Mission: Exploration Praha...Success!

I woke up yesterday morning with every intention of being productive, so I put my lesson planning materials in my satchel and headed out the door in search of a place to focus on homework.  It had been three weeks since I had a sip of good ol' fashioned filtered coffee, and I decided that I had denied my American-ness long enough...this was the morning I would allow myself to go to Starbucks.  I opted not to take the metro the whole way over to Malostranska because I love, love, love to walk across (any of) the bridges; especially before they get super crowded.  Here's why:

Look at that!  Who wouldn't get off a metro stop early just to view the Charles Bridge like that?  Talk about a brilliant morning...and it just kept getting better!

Having successfully ordered, I sat down to enjoy my brewed coffee(!), and conveniently forgot about my lesson planning--pulling a book out of my bag instead.  Somewhere between my final sip of coffee and the arrival of friends it was decided that the day would be devoted, not to work (ugh), but to an exploration!  My two exploring buddies arrived, Meghan and Brian, and our goal became a spot of lunch, a bit of walking and then to rent a boat to take out on the Vltava.  Brian asked us which we would prefer, a paddle boat or a row boat?  We informed him that we wouldn't be participating in the physical effort of said adventure--would he rather paddle or row?  He opted for the paddle boat.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect for an afternoon out on the river; not too hot and a slight breeze chilled us in the shade.  Poor Brian paddled diligently out to the open area, and there we sat, soaking in the sun and making fun of other boats...or at least just the ones that were in the shape of giant swans.  Obviously the large feet resting comfortably in Chuck's are mine:

 

 We weren't far into the paddle boat portion of the adventure when it was decided that we would come back on Wednesday in order to create a relaxing atmosphere to study for our grammar test.  All we need are a few snacks, our workbooks, and we will have constructed an environment where we can focus on grammar with minimal distraction (hah!).  As long as there is no more than slight wind I feel as though this could be the greatest idea.  Ever.

When our hour was up (far too quickly, I might add) we decided to walk along the river to Vysehrad and besiege the old fortress on the hill...and besiege we did!  Ignoring the clearly paved road leading up to the gateway, we chose the dirt path where we hopped over the waist high wall--fortress taken!  (Please Note: One does not need an admission ticket to see said fortress; no charges were avoided)  And even more than just taking the fortress, we had successfully taken Prague by land, sea and air (kind of).  Take a gander at our view from just beyond the point of besieging:

I may have cursed about my procrastination of assignments already a few times today, but it was actually entirely worth it for the chance to randomly explore this city...again.  The more I walk around, the more I fall in love.