October Break: Prague

After three full days in Ireland Tom and I got up bright and early on Tuesday morning to get to the airport for our flights. Tom's to go back to Scotland and mine to go to Prague. Our only problem was it was too early for the normal city buses, we had to catch one of the more expensive airport shuttles that start earlier. We had €12.85 between the two of us which at first looked like wasn't going to be enough. All the shuttles cost €7 per person. Perusing a list given to us by the hostel we found one shuttle that was €6 each. When going to pay the driver we gave her a pile of change. She didn't even bother to count it. When we got off the bus about half an hour later our pile was still sitting in the tray. 

That's what €12.85 looks like. The fiver and the pile on top of it is what we gave the driver. 

 I was a bit nervous about the Czech Republic. I hadn't done any research beyond a few chats with my friend Daniel, who I was going to visit in Prague, and Tom, who is Czech. Tom put together a small dictionary for me and I had directions to the hostel but that was it.  

I needn't have worried, I had a brilliant time! 

My first night there I met a fellow American travelling on his own. We got along splendidly and spent the next day going to various sites around the city. He was able to show me the ropes of how the public transportation system worked. Tips like the main lines to look for and the fact that tickets are rarely checked on the trams so they were free (as far as we were concerned). 

The Lennon Wall

A wall hidden down a few small streets dedicated to John Lennon. 

My new friend left the evening of our day together so I was friendless again but luckily the next day was my day with Daniel! He met me outside the hostel early Thursday morning and we were off to the zoo! 

Prague has a brilliant zoo. Animals were having babies all over the place so they are obviously doing something right. My favorite part was in the nocturnal area the bats can fly around! The bat exhibit doesn't have glass beyond the railing so the animals are free to roam the building. When standing still I could feel them pass, it was so cool! 

Animals kept looking at me. It was pretty cool.

Daniel was an amazing guide. He knows so much about Prague! All the while walking around the zoo he was giving me tidbits about the zoo and Prague history and such. Then when wandering the city later he could pick out many of the buildings and tell me stories, dates, and meanings to the Czech people. I would never have learned or saw half of what I did without him. He was also incredibly patient as I attempted to sound out Czech words and had him constantly reading and translating. There is a sound in Czech found in no other language that I find incredibly difficult. It is a cross between a rolling 'r' and a 'z'. I was told not to feel too bad about it though, even Czech children sometimes have to go to speech classes to learn how to do it. 

Incredibly unflattering picture of me touching the lucky statue on the Charles Bridge.

Daniel and I in front of my hostel. the Czech Inn. I didn't even realize it was a pun until Daniel pointed it out! 

Getting back to the hostel around 7 that evening I had a message from Tom that a few of his friends in Prague wanted to meet me! I went straight back out to find them. The two gentlemen and I had excellent discussions on politics of the US and the European Union as well as an abridged Czech history lesson. It was a lot of fun to meet them and I very much enjoyed my evening. A full day of hanging out with Prague natives I learned much more than I ever could have on my own.   

My last full day in Prague was just for me. A few of you may know my love of museums and being on my own I spent almost six hours in two buildings of the National Gallery in Prague - the Kinsky and Schwarzenberg Palaces. 

Schwarzenberg Palace was covered in designs like this

A the Kinsky Palace I was the first person to arrive in the morning. One of the gallery guards was a cute old man who didn't speak a word of English. We communicated with smiles and points as he showed me the right way to go around the floors. 2.5 hours later as I was leaving the last section of the museum I ran into him again. Smiling once again at each other he held open the door and gave me a toffee! I think he was pleased that a young foreigner was enjoying his museum so much. If we were able to speak to one another we would have gotten along splendidly. 

It's amazing what can be communicated without words. That was one of my favorite moments since arriving in Europe two and a half months ago.