July 8th - 9th Exploring Prague - Page 1 of 2

From Amir's guidebook I had copied the address of an "Internet Cafe," which was only two blocks from my apartment. I stopped there, had some beers, and set up an email account on an incredibly slow web browser. It was a normal PC running Windows 95 and Internet Explorer -- just darn slow -- over a minute to move between screens. I then sent email to Aurelia and some co-workers, and checked email each morning thereafter.

I spent that evening and the next day wandering around the old city. Restaurants were cheap. For $4 I had an excellent 14-inch pizza and glass of wine. For $3 I stuffed myself at the "Godivna Vegetarian Club" run by the Hare Krishnas. And for $6 I had excellent vegetarian food at "Lotos Restaurant."

I was surprised that the town was packed with tourists -- like Disneyland along the main old-town stroll.

Each entrance to the Palace on the hill across the river was guarded by a pair of "Buckingham Palace" guards that remain frozen. During the day people would wave and pose for photos next to them, and they didn't move. When I returned late at night to photograph, it was eerie walking past them with no one else around. The whites of their eyes were barely visible. Otherwise they looked like statues.