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Published: September 14th 2008
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ME at Prague!!
We're just wondering around Prague.... don't know names of buildings yet :) Greetings!!!
We just spend 2 full days in Prague! It was such an amazing city. Since it wasn't hit in the either of the World War's, most of its buildings are hundreds of years old. Very different from Berlin which was abliterated during World War 2. We took a bus Thursday night ta 11:55PM and got into Prague around 5AM on Friday Morning. Once we got there, we realized that the only thing that we planned for the trip was booking our hostel (didn't bring an address) and booked our bus. At 5AM, Prague looks a little scary - or at least the way we drove in looked scary. So we waited in a very sketchy looking bus station for an hour... until our beacon of hope opened - something that reminded us of America... MCDONALDS! First, we went to information at the bus station where the very well mannered Czech yelled "NO TOURIST INFORMATION!" so then we found a map and went to McDonalds. We were a group of 5 guys, and 8 girls, so we used our strength in numbers to find our way around. I have to tell you, that McDonalds was the best thing in the
Astronomical Clock
This is a very complicated bohemien clock... it gives the time, position of the moon, your sign, and etc. The clock draws people near and far world - it just tasted better here than in the U.S.... weird.
After McDonalds, we walked around and began to see the most beautiful buildings as we expereienced our first Czech sunrise. We wondered on a little bit more, until we saw a very expensive looking hotel with an American Flag... since we are lost and confused, we are naturally drawn to anything American we can find. So we go in and the very nice receiptionist lets us use a computer to find an address for our hostel. We figure out where our hostel is and slowly make our way over there, just to find out that check in for Old Prauge Hostel is at 2PM. We lock up our backpacks in a locker, and go exploring. It's now 7AM. We walk and find the astronomical clock, and we take pictures of the Charles Bridge. We were actually very lucky to be wandering around so early, because later on - we will be on Charles Bridge and it literally won't be moving because there are so many people on it.
After a while we are getting tired, want to sit down, some people have to go to the
House Artwork
Prague wasn't bombed in the world wars, so all of the buildings still stand... most of them are absolutely gorgeous and have all the original architecture and artwork. bathroom... and alas, another beacon of hope - Starbucks. I swear, we did try some Czech food and branch out, but when you are hungry and tired and a little bit scared - anything like home makes you feel so much better. (I don't even eat McDonalds at home or drink Starbucks... but there is one on every corner at home). We showed ourselves around, did a little shopping, and decided to go and check out the rose garden. We climbed to the highest point in prague. We started walking up this random hill... which turned into a bunch of other hills, stairs, and we ended up at this huge tower on the highest hill in Prague. The tower is a supposedly a smaller replica of the eiffle tower in Paris. We climbed up a ton of stairs for the most stunning view of Prague. I am terrified of heights but I am slowely but surely overcoming it. The view was absolutely breathtaking and worth every almost-panic-attack i had. Eventually, we wondered down and sat down at a Cafe with English Menus... I had a very interesting Chicken club - 4 pieces of white toast, 1 slice of cheese, 1
Delta Chi picture!
Vanessa, Brit, Katie, and I stop for a d-chi picture! slice of ham, and a couple little pieces of chicken in a ton of mayo. It tasted good though, and the czech beer was very good.
We were getting tired wo we went back to our hostel to take a nap. After our naps, we just went out to hang out with the guys - they had rented out an apartment for the weekend, so we went and hung out with them over there.
Saturday morning, we woke up early, checked out of our hostel, and went to meet a tour guide for a 6-7 hour tour. It was about $50 american dollars, (900 Krowns) for this tour but it included a tour of all the different areas of Prague, a tram ride, the castle, a cruise, a lunch... so we decided it was worth it, and it really was. We were able to see so many things! King Charles the 4th is responsible for a lot of the big buildings and monuments in Prague. The Churches and Cathedrals are amazing. The architecture of every building is different, yet they are all connected. (See pictures) The only bad thing was that we were freezing! Friday was so warm,
St. Chales Bridge
View from St. Charle Bridge with me!! we were all sweating especially when we climbed the tour so the second day we all had on skirts and flip flops.. and we were frozen!!! That'll teach us to watch the weather!
After our tour, we did a little shopping. Czech is famour for its bohemien glass, crystal, and garnett. Well... chances are that if I bought anything glass, it would break in my travels, and crystal is just too expensive, but everyone I was with decided to buy something that was garnett, to remember the trip. Most of the girls bought rings, but Blair and I decided to get very simple earings. THey are really pretty and they will always remind me of this amazing trip.
After that very long day, Katie, Jamie and I went to our new favorite bagel place in Prague (Bohemien Bagel) to get some dinner. It's relatively expensive, very good, and we got to talk to Americans that have moved to Prague. We talked to two guys, one from Ohio and from Cedar Rapids IA. The guy from Cedar Rapids moved to Prague with his girlfriend to start party tours, like pub crawls and parties for tourists. Katie, Jamie, and I
St. Charles Bridge 2
View from St. Charles bridge without me were suppose to go to Poland this weekend, but the tickets were too expensive, so we jumped on the Prague bus with our friends. The three of us had decided to come back to Berlin Saturday night so we wouldn't have to pay for a hostel Saturday night and we could just worry about sleeping and school work on Sunday.
The trip back to Berlin except for this kind of interesting tidbit: I was assigned a particular seat, #36, so I went on the bus and there was someone sitting in it. So i went back to the ticket guy and said someone was sitting there, so he gave me a new seat. Katie was sitting right behind this girl that sat in my seat, and I guess the ticket guy came on and asked to see her ticket, and she didnt have one. So then he asked to see her passport and she refused to give it to him. SO when we crossed into Germany, German Border Police came onto our bus and checked everyone's passports. The girl showed them her passport, so then the ticket guy came back and said "now can i see your passport?" so
we are guessing that the ticket guy called the german police. I think he made the girl pay around 1200 krowns... roughly 50 euro, and then dropped her off at the first stop after we got into Germany. Considering the fact that my round trip ticket was 52 euro. She was fighting him the whole time saying "I didn't pay for my other ticket either" - which i'm sure only pissed the ticket guy off bc she said she'd done it before. So we have learned, to not try and mess with the ticket guy. I lucked out, because noone sat next to me and I was able to stretch out.
All together, a wonderful trip!!! If you ever get the chance, GO TO PRAGUE!!!
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