The summation of the day is homeward bound, but not before a few tourists highlights in Prague.
We were all packed and said our goodbyes by 9:45am for the drive back to Prague central railway station to drop off the car. The first 40km took about 25 minutes, the last 10km a further 45 minutes as we crawled through the heavy traffic that just got worse the closer we got to the centre of the city.
We had investigated dropping the car at the airport, but the cost difference was insane. The positive about being central and not flying out until 6pm was that it gave us 4 hours to visit some of the main attractions with the kids. Amber and myself had visited Prague back in 2011, so it was also a chance to see whether we would remember some of the sights 13 years later, albeit at a slightly quicker pace!
Whilst not bright blue skies, I'd worn my sunglasses all the way on the drive and we made our way in to the station to make use of the left luggage lockers in decent weather (photo outside the station at 11:20am). Twenty minutes later it was like armageddon had hit and whilst we initially tried to make it to the tram stop, we had to give up and find a doorway to shelter from the torrential rain (photo in the doorway at 11:45am). Fortunately it soon passed and we caught the number 15 tram around to the base station of the Petrin Funicular, although the kids didn't look too impressed whilst we waited!
We certainly took the funicular when last in Prague, however I don't believe we went up to the top of the Petrin Tower. We decided that due to the time and not wanting to get too worn out, we'd pay the surcharge for the elevator, although it wasn't clear that we'd have to pay for the kids (or that they'd be charged the full adult price and not the concession charge that was available for the over 65s). The views from the top were impressive and it was good to get a different perspective of the city from the same altitude above the river Vltava as the Eiffel Tower is above the Seine, even if the skies were a little threatening. The Petrin Tower itself is styled on the Eiffel Tower and is one fifth of the size, however since it is at the top of the hill it gains the same altitude accolade that I initially misread for it being the same height.
Once back down we followed a walk that Jana had recommended taking in the Loreta church to hear the musical bells at 2pm (whilst having a snack for lunch) and down through the cobbled streets to the famous Charles Bridge. It was strange on the bridge, it went from being ridiculously busy to seemingly almost empty in the time it took us to stop and take a few photos.
Time was now ticking so we headed to the metro to return to Prague central station to collect our bags. The left luggage lockers were good value with our 4 large bags fitting within a single XL locker. It was then back on the metro again, retracing our steps but this time staying on until Nádraží Veleslavín station to catch the number 59 trolleybus to the airport. All our travel in Prague was on a Kč 120 day ticket (equivalent to £4) and the kids were free.
One oddity at Prague Airport is security is at the gate, so we passed through passport control and duty free, had a couple of beers and some dinner (whilst watching a Ryanair flight get evacuated due to an apparent security concern over some luggage), all before having the hassle of security to deal with. Travelling with two kids it's a stressful part of the airport experience and I'd much rather get it over and done with so that you can relax a bit more before your flight, like at most other airports I've flown from around the world.
The flight was non-eventful and passed quickly (I wrote yesterday's blog). Amber might say something different as she was with both the kids. Flying on the most basic of British Airways fares, we had no choice without paying when it came to seats and they gave us row 19 C, D, E and F, so I was just across the aisle in 19C.
Annoyingly at Heathrow we were parked up at a Terminal 5 stand so we had to be bused to Terminal 3 being a Prague flight, but that's the only real gripe about the airport experience as there was no queue at passports and since we were hand luggage only, we were heading quickly to the Central Bus Station for our 102 to High Wycombe (we're currently passing through Beaconsfield in the rain as I write this and the journey so far wouldn't go amiss as a ride at Efteling).
So that concludes another trip and another blog. A massive thank you to Jana and Petr for being our hosts in the Czech Republic and making us feel so welcome. One day our house will be in a state so we can return the favour!
We're heading to Plymouth in October, perhaps we'll blog that trip too...
Blogged by Matt.
