Prague!

So the Monday after Easter, at about 6 pm, Eric and I departed for Prague. Our flight was delayed about an hour and a half, but this didn't matter since we weren't meeting up with anyone. It took us a very long time to find our hostel, but we soon discovered it was more like a hotel and a great deal for the money. We even had TV, with CNN International! I was a news junkie for our whole visit, I hadn't watched CNN in weeks.

We came to Prague with no agenda to speak of--we were eventually meeting with some friends who are studying there and figured they could direct us. This became tricky as my phone was dead--when I turned it off for the flight, I left the code to turn it back on in my Brussels bedroom. Someone, I managed to survive 12 days without my phone, clock, or alarm. Amazing.

The first night there was figuring out a bit of a game plan and enjoying the cheap Prague prices at a small pizzeria, where they were watching the NCAA tournament--this made Eric pretty happy. The Czech crown (they don't us the Euro yet, even though they're in the EU) is about 25 to 1 Euro (or 15 to a USD), and the prices were good there; Prague was the first place I've been to with a favorable exchange rate in a while.

Tuesday, after a delicious free breakfast at the hotel, we set out exploring—we thought we could pack a whole lot of stuff into one day, but one stop led to another and so our day was spent just meandering around the main tourist area—we saw the Jewish Quarter and the “new town” (not new by any measure!) and Wenceslaus Square, which was a major site in Prague history, including the Communist takeover and the Velvet Revolution. We also went to two separate street fairs in between the sudden snow storms that would blast us. That night was spent holed up in the hostel checking out Prague beer, watching CNN, and definitely not touching the minibar.

The next day we set off to the castle! The castle isn’t just one building, it’s the entire early settlement of Prague; “castle” refers to everything within its walls. This includes a cathedral, several small churches, restaurants, the former royal residence, a post office, and a few museums, plus gift shops galore. We literally spent all day there, except for a brief foray into the city center to go to KFC. Who’d have thought Prague had KFC!? It’s another touch of home that I need every now and then to keep me sane. The night, we picked up our luggage and made our way to our friend Denise’s apartment—she’s studying there for the semester, along with Becky, who was there for dinner. It was really great to see these two, especially since I usually see them every weekend up at the townhouses at Fairfield. They’re really fun, and it was so nice to see familiar faces! We ate dinner there, and then went to see a friend of a friend of a friend’s band. I feel like, years from now, I will remember Prague by the really cheap beers and the angry Czech language rock bands we saw! We got word that a bunch of other Fairfielders, specifically the nursing majors in Galway, were in town—we met them at this incredible wine cellar. It looks tiny, but it goes on for 12 rooms underground. A lot of these girls I didn’t know, but a few of them were friends from back at school, and the whole scenario was hilarious. One of the guys we knew was trying to buy pot from a guy who had fallen asleep during the deal. Ridiculous.

Thursday was our last day in Prague, to be followed with a really early flight Friday morning. Eric and I went to Prague’s giant park, which was a long uphill walk rewarded with an amazing view. They have a smaller model of the Eiffel Tower there, and once we climbed it, we got the best view in the whole city. I feel like this couldn’t have been our whole day, but I was pretty sick, so maybe we just took it easy. I know that we went out to dinner with Becky and Denise for traditional Czech food—thanks to not understanding the menu, I ordered chicken with ham, cheese, and a peach. And it was delicious! We were then going to go to another Fairfielder’s house for a few drinks, take it easy—truth be told, the whole party got pretty big. After a few drinks there, we went back to the wine cellar since it was someone’s birthday. Then they were going out dancing, so we went to. In the end, we got home around 1 am, maybe later, and I slept till 4. Eric had to stay awake, because my phone was dead, his is temperamental, so we had no alarm. We hoped on a tram, then off, then back on, then to a bus, and finally to the airport—we left Prague at 6:30 am, which is terrifyingly early. We arrived in Rome at around 8:30 that morning to my cousin Joseph waiting for us, which is where I’ll leave you till next post!