Praha

In your mailbox this December: "Merry Christmas, from KP & JoJo"

Having finished their tour of Germany, Mark, KP & JoJo headed to the Czech Republic and its beautiful capital city, Prague (or as they call it there, "Praha").

The city has a long history and managed to not get destroyed during World War II, making it one of the most well-preserved historical cities in this party of the world.

Crossing the bridge to the castle

One of the main tourist sites in Prague is the astronomical clock.  Our intrepid trio investigated this "must see."  Apparently, the clock will not only tell tell, but also your astrological sign, your weight, the weather for the next two weeks and the next three answers that will be produced by the nearest Magic 8-Ball.  This is made all the more impressive by the fact that this thing was built in 1410.

In addition to all of those features, the clock is also houses in a pretty nifty little clock tower.  Our trio decided to climb up to the top to see what they could see.

The trio purchased the entry ticket and took the elevator option.  The ramp pictured above (modeled by the stunning KP) are the hike necessary to get to the top AFTER the elevator portion.

Prague's Old Town Square

Once at the top of the tower, the trio was treated to a pretty decent view of the city.  In the immediate area was the Easter market that was taking place in the city square adjacent to the clock tower.  In the other direction, a crowd was gathering beneath the clock as the top of the hour approached.

According to Rick Steves, the pickpockets hang up in the top right of this photo.

"Toot, toot"

At the top of each hour, a trumpeter steps onto the walkway around the clocktower and plays a little trumpeter tune.  The crowd goes wild.  Then the trumpeter waves his little hat (the trumpeter does this entire act while in full costume from ... the past) and the crowd cheers.  Then he goes to the other three sides and repeats the act, to the wild applause of the tourist throngs below.

In full costume, but not fully in character

After ditching Mark, KP and JoJo headed to Paris.  Mark had been there fairly recently (and really, you don't want to wear out Paris), though, so he headed back to Blago for some sports, sports, sports.