Now that I had been out of the country, I had caught the travel bug and effectively infected Kathleen with it is as well. She wanted to explore London after hearing about my trip, and as much as I wanted to return to the city of red double decker buses, my wallet was not ready to return to the expensive pound, so we started looking at other options. On Monday we found a cheap plane ticket to Prague for Wednesday so that's where we were headed next. We definietly deserved a vacation because I had just turned in 4 essays that week and couldn't wait to be no where near school. Wednesday morning came and we were at the airport waiting in the lounge for our gate information. Side note: airports here don't announce gate information until 30 minutes before the plane departs so you're stuck waiting in common areas for an extended amount of time. During all this airport waiting I did meet a man from Dallas! Even after we boarded the plane, we had to wait an unreasonable amount of time more for am unexplainable reason. However, we eventually departed and made it safely to Prague. Once we were in the airport we had to wait in an extremely long customs line and then exchange our money for Koruna, which is about 25 CZK to $1. We found the bus that took us to the metro and from there hopped on the metro and were in the city center no problem.
After all of this traveling we were glad that we found our hostel relatively easy. As we were checking in, the receptionist thought that while taking our money was the perfect time to do magic tricks. I was not amused. Having spent more time then necessary checking in due to the games of the receptionist, I was relieved to finally be in my room. While we were resting and determining what to do for dinner a man about the age of 65 comes in, without greeting us, he starts undressing and then gets into bed completely naked. It's 8:30pm, in a 8 person room with two young women present, he should not have been sleeping naked at that point. Throughly uncomfortable and weirded out Kathleen and I left our room, holding in our giggles, and made our way into the main old square.
This is the video I took of the clock going off at the height of the hour
Now away from the old man Kathleen and I bought some trdlniks, which are a desert pastry, similar to a cinnamon sugar pretzel, but in the shape of a cylinder and with a sweeter dough. Basically it's a cinnamon sugar paradise in your mouth, and it was enough to feed us for the night. While snacking on the pastry, we watched the astronomical clock go off, which was an expected disappointment, but still necessary to watch when you're in Prague. After a while we decided it was somewhat safe to return to the hostel and sleep.
O you heavenly trdlnik
However, neither of us slept very well, I had asthma flare ups and Kathleen just couldn't fall asleep until 5 am. After eating a breakfast of cereal with warm milk, we walked out to the Old Square to join a free walking tour of the city. We got to see and learn a lot about Prague, because before this trip I knew relatively nothing about the Czech Republic. There were fascinating sites and stories about the city, including the concert hall where Mozart played and the ancient cemetery in the Jewish quarter, but I mostly couldn't get over the impressive architecture. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant, and took the opportunity to eat some traditional Czech goulash, which was heavenly and cheap. The tour concluded at the river, after I got emotional in the Jewish quarter.
Kathleen is ready for the walking tour!
Bubbles and clocks
A concert hall Mozart played in
The house of the black Madonna
An excessively beautiful arch
Across the river
The famous Charles Bridge was near us, so we crossed it intending to find the castle. While crossing this massive bridge, my senses came alive, hearing the mixture of street performers and vendors, watching and dodging the groups of people, all while trying to stay alert and watch my purse and Kathleen. Once across, we strode up to the castle, literally up because it's on a hill overlooking the city. The steep climb is worth the view of the red roofs and the river running through the heart of the city. We walked through the endless grounds of the castle and surrounding buildings, until it began to close.
Strolling across Charles Bridge
On top of the city!
A church
As afternoon started to wane and evening began to set in, Kathleen and I found an island in the middle of the river to rest on. We sat on the river bank, admiring the city we had just begun to explore, and watching the people in paddle boats make their way through the river. We soaked up the sun and let our aching feet rest until we were hungry enough to head back to the Old Square. With the cheap, yet satisfying street vendor food staring you right in the face, why not get a sausage from one of them. It was so delicious, even if it was a little fatty in the middle, but what can I say, I'm a sausage girl. As we ate, we watched the street performers entertain crowds of drunk people. We had been craving ice cream all day, so for only 30 CZK we got an ice cream cone and I was thrilled. Content with full bellies and exhausted from walked out feet we returned to the hostel. Once again that old naked man was asleep, and on top of that Kathleen and I were the only girls in our room and the only people under the age of 28. We both felt so uncomfortable in our own room because we had to be quiet with the sleeping senior. I guess everything can't be perfect in Prague!
The Charles Bridge
I love Prague!
SMC
Got my Prague, got my ice cream!
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