Progressive Prague

Not having my laptop accessible to the Internet and my pictures has set me back 2 whole weeks! I will have to contrive a plan about the 3 1/2 weeks of solid travel. Because I have not updated you in full detail about Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Switzerland, each city has its own blog. This is only the first of the four; so keep reading! For now, let me take you back 14 days and walk you through what has happened.

--This picture is inside the Prague Castle wall overlooking the city of Prague.

Our first stop - Prague, Czech Republic. This means a 14 hour train ride. Travelling to Prague there was 8 people, and we decided to experience the night train. The night train sounds like such a great idea - go to sleep in one country, wake up in a different country. This is not so. If you think sleeping on a plane is rough, a couchette (pronounced CU-Shea) is a nightmare.

A couchette contains 6 fold out beds from the wall, three on one side and three on the other. The size of this "room" is 6 feet long, 7 feet wide, and 8 feet tall. In this prison cell all 8 of us ended up sleeping together instead of just 6. Why you ask? Because the other couchette where two were supposed to sleep was less than ideal. In a room made for 6 short people, we managed to fit 8 college students. In the picture the eighth person is taking the picture. Here is all of us still happy that we can all fit, little did we know those smiles would not remain for long...

After being trapped in the stuffy prison couchette for 11 hrs we all escaped for fresh air the minute the train reached our station. Instead of strolling out of the station and heading to our hostel, we needed to wait for Kathy to reach the station on a different train. An hour and a half later, we become the group of nine and head sluggishly to the hostel.

Thankfully Hostel Elf only took 15 minutes to find! Definitely a record when it comes to hostel searching. Oh Hostel Elf. If you are ever in Prague and need a good place to stay, look into Hostel Elf. The staff provides hot tea and coffee all day long, which is a great remedy to very little sleep and a lot to explore.

Once we czeched (get it...we were in the Czech Republic) in, it was time for lunch, so we headed to a little restaurant about 15 minutes from the hostel called Sklep. The picture on the left is the view I had from my seat in the restaurant. I decided to try authentic food and ate schnitzel and potatoes. All of those who know me well will vouch that I am a picky eater. Let me give you all a run for your money when I tell you I am branching out. :)

With energy to burn we went in search of Prague Castle. Walking up to the castle was too picturesque to briskly pass; so we took a little longer actually getting in. Turns out the inside of the castle was closed that day. Instead we walked church inside the castle gates and browsed through the museum hoping to learn some Bohemian culture.

Being in the city of Prague, all of us agreed we would like to see a Mozart concert if possible. As we are waiting on the bus we read the flyers that decorated the walls of the city. Finding one that appears to be decent, our group set off to find the theatre. After a few wrong turns we find the correct theatre and buy tickets for the Mozart & Strauss concert for the following night.

By this time my stomach begins to realize it's hungry along with everyone else's. Again we had seen an advertisement on a flyer about how it was Fat Tuesday and how Cajun food would be served at the restaurant Red Hot & Blues. Yes, this restaurant is in the States. But we were all craving good spicy food with it being the official mark of 1 month abroad. At Red Hot & Blues I ate at least 4 jalapenos along with my meal and was perfectly content. Nothing remotely spicy exists on this side of the pond. Also the restaurant had live music. That's right, live country music in the middle of Prague - shocking. Content bellies, we were back to Hostel Elf for a good night's sleep.

The next day we ate breakfast at the hostel and of course some hot tea. :) Caught the metro to the Old Town Square. There we met up with the Free Prague Walking Tour. This tour group is similar to the NewEurope ones I have been on in other major cities. But this one lacked a lot of the structure NewEurope has. I still learned some facts about Prague that I would have not known otherwise, so it was still worth my time.

On the tour we saw the St. James Cathedral. The story tied to this particular church goes like this: A man was trying to steal from the cathedral when the statue of Mary supposedly grabbed the man's hand. The statue would not release the man's hand. Eventually someone came and cut off the thief's hand the statue of Mary immediately released the now severed hand. The hand now hangs at the right inside entrance of the church as a reminder to not steal.

Next stop was one of the many Jewish Synagogues that has been renovated since the communist fall in Prague 1989. One of the interesting stories the tour guide shared with the group is her recollections of living in communist oppression. She told us twice a year bananas were allowed to be sold, but only in very small portions to each family. Her parents would give all of their kids money and tell them not to talk to one another until they were back safely at home.

We then went to the infamous Astronomical Clock. As we patiently waited with the other tourists to see the clock chime, we were all a little disappointed with the "on the hour show". :) Nonetheless we enjoyed the beauty and intricate work of the clock.

Immediately after the tour was over the 9 of us headed to Modra Zahrada for pizza that someone who had been before recommended. And I am so glad they did! I devoured the best pesto pasta I have tasted so far.

We had the rest of the afternoon to see any sites we had not spent enough time at. Being in Prague, it is a must to take a leisurely stroll down St. Charles' Bridge.

And that is exactly what we did. Artists were sketching scenery and anything else in site while we were pleasantly walking along. Please take note once again of how gorgeous the sky and the scene looks. God blesses each day in a new city with ideal weather conditions for pictures and enjoyment!
About an hour or so later we decided to just explore Prague. Somehow we stumbled upon yet again an English bookstore. We had to pry each other away in order to make it to the Mozart & Strauss concert that night which was across town.

But before we could make it to the concert, Kathy insisted we see the John Lennon Wall. I was puzzled by how there was a John Lennon wall in Prague. I don't think John Lennon ever visited Prague. Turns out there is a wall with graffiti all over it with Beatles lyrics. This wall is the only part of the city where graffiti is allowed. But not just any street art. This wall stood during communist rule. At night Prague citizens would sneak out and write along this wall Beatles music about love and freedom. The communists tried to oppress this act because it went against everything they stood for. But the communists could not hold down the citizens wants and desires. The John Lennon Wall stands today as a reminder of the past.

We made it to the concert just in time. But we were shocked to find out that our group of 9 was 1/4 of the entire audience! Before the show began we were all laughing hysterically about how the rest of the night was about to play out. The concert was not anywhere close to what I had imagined, but it was still neat to hear Mozart and Strauss pieces from people who dressed in that time frame's fashion. I can now check classical concert off of my list of things to do in my lifetime. ;)

After the concert, we headed back for one more night at Hostel Elf before continuing our journey early the next morning. Please keep reading to hear all about Vienna, Austria!