Prague
Trip Start
Jan 06, 2009
1
21
37
Trip End
Jun 01, 2009
Where I stayed
Prague, Hlavní Mesto Praha, Czech Republic
Saturday, April 4, 2009
- Day 1
- Came in on a bus at 5 AM
- Slept in the bus station until the Change station opened
- Realized that most places don't take Scottish pounds…
- I don't know if y'all realize this, but since devolution, Scotland has issued its own currency. It is still British pounds sterling but it has different designs on it, as opposed to the standard Queen of England fiver, etc, as found in the rest of the United Kingdom. Also, each bank has its different designs as well, so the Royal Bank of Scotland is different from HSBC, etc. Between you, and me, I like the Scottish money better. It is more colorful and really demonstrates Scottish patrotism with such Scottish landmarks as the Forth Bridge that cross the Firth of Forth outside Edinburgh, as well as literary icons "Rabbie" Burns and Sir Walter Scott, and of course Brigadoon :) Emily and I did not have a problem with this fact until we got to Prague, and lets just say this is strike one of many strikes against the city. Honestly, its pounds sterling! Who cares if the Queen of England is on it or not! Whatever...I'm not still bitter...(coug: cough)
- Stayed
at the Boathouse Hostel; met Katie and Laura--two sweethearts who
attend St. Thomas and both are studying in Rome and are Catholic
Studies majors - Took a nap
- Wandered around Prague
- Met up with Katie and Laura for dinner and after-dinner drinks
- Day 2
- Obama!!!!!
- How ironic is it that I see my president in a foreign country before I actually see him in the States?
- Yay for taking steps to nuclear disarmament! Oh how I love Obama…Oh and btw, I am totally jealous...he and Michelle got to stay in the castle...which is why it was closed while we were there...
- We
got up at 5:30 in the freaking morning…it was cool though because we
walked across the Charles Bridge early in the morning to get there and
it practically empty and there was the light haze of early morning fog
laying over it. Absolutely gorgeous. One of the few times that we got a glimpse of the real beauty of Prague without all the tourists around... - Wandered around some more
- Seriously…all
there is to do in Prague is wander around and look at pretty
buildings…and get annoyed by the massive amount of tourists and lack of
decent food (all they eat is meat and potatoes...it is peasant food...good cheap food that is supposed to be filling...but is still considered a Czech delicacy...but any type of foreign food is beyond bad...and this is the capital of the Czech Republic...I don't understand...) - Went out to swing bar which was a lot of fun
- Day 3
- Paul's Free Tour
- Good last overview of the city
- Missed my train…and the cab to the hotel…and then got turned about walking around
- Thoughts on Prague in general
- The
Boathouse Hostel was about 20 minutes outside the city centre…which was
comparatively far away but really….we were on the U/S Bahn for about an
hour to get to places in Berlin…so….overall not that bad…but
anyways…back to my point…this was not party of the idyllic pretty
picture of Prague that is sold in all the tourist promotional
materials. Prague is the Disneyland of Europe. The people just seem so
depressed and unhappy. They were surly to the tourists…they had no
concept of how to dress…okay that makes me sounds superficial…but how
one presents oneself to the world is indicative of how one feels about
oneself. If you don't take pride and care in one's appearance then one
is not taking pride and care of oneself. I really watch "What Not to
Wear" too much but anyway... Also, once one got out of the historic
city centre then the ugliness shown through in the graffiti on the tram
stops and the broken out windows of the covers. And this was not
expressive graffitti yearning for hope for the future as it was in
Berlin. This was angry, I'm not happy with where I am please get me out
but I don't know how graffiti. But this is only my interpretation…most
people love Prague and consider it to be the highlight of their
European trip. I just left with such a disconnect between the people
and the image. They are just trying to survive and eke out a living but
I think that they are miserable in the process…Or perhaps I'm just too
cynical to appreciate fairy tales anymore (because usually everyone
thinks that they are in a fairytale…) - The epic travel debacle
- Oh right...I missed my train to Venice...because I thought the station lady said 5:40...she said 5:14...lets just say I was not in a happy place. I ended up skipping Venice sadly and going on to Rome, but it all worked out for the best.
