Thanks for the comments everybody! Glad to know you're reading.

$220 is the lowest rate I was able to get at the Marriott until I booked through American Express Travel Services. They had a negotiated rate of $135.

Lying Cheating Thieves

Today was the day to climb the hill, called Castle Hill, to see the castle, called Prague Castle. We set out through Old Town Square and across the Charles Bridge where we stopped for a bit to listen to some Dixieland jazz. I tipped the musicians 40 Kč ($1). When we got across the Vltava to the Castle side Kevin wanted to change some money so we poked our noses in a couple of places and settled on a place that advertised 0% commission and had a “buy” rate posted that looked pretty darn good. Kevin slapped down two Benjies and got about 10% less money back than he had expected. The girl explained that there was no commission, but there was a 9.8% service charge and it was written in plain English in fine print below the sign with the rates. He asked to cancel the transaction but it was impossible so we hung around about 10 minutes with Kevin continually asking for his money back, the girl saying no, and me warning potential customers away. After I had scared away three sets of customers and she hadn’t budged we decided to move on. The name of the lying cheating thieves was Chequepoint and they are all over the city, recognizable by their big “0% Commission” sign. Beware!

We walked through Little Town Square and up Nerudova to the Bazaar restaurant for some lunch and a view. I had an excellent beef carpaccio and some yummy squares of garlic bread. We had a very leisurely lunch and enjoyed the view. Afterwards we walked up the hill all the way to the Hotel Savoy because I wanted to say hello to Jana, the concierge there who was so great the last time Andrew and I visited in March. She was there, bright and smily as always, and I introduced Kevin and said we just popped in to say hi. She asked why we weren’t staying at the Savoy and I replied that it had been fully booked, which was true, but I preferred the Marriott anyway except Jana wasn’t there. I gave her the www.liontales.com web address so she could look at pictures of herself.

By this time the skies had cleared and the weather couldn’t have been better. We walked back to the Castle and did the executive tour, popping into the Cathedral of St. Katharine but otherwise briskly strolling around the grounds. Kevin got a Coke Light from a vendor who was selling them for 50 Kč ($1.25) and selling beer for 5 Kč less. We walked down to the gardens below Prague Castle, called Gardens Below Prague Castle, and paid 80 Kč ($2) each for the privilege of strolling through. There were no flowers just terraced lawns. We ended up back near Little Town Square and decided to look for the John Lennon Wall. We walked to and fro but didn’t find it even though we asked a nice lady for directions. She sent us though the park by the river so we walked all the way through and ended up back at the Charles Bridge where we gave up and headed back toward the hotel. I stopped briefly at the lying cheating thieves at Chequepoint to warn a half-dozen potential customers that they were lying cheating thieves and then we walked back to the Marriott. We must have covered 10 miles.

I went down to play some video poker and blackjack and as usual lost at video poker and won at blackjack. Around 7:40 it was time to meet Kevin to walk to dinner. Tonight we had reservations at Bellevue, a very fancy place on the river with a modest entryway that was easy to miss as we walked by. I saw a big “B” on the sidewalk though and that was the tip-off. We entered right after another American couple who was asked to sit and wait for a few minutes and they likewise asked us to wait. But a few seconds later they said our table was ready! We quickly followed, leaving the previous couple mumbling remarks about why we got seated first.

They showed us to a table in the back but Three Perfect Days had said to beg for a window table so we asked if there was anything better. We ended up outside on the terrace, which we didn’t mind because we were both wearing coats and they had heaters on. I ordered the exact meal recommended in Three Perfect Days, the wild mushroom and aubergine terrine, the fallow deer and duck combination, and the wild berries for dessert, which I don’t eat as a rule but it was recommended in the article. We also ordered the Moravian wine recommended in the article which was inexpensive and tasty. Before the appetizer the chef sent out a complimentary puff pastry filled with delicious salmon mousse. Food and service were excellent. We sat sipping wine and gazing up at Prague Castle over the river as recommended by United Airlines as we slowly dined. The bill came to over 4000 Kč ($100) after tip for the two of us.

We walked back to the hotel to play some blackjack and I quickly got sucked down but remarkably made a comeback. Two ex-pats, Larry and Robert, came and sat down next to us and the whole table started winning so much that they were running out of purple 250 Kč chips so I cashed in some of mine for red 1000 Kč ones. We played for a couple hours then felt the momentum shift so we all cashed out winners. Larry and Robert knew a good club to go to so we hailed a taxi (never get in a taxi standing still in Prague because they have the turbo meters) and because they spoke Czech we got the real rate of 78 Kč ($2) instead of the courtesy rate tourists normally pay. We got to the club and it turned out to be a ballet show so we had a few extremely expensive beers and watched the show until the wee hours. We decided to meet up with Robert and Larry tomorrow night for dinner and more blackjack. As the hours passed Kevin and I decided our strategy for tomorrow night would be to stay up all night rather than trying to get a couple hours sleep before our early-morning flights.

The taxi ride back cost 250 Kč, the more normal courtesy rate, and we ended up home after five.


------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com