Czech us out

We have arrived in Prague.

We are staying at the Four Seasons which is conveniently located in the Old Town.  It was a long trip so we just walked around a bit to get our bearings and will do the bulk of the sightseeing tomorrow.

The Astronomical Clock did not disappoint. We stayed for the show at the top of the hour.

We stopped for a snack in a cafe and were slightly confused when we were asked if we wanted to sit in smoking or non-smoking.  When is the last time you had to answer that question?  The food is really cheap here.  Our lunch was $8.

Butch trying one of the famous Czech Pilsners.

The Four Seasons has one of the best restaurants in Prague.  We have reservations for later tonight.

That's it for now.  We are exhausted and want to get an early start tomorrow.

The trip

Flights were good. As per the normal American Airlines flight to Europe, we connected through Heathrow.  It was Butch's first time walking and walking following the purple signs.

I continue to be amused at how quickly Butch adjusts to the finer things in life. Growing up, it was drilled into his head to be happy with less.  Now, like a pro, he quickly settles into his little cubby in first class. He doesn't ask me a million questions about where everything is and he is always a favorite of the hostesses.  

File this under First World Problems: Why are the mugs in the Admirals club so small? Seriously, my tea is finished in like 3 sips. I'm thinking of carrying my own mug while traveling.

We were in first class for the flight from Heathrow to Prague.  While I was not expecting a cubby, I was expecting the wider and more comfortable seats.  No such luck.  This is what passes for first class.  They just turn the middle seat into a table.

After some confusion with Hertz, we were able to rent a luxury car.  We rented the GPS unit too but it was having trouble getting a signal while my Project Fi phone and Google maps were performing perfectly.  I had some trouble getting text messages to work but other than that the Project Fi phone has been great.  We did not need to show the International Driver's License.  Butch's US driver's license was good enough.

I've spoken about this before but one of the things that I highly recommend are packing bags.  They keep all of your items neatly organized in your luggage, save space and prevent wrinkles.  I bought a few more for this trip so Butch could also pack his stuff.  The packing bags are great when you are going to as many hotels as we are during this trip.

Thou shall live by bucket list alone

It's time to check off more countries on the 50 by 50 quest.

Follow along for details on visits to countries #27, #28 and #29: Czech Republic, Germany and Austria.

Since we are driving from country to country and I was not sure about the laws in the Czech Republic, I ordered Butch an international driver's license (IDL).  I just had to upload a picture of him, a picture of his signature and a picture of his CT driver's license and they mailed us the IDL.  Stay tuned to see if this was necessary.  

Speaking of driving, I had a problem reserving a luxury car.  I could not confirm a Mercedes so I'm not sure what we'll be driving.  

File this under new technology for this trip:  I'll be taking along my Google Project Fi enabled phone - Unlimited international and domestic text messages and pay as go you data no matter where you are.  

For those keeping score, here is the list of visited countries:
Australia
Barbados
Brazil
Canada
China

Cyprus
Ecuador
Egypt
France
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jordan
Monaco
Palestine
Peru

Portugal
Spain

St. Lucia
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States
Vatican City