Who decided to bring all this luggage?
Nicole, Nikkiy and I took the train from Berlin to Prague. Nicole and I have always traveled rather light, and Nikkiy travels light now, however this wasn't always the case. Sorry Nikkiy! I have to share the suitcase story to set the tone for this story.
After our train arrived in Prague, we decided that the subway was the best and easiest way into the city. Prague's subway system is a little older than most subways, and poor Nikkiy had two rather large bags and her purse. The subway platform we needed was on the third level down from the street and there were no elevators or escalators. Do the math! This subway decision got ugly quick. When we finally got on the subway, we had to make a train transfer halfway to the city which required more stairs!
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| Finally in Prague...waiting for a drink! |
We finally arrived in Old Town Prague, and hauled Nikkiy's luggage up to the street level, where we learned that all of the streets were cobblestone. Now, Nikkiy was already at the point that she wanted to kill Nicole and I for the whole subway decision, so you can imagine how excited she was to haul two bags and a purse around on these old cobblestone streets. Looking back now, a cab ride probably would have been the smart decision at this point, but who wants to see such a beautiful city from a cab. Nicole and I talked Nikkiy into walking to our hotel. Little did she know that we would get lost on the way!
About 45 minutes later we finally found our hotel where my roommate Jason met up with us. He had arrived in Prague a few days before us, so he already knew his way around the city....and all of the bars. First order of business....Get Nikkiy a DRINK!!!
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| Old Town Prague |
Walking around in Old Town Prague is like walking around in a live version of a Disney cartoon. Only in the live version, you're allowed to carry a beer around. No one cares if you're drinking in the streets, so that is exactly what we did.
We didn't realize it at the time, but when we were in Prague it was almost Easter (also known as Dyngus Day). The streets were full of street performers, vendors selling cheap beer, trinkets and food, and young men running around with sticks to smack girls on the butt! Odd tradition, but hey, who am I to judge!
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| Looking out over the Charles Bridge |
We made our way through the crowded streets stopping at bars and shops along the way. Eventually we made our way to the Charles Bridge where local artists displayed and sold their paintings and photographs. This famous historical bridge is decorated with statues and a few gothic-looking guard towers at each end, which of course we felt the need to climb to the top of. What a fantastic accident that was. The tower gave us a fantastic view of the Charles Bridge and it gave Jason a chance to point out some of the "must see's" that we would need to get to over the next few days.
After a full day of travel and a few more hours of exploring, we decided that we should grab some food. Instead of going to a restaurant, we went back to the center square and ate, drank and shopped our way through most of the vendor stands stopping every once in a while to watch a performance. Every hour on the hour, there is an actual clock tower called The Orloj. This clock tower is very popular and draws huge crowds for its hourly show. When the clock strikes the hour, the little statues walk around. It's really not that terribly interesting to watch, however a few beers will fix that quickly.
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| The vendors had GREAT sausages. |
We stayed in the center square until the vendors and performers start to pack up. At this point, we realize that we probably should call it a day and head back to our hotel for a much needed night of sleep. When we get back to our room, we open the door to the worst smell EVER. It smelled as if something had died in our room. We search for probably 5 minutes until we finally figure out what the horrible smell is. Jason has only brought two pairs of socks. He is wearing one pair, but the other pair was dead on the floor from two days of use. Needless to say, it took us a while to air out the room enough to fall asleep.
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| Mumbling guard |
The next day we woke up early and took the city bus up to Prague Castle. Even though we arrived early, the lines had already formed so we spent the first hour standing around staring at each other and trying to find ways to entertain ourselves. As usual, we were cracking people up. Once we got close enough we realized that there were guard boxes with guards inside to "protect" the castle. I couldn't help myself. I made it my #1 priority to get my picture standing with one of them. Nikkiy is always game for a bad idea, so she and I walked right up and posed for the camera. I think that might have been a no-no, because as we stood there waiting for our friend to take our picture, the guard started mumbling to us in Czech. Now, I don't speak Czech, but I hardly think he was whispering sweet nothings in our ears. I think it might have been more of a "Stupid Tourists! Get the hell back!"
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| Prague Cathedral |
Somehow, we made it past the scary guard and entered the grounds of Prague castle. There is so much to do on the property that we spend almost the entire second day there just wandering around and looking at all the awesome stuff. We even toured the ancient ruins of the original castle. The picture to the left is actually a gothic-style church. It had the most unique gargoyles all over it. They were kinda creepy! They all looked angry, which just seems wrong on a church.
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| Creepy Dungeon Hole! |
Somewhere along the long walk back to the hotel, we decided that it was a good idea for us to sign up for a pub crawl. This is the part of our story that get's a little fuzzy. Good ideas sometimes lead to bad decisions. But bad decisions usually lead to good stories!
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| Bottle of Flugel the next morning |
Jason had gone on a pub crawl the first night he was in town, so he already knew where to go to sign up. When we arrived, we were like celebreties! Jason already knew the entire staff. I'm not sure what he did on the first round of the pub crawl, but he was obviously remembered. Let's just say that the night begain with a lot of shots of Absinthe & Flugel, followed by some late night futbol chanting and skipping. We finished off the evening with a race back to the hotel. Nikkiy and I in the longest 8 block taxi ride ever, and Jason sprinting barefoot down the cobblestone streets trying to catch up with us.
Our final day in Prague was mostly about hangover recovery, packing and shopping. Next stop, Brussels Belgium.
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