A very quiet day after our earlier adventures. We rose leisurely, had a nice relaxing breakfast and then took the Metro to the centre. Here we wandered around the shops, mostly looking at crystal, before finally settling on a beautifully Bohemian crystal vase, picked out with black. I'll include a photo as soon as ... well.

We had lunch in the Old Town Square - a final chance to enjoy the clock. Then we headed back for the hotel, packed and took a taxi to Republican Square, where we caught the airport bus. Here, disaster happened - although we didn't realise it until we reached the airport.

We had put the camera in the bag with the vase, so that we could take it through as hand luggage. When we got to the airport, we realised that someone had taken it - presumably while we were waiting for the bus in Republic Square. It would have been fairly easy to do - but obviously, it was a great loss, as it was my digital camera, with so many lovely pictures. The pictures I've used on this site have been taken from my earlier trip to Prague (in autumn - hence the coats), and postcards which we bought - which I thought were particularly accurate of what we saw.

It did make us rather paranoid about moving in the airport ... but, in retrospect, although it was a horrible thing to happen, it doesn't dimish our desire to visit Prague again (although we'll probably have our new camera - when we can afford one - surgically attached to one of us!).

Overall, Prague is definitely one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. For me, it is up there with Florence and Oxford, and beats Edinburgh, Stockholm and Paris. London? Not even in the frame. The cuisine is ... hearty - but the beer is wonderful. Restaurants offer a wide range of international dishes though, by and large, and there are popular ethnic restaurants throughout the city too. It is a city of culture too; I believe it has the highest density of theatres in any city in Europe. It has a fascinating and turbulent past - and a people who are more than willing to explore it.