Wednesday, Dec 2
Yesterday's busy day turned even busier when we got back to the hotel. We purchased a new luggage which will allow us to bring home more goodies for the kids. This is where Nancy's expertise comes in. Instead of packing before we head home, she started to pack last night so we can spend another day exploring Prague. Our typical day ends after midnight. We are 9 hours ahead. So at 12 midnight here, that's 3pm in California.
We stayed up for another hour, that's about the time when all the kids make it home from school. With the help of FaceTime and Viber, we're able to connect with the family back home. We've been quite lucky with the Internet, the audio and video were quite clear.
Our morning ritual
We woke up around 8am, and I started to check on what's in store for today. I came across an incredible website, tasteofprague.com. The pictures were so vivid. The descriptions were so inviting. I checked on places to eat for breakfast and narrowed my selections to either Cafe Savoy, or Cafe Lounge. They were both within a few minutes from each other.
We left the hotel around 9:30am, and we walked towards Albertov, that's where we caught Tram #6 towards Uzejda. It took 6 stops to get to Ujezda (around a 10-min tram ride). Cafe Savoy was hard not to miss. It was an enormous corner establishment. It was busy, bustling with guests and staff. Since Cafe Lounge was just around the corner, we decided to go and check it out. It was on the next block to the right of Cafe Savoy. If Cafe Savoy was Goliath, Cafe Lounge was David. It was much smaller, more intimate, and I preferred to have a much quieter breakfast. I was glad with this decision. We ordered a cappuccino and a cafe latte' to start off our breakfast meal.
For breakfast, Nancy had Omelette with Prague ham, Gouda cheese, bread and a side salad.
I ordered Chickpeas with carrots, celery, tomatoes, and parsley topped with Bavarian sausages. This was such a welcome surprise. The chickpeas were perfectly cooked, not too mushy. It had a bit of firmness. The saucy vegetables brought a lot of the sweetness. Great, great, grrrreat breakfast.
For dessert, I ordered their Yogurt cake with what looked like Mandarin orange slices. I was expecting a creamy yogurt, but no, it looked like it was whipped to achieve a firm consistency. I liked it a lot.
We enjoyed our visit at Cafe Lounge. The staff was personable, attentive, and it couldn't get any more intimate without making you feel overwhelmed. I highly recommend this place.
One more show?
I wanted to see one more show before we head home. We stopped by at Rudolfinum, seat of Czech Philharmonic, but unfortunately, no shows were playing on Wednesday night.
We walked towards the Jewish Quarter, just a few minutes away was the Spanish Synagogue dubbed as the most beautiful synagogue in all of Europe. Scheduled in the evening - The Best of World and Czech Music (a mixture of Bach, Vivaldi, Verdi, Mozart, Bernstein). We were so undecided.
Wolfgang. Amadeus. Mozart - Don Giovanni, Opera
We headed to Stavovské divadlo or The Estates Theatre. This is where we decided to watch our last show in Europe. Dubbed as the “Opera of Operas”, Don Giovanni, the opera that composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself conducted and had its world premiere at The Estates Theatre - the only surviving and functional theatre where Mozart had conducted. Since the show was scheduled at 7pm, and it was around 1pm when we inquired, the tickets were nearly sold out. Luckily there were a couple of box seats that were available, and we grabbed them. Don Giovanni it is!!!
We went back to the hotel, rested for a bit, and got out by 4:30pm. We still managed to have a FaceTime conversation with the kids while they got ready for school (it was around 7am California time). We had pasta at a nearby restaurant - Corto. I can't complain since the pasta itself was cooked al dente, the way I like it, plus it was served hot.
Finally, we made it inside The Estates Theatre by 6:30pm. Remember, my points of references at this point were the State Opera House (Budapest), and The National Theatre (Prague). Both were beautiful, and spacious. The Estates Theatre was decked in blue and gold colors, and felt much more intimate when compared with the other theaters we've seen. It was a surreal experience to be in that theatre since I learned of the history of the show, and its composer.
We're now getting a bit more comfortable with watching an opera. With this show, there were 2 acts, 1 intermission and it ran close to 3 hours. The acoustics were amazing. Nothing amplified when compared to watching a Broadway show, just pure voices of the cast and the sounds from the musical instruments. It's an evening we will never forget.
