Praha is a city full of interesting juxtapositions. Monolithic traditional buildings stand alongside contemporary post-modern structures. Old cobblestone roads turn into new tarmac superhighways or super-tunnels. An interesting mix of ethnic minorities from Thais to Indians to Greeks share subway journeys with the Czech locals. Wonderfully romantic and picturesque streetscapes adorn the old part of town; turn a few corners and you reach ghettos filled with junkies and large dogs (what is it with large dogs in this part of Europe!?). Unfortunately, our hostel happened to be in this part of town, and arriving in the city at 9pm was probably not the brightest decision we made.

This being the case, we decided to have a day off in Prague, and not leave our hostel pretty much the entire day for some much needed re-charging of batteries. We even managed to whip up our first home-cooked meal since we left Australia, as there was a self-catering kitchen in our hostel. Spaghetti bolognaise never tasted so good.

I had met a boy at our Vienna hostel called Adam, quite randomly - we were both busily typing away on our laptops in the common room not acknowledging each other, then a super drunk Dutch girl came in and gabbed her mouth off to us, then said to me “I know what you’re thinking, you want me in bed don’t you” and I laughed and said “haha no way I’m gay…” and Adam next to me said the same. Who knew the drunk Dutch girls could bring us together?! Anyway he was travelling the same roads as us and ended up in the same hostel in Prague as well. Our first night, we took out a straight Norwegian boy with us to check out Prague’s gay nightlife. It was quite disappointing, Adam and I had found a couple of bars from our trusty Lonely Planet guides, but upon finding them in physicality they were either shut down or had a handful of older men in them … After a few twists and turns and a few locals leading us astray, we eventually just followed some flashing neon signs and spotlights and * tada * we found a bar which at least was playing some trashy pop music and had cheap beer. The Norwegian boy had a great time (he was the only one who succeeded in having men buy him drinks!!) and offloaded some of his snus to us as.

Now, snus is a magical thing. For those of you who have not heard of it, wikipedia it. It’s basically like a nicotine teabag which you put in your upper lip, and it stays there until it starts ‘leaking’. It’s not an illicit drug - all it has is nicotine and tobacco - but it’s hugely popular in the Scandinavian states. It basically just gives you a little headspin like a cigarette does, without all the tar and toxins and dirty chemicals. It’s a great way for smokers to quit, in my opinion!!

Whilst we probably weren’t located in the best part of town, the Old Town brings you away to another time. It is wonderfully atmospheric, with local Czech musicians busking away little ditties and artists selling their wares on Charles Bridge, and enchanting old buildings adorning the cobblestone streets and alleyways of Prague Castle. The Czech language is also beautiful to hear, and as a foreign visitor you really do feel submersed in another world, in another lifetime.

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Part of the trip: RTW 2009

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