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Prague 12th- 15th of March
Written: In Berlin while I was getting over food poisoning also while we were waiting for the over night train!
Well prague was defiantly off to a bad start!. We had very bad train trip, with our train been delayed for 3 hours due to the locomotive breaking down, so after sitting around for 3 hours we finally were on our way. It was around 8:30 when we were woken up by the train guard and asked for our ticket, and instead of the usual quick check, he took one look and told us that we need to pay for our ticket because without knowing it we were traveling through Slovakia, which isn't a country included on our Eurail pass!! b*****!! So I quickly made it clear that I had no money, which I didn't, I only had some US dollars. So after sweet talking our way through I managed to get the fine down from €70 each to just $50 US (I still think it was a scam though, but theres not much we could do)!! I have to say a big thanks to Nanna for the US cash, got us out of a scratch there!! At about 10:30 we finally made it to Prague and we were fairly relieved to get off that train, and after the usual trek to find our hostel we finally could get some rest.
Our first morning we decided it was time to do some washing, so off to the laundry mat we went. While waiting for the washing I though it would be a good idea to try and ring home, well my phone card had different ideas. This phone card was determined not to work so after a good half hour and a few broken pay phones later I decide to give up! After our washing was finished I decided it would be a good idea to go back and find out what there was to do in Prague. I wasn't in the common room long before I met some fellow travellers one of which was a Argentinian who came into the room with a guitar and proceeded to preform a song for us which he had written. It was a very beautiful song, not that I understood a word because it was all in spanish but he had a lovely voice, and after talking for short time I was soon invited to joint him and a group to go see a contemporary art museum, which sounded like fun so after getting courtney we all headed off. The art museum was a great experience, getting away from the main tourist sight and see something different was very refreshing, the art there was mainly about the famous New york hotel The Chelsea hotel, which is said to be the birth place of creative modern art and throughout its history it has house many famous artists such as Bod Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Leonard Cohen and many more. There was also a smaller exhibition showing works off the students of the university. After the museum Courtney and I were shown to a great restaurant that served great Czech meals and the food was great! I had beef in a creamy sauce with dumplings while courtney had a chicken schnitzel.
Day two was the day we decided to do the FREE walking tour which works on a tips only basis. I loved the tour, we had a super excited and super extravagant tour guide, which made the fact that I we were walking around for 3.5 hours in the freezing cold that much more bearable. It was a very insightful tour and I learnt a lot about the sights and history in prague as well as the architecture. There was an amazing array of different architectural styles throughout the city but I must say that it was blended together by the cobbled streets which just made you feel as though you were in another century.
Tonight was our bar crawl night. It cost 400 czk (but if your sneaky like courtney, it can be free) and for the first hour it was free beer and shots! Well there were defiantly no sober people in the bar, and I think quite a few people didn't mange to get to the second bar. I managed to get to the second bar but I don't really remember it that much! all i remember is some very steep steps that I was trilled about managing to get down without falling! after this we lost the bar crawl so after leaving the bar we spent a few hours trying to find our way back to our hostel! Its harder than it sounds, especially when you have been lead some were by a leader and you don't pay attention to were your going so you don't know were you are! I think next time Im going to try and stay with the group!
In the morning lets just say that I have defiantly feel better, I pretty sure that I had the biggest hang over I have ever had! So apart from a quick trip down the street for one of those amazing Czech sausages I spent most of the day on the couch. When 5 o'clock can round I was feeling a lot better (courtney not so much) and so when a group of Aussie came and asked me if I was going to join them one the bar crawl again tonight I stupidly said Yes! Well the second time round was a little more reserved and I even managed to make it to the 3rd bar, which is were I lost the three other Aussies as well as the bar crawl! b*****! luckily for me I had found another group of people to hang out with who were from all over the place, some from england, and some from america! I had a great time and if anyone is going to go to Prague give the bar crawl a go because it is a great way to meet new people! After my new friends called it a night I though I had better do the same since it was getting close to 4 in the morning so I made my way back to the hostel (in a slightly more coherent manner that the night before). On arriving at the hostel it dawned on me for the first time that I had no way of getting into our room! whoops! As it turned out there was a lovely bunch of american sitting in the common room up from our room so I just ended up talking with them till luckily someone came out of our room to get a drink of water! yay I was going to get some sleep! Not much though because tomorrow was our last day in this beautiful city and I still wanted to see so much so I set my alarm for 7:30.
I spent the morning by myself just walking around, checking out the sights that weren't shown on the free walking tour like the gigantic metronome which was placed on the top of a hill were a massive statue of Stalin once stood. From here there were some great views of the city, and after a few snaps I thought I would go and check the park behind it out. Well that leisurely stroll through the park turned out to be a mammoth hike that made me walk 2-3kms in the wrong direction. There was no way down of this mountain except the way i came which silly me I didn't know. So I ended up walking back behind the castle then down through the castle grounds down to the river were I met courtney and then back up to the castle! I defiantly walked off the alcohol that I had drunk in the last couple of days!
The main attraction of the castle was defiantly the cathedral. The exterior of was very gothic and very detailed, were as the inside was quite plain but with some amazing stained glass windows as well as some amazing statues and ornamental pieces. Unfortunately it was very busy while we were in there so it was very noisy and you didn't get to see as much as you would at your own pace. No matter what it was still a beautiful cathedral. On our way back down from the castle we went the back way and on the way found some amazing shops. One in particular was a hand blown glass shop which was selling christmas decoration balls that were so beautiful and if they weren't so breakable I would have defiantly brought one! Instead I found a little art gallery that was selling watercolour originals but I couldn't buy one because it was too big so I settled for a smaller print. After buying a ring on the St Charles bridge we came across and boat tour that looked like fun so we gave that a go which took us to see little Venice which is the most expensive part of Prague. This boat tour lasted for 45 minuets and we got to go in cute little wooden boat! For dinner we went with the Aussie girls who had unfortunately missed their flight because they fell asleep after their big night out! whoops. I had another traditional Czech meal called goulash, which tasted like a casserole but was a bit thicker.
The next day we were off to Berlin but I loved Prague and thought it was a fantastic city. There was always something to do and everyone there is so friendly wether it be other travellers or the local people. Its a great place to stay if you looking for a good night out or just to see the sights, for me there was plenty of both.
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