This is probably not my blog to write, as this trip was originally planned by our good friend Bill. His thought to bring together all of our high school friends for one big 30th birthday extravaganza was met with much excitement from all. It quickly took on a life of its own, becoming the “Dirty Thirty” trip complete with branded koozies and shirts. After much deliberation, our party of 12 settled on Austin, Texas for the festivities and we were off!
A fun & funky town!
Dripping Springs
For this extended Labor Day weekend birthday bash, we went all in for an Airbnb just outside of town in Dripping Springs. It was a quick drive into downtown if needed, but secluded enough to not be bothered by neighbors. The place had more than enough space to sleep all of us, and came with a bunch of amenities. Notably, we took advantage of the giant kitchen, pool table room, the outdoor grill and gazebo area, and of course the pool and hot tub. From our research, it seems like Dripping Springs has a lot to offer for wineries and breweries too.
Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve
The start of the slough.
We found gators!
The start of the slough.
We found gators!
And birds!
Day 2:
The next day we started off with a nuclear bunker and Communism tour through Prague Special Tours by Ivan Galik to get some sense of the history of Prague. The whole tour was pretty eye-opening, especially when the guide took us through the events of the Velvet Revolution in 1989. But the craziest part was going down into the abandoned bunker. They had old guns, ammo, world clocks, gas masks, hazard suits, and tons of propaganda posters just sitting down there. They even had classroom demonstrations of how to put your gas masks on and hide under your desk in the case of a bomb detonation. Definitely a different world than anything we’ve been used to! (Prague 5, 6, 7, 8)
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
We were impressed by the trees in this area!
And of course, the birds! (Egrets here)
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
We were impressed by the trees in this area!
And of course, the birds! (Egrets here)
And of course, the birds! (Egrets here)
Before continuing our historical journey, we stopped by V Cípu, located in a back alley off of Wenceslas Square, for some traditional stuffed dumplings and Staropramen. For dessert we tried our first traditional trdelniks too! Basically this is rolled grilled dough doused in sugar. It might’ve rivaled stroopwafels for Megan. For better or worse, the modern trdelniks have been transformed by becoming chocolate dipped or even ice cream filled. (Prague 9, 10, 11)
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
We were impressed by the trees in this area!
And of course, the birds! (Egrets here)
Adam becoming buds with a manatee!
Look closely for the light blob 🙂
And of course, the birds! (Egrets here)
And of course, the birds! (Egrets here)
And of course, the birds! (Egrets here)
Our afternoon was spent walking over the river to the Prague Castle and the surrounding buildings to get a glimpse of history starting in the 9th century. Here the St. Vitus Cathedral was the most beautiful with its stained glass and the royal gardens were a close second. We also got to see what they called the “Golden Lane”, where all the craftsmen and goldsmiths once lived during the reign of kings. (Prague 12, 13, 14)
And of course, the birds! (Egrets here)
And of course, the birds! (Egrets here)
And of course, the birds! (Egrets here)
Once we were done here, we went on a craft beer tour of Prague to finish our day! Yes, believe it or not Prague does have smaller craft breweries making more than the standard pilsner. Our guide through Prague Beer Tours provided us with some good information on the ever-growing beer scene while walking between the breweries. We hit a few, including Pivovar Boršov and Pivovar Dobřenských, the latter being an herbal beer brewery where we sampled a salvia stout. (Prague 15)
And of course, the birds! (Egrets here)
Day 3:
Brunch was at Sweet and Pepper Days, a trendy hipster bistro that was on the way to Kampa Island. The Charles Bridge cuts over the northern tip of this island, which is full of romantic lanes to walk, great picnic spots, and numerous opportunities to engage in the local art scene. In keeping somewhat with the art scene, next we visited the Lennon Wall and spent longer than we thought gazing at all the different graffiti and writings meant to trigger change. We took another recommendation when we were done and visited Café Kafíčko for some exquisite hot chocolate with almonds (so thick it was basically pudding) despite it being the middle of summer. (Prague 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Manatee Park in Fort Meyers
The manatee viewing dock – all of those lumps in the water are manatees!
