Prague

Prague was my last stop on my trip, and it was a really nice wrap-up. At this point I was pretty tired of meeting people and making small talk about this and that. Where are you from? How long are you traveling? Where have you been?

Well luckily, by this point, I knew people! So didn’t meet too many new people in Prague. The first night I went for drinks with the girl I had met in Budapest and spent a day with in Vienna. We went to a couple of cool bars, and met up with three Americans that she had met in Prague a few days earlier. One of the pubs we went to was really cool (and since then I’ve discovered that a lot of bars/restaurants in Prague are like this) but it’s in the basement, and has exposed brick and archways and things, so you really feel as though you are in cellar or something. That pub had like 5 or 6 different rooms, so, as one of the American’s said when the music got boring, “How about we go back to the first room and just pretend it’s a different bar.”

We did end up going to a different bar though, “Hemingway’s,” I believe, and as you might expect it was a cocktail bar that played smooth Jazz. It was a pretty cool atmosphere, and definitely a place that you would find yourself drinking a martini with a few soon-to-be lawyers and an English major. I did feel left out never having read Hemingway though, might need to brush up on my classics.

Prague Castle, view from Charles Bridge

The next day I went to see the Prague Castle with Lany and one of her lawyer American friends. We were all a bit disappointed by the Castle. It is really more of a fortified district, rather than a castle. It is just a bunch of different buildings, with the palace being the largest, but not extremely big by any means. The gothic church was big though, and we were able to go inside which was fun. We looked for the royal gardens, but didn’t find them, we just found the old and new Orangerie, which are greenhouses pretty much, so that was kind of cool. Then we found some flowers as we were leaving, and felt much more satisfied with our garden search.

For lunch we went to a veggie restaurant, which was SO COOL! I don’t remember the name, it meant “clear head” in some language, but it was tucked away hidden (known about thanks to Lany’s backpacker tourist map) It had the cool atmosphere of being underground, even though the walls were plastered and painted. Each room had a bit of a different atmosphere. Our room had lit tables, and a starry ceiling, and pretty much each piece of furniture in the place was made by an artist or something, you could read about in the menu.

I had a spinach Quesadilla (which we discussed wasn’t really a Quesadilla, or a Burrito, but somewhere in between) and lentil soup, which was really good because it had coconut milk in it. One of the best meals I’ve had on the trip for sure, oh and to drink: homemade lemonade. Mmmm

We had some more reasonably priced cocktails in the old town square, which was a perfect way to end the afternoon before saying goodbye to Lany and the American “Lawyer”.

"Clear Head" Restaurant

Old town Square

That night I met up with another traveller that I had met in Vienna. First we went to a cool place called Black Angels Bar, where the bartenders wore vests and watching them mix drinks was super fun.  I had a drink called Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which tasted really nice, and made me happy because of the name (my favourite movie after all). Then we enjoyed some Pilsner for about a dollar, which is what the Czech is known for after all, where we ran quite randomly into a Brit who my friend had met earlier in the day and hung out with him for a while. It’s interesting how a big city can end up being small. The Brit was an interesting character, someone with an endless supply of stories anyways.

The next day, I decided to wander through the New town, Prague being oh so original naming its districts. It was nice to get away from the picturesque old buildings and feel like I was in a real city again, and I even indulged in some window shopping in an huge American style mall. After that I walked back to the old town and along the river across from the castle, which is so pretty! Prague has a lot of green space on the castle side of the river, so it was really nice to see.

My last day in Prague, I decided to do the free walking tour. After a tip from Lany, I did the Sandeman’s one (she had been on the other). Once again I got a local guide (I was three for three!) and it was a superb tour. I think the Jewish district was the highlight for me, especially the Jewish Cemetery. The tour was quite long, a bit more than 3 hours, but it was very interesting and definitely worth it. I think that I liked going on tours on the last day, or at least after being in a city for a while, because I think you actually get more out of it, because you have probably already been around the area and recognize more. The only downside this time was that I learnt about an exhibition at the Jewish Museum, and since it was a Saturday and closed, I couldn’t see it.

So many Segways Everywhere

After the tour, I enjoyed some ice cream in the main square (cookies in my new favourite type). And waited for the hour to see the astronomical clock in action – now knowing its history and meaning from the tour. Apparently the clock is the 2^nd more disappointing tourist attraction, only beat by the Mona Lisa. Then I headed to the John Lennon wall, which is situated near “Amsterdam” (or what was Amsterdam in Eurotrip) I was pretty disappointed in the wall actually, because it proved hard to actually find lyrics, and because a lot of it was covered with people’s names things, which isn’t really the point of it…..

"Weddings are everywhere, all the time, they are like locks on bridges, people see one and think it's a good idea and romantic and they do it too" - Filip, tour guide

Clock!

John Lennon wall

Then I hiked back to my hostel to pick up my bags and head to the airport. I was staying at the Courtyard Marriott at the Airport for the night, my flight being at 9 am, and the airport being almost an hour from the city. My mother/father treated me to the hotel. But I think they secretly were doing it to make sure I would not miss my flight – as that does happen with early Flight :p – which would cost much more than the 67 dollars for the room.

River, From Charles Bridge

Some Czech Pastry