Arrival

Day 1 in Prague

The Czech Republic is bordered by Germany (west), Austria (south), Slovakia (east) and Poland (northeast).  Formerly known as Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic with its territories (Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia) became an independent nation state in 1993.  

Prague, its capital has been on our bucket list for many years.  We are finally here!  We are staying in a hotel next to the Prague Castle (west of the bridge).  

After 22 hours, including a 6 hour layover at JFK, we arrived in Prague.  We were immediately surprised by how quiet the airport was – especially the baggage carousel - and by the fact that there were no forms for customs.   We did not go through passport control until we had already gone through the eating and shopping areas.  Also, if you chose the lane that read “nothing to declare” you walked right past an empty desk and exited immigration.

We were also pleasantly surprised by the weather – 66 degrees at noon - and the sea of red roofs of the buildings as we approached the city. 

We arrived at our hotel, the Golden Well, just after noon local time.  The hotel, a former residence that was part of the Castle complex, has 19 rooms and a wonderful gourmet restaurant – Terasa – with live grapes growing in planters.

While we waited for our room we were treated to wine at the restaurant and then went there for dinner after resting up.  Czech Sauvignon Blanc was excellent - Czech reds ok but not very bold.  The food was great especially when paired with an Argentine Malbec.