Waiting for the sea cows to come up for air!
Adam becoming buds with a manatee!
Look closely for the light blob 🙂
Manatee Park in Fort Meyers
The manatee viewing dock – all of those lumps in the water are manatees!
Waiting for the sea cows to come up for air!
Adam becoming buds with a manatee!
Look closely for the light blob 🙂
To obtain another birds-eye view of the city as we like to do, we rode a funicular up Petřín Hill to the lookout tower there that resembles the Eiffel Tower. You get a great view of what Prague has to offer. Even getting to the tower we got more local culture than anticipated, with street musicians and performers scattered throughout the park entertaining the crowds. Apparently one of the more renowned local breweries has its home up here too, so we decided to go check it out. St. Norbert’s Brewery (Strahov Monastery Brewery) has been brewing since the 14th century and it has a large beer garden with what looked like a relatively large following. Continuing the old-age beer theme we made it to U Fleků, which claims to have been brewing in the 15th century and is still going strong. They have a large beer garden where they only serve one beer and keep serving you until you place a coaster on your mug. And our last stop before the evening was U medvídků, a classic brewery-hotel. (Prague 21, 22, 23)
Fort Myers Downtown Historic District
Millennial Brewing Co
We weren’t expecting a mimosa bar option!
Look closely for the light blob 🙂
Look closely for the light blob 🙂
Look closely for the light blob 🙂
To obtain another birds-eye view of the city as we like to do, we rode a funicular up Petřín Hill to the lookout tower there that resembles the Eiffel Tower. You get a great view of what Prague has to offer. Even getting to the tower we got more local culture than anticipated, with street musicians and performers scattered throughout the park entertaining the crowds. Apparently one of the more renowned local breweries has its home up here too, so we decided to go check it out. St. Norbert’s Brewery (Strahov Monastery Brewery) has been brewing since the 14th century and it has a large beer garden with what looked like a relatively large following. Continuing the old-age beer theme we made it to U Fleků, which claims to have been brewing in the 15th century and is still going strong. They have a large beer garden where they only serve one beer and keep serving you until you place a coaster on your mug. And our last stop before the evening was U medvídků, a classic brewery-hotel. (Prague 21, 22, 23)
They have cool events here like a boxing match!
Coastal Dayz Brewery
A relaxed vibe 🙂
Fort Myers Downtown Historic District
Millennial Brewing Co
A relaxed vibe 🙂
Over the next three hours of the night we were on a buffet dinner cruise, floating down the Vltava River and taking in the city lights. It was a grand time and the best part- there was a giant wheel of cheese that you could just go up to and take as much as your heart desired! (Prague 24)
Some interesting facts about the Florida Panther!
Day 4:
Not much happened the morning of our last day in Prague! We went to some convenience stores and stopped by a cookie shop of course, but otherwise we were being normal people! For lunch we went to the beer garden at U Bulínů and enjoyed one last trdelnik. To walk it off we explored the massive park that is Letna Park. This space dominates the northern edge of the Vltava River and provides a nice view of the city. It was from here we saw Lod’ Pivovar, the ship brewery that floats on the opposite side of the river. We dropped in and got to enjoy more beer on the top deck of the boat while soaking up some rays. Our final beer endeavor was at the Prague Beer Museum, a gastro-pub with a vision to bring together the top 30 craft beers in the Czech Republic. (Prague 25, 26, 27)
Swamp Buggy Races: one of the hickest things you can do.
A swamp buggy up close!
A swamp buggy in action!
Swamp Buggy Races: one of the hickest things you can do.
A swamp buggy up close!
A swamp buggy in action!
Now after all this beer consumption we were ready to move on to our next beer city- Munich! But we weren’t flying there this time. From here on out we were utilizing our Eurail Country Pass to bounce through central Europe!
Keeping in mind that most of the trails in southwest Florida will be interpretive and short boardwalk trails, you should have a great time strolling around and watching some tropical wildlife! You won’t find any strenuous hikes around here, but if you want a good core/upper body workout there’s always plenty of kayaking trails.