Czech this out!

Although posted several weeks late, below is my note from Prague, hopefully all better than my opening pun.

Do you know upon what American youth has become dependant? Cell phones. Cell phones have taken away our confidence in our own ability to make and keep plans in advance (as opposed to “I’ll call you when I get there”). That in mind, I am happy to announce that Kelly and I, coming from Berlin by train, were able to meet up with Kristina, flying in from Brussels, in a train station in Prague that none of us had ever seen before at the appropriate, pre-arranged time. We’re just that good. After that, we tramed, metroed, and walked our way to the youth hostel and set up camp complete with newly purchased groceries.  

The first evening we explored some of Old Town, took lots of pictures, and then returned to the hostel and got to know some of our fellow vacationers. The next two days involved a lot of walking around the sights, including the Charles Bridge, the Citadel, a variety of churches, and other touristy excursions. Fortunately, we’re all avid people watchers, which provided us ample opportunity to stake out shady benches and rest our abused feet.

We also had a fantastic opportunity to meet up with a Czech student, Katerina, via a travel website that matches travelers with locals. She showed us the coolest of the lesser-known sights and a beautiful café at a water mill on a creek off the fiver that cuts through Prague. She then joined us and two more that were part of her tour group (one an IT specialist who traveled from London to every place imaginable on weekends, and one an American PhD in Mechanical Engineering who was making a living playing poker in Prague.) for dinner at a quiet little Lebanese place with great atmosphere, fantastic food., and even better prices. After our day of touring, we ended the next evening at a pub apparently frequented mostly by locals where we overlooked the English language menu on the table, but still managed to order thanks to a very patient waiter. And let me tell you, half a liter of Czech Pilsner for 35 Koruna ($2) is pretty awesome. That evening ended up with us walking home in the warm(ish) summer rain through the twinkling lights of Old Town Prague back to our warm beds. We dubbed it a success.

We are now on a train to Brno, a city on the Czech countryside full of primarily university students. Then it’s off to Slovakia! I’ll keep you posted! Laura out.