Prague.

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I wish I could say we had a smooth arrival into Prague but I really can’t. The city was absolutely blanked in fog, I had no idea that we were even close to the ground until the lights on our plane reflected off the runway pavement. It was an incredibly eerie and uncomfortable feeling. The pilot landed the plane on automatic mode which means a computer rather than a human landed us. When our wheels touched, we just bounced right back up again and continued to bounce until we finally coasted to a stop. It was a rough landing to say the least, but we made it to Prague in one piece. We could see absolutely nothing around us so the overall glory of the ancient city of Prague was not revealed to us until the following day. We were traveling in a group of 12 which made everything more complicated as I acted as the travel agent and Mitch was the travel guide. We were bustling everyone in the right direction and it was just chaos. High maintenance, the last time I do a big group trip where I am in charge. Our trip to our apartment was quite difficult as some of the trams were closed but we finally got there an hour or so later. I had found the apartment on a rental site and I was kind of skeptical as to what it was going to be like. It was located in the Old City of Prague which is exactly what it sounds like: old. The buildings had been there forever and they were all the same: towering 6 or 7 stories and just rows upon rows of them. To my lovely surprise, our apartment was absolutely incredible and they ended up giving us 2 for the price of 1 so we could all fit comfortably in. It was perfect, God is good to us. The rooms were huge, bigger than my room at home and we all had comfy beds with big fluffy comforters and the kitchen was stocked with tea, coffee and a nice size refrigerator and new stove…it was awesome!!! We were all super happy with it and I felt that I had done good with the travel agent part of the trip. The best part of it was that it was only 50 pounds for 4 nights for each person which is the cheapest and yet the nicest accommodation anyone of us have had yet! A+ for me. I should have charged commission. It was a pretty low key night filled with sausages off the street and some skipping through the streets at night.
Friday morning we all woke up really late, all these days of traveling have really been taking a toll on us and the beds were so comfortable and the room was so quiet that sleeping in was pretty much inevitable. We had a relaxing breakfast in the comforts of our cozy little kitchen and headed out the door around noon to go explore the town center of Prague. One of the biggest attractions in Prague is the Charles Bridge and the clock tower. They are pretty famous for nothing other than the fact that they are beautiful. The walk to the town center gave us a real taste of the city. All the buildings are incredible as they seem to be preserved from the last 80 years, they have that antique feel. The majority of them are brown and dark with the double pane glass windows and the high chimneys. All the buildings are about 8 or 9 stories high and seem to just line all the cobblestone streets. Bridges are everywhere as it connects the Old Town to the New Town which is only possible by crossing over the river. The river is a deep blue and in certain parts the water is moving pretty fast. There are adorable little fishing boats or rowing boats making their way from one side to the other all day long. During the day, the sun reflects off the buildings creating just a mindblowing scene. The roofs are a rusty red and the domes on the towers are a mint green which make the whole city seem like one big painting. Everything just seems to match. The shops that line the streets are sell the infamous handmade string puppets, dolls, and ceramic eggs. We made our way to the clock tower first and climbed up the steep and long steps to the very top. We had incredible views of the city from here, and we looked down on the city decorated with its rusty roofs and green domes. People were everywhere in all the nooks and crannies of the streets and allies as the city seemed to be quite alive this afternoon. It was mostly tourists but there was the occasional local Praguian (sp?). We took a bunch of pictures up in the tower as there were 12 in our group so everyone was trying to snap a photo with a different person…poor Mitch was getting really tired of all this girly stuff so him and Evan (the only other guy there) did their own thing. We all had lunch down below the clock tower at this great Italian restaurant. We even topped off the yummy pizza with a scoop of gelato. We finished our lunch right before the top of the hour which means we get to go see the famous chiming of the clock. We were all expecting some nuts like fireworks and all this stuff to just go off but really nothing happened that was to thrilling and we were a little disappointed but still happy to have seen it. As usual, we started waking/wandering through the streets to just get a proper feel for the city and take pictures etc. IPrague was absolutely gorgeous around dusk when all the city lights flickered on and the castle’s flood lights turned on. The whole city was just lit up like a big birthday cake and the sight was equally as delicious. The Charles Bridge was quite the sight, although packed with tourists, as you could see the houses and buildings on the riverline and the gigantic castle perched up on the hill. The Charles Bridge was a pedestrian bridge that offered incredible views of the city and we spent a lot of time walking across slowly taking it all in. I had a great time snapping pictures of the beautiful statues that were perched up on the sides of the bridge. It was just awesome. It got pretty chilly at night and we all decided it was time to go home and get ready to go to the clubs at night. We cooked dinner at home in our cozy kitchen and got ready to go out. I am just going to leave this part blank and tell you it was a whole lot of fun and we got back around 5 in the morning. It was a blast.
