Friday, September 20

 A lazier day, with all three meals in our “room” – since it has a kitchen and we’ve found a grocery store (Billa) what could be better?

We walked around Old Town Square again, watching the clock strike 4pm and all the little animated figures doing their various “things”. We shopped at the street vendors there and on Charles Bridge, getting a few small gifts and some trinkets for ourselves.

In the morning we had wandered through an anthropological exhibit at the Museum, and looked more closely at Wenceslaus Square.

That, of course, was followed by another wild goose chase on public transit. We haven’t mastered that aspect of Prague yet!

In the evening we dressed in our best and went off to the Prague National Opera, to see Aida. We had seats in a very good box, and one other guy was in the same one, with 3 empty seats. He clearly knew more about opera than we did, though we do both know the Triumphal March well enough to hum it recognisably. Three people are very crowded in the front of a box, and it’s a three-hour performance. But really, really impressive and beautiful. The libretto was on a screen above the stage – in Czech only, of course. Didn’t help us much, but we read the story in the program ahead of time. Quite thrilling, and the theatre is beautiful. Dessert afterward in a cellar restaurant. They do wonderful things with pancakes.

 The area around the Opera is all cordoned off and guarded by police and military carrying impressive weapons. What’s this about? We’ve noticed barricades at different places around the city and lots of police and military. No explanation that we know of. Some of it may have to do with the flood damage. There’s so much repair work and construction going one, and buildings boarded up. Pumps and driers running ‘round the clock.