September 18, 2014--Day 6--Thursday: More of Prague, by Carly

We did so much today. Sarah, Dad, and I got an extra-early start and went into the city before any shops had opened and any tourists arrived. It was peaceful and beautiful. I was happy to find that we could find our way to Wenceslas Square from Charles Bridge.

Here's a great shot Dad got while we were on the bridge.

We had taken the metro to get to Charles Bridge, and we took it back home to have breakfast and get ready for the day. That took us until about 10:30 AM, and then we headed right back with Mom and Ashley with us this time. It was much more crowded the second time around, as you can imagine, but we're becoming pros with the metro. We took it straight back to Wenceslas Square.

With all the shops open, we got to do a lot of exploring and shopping today. We all felt healthy and happy and well-rested and hungry for souvenirs. I got my first real souvenir--an awesome clock--and we also got some beautiful watercolor paintings of the city, some candies, some wooden toys for Jackson, and other random trinkets. Dad got us a shish kabob and bratwurst to share for lunch, and we just enjoyed milling about, taking in all the sights.

Then we found another market full of shops and stands, and we spent another hour and a half there. Even though each shop had kind of the same basic souvenirs, each had its own specialty, so we had to  look at all of them! We didn't buy much more there, but we now either have souvenirs or have an idea of what souvenirs to come back for.

After that, we went to the old town square again and showed Sarah all that she'd missed yesterday. At the square, we saw lots of street performers again, and the astrological clock chimed the hour (with hundreds of tourists crowded into that corner of the square to watch it), and we contemplated climbing the tower for a cool view of the city. But we didn't have enough cash for the entrance fee, and Dad refused to get ripped off at a tourist ATM.

So instead we walked over to Charles Bridge again and rested in the shade looking over the river. We were all a bit tired by that point (this was after three hours of shopping around), but we'd had such a great day and we didn't want it to end yet. We caught a train and went back to the park by the McConkies' house and looked out at the city with a much better view than the tower could have provided. It was shadier and less crowded, too.

After our feet felt ready enough to carry us around again, we returned home and took naps for a little while.

Then (you'll never guess) we and all the McConkies got together and we walked to the old town square. AGAIN. For my (and Dad's and Sarah's) third time that day. We went to this cute bake shop place for a dinner of salads, sandwiches, and pastries. James invited his awesome APs to eat with us, so we had a great evening of delicious food and missionary conversation. It was great to see how the McConkie kids interacted with the missionaries. This is such a great experience for them to participate in mission work and see what it's really like.

After dinner we went back home and I realized that we only have three more days here! That's actually a long time, considering how much we've packed into the past three days, but I really want to learn as much as I can about the Church here an about the McConkies' lifestyles and about Czech history...there just aren't enough hours in the day.

Oh, P.S.! George put on a puppet show for us today. It was adorable, and reminded me so much of the puppet shows Amanda and I used to put on for our family. Good times.