On Saturday morning we woke up around noon because we had gotten home so late. Mitch, Evan, and I decided that we were going to break away from the pack of ten girls and go out on our own to do a little exploring. I could tell Mitch and Evan needed a break from all that girlness, as did I. We walked in an opposite direction than the previous morning and found ourselves lost in this huge gorgeous park where the trees were gold, red, and yellow. It was like walking on a huge blanket of rainbow colored leaves while these bony bare branches stuck this way and that above our heads. We hiked up this enormous hill past all the embassies to the top where we could look down on the whole city. It wasn’t a very sunny day and rain was lightly falling and the whole city was covered in this crazy mist and the bright rusty rooftops and green domes stuck out like a sore thumb. The city was just beautiful. We finally made our way through the park and back into the city where we could go to the castle. The castle was nothing to special, it looked better from afar than actually in it. It wasn’t really a proper castle I would say, it was more of an awesome fortress that just looked beautiful from afar. The cathedral inside of it was breathtaking though, but I have yet to see the ones in Italy so my standards aren’t too high yet. Mitch and I were sharing one umbrella so that made things quite interesting as he usually liked to hog it and I was left in the rain. He tried to persuade me, and still is to this day, to buy an umbrella but I couldn’t’ see why we couldn’t just share the umbrella. Anyway, it was a big ordeal but we eventually got over it and was left in the rain. Just kidding. It was around 6 when we had hit our limit of tourist explorations, and we met up with our friends at the Prince Hotel which was a rooftop restaurant in the heart to the city. It was great, a patio on the roof that overlooked the whole city and even had heat lamps. Most of the girls went crazy and ordered big extravagant meals but Mitch and I kept ourselves in check and split a meal as we were planning on splurging on the dessert. I know, typical. We had this amazing sundae for dessert, with cookies ice cream, whip cream good gosh it was so good. We were all too tired from the day’s activities and the yummy dinner to go out so we all went back and just enjoyed each other’s company and then hit the sack. Another successful day in Praha.
Sunday was our last full day in the gorgeous Praha and mitch and I wanted to go off on our own so I could practice my picture skills and he could woo me with his romantic words. Not. Reality is we had to get away in order to keep sane as we being cooped up with a bunch of girls for that long was really getting to Mitch and I. I mean Mitch even tried to put mascara on one night, not even kidding. Thank goodness we are going to Scotland soon and he can drink some whiskey and put some hair on that chest, remember how to be a burly man. Anyway, we snuck out on our own around 10 am on a quest to find the John Lennon wall. I am terrible at directions and I tried to tell Mitch where to go but he may as well of asked the local stray dog for directions because they probably would have been better than mine. After an hour or two of trying to find it, we finally did. It was pretty cool, just a bunch of graffiti about peace and no war and all that good stuff. I guess people are constantly writing on it so it changes like every week. I am no hippie or anything but I still thought it was pretty cool. Mitch wrote our names on the wall and we took a corny picture by it. It was a good afternoon so far, except for the whole getting lost thing. We topped off it with a big fat juicy sausage off the street and took a seat on the Charles Bridge to people watch and enjoy the afternoon. Let me tell you, I am no longer afraid of food poisoning or anything of that sort and at this point I almost think throwing up for days would be beneficial to my body as I have been eating everything in site for the last…oh…3 months? No but really, the sausage was worth the risk. While we were on the Charles Bridge, we came across this guy who had three or four rats crawling all over him and kissing his lips while his dog lay on the ground covered in rats too. It was super strange, a really odd method of begging but hey it got our attention. It was really interesting, the beggars in Praha seemed to be way smarter than the typical homeless person. Most of the men lay on the streets on their knees, hand folded and head bowed with their hats on the ground in a prayer like position. It was quite moving to see them humbled before you like that. I tried to take a picture of it, but I felt a bit like I was objectifying him so I didn’t take that good of a photo. Anyway, Mitch and I got all our tourist/knick-knack shopping done and then headed over towards the river to take some pictures of the castle at dusk. This is where it happened. The most upset I have ever been yet. So Mitch an I are taking pictures and I decide to mess with one of the settings on my camera…bad idea. I accidently erased EVERY SINGLE picture I had taken in the past 4 days. I couldn’t believe it. Tears welled up in my eyes and just silently dropped off my cheeks. Mitch didn’t even know what to say. He knew I was heart broken. As we walked back to our hotel, I contemplated throwing my camera into the river and then standing on the edge and screaming. I was so upset. It was terrible. Terrible!! I would rather have shut my finger in the door or bitten my tongue while eating the greatest ice cream sundae ever…just not my camera, not my pictures, not my tangible evidence of the greatest experiences of our lives. At this point my head had dropped on my chest, the camera dangled out of my hand, and my feet scuffed the whole way home. Mitch dared not say a word because he knew I was in a fragile state. I mean what do you say when your crazy wannabe National geographic photographer girlfriend accidently erases all 400 picture she had taken? All was lost……right? Wrong. Ladies and gentleman…I date Mitchell Folks for a reason. He is not only an incredible man with the finest pair of chicken legs around, but he is a legit tech geek as well. A talent that I sometimes admire and sometimes hate (especially when we are in Best Buy)…however, in this moment, it was priceless. The second we got home, after I locked myself in the room and was balling my eyes out, Mitch got on his computer and found a way to retrieve my pictures off my memory card. He basically executed a miracle. It was ridiculous! It was the best feeling to have gotten something back that you thought was forever lost. Mitch was my hero, my own little nerd and I totally loved him for it. Anyway, I uploaded all my pictures on my computer, gave Mitch a fat kiss, and had a big cup of tea. Mitch didn’t stop at that. He informed me that we were going to dinner at this beautiful, cozy, incredibly romantic little restaurant right on the river. I was overjoyed as my tears quickly dried and reality set in. I mean I am not very good at math or anything, but this equation sure seemed right in my mind: My pictures were saved + I was going to a romantic dinner = Mitch is the man of my dreams. Yep. Oh boy! The dinner was just perfect. We were the only two at the restaurant so we had the complete and total attention of the wait staff and they loved us. They gave us free wine and we had an unbelievably delicious dinner seated outside on the heated patio overlooking the quiet river and the magical city. It was a moment that will probably stay with us forever…it was a bit overwhelming and if I hadn’t spent all my tears earlier they probably would have made an appearance in that moment. It had been such a wonderful and blessed trip. Next on the itinerary: Scotland: land of the skirt wearing whisky drinking crazy Scotsmen. I can’t wait!!!

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