Advertisement
Published: January 6th 2012
Edit Blog Post
Weihnachtsmarkt
Nürnberg's center, home to home made gee gaws, expensive Glühwein, and just a little christmas magic. Seriously what does that actually mean? Does anybody even know the lyrics to that song? Eh. A problem for another time. Anyways, hello there! It's been quite a while since I updated this blog, though I think that had more to do with life in western Suburbistan being just a might too peaceful than anything else (not just laziness, I swear). Right now I'm in Dresden, trying to recover from yet another rather poor decision (the planning kind, not the good kind), and also waiting on a bowl of tortellini smothered in butter to finish cooking. The hostel's nice, but they make up for their low price by nickel and diming just about every conceivable extra service. It also marks my last night in Germany for quite some time. Weird. Dresden's pretty decent too, and I think the day and a half I gave it was about right. Still, the majority of this entry has to go to what I've missed before, namely my New Year's in Prague, and maybe a word or two about Nürnberg.
So anyways, as some of my readers might be aware, I actually took advantage of some parental aid to go home for
Town Center
This was part of the old town Center of Prague, home to churches, and that most ancient of trades, the tourist shop the holidays, but I figured that the best way to enjoy that was by traveling to my airport first. Since the flight was leaving from München it seemed like dropping in on my host brother Daniel in Nürnberg was a perfect halfway step. After all, romantic old town, high city walls, world's biggest Weihnachtsmarkt, and booze aplenty. Should be right up my alley right?
Ha, nope. Right around the time I was planning on boarding my train I came down with a bout of food poisoning. I still don't know what that came from, but ever ridden a train for six hours with a high fever and a stomach determined to reenact a roller coaster ride experience? I hadn't, and I don't think the hapless train conductors were prepared for it either. Still, the hostel wasn't too far from the main train station, and when I arrived I lay down and braced myself for two days of absolutely mind bending fever dreams. Usually you have to pay for this kind of quality, I don't think I'll ever get to "feel" like a bunny rabbit hopping through a field of daffodils (seriously, don't ask) again. At least I hope
Astrological Clock
Four figures on the sides, signifying vanity, greed, death, and...something. Anyways, they all move when the hours roll around. not...
Nürnberg itself was a bit of a let-down once the bunnies, ghosts, and severe stomach cramps stopped appearing. Sure, there was a christmas market, but it was just a little too self aware, and my brother was busy most of the time. Eh, life happens. There's a little more to this story, and it's basically summed up by Murphy's law, but you have to buy me a round before I'll tell that one.
Anyways, I went home, it was great, and all too short. Regardless, that brings me up to what I was hoping to talk about, Prague. Essentially the nice version is that I decided visiting the supposed party city in central Europe was a good idea around New Year's. After all, this is the one night of the year when it doesn't count towards that year's drinking problem, instead it opens the next year's on a high note. Still, Praguers were seemingly aware of just how popular their city was, and while their currency uses much bigger numbers (really? Two thousand Crowns for three nights?), the prices translate into American ones a lot of the time. That got annoying fast. Additionally, while Prague
Silvester
It's a little hard to see, but just about everyone in this city is armed with fire. And they're not afraid to set them off anywhere. was at its core something that felt like an old world city, filled with romance, charm, derp derp etc, it was just a little too aware of this for my tastes. Mainly because I have an awful sense of direction it was possible to leave the tourist drags once in a while, the winding streets in the old town really are worth wandering, but only if you have four hours to get lost in them. Honestly the wandering turned out to be the most fun out of any of this. Finding a Hospitaller Church down a random side street is something that only happens if you follow your feet.
Still, for New Year's, the tourists were everywhere, and there really is an upside to that. Mainly it's just it means there are more people. Maybe it's because I shaved this time, but most of the people in my hostel treated me like someone worth hanging with, and not a potential Hannibal Lecter (must be the eyes), so I spent each night with a different crowd. Germans changed to Dutch then to Brazilians, it made for quite the time. There are some stories there, but I think I'm under oath not to tell two of them, so they're staying safely off the blog. Still, it's led me to make a couple more rules:
Great Expectations Actual New Year's was nice, but compared to the previous night (a pub crawl, three bars, and two night clubs), almost a let-down, and that's mostly because I thought drinking two one Liter bottles of champagne (one was a gift from the hostel) close to each other was a good idea. Yeah, let's not discuss January 1st's hangover... it left the experience a little bittersweet. I'd gone in expecting so much, and the nights before had been worthwhile, so I'd thought New Year's was going to top it all. Not unless I was willing to be persistent about it, and at least a little blessed with foresight. I'm not mad I made a bad call, nor would I avoid Prague for New Year's, I was just a little disappointed it wasn't all it could've been. Still, the night was reasonably good, and it gives me a resolution I have a chance to follow up on. Namely, treat champagne with care (ever felt like you're walking in slow motion? Champagne can do that).
Actually, that leads me nicely into the second half of this rule. It's easy to build up hopes and dreams in your head, but it's hard to actually work towards making them happen. That can be anything from having a great night out in a foreign country to building a giant death laser really. Frankly I don't want to think about drinking as "work", but it almost can be. If you want the experience to be good, a little planning before and after doesn't go amiss. Crazy right? I'm looking at a tour of five countries, and six cities in the next sixteen days, and I've got hostels booked for...four of them I think? It's the off season, and the whole thing is costing me less than the three nights in Prague did. Regardless, it means the next time I'm in a place with free wifi you'd better believe I'm going to do a bit of planning. Still, that also leads me to the next rule:
Cutting that corner may not be smart So in the name of saving money, I booked the cheapest train imaginable for last night, which would probably explain why I ended up stranded in Bumfuck Nowhere, Saxony at midnight. I think the locals call it Elsterweg, or Arschficken Nirgendwo, depending on who you ask. Trying to sleep inside anywhere warm isn't always the best plan. Still, thanks to the policeman who simply laughed when I said there was no hotel, it was nice of you to leave me be in the bank.
An "Hour of Power" is not a race Remember that pub crawl I mentioned? Here's the last rule, and it's tied to that. When they tell you your fee went mostly to an hour of unlimited shots, do not, I repeat, do not, make a beeline for the absinth.
Anyways, Prague really was worth the trip, warts and all. From there it's been a weird, and expensive, few days in transit. See you in Budapest!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.066s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 10; qc: 27; dbt: 0.0363s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb