Castle

We had a good wander around Prague this morning after breakfast, taking in parts of the Old Town, Wenceslas Square, and back again. The weather has not been too good. We got caught in a shower but managed to avoid much of that having coffee. But mainly it's been cold - colder than I would have expected for late March. Perhaps it will improve as the week goes on.

After a bit of time back in the hotel room, we wandered out again, took in the river, and went for lunch at Lokal Dlouha. That place is enormous. It literally stretches for a whole block. It was better than I expected - but the bar had been set pretty low by the place we went to last night in a hurry for some dinner.

I've been to Prague a few times over the years - first time was in the late 1980s just before the fall of the Wall. It was a  very different experience then. I was back in 2004 for a conference, and in 2011 for a team meeting. The latter is recorded on blip, including a not dissimilar picture to this one, obviously not taken with the same sort of camera.

Prague *is* photogenic, in all sorts of ways, but the type of tourism it has developed (or attracted) is quite off putting. A lot of large groups. Not that many great museums or galleries given the size of the city, and £17 is more than I'm prepared to pay to go into the National Gallery, given that it doesn't have a great range of art. It's full of places that have set themselves up to amuse the many stag and hen parties, such as "historical escape experiences". All of this is why just wandering the streets is rather important, and that's why I was a bit disappointed by the weather. But a good lunch, and a modicum of beer, has cheered me up!

Today has been a slightly odd day. It's one of those in between days - not long enough to get started on some new work, but on the other hand I wasn't sure I really deserved a day off. I've done a bit of preparation for the meetings tomorrow and Friday, so I guess that's OK. I'm looking forward to the weekend when I'll feel more relaxed about wandering the streets.