Super supper at U Supa

Me and my windblown hair in the rose garden on top of Petrin Hill. :)

Today we headed across the Charles Bridge again, this time to Petrin Hill, the hill beside Castle Hill. We took a short funicular ride to the top, where we were rewarded with a lovely park and garden area. Part of it had a lovely rose garden with every color of beautiful roses in bloom. Also on top of Petrin Hill is Petrin Tower, a miniature Eiffel Tower 1/5 the size of the original, but due to its placement on the hill, the top of it is actually just as high as the original Eiffel Tower. We climbed the 300 steps (exactly, Gavin counted. :) ) to the top level for a 360 degree view of the city. It was pretty windy, so we could feel the top of the tower swaying slightly in the wind.

The beautiful view of Prague from the mini Eiffel Tower. You can see the Charles Bridge and Old Town Square across the river.

After a bit more wandering around the park, we headed back down towards the Vltava River to have lunch at a fresh fish restaurant on the river bank. Then we went back across the Charles Bridge, heading back toward the apartment so Gavin's family could rest. On the way, we stopped at the Ungely courtyard again, heading back to the art shop to buy the painting we had liked, having not seen any other paintings we liked better in our wandering through Prague. Once we dropped off Gavin's family at the apartment, we wandered through the Jewish Quarter of Prague. Unfortunately, all the sites were closed for the day, but we got to see the outside of the beautiful synagogues and got a tiny glimpse of the Old Jewish Cemetery, a tiny little space that from 1439-1787 was the only place Jews were allowed to bury their dead. Each tombstone marks 7-8 graves piled on top of one another. The graves settled over time, and the tombstones ended up in a crooked jumble. We weren't able to get a good view since it was closed, but we were able to see the tops of a few tombstones peeking out from over the fence around the cemetery.

Olive and I in the park on Petrin Hill.

For dinner we all headed back to U Supa near the Old Town Square. We sat in the garden area for a nice, atmospheric dinner. I was excited that the gypsy jazz band from last night was here again, and this time they came out into the garden to play. I must have looked like I was enjoying myself, because the violinist came right over to me and asked me to request a song. The first thing that came into my head was Por Una Cabeza (the tango from the movie Scent of a Woman :) ), so the band played that for me. While they were playing, I realized I should have requested some Dvorak since I was in his home country, so then I requested Dvorak's Humoresque, one of my favorite orchestral pieces. The violinist knew it pretty well, but the band was a little clueless, but attempted to fake it anyway. (A for effort... :) ) Before our meal, the hostess wandered around the restaurant offering shots of a "traditional Czech aperatif." I had refused it last night, but I was curious and tried it tonight. It was actually pretty tasty - it smelled and tasted like apple pie spices and felt very warm going down, like scotch. Everybody tried a sip, but I was the only one who actually liked it. :) Our meal was delicious, probably one of our best in Prague, and the atmosphere couldn't have been better with the lovely music in the beautiful outdoor garden. I think Prague is one of the most "atmospheric" cities we have visited, a perfect place for walking slowly, wandering aimlessly, enjoying a beautiful night.

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