Recap:
I left for Prague last Friday, February 8. The school week before that flew by so fast, I cannot even recall any specifics. I went with my friends Julie, Rachel, Alison and Rachel's friend Stephanie who was visiting from home. Our flight was delayed over an hour, but we finally took off around 4 pm. It was a really nice two-hour flight...thankfully it was with Czech Airlines and not RyanAir. So we arrive and follow the directions from the airport given by the hostel. We get to try out Prague's metro system, which is really nice. It is more central though, so if you go a little outside the city center, the metro will be of no use to you. (I think I am just used to New York's huge subway) Another thing about the metro: the trains are really far underground, so the escalators are huge...and they move SO fast. I have never experienced that before. The escalators were steep and flew...you literally had to run on and off of them. (When we got back to Rome, I realized that the difference in escalator speeds was noticeably different) Okay, enough with the escalators.
We got to our hostel by bus, metro then short (maybe 10 minute) walk. It was a really nice place in a more residential area. Julie and I stayed in a 12-person room and the other three stayed in a 10-person room upstairs. I was surprised, but I had no problem staying with that many people. There were lockers in the room that fit my whole backpack, so security was not a problem. Also, the fact that the room was only $6 US a night was a definite plus!
The Czech Republic is in the EU, but it has not switched its currency yet. They still use korunas, which exchange at $1=17CZK. Some things were really cheap (like our hostel and beer--which was cheaper than water) but most things were prices similarly to things in the US. It was really strange using such large amounts of currency.
Okay so after we checked in and dropped our stuff off, we went to a restaurant right down the street from the hostel that Julie had picked out. We went to meet her older brother's friend from college, Tom, who now lives and works in Prague. He brought two of his colleagues who are both Czech. I am really glad we got to meet people who know about the city. Okay so after dinner we went out for a little while, but came home early so we could see some of the city the next day.
On Saturday we slept in then headed out into Prague. We were able to walk to the city center from our hostel, which was really cool. I consider the city center to be the Charles Bridge and Prague Castle. The bridge is absolutely amazing. There were tons of people on it...tourists, venders, performers of all sorts. The whole bridge is lined on both sides by elaborate religious statues (I presume of saints and important Christian/Catholic figures). We went at the perfect time of day--late afternoon when the sun is getting lower in the sky and gives everything a golden color. The Charles River was gorgeous, and in the distance we could see the castle.
We started walking towards the castle after buying some cheap jewelry from the bridge. There was a parade of people dressed in all sorts of Halloween costumes. I still don't know what that was about. There were horse-drawn carriages with children in them, and adults dressed up just as much strolling down the street. That was odd. We then saw a Starbucks, which was a huge sigh of relief since we have been pumped with espresso for a month! After climbing 200-something stairs, we finally reach Parliament/the castle. We also got an amazing panoramic view of the city. Again, our timing was perfect...the sun was just starting to set and everything looked soo pretty.
There is an Eiffel Tower in Prague that sits on a hill next to the hill we were on. The actual structure is a lot smaller than the one in Paris, but whoever put it in Prague positioned it so that its height, on the hill, is the same as the original. Again, I still have no idea why there is an Eiffel Tower in Prague, nor do I understand why anyone would take the time to find a hill to put it on that would make the two identical. What a strange place.
Anywayy, we passed through Parliament's gates, which no armed soldiers were guarding (which disappointed me) and walked through a narrow passageway. At the end of the passage, a huge, beautiful, golden building begins coming into view. It was like how I felt when I saw the Colosseum coming out from the Metro. The Prague Castle is huge and gothic and amazing. We weren't able to go inside because elections were taking place. I think the Castle is used as the voting/meeting point for all those in charge of electing a new president.
Apparently the politics in the Czech Republic are really corrupt. Politicians are only in it for the money, and the people have no power in the final vote. The citizens vote for the people who end up voting for the president. I would not have learned that little tidbit if it weren't for my new Czech friends!
Another very odd Czech custom involves the celebrations carried out on Easter. This is really offensive, but it actually happens. Okay... so men bring wooden poles, like sticks, out on the streets where everyone congregates. With those sticks, they hit women. In order to make the men stop hitting them, the women have to give the men shots of alcohol or money. Apparently the excuse for this practice is that women are believed to stay beautiful and not get older as a result of the beating, which leaves them bruised. When a group of younger men gang up on an older woman, she should consider that a compliment because it means they think she is beautiful and want her to stay that way. How weird is that?! I could not believe when I heard that the Czech friend holds fond memories of Easter. It was shocking.
Okay, so after that great story...
So after we were done with the amazingness that was the castle, we headed back to our hostel. There was an amazing gyro place near the Metro that we ate at. We got ready and headed over to Tom's apartment so that he could show us around Prague. We ended up staying out until 7 am just hanging out and going to different places. Apparently Prague nightlife doesn't start until like 1 am, which we are not used to since most places in Rome close down at 2, and there are even some places in Prague that don't open until 5 am. It is an absolutely ridiculous city.
So we spent Sunday sleeping and relaxing. We got to see a little more of the city, but I had only really wanted to see the bridge, so I was happy. We left Monday morning at our scheduled time, we got back a little later than planned, so I had to miss a couple classes.
Overall, I had an amazing time in Prague, and it is officially one of my favorite cities, maybe even my favorite. It is a beautiful city that I think everyone should see at least once.
Soooo after we got back, the school week flew by again. Except for my finance and econ quizzes on Wednesday and my Italian test on Thursday, the week was pretty uneventful. Next week is going to be stressful because midterms are here already!
I have my finance and econ midterms and an italian oral exam on Wednesday and a photography evaluation on Thursday. I have devoted today to studying (besides this brief procrastination). However stressful this week might be, I am not too concerned because I am leaving for Barcelona on Friday to kick off spring break! I am so excited.
Hmm okay that is all for now. I posted Prague pictures. And I will try to post more because they crazy long ones are ridiculous!
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