Ahhh Prague

We had a three day weekend due to Labor Day on Monday. We decided we were not ready for a big trip that would really be worth our three day miracle, so instead we decided on Prague. There was talk of Rome and Amsterdam, but in the end Prague won out. I was very excited by this choice since it was the number one destination on my list of places to see this time around. It's technically about 5 hours away, so we could have plenty of time to see what we wanted and come back late Sunday night. Which leaves everyone Monday to catch up on SLEEP!!!!

We left at the BUTT CRACK of dawn Saturday morning at 5:30am to catch our train. In order to save about 80 Euro we decided to take the roundabout route rather than the 5 hour bus. I think we were traveling for about 8 hours each way. But we only spent around 20 Euro a piece for the roundtrip! But what should happen at 5:30am when I get to the train station??? I left my backpack in the trunk of the cab!!! Oh no!! So I immediately call the cab company and ask what can be done. They say to call back tomorrow at 10pm because the night shift is just getting off so my driver will be on his way home. Since I didn't get the driver's number they won't make a call for me. So I let it go because darn it I'm headed out of town for the weekend. I don't have the time to go back and get new clothes so I decide to just live with it. I can spend two days in the same clothes...and I did! (I've got the picture to prove it!)

Prague!! The train travel was a little long, we arrived in Prague around 3:00 on Saturday afternoon. We were all tired and hungry from a LONG morning/days worth of travel. So all we really wanted to do was find our hostel and drop our gear. Easier said than done. Due to a LONG and boring explanation we arrived in Prague with no set reservations. There was a chain of two hostels that we were going to stay at one or the other. By the time we found the first one, around 4:00, there were not enough beds for our group of 8 girls! So they called over to the other location to see, and LUCKY for us they had room for us. However we took the long way there...due to some sketchy map reading and some poor communication skills. We arrived at the Old Prague Hostel just in time to drop our gear and get some grub! We were hungry. On our way back to the "Old Town" we stopped at the Dubliner, an Irish Pub like restaurant just off the beaten path. Have I mentioned that all of the "Old Town" is cobblestone streets and sidewalks? Well they are, and my feet have the blisters to prove it! It's a miracle nobody tripped and sprained an ankle.






After we got some food in our bellies and a few less bags to carry around we were ready to see Prague! We stopped at a marionette/souvenir shop, and walked back to the "Old Town Square." I'm not exactly sure that's the name, but it's where everything touristy was centered. It's been a while since I've seen tourists in crowds like that! Everyone all milling about, and on all the little roads there were people looking lost and pulling out maps! The Old Town in Prague has all cobble stone roads and sidewalks and all the roads are twisting and turning into one another. It's like a maze, which is not helpful when you don't have ANY sense of direction! We walked around took some pictures and then decided we wanted to head towards the river. We ended up walking down a pretty main street that had lots of people going to shady looking bars and clubs. But the street was full of people and it was fun to watch them all. At the end we came up to this huge building, and since none of use even remotely know Czech we had no idea what it was. From what I have figured out from looking at our free map from the hostel I THINK it was the National Theatre, but I could be wrong.

After that we turned around and THANK GOD decided against going into any of the shady looking clubs along that street. So we headed back to the square because it's the landmark that we could find other things from. It was really funny, before at the square I heard so many different languages I couldn't tell them apart, but when we made it back I heard a LOT of English. Back at the Astronomical Clock there were a bunch of different tours and such headed out. Most of the group decided to take one of these lovely "tours." However, I'm not much of a "tour" type of girl and I was TIRED. So I went back to the hostel with our new member Megan. She got in a week later than everyone else and we seem to be on the same page for a lot of things. We only got slightly lost on the way back, and sat and talked for a while until the rest of the girls came home. I, of course, slept in my clothes...never leave your bag in a cab!!

We had to be out of the hostel by 10am the next morning so we decided to get up by at least 8:30am because breakfast was free. We all seemed to be up by 8am, with the exception of one anyway. This was a really nice hostel. The bathrooms and showers were clean and well organized. The beds were acceptable and the linens were clean. There was free internet and wi-fi, breakfast, linens, and towels. The breakfast was funny. Everyone gets a sandwich and can go to the common room for cereal, coffee, juice, tea, or milk. The sandwich was a good base to the morning since I wasn't really into the cereal choices though. This post is way too long so I'll have to finish Day 2 in another!