Prague

Wow, Prague is definately one of my favorite cities in the world now. I have fallen under its spell. This weekend I revelled in the town for three days with my new friends and had only a small taste of what it has to offer.

Friday was a day off of school for me because I left Trutnov at 11:00 in the morning. It was a 2.5 hour drive by bus, but I used the time to listen to music and sleep. I love traveling alone here, it is so hastle free. I arrived on the outskirts of town and hopped on the metro to the main bus station. There I met some of the students and former students who lived in Prague or near-by towns. We walked to the hostel, which was really close, where the rest of the group was already checking in. After a short time to unpack and settle in, we all went to a local pub for dinner. We were typical tourists, loud and hungry. Next was a hockey game between one of the Prague teams (Praha Sparta) and another team from another town. The Canadians of the group were the craziest, dressed in Canada shirts and hats, and wrapped in Canadian flags. Being a southerner, I felt really lost in the game. Soccer is more my style, to watch and play. Sparta won, and there were tons of loud and excited fans around us as we walked back to the hostel. I stayed up until 2:00 talking to people, then crashed.

Saturday was supposed to be an 8:00 start, so I was up at 7:00, like most people. Unfortunately one of the organizers was late, and the departure time was changed to 'later'. There was a scavenger hunt planned for the morning, so we split into groups to explore Old Town. We left the hotel at 10:15, armed with questions to answer and a sack lunch. The Rotex (former exchange students) walked with us, but wouldn't help. At first my group would ask people on the street, but we didn't get very far. Soon we found ourselves in the main square. The people at the town hall were very helpful, especially since we tried to speak Czech instead of English, like most tourists. With a map and names of destinations, we found a famous beer hall, a church with an unusially large alter (St. Giles church), the bar where Pilsner was first tapped in Prague, and an upside down statue, amoung seeing many other things. When all of the groups met up again, we slowly started to walk towards the castle. We stopped at another beautiful church ( I cant find the name right now), walked across the Charels Bridge (too many people!!), and up the hill to the castle. The castle isn't a regular stone mass with lots of towers, it has regular-sized bilding on the outside with a breath-taking cathedral on the inside of the walls. We walked through the cathedral, which has the most amazing stain glass panels I have ever seen. We also had free time in the Golden Lane, a famous steet inside the castle. It wasn't as great as the guide books say, it was just like other shopping places in Prague. Next we all took a tram to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. After eating, we had free time in the main square. The Christmas markets started that day, so there was good shopping opportunities. A stage was set up, so the sounds of children singing American and Czech Christmas songs drifted through the air, along with the smell of roasting chestnuts and sweet things. Sure, there were masses of people, but it was still magical. Most of the group went ice skating next, but I wasn't ready to leave the square, and I don't do well on skates. A small group had the same thoughts, so we went to a cafe for hot chocolate or coffee while sitting under blankets and watching the giant flashing Christmas tree. Perfection. When the ice skating group finished, we all walked back to the hostel. We had a short meeting to announce the winners of the hunt, and my group tied for first place. We had Czech cake to celebrate. We all sat and talked for a while, but one guy had his lap-top full of movies, so I watched Eurotrip and Boondock Saints with a few people. We started to watch Kill Bill, but lost interest. I went to sleep at 5:00, and slept like a log.

At 8:30, I woke up and felt like I had been sleeping for 10 hours. This is not normal for me, but in times like this, I can run on adrenaline alone. People started to head to the train or bus station, and I soon organized with my host dad to meet him at the Holiday Inn. I know, how Czech. He was in town for a conference, so it was convient to ride back to Trutnov with him. We stopped at his friend's apartment for a quick lunch, then drove back. I napped for part of the time (understandable, right?). When we arrived at the house, it was all decorated inside (except, no tree), so the Christmas spirit is going strong here.