17th - First full day in Prague.

We decided to go out and explore today. We went across The Charles Bridge and towards Old Town Square. The bridge was beautiful with lots of statues adorning it (25). There were lots of stalls and artists selling paintings of offering to sketch you. The view from the bridge was stunning. The Old Town square is so pretty. That's where the Christmas market is held and the stalls sell a variety of Chrismassy goods and food. The square has a lovely tree that is decorated with brightly coloured baubles and lights. We hung around in the square for a while drinking hot wine and trying to avoid being accosted by men trying to exchange currency with us! The views from the square were lovely. The town hall houses the Astronomical clock which shows you the state of the universe etc as time passes. Every hour a man stands right at the top and plays a fanfare. He does this from all four sides of the tower and then waves at the crowd - quite a few of them wave back too!

We decided to move on so we tackled the map. Eventually we found the way to Wenceslas Square. Not impressed. There was half a dozen market stalls and loads of nightclubs. It is a shopping area. We went to Marks and Spencer's for a coffee then had a look around C&A's. That was a blast from the past. We eventually wandered back to the old town square and had some more hot wine - the way to ward of the cold apparently, and then back across the Charles bridge. On the bridge we got talking to a young Malaysian boy who studies in England. He was in Prague with his Mum and Dad as part of a European tour he was taking them on. They were a really nice family and we said goodbye after he took our photo with his parents. We went back to the hotel and had a rest then went for dinner at a restaurant just down the road. The theme of the restaurant was devils. There were pictures and models of devils everywhere. We had a fairly nice meal but instead of going for a walk we went straight back to the hotel as it was too cold. Mark had booked a trip to Terezin for early the next morning. Terezin is a fortified town that the Nazis turned into a Jewish concentration camp/ghetto. Given Marks interest in history I'm not surprised he wanted to visit there. I didn't want to go as I thought it would be sad and I don't have the same interest in history as Mark does. We had a fairly early night after eating all the snacks in our room.

Today - 18th

Mark went of on his excursion after breakfast and after stocking up on fruit and snacks I spent an hour in the room staring despondently out of the window at the the snow :( After seeing the status's on fb saying that the UK was suffering from snow I didn't feel too bad. It's very cold here (minus four today) and it is snowing but we are by no means snowed in , so I decided to go out to the Old Town to look in the shops. Before I left I went to the hotel roof garden to have a little look. It's really pretty and will be lovely in the summer when you can sit out there for longer than two minutes without being turned into an icicle!

I walked to the old town being accosted numerous times by people handing out leaflets advertising various carol concerts. The bridge was busier today...loads of tourists and artists - even an organ grinder with his monkey (a toy one unfortunately). I had a look around the shops, going inside whenever I could to defrost. One thing Czech Rep is famous for is it's crystal and glass. There is a crystal or glass shop every few feet! Some of the stuff reminds me of bits and pieces my mum owned in the 70's. Some of it is really nice though albeit a bit pricey. There are lots of jewellery shops too. Garnets and Amber seems to be the stones of choice here...lots and lots of Amber, not my favourite as it looks like nicotine stained glass to me. I was once again accosted by a man trying to by sterling! After a wander around I decided it was time to get some lunch I walked back over the bridge. It's much colder on the bridge as the cold air sweeps in from the river. Half way across I wanted to cry. I couldn't feel my face it was so cold! Even with two pairs of gloves my hands were freezing. I decided to go in Jo's bar - with a name like that it was bound to be great! I was right. I had a hot wine and a chicken sandwich that was actually a huge chicken filled baguette that came with masses of chips and salad. I hurried back to the hotel so I was there when Mark came back. He was meant to be back around threeish but came back at about four thirty. He enjoyed his trip and found it very interesting. We had a chat about our day and decided we'll go out for dinner a bit later. As I write this he is snoring his head off on the bed. HELP! At least at home I can escape from his snoring. Here I'm trapped with it in a hotel room!!!!!

Oh and the young man on the desk said that this winter is much colder than normal and they don't always have snow!