Prague: The Adventure Begins – 30 December 2006

This flying in the middle of the night has both advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage of course is that you’re shattered when you arrive – airline seats are not renowned for their high degree of comfort. But the advantage is that you basically get a day at your destination for free - I landed in Prague – Czech Republic at 6:20am so had the whole day ahead of me.

I grabbed my bag, found the bus stop, bought a random public transport ticket hoping it was the right one and headed into the city. The public transport in Prague is easy peasy. I got to the city no worries at all, but the next part of my directions said walk 150 metres through Melantrichova Street towards Staromestske Namesti. Unfortunately I had no idea what Staromestske Namesti was so I decided to just walk 150m in each direction until I found the hostel.

By the time I’d gotten to the city and walked around a bit (in the freezing friggin cold), bought some cheap gloves from the first open shop I found and finally found the hostel it was about 9am. I went up to reception only to discover that the dorm I was staying in had 12 BEDS!!!!!! I went to go and dump my stuff and when I opened the bedroom door a few sleepy heads looked up and I couldn’t tell which beds were empty. I decided to just leave my stuff at reception and set up my bed later.

I walked out of the hostel mildly freaked by the idea that I’d be in a mixed 12 bed dorm… I sms’d Ange having a little panic attack. She of course texted back that I’d be fine and that this just meant I’d have more people to party with on New Years Eve.

To get an idea of what was around I went and joined a walking tour. The tour took a couple of hours. I’m sure it would have been more enjoyable had it not been so friggin cold! We walked around the major sections of the city and the guide told us what we were seeing. We started in Wenceslas Square which is out front of the museum then walked through Old Town to the Astronomical clock. In 1621 there was a bloody execution and outside this building they’ve set stones into the ground as a memorial. Then we walked through the Jewish Quarter and along to Charles Bridge.

By this time it was about lunch time so I wandered back to the hostel (buying a thinsulate beanie on the way). When I got there the room was empty except for an American girl. She gave me the run down on who was in the room so far (7 Norwegian boys, a German girl and a French boy). I was still a little freaked about the idea of 12 beds and we were discussing the fact that the website for Hostel Aldivia doesn’t actually show the dorm room in its photos (there’s a trap for young players – if it doesn’t show it maybe think the worst!).

Elsa (American girl) said she was going to walk up to the palace. I said if she didn’t mind some company I’d tag along. She was keen on this idea so we set off up to the castle. The Prague Castel has St Vitus Cathedral inside it. The palace itself it fairly plane – looks kind of like a hotel, but the cathedral is amazing and the view from up on the hill is pretty spectacular. The Cathedral has the most amazing gargoyles. Each one is slightly different, all slightly menacing. The windows of course are all stained glass - I imagine that before the palace was constructed around it, the sunlight streaming in those windows would have been a sight to behold – just stunning.

After wondering round the Palace and Cathedral we walked back down the hill to Old Town. By this time we were getting pretty hungry so about 4pm we stopped at a little pub and had some food and some beers. It’s funny to think how much I hated beer just a few short months ago and now I can drink it without too much worries. It certainly makes life easier - much easier when everyone orders beers when you’re splitting the bill!

We wandered round a bit more then went back to the hostel for a little lie down and a read. About 7pm we decided to head out again and wandered round looking for a pub. Most of the places were full of people eating and so there were no tables. Finally we stumbled upon a little place called the Red Hot Blues Bar. We sat there listening to some really good blues, drinking enormous beers and eating chips, guacamole and salsa til after midnight. It was a really good night. We got home not much after midnight. No one else was in yet, I didn’t hear the German girl or French guy come home, but the Norwegians came in loudly about 3am. They were really funny, they were trying so hard to be quiet but they were too drunk. They knew they’d woken us up coz we were laughing at them, then they said just tell us to shut up if you want to go to sleep. They were talking half English half Norwegian and were taking the piss out of each other. Very entertaining.