but that's what happened! I caught the main sights at dusk and the light was stunning. I was so happy to be back in familiar Prague.

Day 32 - A great run, more moving, and delicious food!

I researched "best runs in Prague" and was inspired to try a few of them during my six night stay in the city. I had an unlimited tram pass so it was easy to hop on a tram to get the starting point. This one started near the historic Charles Bridge. I criss-crossed over five of the bridges crossing the Vltava River! Such a neat idea to make these figure 8s over the bridges!

Nearly six miles later, I climbed the tower on the old town side of the Charles Bridge for some great views. The towers are all 1/2 off admission during the first hour of opening. Well worth the $4. It was also a great way to beat the crowds.

DD#1 and I found a nearby bakery where I had a kolache, basically a Czech Danish. I was on a mission to attempt to visit six of her neighborhood coffee shops in six days. As long as I was buying, she was game!

We trekked across town to her old apartment and moved another few items. We also stopped and did some shopping for a few necessities for her new place. We rewarded ourselves with a delicious Czech lunch at a cafeteria-style place just around the corner from her apartment. We had heard about it from our favorite Prague Youtuber, The Honest Guide. More about him later.

The afternoon was a blur of some walking, shopping, and meandering. I was very impressed with the neighborhood church. Absolutely beautiful! It says a lot when the non-touristy churches are this incredible. Prague is a gem.

Prague is full of Vietnamese restaurants and has a large Vietnamese population. There are 4-5 Vietnamese restaurants in DD#1's neighborhood and we ate at three of them. Tonight's was our favorite!

I stopped at the wine cafe around the corner and enjoyed a nice local Czech wine on the street while watching the trams whiz by. Wine was less than $3. Wow!

Day 33 - Nearly 30,000 steps of exploring!

We started off at a Vietnamese coffee shop where we found coconut and salt coffee just like in Vietnam! So fancy!

Two tram rides later and we were back at DD#1's old apartment for the last batch of boxes to be moved. It was a lot of effort, but we saved money by using public transport to move her items.

I left DD#1 alone for some of the day to begin unpacking and making the place feel like her own. There was a huge Red Bull race thing going on just 5 minutes from her apartment. I walked over to check out the "fan zone" but decided it wasn't my scene. I didn't feel like waiting around to watch loud cars race. It was a pretty festive atmosphere though.

I had heard about this odd tunnel that connects two neighborhoods. It was time to investigate! The pedestrian/bike tunnel took about 5-7 minutes to walk through and landed me in the Zizkov neighborhood.

On the other side, I looked behind me at the hill above the tunnel. I decided to hike to the top to find this giant horse statue that I could see from DD#1's neighborhood. I discovered grapes growing on the hill and a network of well-kept trails criss-crossing the hill. Once at the top, I found a large museum and people appeared to be on the rooftop. I investigated how to get up there, of course! For a few bucks, I enjoyed a totally different viewpoint of Prague. Virtually no tourists either!

On the way to the top, there was a large room that must be used for events. The grand piano in the corner caught by eye. The staff were nice to let me play the piano for about 20 minutes or so. It was the best one of the trip and it sounded so great in the large space! However, my playing was apparently too loud so they kicked me off. Oh well.

I stopped at a Georgian bakery in the neighborhood and got a huge creamy looking cake concoction to-go and a yummy potato pastry thing to eat on the go.

DD#1 was meeting her friend in yet another neighborhood so we decided to meet beforehand for a beer. Beer Geeks did not disappoint. So many choices of unique craft beers!

I walked even more and found the most beautiful park with a man-made grotto. It was so fun walking around the rocks where little trails had been carved.

I found some of the famous modern art displays in the old town. The giant butterflies were placed on the new mall. They used old airplane fuselages and the wings moved. They were enormous! David Cerny is responsible for most of the unique art structures in the city.

I slowly meandered back to DD#1's apartment and stopped at yet another Vietnamese restaurant, this time for a shrimp and green mango salad. So delicious! My feet and legs were tired from so much walking.

Day 34 - Kayaking, a local celebrity, and a storm

I started the day with a tram ride to Prague's largest park, Stromovka Park. I had been here once before when the kids were little. This time, I was jogging and saw a lot more ground. The trails were well-maintained and it was a great escape from the city. I look forward to returning sometime when I can try some of the cafes and beer gardens in the park.

DD#1 and I tried another local cafe. They are all good and much more reasonably priced than home.

Another church spotted and briefly toured.

We decided today was the day to try kayaking on the Vltava. We rode a long tram ride to a less-touristy part of the river to Kayak bar. The hour ride flew by and we had fun learning how to navigate our boat. This was a suggestion we had heard about on youtube from The Honest Guide.

After our ride, we crossed the river to a more local spot with several bars and a weekend food market. DD#1 actually sampled some weird spicy worm before we settled on Indian food and noodles. We grabbed our spot along the river with the local crowd.

Suddenly, DD#1 said, "mom, don't look and be obvious, but I'm almost positive that The Honest Guide is sitting behind you!" Sure enough, we had stumbled on the guy who releases weekly videos about how to enjoy Prague like a local. Eventually, we got brave enough to talk to him as he left his table for a beer. He was really gracious and even let us take pictures.

The weather was changing so we decided to pop in the new Tesco supermarket to load DD#1 on some essentials. I love grocery shopping in foreign countries. We didn't take any pictures, but here is a cute grocery stores a few blocks from her apartment. I like how they use historic buildings for groceries stores instead of the huge box stores we have at home.

The thunder storm was intense dumping tons of rain with loud thunder and lightning. We went to the pizza place just across the street from DD#1's apartment. No pictures of our basic dinner. We were tired and called it an early night.

