"You know, I think I'm starting to like Prague."

Yesterday the main goal upon waking was finding a pharmacy.

Clay is sick. He's been fighting a cold since before we left Belgium, and all the running around and no-sleep of the past week have really taken their toll.

So off to a pharmacy! It's a really cool thing in Europe how easily you can find one of these. Pretty much any street you turn down in a big city will have the familiar green cross sign.

(Notice the blurred-out sign on the right. Lots of what we would call "inappropriate" advertising around here.)



And pharmacies are a little different here. People go to one kind of like you would a doctor's office for minor illnesses.

This picture is me trying be sneaky while taking pictures, and the pharmacist walking around the corner RIGHT when I snapped the picture. Oh well. She's on to us.



There is stuff you can choose from on the shelves, and also a counter where you can go to request anything else you need.

That's the counter to the right.



Thankfully the pharmacists spoke English (a reoccurring theme here), we described Clay's symptoms, and they gave us some pills. They also wrote the dosage info on the front of the box for us, and gave us some tea that would be helpful too. Awesome.



It should also be noted that what you mostly get at pharmacies as far as meds leans more towards the homeopathic route. Atleast so far in our experience in Europe. I am not sure what you do if you need an antibiotic? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

The rest of our day was mostly spent inside taking care of some homework. We're starting to process through the past 2 years, and had some paperwork to fill out before we meet with some of our leadership in Charlotte next week.

While I was sitting in the living room getting ready to work, I was surprised by how silent it was all around me. Like deafeningly. We are staying in an apartment that's part of this huge old house near the city center- like 700 years old old. The walls are 3 feet thick, and the living room is right next to the inner courtyard. So it was totally silent. I think it's the most quiet I have experienced in our entire time in Europe. It was incredible.

I took a little nap before getting back to work.

Here's a little part of the courtyard that I like. If you want a garden, just bring in some dirt! I love this. It's such a cool house. I keep expecting Belle and the Beast to walk around the corner.



We haven't been able to resist Bohemian Bagels breakfasts. They are unreal. And every time I see the weird little leek frond they stick in every bagel, I am reminded of Huy and how it was there that I learned what a leek even was and started cooking with it. Memories.

P.S. Yes, those are hashbrowns. And they were crispy and perfect. I don't even know what to say. This place is blowing my mind.



After working most of the afternoon we went walking in a new direction.

I was excited to see this sight near our apartment:



It's the Guerilla Knitters!!!! I had heard about them but had never seen one of their marks in person. They attach their knitting somewhere out in the public in cities all over the world- parking meters, statues, even entire phone booths and vehicles. It's like graffiti but more light-hearted and fun. I was so happy to see it!

We found the big shopping district on Revolucni Square. It had a fun vibe with lots of people hanging out after work.



I was pumped to see a Patagonia store.



And the mall reminded us of the ones in Asia! It was so intense. It's funny though, it was taller than it was wide. I guess that's what you get when you build in a city. The top floor was mostly casinos.



Something cool about yesterday was that we started to actually feel familiar with the city. We were using our maps, but when we looked at the map, we had a better idea of where we were or where we were headed. We knew which metros would get us where. We felt more oriented.

It feels really good.

We don't "know" the city by any stretch, but it's getting easier to get around.

Yesterday was the day that Clay said, "You know, I think I'm starting to like Prague."

That is awesome. Because it's kind of like an arranged marriage this Prague business. You know you are going to move somewhere, but you have never even met the place. You're sure it's a fine place, and people keep telling you it's awesome and that they want to visit you there, but inside you're thinking, "yeah, but you don't have to marry it!"

There's been some anxiety on my part about how much we were going to dig this city.

So Clay's pronouncement yesterday was an important step. For us, familiarity and feeling "at home" is what does it for us. It'll take time, but we'll get there.

One random sight last night was this:



The city's waiting for you!

Also, my last glimpse of the city last night as we were walking home. It really is a pretty surreal place sometimes.