Praha

Prague was all sorts of awesome.

I went with four other friends from the program here, and we worked as a seemless team the whole weekend. We got into the aiport in Prague and decided to veto spending however much on a cab—we pooled our resources, broke some large bills down, and eventually got on a bus heading to the city center. After two more metro transfers, we ended up at our hostel, the Mirabou, in what is apparently the « Art Deco » part of the city. (I guess I can see it, if « Art Deco » now means former Soviet-style cement block clubs thrown between turn of the century rococo-colored apartment buildings)

The hostel was pretty cool, and filled with awesome people. I met some American guys from Colorado, one of whom told us about his five month stay in Antartica as a baker. I also met some Aussie girls who were giggly and nice—all of us new people ended up going out together on the last night. The only thing I didn’t like about the hostel was the fact that over 35-year old men started showing up on our last night. Luckily (or not—I will get to that), we didn’t end up sleeping in the room the last night, but it was still disconcerting to see a man who was pushing 60 cozying up in a dorm bed near a young, nubile 20-something.

We saw all the sights the first day—the Old Jewish quarter, the Old Town square, and the Charles Bridge.

We also continued crossing the river after the bridge and ended up somewhere near an opera house. The city is absolutely beautiful, and I loved the architecture and insane history you find everywhere. It is so well-preserved and well-cared for, and it’s a wonderful place to walk around.

That night, I was determined to get some traditional Czech food. For some reason, there were a TON of Italian places—pasta, pizza, that sort of thing—all over the city. We finally found a place that served dumplings and meat, and I had a big old plate of meat with cranberries and dumplings. It started raining after dinner, so we ran back to the bus and spent the night at the hostel.

The next day was Prague Castle day, and I think we did a good job up there. We decided to climb the hill, and got some amazing views from the top. The castle and a cathedral (along with a whole castle complex) sit on top of a hill that overlooks the city. It was a colder day, which made it harder to stand in line for the cathedral. But we did !

A lot of things, like the castle, the museum, and the alchemists’ lane, require a ticket. We decided to try and go without, and ended up still enjoying the day. The inside of the cathedral is gorgeous, and the stained glass windows are incredible. The climb to the top of the spire was hellish and long, but the view is completely worth it.

I had a pork pie before my walk down the hill and a Euro Dog at the foot. The rest of the day was spent wandering around, getting lost, and shopping for souvenirs.

We did have one run in with the law... we were taking buses the whole time, rather than walk all the way back to our hostel. At least three times, we decided not to validate the bus tickets, and instead rode for free. On the way back after dinner one night, a plainclothes officer flashed a badge at us, all sneaky-like, and we got fined 500kc for not having the right papers. It's the equivalent of $25, but we were all very pissed for awhile. Then we realized we're just sort of badass.

The rest of the trip went by quickly—lots of walking around, seeing Old Town square again, and enjoying being in a Central (practically Eastern) European country. Sunday, we decided to stay up instead of trying to sleep before our 4 am departure time. I went to Central Europe’s biggest club, which was five stories and nearly empty. I did have a good time trying out all the floors, though—the Disco one was easily the saddest (the changing colors under the dance floor didn’t distract from the old people there), and the « Black » music floor was the best. We split cabs with the Aussies and American boys, and got back the hostel with enough time to pack and then be ready for the cab.

The flight was at 6 :40, and we were dead from lack of sleep. For some reason, it was a hellish trip. The lights stayed on full-force, the pilot introduced himself and talked for at least 10 straight minutes, and I couldn’t get comfortable. There was a weird moment when, before takeoff, the man in front of me put down his seat into my lap. I woke up with a start and yelled at him, shaking my finger and saying in English, « not until later ! »

Everyone sort of stared at me until I realized we had been in the air long enough for the clouds to completely cover the scenery below. I must have fallen asleep before takeoff.

I got back to Paris (relief !), drank my smuggled Red Bull, and went right to class. It was another hellish experience—I was falling asleep all through Versailles lit, and then nearly fell over during our Art History trip to the Centre Pompidou.

When I finally got back to my apartment and slipped into bed, I nearly cried, I was so happy. The moral of the story is… even though Monday morning flights are 75% cheaper than Sunday night ones, you always suffer.

But I had fun in Prague. The currency is beautiful with a reasonable exchange rate, the people are pretty nice, and the city is incredible.