St.Wenceslaus Square
St.Wenceslaus Square
After an explosive New Year's Eve in München (skyrockets and dynamite-sized firecrackers, detonated in the middle of crowded streets... ah those crazy Deutche..), I got up late and headed for the hauptbahnhof (main train station). It was New Year's day, and the train to Prague was almost deserted. I settled in for the duration, a ride of around 6 hours. It was daylight for a while, and I stared out the window, a bit worried about the fact that I had no hotel reservation, no real plan and would be arriving in a strange country at around 10pm. But what the heck, I was born to have adventure... (?).
As night fell, and we approached the Czech border, I noticed two young men talking a few rows away from me. Now, even though I had been in Germany almost 2 months, my German was (is) very very limited. So it was with GREAT pleasure that I noticed that these two guys were not only talking in English, but AMERICAN English. By this point in my travels, I had learned that an Anglophone is a treasure not to be neglected.
I quickly made friends with the two young men, Todd and Ben, who had also just met. Todd was a student from Minnesota backpacking through Europe. Ben was the husband of an English teacher who worked in Prague. He had spent quite a bit of time there and knew what was going on. He could even speak a few words of Czech, which put him miles ahead of me. He had a flier from some hostel there that sounded good. I asked if it would be okay if I joined them, and he said 'sure.'
The Charles Bridge, Prague
We chatted about our travels for the next two hours, crossing what used to be the 'iron curtain.' The first 'vibes' were good. The Czech border guards were friendly and smiling, no hassles. It was dark and there wasn't too much to see out the windows, but what little we could see told us we definitely weren't in Germany any more. The signs at the train stations had all those funny letters, and they were a little 'run down' compared to those in fastidious Deutcheland.
Finally we arrived in Praha, and got off the train. As expected, the station was a little grimier than Munich. As we walked into the main area, I did a double take. Slot machines in the train station??? Yep, no question about it! Hmmm. Vegas in Central Europe? I would find out soon enough. I was glad to be in a group, but would have been okay alone. Ben and his wife knew the town, and we decided to walk the mile or so it would be to the hostel. It wasn't so bad, and actually pretty interesting, as the first moments are in any new country. Even the ordinary is special (except for the McDonalds, but more on that later...)
We TRUDGED up several hills to get to the Hostel. Unfortunately, it was totally full. Uh oh. I insulted a
Dutch guy on the street by asking if he was American. He forgave me and told us where another hostel
was close by. Unfortunately it was full too. By this time I was totally beat (I thought). I asked Ben if he
knew where there were some hotels, since I was not a starving student, I figured I would find a hotel
and pay the higher price just to end the walking and general angst. I thought. He told me how to get to
Wenceslaus Square (see picture one). The main drag of town with lots of hotels. So I shouldered my
increasingly heavy luggage and off I went.
The 'famous' Prague canals
I decided that the main boulevard was probably not where I would find a reasonable hotel, so I took a side street. It looked promising, at first anyhow. I had both my suitcases slung over my shoulder and I noticed these women SMILING at me as I passed. Then I realized why. Doh! I felt like going up to them and saying 'Listen, forget sex, have you got a ROOM???' But I didn't. Good thing I didn't speak Czech. Finally, almost totally beat, I stopped to think things over, have a beer. It was probably 11pm by now. I sat at a little bar in the front of a restaurant and ordered a big Czech beer. Tasty and less than a dollar! This consoled me a bit. As I sat there, I heard something above the radio... was it.....English??? YES!
I once again fought my natural shyness and went over to the table where about 5 guys sat. I excused
myself for interrupting, and explained my situation. Did any of them have any tips for me? One guy, an
American from New Jersey originally, said he would think about it and get back to me. I ordered
another beer and waited.
Me, as handsome as I get
He came back about 10 minutes later and said there was a Hostel near where his business (he owned a disco) was. He then proceeded to draw me a VERY detailed map of how to get there. I thanked him, finished my beer and off I went. Once again I passed the streetwalkers, who once again gave me a friendly smile. Bless 'em. I followed his directions and by God I FOUND IT! I went inside and asked the girl if they had any vacancies. She said she didn't think so, but she would check. THANK GOD she was wrong and they DID have a room for me. $14 US. Including breakfast. I hit the hay, a tired but happy wanderer.
Euro-dixie, in Praha
The next day was less stressful but more fun. Praha is a great place, the architecture alone is worth the trip, but that is just a small part of it's appeal. I wasn't there during the Commie days, but it isn't very Commie now. There are 2 McDonalds within about a block of each other, and of course, KFC all over. But the best bets are pizza and kebabs and so forth. A big beer and a big pizza for 1 is only about 3 dollars. I met a nice local lady and we had dinner at a chinese place, full tilt, appetizers, drinks, everything for about 20 dollars. Shopping is good there too. I got a cool Russian flag for about 3 bucks, not to mention countless other tacky souveniers.
Me again, the 'French' touch
I spent the next day doing more touristy stuff, mostly walking around, shopping, people watching. I got a chance to use my High School French when I overheard two French women talking. I asked one of them to take my picture. Here are the results.
More 'French' touch
In Summation some tips about Prague:
1. VISIT IT!
2. Make a reservation during New Years
3. Don't take a cab off the street, have somebody call one for you.
4. The Pension Dlouha is cool for a Hostel
5. Eat, drink and see if you can find Mary...
The Munich trainyard
The bus from Bosnia
