Praha

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Thursday --- The scenery was beautiful as our train slowly made its to the Czech capital. Lindsey and I were in great spirits as we arrived in Prague in the early afternoon. We negotiated a taxi and made our way to the Inos Hotel, yes, a hotel! We were looking forward to it after staying in hostels. We checked in and lounged for a bit, taking showers and watching Czech TV, which wasn't really Czech since we focused on the BBC. After a couple hours we headed out to explore the neighborhood and find this pub I read about that boasted excellent views. We found the road via my handy iphone and walked up a massive set of stairs before finding Vysehrad, a castle built in the 10th century. We walked through a gate and into the castle grounds, passing by groups of teenagers and couples holding hands. The pub was easy to find (if you knew you were looking for it), and seemed quite local. We ordered a couple pints and sat a table overlooking a Prague neighborhood and the Vysehrad walls. It was incredible! Especially after Vienna's weather, this was perfect. We were off to a great start and Prague wouldn't disappoint.

After the pub we headed towards the river to find a tram that would take us into the city center. We lazily made our way through Vysehrad and soon boarded the tram. We hopped off and checked out Wenceslas Square before finding an Irish pub to eat dinner. We had a nice meal and then met a few guys from Bristol who were in town for a boys weekend. They were nice and so we enjoyed a couple drinks with them before heading our separate ways. Lindsey and I then went looking for our tram line but it turned out to be more difficult than originally thought. We headed to the river as our line ran parallel to it but then realized we hadn't bought tickets. So then we had to find a shop to purchase the tickets, then we had to find a stop, and mind you this was after a couple of drinks. It was a lot of fun though, we just laughed and joked around the whole time, enjoying the night. We finally found a tram stop and went back to the hotel where we drunk dialed on skype again (the skype iPhone app is a blessing and a curse) before going to sleep.

Friday ---- Lindsey and I enjoyed a lie-in which was a nice change of pace! We grabbed lunch at a restaurant in our neighborhood that was recommended by the front desk. It was a great recommendation. And it was a lot cheaper than the dinner we bought in the city center. I had heard this about Prague - food & drink in the city center cost three times more than just a five minute walk away from it. But anyway lunch was great, I tried rabbit for the first time and enjoyed it. Lindsey got a seafood pasta and we both walked toward the tram feeling full and ready to be tourists. We headed into town and straight for the Karluv Most, or Charles Bridge. There were tourists everywhere! It was the first time on this trip where there were that many concentrated in an area. Thankfully the beauty of Prague overshadowed this inconvenience and we set off to explore the bridge. It was pretty interesting, I'm sure a tour guide would have explained who the many statues depicted and the history of the bridge, etc., but that just wasn't going to happen. We crossed the bridge and made our way up to Hradcany, the largest castle complex in the world. The streets leading up to the castle were steep and narrow and we slowly made our way up. There were of course restaurants and pubs everywhere, I had never seen so many Pilsner Urquell signs in my life! Of course it could be worse, good thing that Pilsner is a fantastic beer. We were taking a little water break while walking up to the castle and Lindsey noticed an "Absinthe" sign. The Czech Republic is one of the only countries in the world where they legally sell "real" absinthe which means it has wormwood in it. We decided to take a gander in the shop. It turned out to be more of an absinthe bar. I ordered a drink while Lindsey looked on as she wasn't feeling that great. The lady behind the counter prepared the absinthe for me, and it was quite impressive to watch. She used the Bohemian method (made sense), which is different from the French in that you light the absinthe soaked sugar cube on fire to sweeten the liquor. It was really good. We soon moved on from the shop and walked back up the hill to the castle. We walked around the grounds and checked out St. Vitus Cathedral before Lindsey called it a day. Stage 723 of the plague had hit and her stomach was killing her.

We walked back down the hill and back into Old Town where Lindsey headed for the tram and I headed into Old Town with no agenda. I saw the Astronomical Clock and a few things before checking out an H&M and a couple other stores. I put on my headphones and decided to walk back to the hotel since I had nothing but time and Lindsey was probably taking a nap. The river pathway was really scenic and I enjoyed myself. It turned out to be further than I expected, once again. I have decided I am talented in underestimating distances in foreign cities. I can find places on maps pretty well, hell even determine where I am and where I am headed, but distances... I need some help in that department. But oh well. As long as I have company or some music I am good to go. I made it back to the neighborhood just before a downpour. I tucked into a shop for a couple things before going to the hotel. Lindsey was lying down, not 100% but feeling better than earlier. We decided to have a quiet night and grabbed dinner at a traditional Czech restaurant in our neighborhood, once again recommended by the front desk. It was once again a hit. We headed back to the hotel and watched a little TV before calling it a night.

Saturday --- We were granted a late checkout which was appreciated since our flight to London wasn't until 6:50 p.m. We left our packs in the luggage room and headed to town with no particular agenda other than to enjoy the city. We decided to walk the pathway into town just as I had down the night before. It took just as long but headed towards town I could tell the distance by how far away the castle was. Getting good at this.. Anyway we headed to Old Town Square so Lindsey could see the clock and the square and then looked for a restaurant. We meandered our way through the narrow and windy streets of Prague, checking our menus of the many, many restaurants the city has to offer. It was a perfectly sunny day so we found one with tables outside and had a seat. We had plenty of time so had our first "European" lunch of the trip that lasted 2 hours. It really is nice just sitting and enjoying the meal and the company, not worrying about getting back to work or anything else. We lazily walked through the city streets again before finding a tram to take us to collect our packs. We had a taxi booked for 4 p.m. and it arrived a few minutes after we got to the hotel. Soon we were at the airport, doing a little duty free shopping and waiting for the plane. We had to go through security at the gate, and of course the metal detector went off when I went through. Usually airport security doesn't make the travel blog, but wow did I get felt up by the security woman! I actually started laughing halfway through it because it was so awkward! She definitely did her job. I'm just glad she didn't see me laugh. Ahh the joys of flying post-September 11th! And actually it was September 11th so maybe that had something to do with it. We soon boarded and had our own row which kicked ass. Then we found out British Airways doesn't charge an arm and a leg for a cocktail which kicked even more ass (they're even free). The flight attendant took a liking to our cheery moods and gave us two drinks each since we were 'so happy.' Next stop: London.

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