Day 35 - Brevnov Monastery, shopping, more food

I didn't take a picture of today's coffee shop. It was a cute loft place where I can picture DD#1 doing a lot of studying.

DD#1's closest college friend met us for a long tram ride out to Brevnov Monastery. This was a place on my list for a quite a while so I was happy to get out of the main part of the town for an excursion. The monastery was beautiful and quite large. We walked around the grounds a bit before heading to the main event. The restaurant and brewery!

The restaurant featured lots of local specialties like dumplings, mushroom soup, gnocchi, and more. We had a quite a feast with local beer!

I left DD#1 to do yet more unpacking while I did some shopping. I found some nice Czech garnets for gifts and took more random pictures of beautiful Prague.

DD#1 and I were somehow hungry for a late dinner. We started at our favorite local beer garden called Dva Kohouti for amazing bao buns. Then we continued to a neat basement bar across from her apartment for nachos. Yes, we actually found legitimate nachos in Prague. Love it!

A random word about DD#1's toilet. So this toilet is weird. It makes these loud grinding sounds anytime it is used. The sounds are separate from the flush. I took a picture of the weird boxy thing behind the toilet that was actually plugged into electricity. I sent the pictures to DH back home and he called me laughing. Turns out it is basically a fecal disposal thingy meant to grind waste so not to clog small old pipes. Funniest thing!

Day 36 - Exploring the castle, the local luge, and yes, more food

I awoke feeling very sad that this was my last full day in Prague for a long time. I went for a run through the tunnel to the connecting neighborhood and found another pedestrian tunnel. There are so many places to run and explore in Prague!

We explored our last local cafe. This one was very trendy with fancy pastries.

I left DD#1 to continue unpacking while I explored the Prague castle in a more nontraditional way. In August, the castle is packed with tourists. However, the castle grounds are enormous and it doesn't take much to get away from the crowds. I had forgotten just how beautiful and historic this part of Prague can be.

I found a hidden cafe that DD#1 told me about. There was even a secret garden behind the coffee shop. A perfect place for lemonade and a treat!

I had heard about the old deer moats beneath the castle from The Honest Guide. Sure enough, I found the coolest hike beneath the castle! I think I passed 4-5 people. I love these kinds of finds!

I met DD#1 at her favorite doner place for lunch where we had spectacular salads. They don't look like much but boy are they yummy!

I tagged along while DD#1 activated her Czech phone plan and we grabbed a beer at a local place. I'm really beginning to see why she is so happy living here.

But we needed a little adventure in our day so we took a tram and a bus to the Prague luge. Can you believe there is a luge in Prague? It's a $3-4 thrill going at top speeds down a hill. So fun! Very few tourists find this place.

For our last meal in Prague, we went back to our favorite Vietnamese place and both picked curry dishes. So good!

I am so happy that our family is returning to Prague in December for the holidays!

Day 37 - Train to Frankfurt, BBQ with family and friends

We started our day with coffee at the train station. It's a gorgeous building!

Today would involve two train rides. One to Dresden and another to Frankfurt. It was relaxing hanging out on the train going at top speeds across Germany. I worked on the blog using their great wifi.

We were so happy to be picked up in Frankfurt by my step-sister (CH) and our friend, RM. It always seems like time gets away from me when we are lucky enough to be with family. I took few pictures of this time and don't have any of RM. He drove all the way down from northern Germany to spend time with us. It was so nice to reconnect and have a long evening BBQ.

We went for a lovely walk at sunset, got ice cream and slept especially well in her cool basement.

Day 38 - Drive to the country and lots of visiting

We started the day with a huge German breakfast spread. CH and I took a morning walk to get fresh bread from the bakery. I always feel right at home here.

We drove about an hour to my step-mom's place out in the country. She lives in this beautiful restored home in the rolling hills not far from the Rhine River. We spent hours chatting, walking in the country, eating yummy plum bars, and another BBQ with lots of wurst. As usual, I took few pictures because I was just enjoying the good company. I will take more pictures next time!

Day 39 - Last full day in Europe

I started off the day with a run in the countryside. I will really miss running in new places.

We set off with my stepmom to explore a nearby restored fortress from the Roman times. So old and interesting! We had a guided tour and learned a lot about the advanced engineering of the Romans.

One goal today was to stock up on German snacks to bring home to the US. I am a huge fan of German chocolate so I loaded my suitcase! I also bought the face cream I like that is much cheaper than the US, and I think it's better.

We stopped in a small town for doner for lunch. I had another epic doner salad. I wish I could get these back at home!

We met up with CH in the cutest little town along the Rhine, known for their famous white wine. We wandered around finally taking some pictures of our time together.

It was sad saying goodbye to my step mom but I know we will be back. Staying connected is a priority despite the distance.

CH took us to a giant grocery store called Globus on the way back to her home. I think it's the biggest grocery I have ever seen. Maybe anywhere! We bought sushi to have for dinner. We stayed up late visiting and somehow I managed to fit all that chocolate into my luggage.

Day 40 - The long trek home

The best travel days are the ones with little to report. CH took DD#1 and I to the airport. It was almost as hard as last year to say goodbye to DD#1. She took a bus back to Prague and the life she loves. I had to board the dreaded plane back home. First stop was Helsinki where I changed to the giant plane. I watched three movies on the plane and enjoyed a smooth ride. Sure it was a little boring but well worth this forty day adventure.

Luckily, the third plane landed in my hometown where DH and DD#2 were there to greet me. I had never spent so much time away from DH! He was a sight for sore eyes. It was a long time to be apart and not something we will do for a long time. In the end, all the planning paid off and I had another adventure of a lifetime. How lucky that I continue to have these opportunities! I don't see travel becoming any less of a passion in the future. I'm home just a week later and am already scheming the next trips. Let the adventures continue!