Czech Republic; June 17-18

It has been a super-long day, and Alexandra and I have been up for umpteen hours now. But we are in Prague, and are safely ensconced at Dempsey's apartment by the National Theatre. Our odyssey started out with Hart Robinson taking us to the airport for our 9:55 a.m. on June 17. Our 3-hour flight made it without incident (we were on a small regional jet, so a nice, slender profile of a plane). Crowds at JFK were huge, but we found some seats at a sushi bar and had sushi)--later we were glad that we had eaten lightly. Our plane departed NY at 7:35 p.m., and we had dinner before settling into an 8+ hour flight. I never can find a comfortable enough position on a plane to be able to sleep, and this was no exception. Additionally, the stinging sensation brought on by overly long wearing of contacts did not help the situation. However, the sunrise to the east of the plane was orange, intense, and made the morning come alive for me. After a slightly late landing we went through passport control, baggage claim and finally Customs to the Arrival Hall, where we were met by a driver who took us to the apartment where Dempsey lives. She and her friend Becky had lunch with us at the Globe before running to do other errands, while Alexandra and I took a walk to the Charles Bridge, Kampa Island and Museum, and then to the gardens at the Grand Priory, the John Lennon Wall around the corner, and the church of Our Lady Under the Chain. Slowly losing the battle with jet lag, we then walked back to the apartment, took a nice long nap awakened to Dempsey's light dinner of chicken soup and for dessert some biscotti with tea. We watched a fascinating documentary on Nicholas Winton, a Brit who had placed Prague Jewish children with British families during WW II. Afterwards, Alexandra went to bed, while I am still finishing this day's entry. I am afraid this will not be up to my usual standards, as I am so finished. Good luck reading this! More tomorrow! Lovely climate today--hope for the same tomorrow.