Dodging the Dodgies in Prague

(Written June 20)

Mum and I arrived in Prague four days ago, after a pleasant 5 hour train ride from Nurnberg. Upon arrival, our first impression of the heavily-touristed city was the rather sleazy area immediately adjacent to the main train station. The area looks like the sort of place that you definitely do not want to hang around in after dark. The park itself is nice enough, but dodgy characters are present aplenty. Nevertheless, I opted to walk to our hotel because I knew that it was not very far, and it would be nice to stretch the old legs a bit. Half an hour later we arrived safe and sound to our nice hotel.
The old part of the city (though much larger than, say, the old part of Nurnberg) is still rather manageable. All of the main sites that tourists are drawn to are located within a 15 minute walk from one another. The main square, Charles Bridge, St. Nicolas Church and, of course, the castle (with its incredible cathedral) are all more or less in a straight line and so can easily be accessed on foot.
As for the city itself, Mum and I agree that the best thing about it is that nearly every building looks like a museum of one sort or another. Some are adorned by statues, others feature brilliant murals, but most are just a simple splash of one bright color or other; quite lovely to look at. The downside is that the secret of the city's beauty is definitely out. There are hordes of tourists EVERYWHERE. And where there are tourists, there are tourist shops, overpriced restaurants, and dodgy characters looking to feed on less-than-vigilant visitors. It has actually become a source of amusement for Mum and I, watching those scoundrels. Here's how the game works: First, we pick a spot to eat where that has a clear view of the main square. Then, we see how long it takes to identify someone who is clearly up to no good. More often than not, we spot at least one or two of the devils even before our food arrives from the kitchen. I mean, these guys look like they took a page out of the "How to Be a Criminal" handbook: grungy-looking from head to toe, hunched over with ratty hat pulled down low, shuffling walk, and eyes constantly scanning the purses, pockets, and wallets of everyone they pass. Furthermore, they pace back and forth in the main square with obviously no destination in mind, and occasionally gesture discreetly at other guys across the square who look like they were cast from the same mold as Criminal Number 1. It is actually quite funny to watch. I mean, come on, anyone who falls prey to these buffoons must be one socket short of a set!
Anyhow, it has been fun travelling with Mum. We have managed to see everything that we wanted to see, and do so with a minimal amount of hassle. As always, we have also engaged in a hilarious laughing fit or two over some stupidity or other. On a noteable aside, we managed to drag our butts up 278 steps to the top of the castle's cathedral tower. Back before Mum quit smoking, I wouldn't have even considered trying to get her up there but she did it, and it was a small source of pride for us both to be up there together.
Tomorrow we head back to Nurnberg, where we will hang out with Melli and Matthias (who will be coming back from a work trip to Singapore) for a day. Then, on the 23rd we take the train back up to Frankfurt in time for our flights back overseas: hers to LA, and mine to NY.