A Blog About Prague!

Into Prague and getting in touch with my inter Bohemian.

Better late than never, right? I can't believe Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Where has the time gone? First of all, I sincerely apologize for not being more proactive in updating this, but every week it's something, so why don't I get back to the point I last left y'all off...Midterms week.

The entire week was a blur, as it began October the 28th and went through the 31st of October; Five exams. Four days. To further complicate matters for me, my train to Prague took off from Budapest Keleti (East) Railway Station only one hour after my last final was to be completed. To complicate matters further, I wasn't going to Prague alone. I was going with two of my truly great friends, Rozi and Zsofi, two sisters here in Hungary. We were all going as a gift to ourselves. Rozi had just finished her thesis, Zsofi for her birthday, and me for finishing my exams. 

I meet Rozi and Zsofi at Keleti, we exchange some coins, and of course, buy booze for the train trip to Prague. The train was rather dingy, so if we didn't do that, the trip would've been rather rough. Originally, Rozi and I were going to buy Zsofi and ourselves a first-class sleeper car for Zsofi's birthday, but the Hungarian train company didn't allow it for some reason, so we found ourselves in a second-class cabin on the overnight train to Prague. That didn't quell our excitement, though!!

Rozi and Zsofi drinking to a good time before we take off from Keleti.

While on the train, this guy named John from New York came into our car, as he was traveling to Prague alone and meeting a friend there in the evening. We arrived into Prague in the wee hours of the morning, me with my 30 pound (Literally 30 pound) bag on my back, and Rozi and Zsofi with their food. WE couldn't check in the hostel to put our bags down, so I had nine hours of time to explore Prague with said bag on my back.

And I was fine with it, because Prague was as stunning and gorgeous as advertised by everyone. Here are some pictures from that morning...

Scenes from Prague...A melting pot of Old and New...Including their famous Medieval Clock in Old Town Square. 

Upon our arrival into Prague, John and us went our separate ways. But later in the day after breakfast, we wound up reuniting with him, as we both were doing the same walking tour. I don't remember her name, but our Czech tour guide was a tall blonde...and rather cute. I definitely had fun talking to her as she took us all over the beautiful city of Prague. The walking tour went through about 10 kilometers of the city, and on top of that, made a stop at the Medieval Clock in Old Town Square, and then she told the story of it. The clock has 24 hours on it instead of 12, with the day starting at the last sunset. There's also a Zodiac Circle in the clock, and Babylonian time in there as well, not that anyone really understands that Babylonians anymore. 

I'll tell you, though, carrying a 30 pound bag on my back through Prague for almost six miles was no picnic. Even after I put my bag down at the Hostel (HAPPY DAY!!), my legs and back were rather sore and I was exhausted. However, the experience was amazing, especially with Rozi and Zsofi there with me, and meeting a new friend named John, who we've all kept in contact with since this day. He's here in Budapest now teaching high schoolers math. 

We also got to see a Czech changing of the guard, and see the President's house...And get a picture together. 

John (To my right), Rozi (Below me in the gray jacket), and Zsofi (Black jacket) posing together at the Czech President's palace. 

The only down side of our entire day in Prague was that my phone was dead by 10AM, so I didn't have a lot of pictures, but our tour guide took us all through Prague, Old Town Square, the Jewish District, and of course, the picturesque and gorgeous Charles Bridge with all of its statues. 

After the tour was over, we went back to Old Town Square, and went up above the Medieval Clock for a panoramic view of Prague from up on high... Yeah, be jealous. 

A selfie of Rozi, Zsofi, and I. 

As night fell, we met John's friend and began attempting to pub-crawl, with little success.

In the Czech Republic, evidently, you cannot stay in a pub if there is not a place to sit, and all pubs close by 11PM, so we went all around trying to find a place to try some of that truly amazing Czech beer (And it was great, and that's coming from a non-beer drinker). At around 9PM, in spite of Zsofi wanting to stay out, Rozi and I were dead tired, due to 15 straight hours of basically doing a speed tour of Prague and seeing everything, we chose to turn in. 

The next day, we didn't reunite with John. However, we all exchanged Facebooks and have actually met up since our meeting in Prague. That just goes to show everyone out there reading this blog, you never know who you're going to meet while traveling. You simply never know. 

Rozi, Zsofi, and I had a blast for our day-and-a-half in Prague, and returned to Budapest. Since then, I haven't trekked outside of the city limits and have been enjoying myself in Budapest, spending time with my loved ones here and introducing my friend Kristin to my cousins Cini and Zsuzsi. 

That was on purpose, because I really don't want to leave Budapest. Budapest really feels like home now, and Europe feels very much like home now. I love Europe and the ability to travel to numerous countries, hear different languages, sample different fare, meet different people, and see all the beauty and history of Europe. Oh, and meet fellow young travelers. I've grown super close to my family here, and I'm so glad after a hectic month of October (Transylvania, Vienna, Midterms, and Prague), that I've spent November within Hungary. 

As my time rapidly reaches its end here, I try to make plans to return here. Budapest is home now. 

I head for Finland this weekend. See you soon!