Prague

What a lovely city. Still showing signs of years of communism when away from the city centre and the tourist area, much refurbishment is occurring of elegant old buildings.
Dale had the flu for a couple of days but we had fine weather up to about 30 degrees.
First day visited the Mucha museum- terrific to learn more about an artist whose work I had admired for years-even Dale enjoyed seeing the theatre posters etc.
The medieval planning makes navigation difficult so we wandered happily through the picturesque streets along with thousands of other tourists all clutching maps. Our hotel was a tram ride from the centre though we walked in the 1.5 km the first day and home gain on our wits- I think 5km or so with some dodgy navigation- we did happen upon cute parks with old ladies in them and local activity so it was interesting. We also saw the TV tower which you can see from all over Prague close up- it has babies crawling up it ( actually sculptures) which is a bizarre concept- shouldn't surprise one in Kafka's hometown??
We went over the river to the castle and St Vitus's church ( Mucha had done one of the stained glass windows there)- superb gothic cathedral-worth a visit.Palace was bare but interesting and the torture chamber at D tower nearby was stomach turning- bad vibes+++.
Visited the Jewish area on Thursday- weren't meant to go in as there was a noisy American blocking the queue at the only place to buy tickets-spied through the wall at the overcrowded and overgrown gravestones under enormous trees. Had great lunch- cheeses and interesting breads with Stella Artois for a change instead of pilsner at Moules in the jewish area- great shops around here too- Cartier etc. plus classy tourist shops with exquisite glassware, garnets and crystals. Already have too much stuff so resisted temptation.Took lots of photos though!
Had not been to the fabled Wenceslas Square- only crossed it on the No 9 tram-so the last am went there strolled up to the National Museum and entered.Charming lady at the audioguides told us Casino Royale was filmed in the foyer- as the casino- certainly very beautiful decoration.
The displays were very interesting- meteorites, gemstones et. along with excellent ethnography displays from Bronze age through to medieval times-all well arranged and fascinating to us Time team fans! Zoology with the moa and woolly mammoth displays was also good tho the Australian animals were a bit threadbare-they need a decent ringtail possum which we would be glad to donate from our back yard!
Easyjet was fine both ways and we enjoyede our visit a lot.
Back in UK getting ready for the Irish trip on Tuesday- expecting cooler weather there-will be a change to have cold instead of heat and humidity.