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Josh’s European Adventure: Day 16 – Prague, Czech Republic

I woke up freezing cold in the train.  The air-conditioning system was broken and was stuck on cold and full blast the whole night.  Coupled with the fact that the bed was tiny even for me it was a very uncomfortable sleep to say the least.  We arrived in Prague at around 1140AM and was warmly greeted by Linda’s friend David.  Linda met David in Africa a year and a half ago on another Nomad trip through Mozambique.  David grabbed one of my backpacks and we were off.  We took two subways to get to his mother’s travel agency near a train station.  When we arrived at his mother’s travel agency we were warmly greeted by his mother.

She offered us a shot glass of Amarula and said that around lunch time it was customary to have a drink to stay warm.  I think she was joking but nonetheless I was two shots of Amarula deep before 1PM.  From the travel agency David drove us to his home.  The ride would only take about twenty minutes mainly because the speed limit was so low and the weather was bad.  The roads were filled with snow and it was very cold here in Prague.  A lot colder than Amsterdam and Switzerland.

David’s house was absolutely stunning.  Big rooms, including the one Linda and myself was staying in.  It was clear to me that by Czech standards his family was well off.  After relaxing and eating some nice fresh goulash that his mom made among other delicious eats, we had a bit of a rest and then we were off to see some of Prague.  First we drove back to where his mother parks her car near her office and then we hopped back on the metro.  After taking two trains and a tram we finally arrived at the famous Prague Castle.  By this time what was left of the sun was almost down and we were basically walking around in the dark.  The castle was well lit at night and also in this complex the President of the Czech Republic lived and Parliament also worked here.

After our short tour through the Prague Castle we walked down a long set of steps close to the a famous square in the Old Town.  I noticed walking around that most of the roads were cobblestone including the sidewalks.  I love cobblestone roads I think it just oozes history.  At the bottom after meandering our way through small streets we arrived at a place that was selling hot wine and an interesting form of sweet bread of which the name I cannot spell or pronounce.  Linda and I quickly realized that the Czech language was very hard and had no logic to it at all.  This language was unlike any other.  Anyway David said it was time to get some hot wine as it was very cold and Linda was very cold.  When she gets cold she gets a little cranky.  So we got some hot wine and this bread with sugar on it and before we knew it Karolina, David’s girlfriend was getting off the tram.  She warmly greeted us as well and we all chatted while standing drinking hot wine and eating some delicious home made bread.

From this square we walked across the famous Charles Bridge built hundreds of years ago.  Once across the bridge we walked up this huge tower in the center of the city.  It was many steps to the top but well worth the view.  From there went to the old town square to a nearby traditional pub.  All  beer in Czech is served in half litre glasses which are really big.  After two or three beers we moved on to a downstairs bar for a show.  The band was a Led Zeppelin revival band.  The show would last several hours and was very good.  The music was loud, the beer was cold and I was in great company, so it was a great time.

Soon though it was time to go if we wanted to make the last trains and bus back to David’s home.  We did and when we got off the train we had to walk at least a mile in the freezing cold.  This walk would also take us through woods and then we were at his home.  I was relieved to be at home, and before we knew it Linda and I were passed out.



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