Today we are picking up a rental car and driving through the rest of the Czech Republic on our way to Germany.

We spent the past few days here in Prague enjoying all the city has to offer, and there is a lot! Besides a great collection of Medieval, Gothic and Baroque architecture, there is a rich history surrounding the development of the city. Including its most recent revolution, the Velvet Revolution in 1989 during which it came out from under Soviet rule. It's difficult to see this city being repressed, but it was, and the people are making up for lost time in their enjoyment of life. Tourism is booming, which can be either a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it, but the country has been admitted into the EU and in the long run, it should strengthen their economy and work to modernize the country. For now it is a great value for the traveler and well worth seeing before they are fully engaged in the EU (translation: using Euros).

We spent the past few days walking the city and visiting many of the sights. We toured the Jewish Quarter with a guide so we could get a better understanding of the history and it was well worth the 300 Koruna (about $13) and we came away with some political insight as well since our guide was studying Political Science and was not shy about telling us her opinion of the time when they were under Soviet rule. It was very interesting!

The city developed similar to Budapest, Hungary and many European cities for that matter, around a river, The center of the city is at a bend in the river and so land was somewhat limited and there are narrow streets and the buildings are packed in very tightly. A Traffic Engineer's nightmare, but a New Urban Planner's delight. It makes for very active streets with lots of business's that thrive. Every third one is a pub, but that's part of the country's history. Czech's drink more beer per capita than any other country, including their neighbors to the west, Germany.

Last night we visited one of the oldest beer halls in Prague, U Flecku, and met up with the next two revelers from our beer gang. Paul and Chandra arrived yesterday and met us for dinner. We enjoyed lots of beer, Becherovka (a local liquor) and Cuban cigars I had brought from Spain. It was a great evening and a brilliant welcome to Europe for Paul and Chandra.

We will cross paths with them a few times along the way, but Munich is the only place we will all be together in the same place for a period of time. We have a room for all 7 of us for 4 nights. Yes, close quarters, but it should be a good time.

So, we are off to see more of the Czech Republic and start visiting breweries along the way. If you have time, check out some of the photos.

Prost,

Eric & Val