Prague on Segway. Now that's more like it.

Friday 27 July 2012 – Prague on Segways Woo Hoo! Happy Birthday Damon.

Day 105 and 54 to go
www.prague-segway-tours.com

Early morning alarm today, 7am. We were up and out keen to get ready as we were looking forward to our tour. Once ready we caught the 7.50am train to the tram station and then hopped on the tram to the Segway office.

We were there by 8.30am so we went for a walk as it was so quiet. There were only a few tourists out on the bridge so we went for a walk over part of it before returning to the office at 8.45am where we met up with 4 other Aussies ready to join us on the tour. We paid up met our guide John and then it was time for a quick lesson.

We clambered onto the segways and with much giggling we were finally ready to take it to the streets in the hope we wouldn’t take out any tourists or sideswipe any expensive cars.

Our first stop was around the corner, the Lennon Wall. A place containing much graffiti in support of peace and includes many of the words from John Lennon’s songs. It was started when John Lennon was killed on a wall opposite the French Embassy knowing they would not be prosecuted, as someone in the embassy would be watching the Czech police. It became a way to protest against communist Czechoslovakia. 

From here we passed a small bridge covered in lovers’ padlocks, one even had ‘fail’ written on it. Oh dear. We paused below the Charles Bridge and were shown water markings from the flood in 2002. They have since put in a barrier system to protect the town.

We ducked under the bridge and made our way round to the Kafka Museum where the artist David Cerny has created his “Piss” sculpture; two men piddling into a puddle in the shape of the Czech Republic. Their torsos move around and you could once SMS the sculptures and they would pee your message into the puddle.

Travelling over the Manes Bridge to avoid the tourists we had a good view back to Charles Bridge. Passing the Jan Palach Square we moved into the Jewish Quarter where we had the Jewish cemetery, 12 layers deep and the old synagogue pointed out.

We continued moving on the segways, now full of confidence and wanting to really push the limits of the machines. They are so much fun, I want one, though I think I would have to fight Paul for its use!

We stopped in the Old Town Square to see the Old Town Hall and the Astronomical Clock. Turns out that when the clock was made, the powers that be were so happy with it they blinded its creator so he could not make another one. Now that is gratitude for you. 

Next stop was the Charles University. It has been standing since the 1300’s and Einstein was a professor for some time. We then made our way to Wenceslas Square on the way Paul’s 4wd Segway, read wider tyres, didn’t quite fit the gap we made our way through and cam a cropper. If only I had the video going as it was quite funny and some restaurant customers had a great laugh. He was a little banged up but shook it off and we continued on.

From Wenceslas Square we returned to the river at Legion Bridge where we took a few pictures and then we took the segways into the Kinsky Garden, passed the funicular railway and the Petrin Tower; a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower. We were able to try a bit of off road segwaying and were challenged having to move up the hill. It was fun.

We arrived at Strahovska Brewery, Library and Monastery. From here we had a fabulous view back over the city of Prague.

Our next stop was Prague Castle, the largest in Europe. We checked out the interesting guards and their uniforms.  We continued to navigate the cobbled streets, returning down the hill somewhat more cautiously. Everywhere we went people stopped us wanting to know how they could get on the Segway tour. Our huge smiles must have given away how much fun it was.

Our final stop was St Nicholas church before we reluctantly returned our Segways at 12. We could have happily kept going.  We had a drink and then said goodbye to everyone before continuing our tour on foot.

We stopped for a drink and then moved down the street to a small restaurant where we shared a plate for two that had duck, pork, dumplings and cabbage. It was filling and quite delicious.

We finished up and continued our walk over the Manes Bridge and along the river edge. We thought we would do some of the beer tour Paul had in his book. The first place was shut so we continued on. We unfortunately walked too far so we had a drink in another bar before back tracking to find Upiskau where we could have another drink. Being warm it was wonderful to stop.

Once done we went in search of a supermarket for some basics and then it was back on the tram. Now that we  have had time to wander the streets and use the public transport we are a bit more confident and are able to navigate fairly well.

We returned to the van at 3.30pm sweating and wishing for a swimming pool. I settled for a quick throw of cold water on the face from the bathroom basin. We opened up the van in the hope we would cool it down. We enjoyed another cold drink, listened to music and I worked on the computer. Paul went for a cold shower. 

and when he returned we took the computer and the cards to a shaded outdoor area where we had better net coverage and was cooler.

I loaded bits on FB while we played cards. It was so much nicer out in the open rather than in the van that gets very warm when there is no breeze.

When we finished our game of cards we returned to make dinner only making the van warmer again. Oh well. We ate and then I did the dishes.

We again returned to playing cards to finish off the night.