August 18

August 18th (sunny and warm)
Took the tram into the centre of Prague again. Georg and I both commented that the rapid transit systems in most of Europe are excellent and that waiting times are minimal. We enjoyed walking over the bridge to tour the Hrad Castle high over the city. The city is absolutely beautiful and it is very easy to get around even amongst the tens of thousands of German, Italian, and French and of course, Czech tourists.
After walking for hours, we had an interesting lunch that resembled scalloped potatoes made with eggs instead of a white or cheese sauce that along with a beer, really hit the spot. We ventured back to the main town square for one last look. By this time, my feet and knee were terrible -- those darn cobblestones.
Upon returning to the site, another camper reminded us that they had seen us in Budapest and Bratislava. They also pointed out that we had a flat left-rear tire. Great! We had heard what sounded like a gunshot on the highway before Prague. Georg didn’t think that was it because the tire would have been deflated a lot sooner. What was a real bummer in this whole episode is that “Insane”, the mechanic-wannabe in Utrecht, had tightened the nuts so tight that no one could remove the tire and when Georg looked at the spare, it was also flat. Double Great! What was also a bit unusual is that the tires have tubes. To make things worse, there was no way of getting any help until Monday and it is Saturday evening.
Georg reminded me that “mishaps happen in three”. What would be next? Georg will speak with the receptionist tomorrow to see if she can help us find a mechanic to come to the campground tomorrow with the proper equipment to remove the tire. Decided we would not talk or worry about it any longer this evening (as it could have been a lot worse – it could have happened on the highway). We had our dinner, played cards and I won again. Also reminded ourselves that we have been very lucky so far and that this was just a minor setback.