Kogo Bistro
After the show ended, we then had a very late dinner at Kogo, the same restaurant where we had lunch a couple of days ago. It was conveniently located around the corner from the theatre. We had seafood risotto and minestrone verdidura (a vegetarian soup). We knew we wanted to go back here and sure enough, we did. Thank you, Kogo.
That's our Day 13, I'm exhausted! Good night!!!
Yesterday's busy day turned even busier when we got back to the hotel. We purchased a new luggage which will allow us to bring home more goodies for the kids. This is where Nancy's expertise comes in. Instead of packing before we head home, she started to pack last night so we can spend another day exploring Prague. Our typical day ends after midnight. We are 9 hours ahead. So at 12 midnight here, that's 3pm in California.
We stayed up for another hour, that's about the time when all the kids make it home from school. With the help of FaceTime and Viber, we're able to connect with the family back home. We've been quite lucky with the Internet, the audio and video were quite clear.
Our morning ritual
We woke up around 8am, and I started to check on what's in store for today. I came across an incredible website, tasteofprague.com. The pictures were so vivid. The descriptions were so inviting. I checked on places to eat for breakfast and narrowed my selections to either Cafe Savoy, or Cafe Lounge. They were both within a few minutes from each other.We left the hotel around 9:30am, and we walked towards Albertov, that's where we caught Tram #6 towards Uzejda. It took 6 stops to get to Ujezda (around a 10-min tram ride). Cafe Savoy was hard not to miss. It was an enormous corner establishment. It was busy, bustling with guests and staff. Since Cafe Lounge was just around the corner, we decided to go and check it out. It was on the next block to the right of Cafe Savoy. If Cafe Savoy was Goliath, Cafe Lounge was David. It was much smaller, more intimate, and I preferred to have a much quieter breakfast. I was glad with this decision. We ordered a cappuccino and a cafe latte' to start off our breakfast meal.
For breakfast, Nancy had Omelette with Prague ham, Gouda cheese, bread and a side salad.
For dessert, I ordered their Yogurt cake with what looked like Mandarin orange slices. I was expecting a creamy yogurt, but no, it looked like it was whipped to achieve a firm consistency. I liked it a lot.
We enjoyed our visit at Cafe Lounge. The staff was personable, attentive, and it couldn't get any more intimate without making you feel overwhelmed. I highly recommend this place.
One more show?
I wanted to see one more show before we head home. We stopped by at Rudolfinum, seat of Czech Philharmonic, but unfortunately, no shows were playing on Wednesday night.
We walked towards the Jewish Quarter, just a few minutes away was the Spanish Synagogue dubbed as the most beautiful synagogue in all of Europe. Scheduled in the evening - The Best of World and Czech Music (a mixture of Bach, Vivaldi, Verdi, Mozart, Bernstein). We were so undecided.
Wolfgang. Amadeus. Mozart - Don Giovanni, Opera
We headed to Stavovské divadlo or The Estates Theatre. This is where we decided to watch our last show in Europe. Dubbed as the “Opera of Operas”, Don Giovanni, the opera that composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself conducted and had its world premiere at The Estates Theatre - the only surviving and functional theatre where Mozart had conducted. Since the show was scheduled at 7pm, and it was around 1pm when we inquired, the tickets were nearly sold out. Luckily there were a couple of box seats that were available, and we grabbed them. Don Giovanni it is!!!
We went back to the hotel, rested for a bit, and got out by 4:30pm. We still managed to have a FaceTime conversation with the kids while they got ready for school (it was around 7am California time). We had pasta at a nearby restaurant - Corto. I can't complain since the pasta itself was cooked al dente, the way I like it, plus it was served hot.
Finally, we made it inside The Estates Theatre by 6:30pm. Remember, my points of references at this point were the State Opera House (Budapest), and The National Theatre (Prague). Both were beautiful, and spacious. The Estates Theatre was decked in blue and gold colors, and felt much more intimate when compared with the other theaters we've seen. It was a surreal experience to be in that theatre since I learned of the history of the show, and its composer.
Kogo Bistro
After the show ended, we then had a very late dinner at Kogo, the same restaurant where we had lunch a couple of days ago. It was conveniently located around the corner from the theatre. We had seafood risotto and minestrone verdidura (a vegetarian soup). We knew we wanted to go back here and sure enough, we did. Thank you, Kogo.
That's our Day 13, I'm exhausted! Good night!!!
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