Prague

There is no trash on the streets of Prague.

A few minutes after Emily picked me up at the metro stop, and we dropped my bag at the hostel, we started searching for a restaurant. As we crossed the city, I found two pages of a book that defined (I assume - it was written in Czech) social realism and discussed Tennessee Williams and 'Alexei Tolstoj.'

Soon after, I caught a toad on the steps in a park and, in celebration of Emily's birthday, threw it at her. Happy 22! I love Prague.

We eventually found a restaurant at which to really celebrate and ordered three appetizers: One consisted of ham, the deli meat kind, rolled around unsweetened whip cream with a touch of horseradish. Yum? The second was a rather rare role of roast beef, also garnished with whip cream, and the third was supposed to be a peach stuffed with chicken salad. The canned peach halves contained mushrooms and whip cream but no chicken. The traditional Czech courses we ordered as main courses were not what we expected either. The pheasant in mine could not be located, and Emily's steak was frightening. At least the beer was cheap and the bread was good.

After dinner, we walked over a tourist-filled bridge and up many steps to see St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle. It is the highest point in the area, and in the evening, the buildings that line the Vltava river are serenely reflected. The peaceful night was broken only once by a throng of school children running down from the castle.

Later today, we plan to visit the castle again and the Communism Museum, as well as attend a concert at the National Museum celebrating Mozart's concert here 220 years ago. Emily has been patiently waiting, so I'll save the rest for later.