Prague round 2 (and a 75 euro fine)

So we made it to Prague this weekend and it went really well this time around. The first campsite we made it to was really crappy so decided not to stay there. We drove around a little bit until we saw a sign for another campsite just outside of Prague in a town called Trebonice. The campsite was great besides the fact that is was surrounded by a barb wire fence and had security guards at night walking around but we felt safe. We were going to go into the city that night by metro but when we asked the campsite workers if the metro was safe at night they said that "well you might be alright". That was enough for us so we decided to wait until the next day.

We got the metro station by bus in the morning (having got our bus tickets from the campsite in euros). Our next problem was trying to buy a metro ticket (only the ticket machines work on sundays) with no Czech Crowns. After asking a lot of people and wasting some time we found a bank machine and made our way to the centre of Prague. It was well worth the wait. The city is stunning. The main strip is 60m wide and filled with shops and people. We walked the main strip first heading up the main muesuem and taking photos infront of the fountain and statue. Following that we decided to take a city tour but it didn't start for 2 and a half hours. So we walked down to a few other sites consiting of mostly churches, government buildings and palaces. We took a really nice walk down in the centre of the old town which has 3 main churches but one of them was closed so we just peered through the windows.

That is when I forgot that my phone was still set to british time and I was one hour behind. We made a mad run through the streets to get the bus tour but missed it by 5 min. It was ok though since we just did the 2 hour tour insdead of the 3 hour tour. The tour was great apart from the fact that it was hard to get photos due to the windows. The tour included a 40 min stop at the Prague Caslte which is famous for the St. Vitus cathedral and the fact that in the castle the Czech Republic goverment still operates which is the only country in Europe where the goverment has not changed buildings.

Following the tour we took a nice walk down by the river Vltava and along Charles bridge which is the oldest bridge of the 16 bridges in Prague. Lots of tourists and I am sure lots of pickpockets. Prague seems to be famous for that. We got away unscathed and took the rest of our walk along the park following the river. We debated taking a river cruise but thought that we had better save the money for Italy instead. I am sure we will return to Prague soon enough......right Chin!!!

The next day we set off and drove to the border where we were pulled over to the side and had a talk with the Czech Police. Apperently you have to get a sticker to drive on the highways in the Czech Republic. He said that it was not his problem it wasn't his fault that it is not advertised. There is a sign on the way in that has a ton of information on it. It has the speed limits, what some signs mean, and yes it has a highway symbol that says in english "with label only". Try reading that and understanding what it means at 130 km\h. So he gave us the min. fine of 2000 crowns which is about 75 euros which really pissed us off but when Megan started to ask questions and get a little frustrated he asked us if we wanted to pay 350 euros instead. I guess that isn't a lot you can do to argue with the czech police. So we paid our fine and drove to Regansburg. At least we have a receipt for the fine that will make its way into the scrap book and we can laugh about it in years to come.

Oh yea and I almost forgot. We picked up a bottle of Absinth as well so I think this weekend should be pretty good. Although we didn't buy the real stuff that has 35mg of the the drug in it (ours only has 10) so your not supposed to halucinate of it I don't think.