I really enjoyed this morning as we were allowed to sleep in a bit from class and did not have to meet up until 9:00am. Everyone in the class seemed to like that. We were able to grab a quick bite and then we had to meet with the head of the Czech Tourism Office, CEO Jan Herget. After the visit, we were going to have lunch at his restaurant/boat on the river and then an afternoon of paddle boarding. Not a bad way to spend some class time while learning what tourists might want to experience in Prague.
Our group shot with CEO of Czech Tourism Jan Herget (he is standing right of me. I am in the middle in the green polo).
We got to the office rather early and our host was a bit late (I kept thinking we were starting these mornings too early). Meeting the head of the whole country’s tourism board I was thinking I would be meeting this stiff guy in a blue suit but Mr. Herget could not have been more laid back. I think he rode his motorcycle over to the meeting.
We all thought he was a great. He had a PowerPoint presentation on his goals for the country and wanted to really build on the success that they were having. After visiting the outside cities, I thought the direction of the country should be more of getting people out of Prague for at least three days. I was so impressed with what I saw with the visits to the small cities that I thought more tourists would want to see that after maybe two to three days in Prague. I find that most people that travel abroad to a non-English speaking country are more adventurous in their travels and don’t want to be limited.
The riverfront in Prague is beautiful on a sunny warm day
After our conversation with the CEO, it was off to lunch at his restaurant, The Kayak Bar. This was an picturesque restaurant on the river not far from where I was touring on my afternoon off from visiting Old Town. It was a bright sunny day with blue skies and around 80 degrees. It was the perfect afternoon to be on a boat.
The Kayak Beach Bar at Naplavka 128 00 by the river
https://www.facebook.com/KayakBeachBarPrague/about/
My review on TripAdvisor:
It was a nice walk from the office to the river and we got to see more of the city that I had seen the other afternoon. I was hoping Mr. Herget would be joining us but he had an afternoon of meetings so our group was off for lunch. I was starved because I did not have much of a breakfast.
The Kayak Beach Bar
The Kayak Beach Bar
The Hamburger and French Fries were excellent at the Kayak Beach Bar
After lunch was over, the group of us were hoping to go paddleboarding. All the restaurant had was kayaks and no one wanted to kayak in the the river. None of us wanted to fall in. So we left the restaurant in search of paddleboats which we found on a small island park down the river. That was a lot of fun. I had not been in a paddleboat since I was in Boston about ten years ago when I was in one of the swan paddleboats.
All of us getting in our paddleboats for an afternoon tour of the river and the city. I am in the green polo and paddled like crazy that afternoon.
While we were waiting for everyone to come back, we relaxed in the garden on the small island where the paddleboats were located.
Even a better group shot with the river and the city behind us
After our lunch and the tour of the river area, it was time to explore the Old City again and then the neighborhoods of Vysehrad and Vinohrady. These were neighborhoods outside the tourist zones of the Old City and had lots of nice shopping and dining options. From there, we would be on our way to our cooking class where we would be making a traditional Czech dinner and eating in as a group.
We passed through the older section of this part of the city, passing the old Opera House and then crossing the Charles Bridge again. On this spectacular sunny day the views were amazing.
Passing through the town square
We crossed over the Charles Bridge and took in the sites during the day. It really is a breathtaking bridge with the most wonderful statuary. We passed by the old Opera House with its elegant details. The bridge is a national treasure in beauty and design. What I liked about this walk was all the interesting architecture that you pass where one building is more glorious than the next. These things were built to last and to show the importance of that city in that era. They just don’t built them like this today.
The old Prague Opera House
The Charles Bridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bridge
My review on TripAdvisor:
The Charles Bridge
The Charles Bridge
The Charles Bridge statue of King Charles
Our Group shot on the Charles Bridge
Views of the river were just amazing!
We stopped at Winnie Lahudky & Potraviny Bakery at Masarykovo nábř 38/2058 for a quick snack before we continued the tour. As with everyone else, we needed a coffee and pastry break. I think we were turning into Europeans by this point. I think it is civil to have an afternoon break. The pastries were excellent (see TripAdvisor review).
The selection of pastries are excellent
The bakery had an excellent selection of delicious desserts. We tried not to ruin our appetites for dinner.
Winnie Lahudky & Potraviny Bakery
My review on TripAdvisor:
The river front park that lines the pathway
Old City Hall
Walking through Old Town again was a treat. I love the architecture of this area. We toured a lot of the areas that we had seen our first day of touring this section of the city when we visited NYU. We walked down Paris, the street that looked like the Right Bank, with all the luxury stores and passed the oldest Jewish Synagogue in the Czech Republic.
The Synagogue in Old Town
The town square
As we toured this part of the city, we learned the history and development of the area and the change from it being a residential area to a tourist destination. Janna was telling us how she grew up here and the rapid change from her childhood home to tourists dominating this part of the city. Just like in New York, the tourist based businesses crowd out what makes a neighborhood a neighborhood.
The Old Town district has become one big tourist destination with no local character anymore unless people want to deal with troughs of people walking through their neighborhood. Here we saw more modern sculpture.
The moveable sculpture of the “Franz Kafka Head”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_of_Franz_Kafka
Video displaying the head moving
It was off to the cooking class for the rest of the evening. We got off the cable car and walked around the Vinohrady district which is a non-touristy district that you could tell must have been a much more exclusive neighborhood at one time. The apartment buildings and stores looked like a Parisian neighborhood. We got there a little late so most the shops and small markets that Janna wanted to take us to were closed at that point. We got the cooking school in record time.
This was interesting as it brought back memories of cooking at the Culinary Institute of America and at Michigan State University in my Skills Classes. It was not too difficult and the menu was easy to prepare. My table partner, Brian and I worked together to prepare our dinner.
We made a Cream of Mushroom Soup, a Roast Pork with Garlic and Chive Dumplings and then made dessert. It was a lot of fun but watching my classmates hesitate at times or making me always go first got to me. I am never afraid of making a fool of myself is because this is how I always learned in cooking school. Trial and error. We all make mistakes. Still, we had a great time working together to get the job done.
My cooking partner, Brian and I making soup for the first course
Plating the finished Mushroom Soup with Heavy Cream
Clean up to prepare to make the entrée
Me preparing homemade dumplings
Getting a demo of what the chef wanted us to do
Our entrée was Roast Garlic Pork with Chive Dumplings
Our Group shot with our Chef
We all sat down for dinner together after each course was done. We had such a good time not just learning how to cook these dishes but learning some things about Czech cuisine. Their version of dumplings are so much different from other countries. I saw this when we had lunch in Karlovy Vary. I did not know that is what a dumpling was supposed to look like. We got a lot out of this cooking class that evening. After we cleaned up it was back to campus to get some sleep. We had another long day ahead of us.
The adventure was going to continue. We were going to Kutna Hora on our last day and then our Farewell dinner. It was a quick week.
mywalkinmanhattan 
Another interesting day touring and exploring Prague by foot. There is a lot to see and do in the city.
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