The sausage party finally ends!!!

---

Geo: 50.0878, 14.4205

Monday is a bad day for sightseeing in Prague. You can day trip to Kutna Hora or Karlstejn but many of the sights are closed. The castle in Troja (Prague suburb) as well. Too bad because Troja is supposed to be a hidden and relatively untouristed part of Prague.

I went to the big market in Prague. Good stuff! They all sold the same junk but it's not that touristy. Just a little. Had some authentic Vietnamese food ... noodle soup with chicken. Pretty average stuff but it was a welcome change.

The produce on sale at the market was crap but kind of cheap. Seems like every Asian in Prague works at a stall here! 98% of the vendors here appeared to be southeast Asians.

Had a cake - almond w/ cream cheese filling. Dry and old, not good at all. I walked down to the river ... not that well maintained but still nice as it was quiet. Saw another Frank Gehry-designed building. The "Dancing House" was definitely not as ground-breaking as his other work (like the EMP in Seattle).

Got some welcome new bunkmates - Naoual and Caroline from Paris. Naoual ... tiny, cute, and sweeter than a Parisian pastry! After weeks and weeks of sausage parties some women were finally invited!

We all chatted for a while .. another new bunkmate arrived (Trevor, Utah). Jonathan (NYC) returned as well ... we all went for a drink. We walked around Prague looking for a place ... winded up back at the main square because the girls were meeting 2 boys (as they called them) from France near there (they met them when they first arrived at the Prague airport).

Settled on a witch-themed restaurant. The girls left to find the guys ... it didn't seem like they wanted to but they didn't want to be rude, I guess.

Had roasted duck (not really roasted, more stewed) and bread dumplings. And of course, the ubiquitous cabbage. Not bad - a decent value. Had it with Pilsner Urquell. The 2 "boys" showed up. I am usually the oldest guy with the hostel crowd, but not after these guys showed up! I feel young again!!!

They didn't really speak English and probably felt left out. And I don't think they expected 3 other guys to be there when they showed up ... they made some excuse about wanting to smoke (but not while we were eating) so they went upstairs for their drinks and dinner. Oh well!

After, we walked around looking for a club (girls wanted to dance so who was I to refuse?). Pretty lame - bad music and venue. Prague is not known for clubbing. I think Naoual had a little interest in me ... until she saw my lame "white man" dance moves. Jonathan was just as bad so that was good for me. Off to bed ...

---

Photos

c
Vietnamese noodles ... not that good, but I needed some asian food badly.

d
I still can´t get over how cheap alcohol is in Europe (some places).

e
Shot of the produce market.

f
Check out the witch doll - for those that know the story of the ice cream lady in Nerja, Spain .... she looked a lot like this doll, but a hundred times creepier.

g
The clothing market.

h
Statue of a cow and a McDonald´s in the background. Sadly, the statue probably has more real beef than a McDonald´s burger.

i
Some Communist-looking statue.

j
Very unique spire on this church.

k
The Dancing House, by Frank Gehry.

l
Not sure why, but the girls in this room always left their shoes outside. I guess they really do run this place like a jail!

m
Splurge item - shower sandals. Tired of using my walking sandals and having wet feet every morning. Didn´t pay attention when I bought them, though - 2 different styles and sizes.

n
Another splurge item - undies! Doing laundry only once per week .... score!

n1
From left to right - Trevor, Naoual, Caroline, Jonathan. This picture didn´t really turn out - the next one is better.

n2
n2

n3
Picture taken over some drinks. The drink in the middle is Absinthe - doesn't seem to live up to the hype. Of course, none of us had an entire glass, just a taste. Kind of gross actually.

o
Charles Bridge at night.

p
Kafka statue - kind of bizarre if you ask me.