Today was victory in Europe day, so there were many activities that were options for us. Benton got up early and went to run at Vítkov (there was a long tunnel during the run which was neat; see map in orange for route). He got back, and Shashank (Benton’s friend from high school that he reconnected with in New York) arrived shortly after.
Then the 5 of use (Allan, Benton, Shashank, Ryan, and Elizabeth) took the tram over to Písek Gate since we found online that there would be a wine festival there. The wine festival was neat; a bunch of small Czech wineries were set up at little tents, and there were also some food stands. We all bought glasses of wine for like $6, which felt a bit expensive relative to the price of other alcohol in Prague, but this was explained when we went to get our glasses refilled at various vendors, since those tended to cost between $1-2. After a couple of glasses each, we decided to get a bottle (also very cheap) and also eat some lunch at the taco vendor. By the time we left the festival, we had consumed a decent amount of wine. 🍷
We then walked towards Prague Castle and wandered aimlessly for a bit (taking a couple photos along the way), before taking the tram to Dancing House (a Frank Gehry building) to get a drink and sit out on the rooftop bar area (we all had to leave a review to get free access to the rooftop, which feels slightly against the spirit of Google reviews, but it was neat).
After the Dancing House, we went back to the Airbnb, where Benton got some work done while the others napped (Shashank especially was tired from traveling followed immediately by drinking).
Eventually, the naps finished, and everyone except for Benton left to explore. They went to see a grotto (Grotta Umělá jeskyně), roam around the nearby park, and also end up checking out a bar.
Benton then met up with the rest of the group and we all ate European style dumplings at Mlynářské pelmeně; we ordered way too many dumplings (Elizabeth powered through and helped Ryan finish some of his dumplings).
After dinner, we went to a speakeasy type cocktail bar with no menu, Parlour, and the bartender was pretty entertaining. They tended to be out of various liquors, and the drinks weren’t really that great, but the ambience was cool and we had a fun time ordering drinks based on vibes (Benton said “thick and citrusy” which threw the bartender off 🤡). This ended our night, and we went back and settled into the Airbnb for the night.
