Praha

I LOVED Prague. I really want to go back. We were only there for 2 days, which was not nearly enough time.

Our train got in super early, like 6:30am. We got out the directions our hostel had sent us, which said they were walking distance from the train station. I guess we must have been at a different train station, or something, because the people at the information desk told us we had to use the metro. At that point we were in trouble, because we didn't actually have a map, just directions for how to get to the hostel. We found some guy at the station we were sent to who basically pointed up (duh, we were underground) and told us we were close to where we needed to go.

So we take the escalators up to the street, and what do we see? Golden. Arches. Our hostel didn't even open until 9am, so we had some time to kill. We decided finding the hostel was not a priority, and instead followed the signs to a huge McDonalds.

Oh yeah. Obviously we ordered breakfast and sat down for a bit. At this point we really had no clue where we were in relation to our hostel, so I said, "Well, let's just go this way."

I was wrong. I led us up a hill before Jesse realized that we should probably ask for directions. So she did. And the guy pointed us back toward McDonalds. Back at McDonalds we asked two more men for directions, both of whom pointed us in a different direction than the first. We chose the person who said, "See that building there? Walk to it."



So we ended up in Wenceslas Square. It took about 5 more people before we finally found the hostel, only to be told that check in wasn't until 2pm. So we dropped off our bags at reception and headed back out, this time with a map from the receptionist and a list of key Czech words.

We found ourselves once again we found ourselves on the street. We took a few minutes to and and look at the little market outside our hostel

before deciding it was too cold for that. We headed to a little cafe-ish place for pastries and coffee while we planned out our day. Jesse is big on shopping, and she had asked a friend who lived in Prague to recommend a few vintage stores. So we found the stores on the map and made those our priority for the morning, along with seeing the Charles Bridge.

This first two vintage stores were right near our hostel, then we headed for the river on our way to the third.

We took some pictures from our side, then decided that we would save actually crossing for the next day, when we were going to do the castle.

We walked past the souvenir-y stands along the river and bumped into people we knew! Erin and Elizabeth from CEA were apparently in Prague at the same time we were and happened to be in the same place at the same time!

On our way to the next store we found the town square, with the Astronomical Clock.


We also found a bookstore where I bought 3 children's books. One is in English, Czech and German, another is by Peter Sis, an author I studied in my International Lit class, and the last looks like a poetry book? I don't read Czech, obviously, but the illustrations were soooo cool.

Next came more food! We found someplace with a fixed-price menu that was less than $10US for an entree, dessert, and half a litre of beer.

Yep, still in my pajama shirt. We couldn't change at the hostel so I was still wearing the shirt I slept in.

Okay I officially love Czech food.

A fried block of cheese (giant cheese stick, pretty much) with tartar sauce, french fries and a little salad.


A crepe with custard, whipped cream, ice cream, and chocolate sauce.

At this point we were able to go back to the hostel and check in. Our room was great, we had a six-person room (that was actually two rooms and a bathroom) all to ourselves, which was great. It had a fridge and an electric kettle, too! After all of that food and beer, and having "slept" on the train and woken up at 6:30 we were exhausted and took a nap basically until it was time to eat dinner.

For dinner we walked back to the town square. There were a bunch of booths set up selling food like sausages, and cooked dough and stuff. I got this thing:

Which is chicken and veggies grilled and skewered. Delicious.

After cheap street food, we went to a restaurant for drinks. The girls got hot mulled wine


I had a hot coffee drink. We watched the astronomical clock chime. And then we went back to the hostel and went to bed early.

The next day we woke up and tried to find the Jewish area. We found a couple of synagogues, but that was about it. Oh, and Cartier, where they had already begun to decorate for Christmas!


Then we were starving, so we ate AGAIN

Lamb with rosemary, potato dumplings, and garlic spinach

CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE!

Oh my God, I am such a fat kid.

So then we hit the streets, saw a crazy sculpture


And headed for the bridge. It was actually under construction, but I still got some pictures (more in the slideshow, including some of "The Bridge Band")


On the other side of the bridge we checked out a Starbucks and a book store on our way to the castle! Also on the way to the castle came a billion stairs, which in turn meant lots and lots of pictures. More of those are also in the slideshow.


Then came the castle!

Here I am in front of it! Please note that I am only wearing one mitten. I had the other hand free to take pictures. I'm so glad Lia thought to point it out when we took the photo.

And here is what happened when I tried to go in:


So then I used my impeccable sense of direction to lead us nowhere... we walked around for like 15 minutes and ended up right back where we started, and still had to go back down via the path we had taken up.

I saw Mama in Cinque Terre, in Prague I caught up with Dad:


The walk back over the bridge was not too shabby


That's a good final photo. After that we went back to the street vendors and I had a sausage for dinner. At this point I needed a little bit of cash to get me through the night (and to pay for our cab the next morning). Jennifer and I found an ATM, I out in my card, punched in my PIN and it asked how much money I wanted. I said ~$30US, and instead of giving me money, it told me it was keeping my card and I had to contact my bank. I had put my credit card into the machine, and punched in my debit PIN. So my credit card peaced out in Prague. Luckily I still had my debit, so things are fine, but it's still a hassle.

Once again we headed back to the hostel early because our flight left the next morning at 6:30. We woke up at 4:30 and had a cab come for us at 5:30. Once again, Eastern European cab drivers are insane. This cabbie had seven air fresheners. SEVEN. What could possibly smell so bad that you need SEVEN pieces of cardboard soaked in smelly chemicals? I felt nauseous for a good twenty minutes after we were out of the cab.

Anyway, we got back to Paris in one piece! I had a great fall break, and finished out the weekend by doing absolutely nothing, which is how a school break should end.