Weekend Two: Prague

This past weekend's destination was Prague! Even though we only had a two-day weekend, it feels as if we were gone for a week. I arrived back to my dorm Monday morning at around 10am, just in time to take a much needed shower and make it to my 11:30 CS class.

Center Square
Prague, Czech Republic

So Friday after class got out, we were in a crunch. We had three hours to print any study material for the trains, pack, cook and eat dinner, and take the bus downtown to the train station to board the first of many, many trains this weekend. Trying to be more conservative this trip, we only packed one major bag for the three of us, and then my backpack full of snacks and homework. This way at least one person could always be "posting" the bags. We boarded our first train at 7:30pm Friday night that took us from Metz to Strasbourg. Once at the Strasbourg station, we found a convenience shop and got some pastries and red bulls for the morning. This turned out to be a good idea because it was a long night. From Strasbourg we changed over to a train (more like a small shuttle) that took us to Offenburg. Then it was a quick change on to the night train that would take us the long stretch across Germany from Offenberg all the way to Prague in the Czech Republic. For this train we had gotten reservations for sleeperette seats. Our impression was that a sleeperette was between the luxury of a couchette(beds on the trains) and normal train seats, meaning we would be sleeping in seats, but there would be a good amount of recline. I still am not sure whether what we were in was a true sleeperette or not....Basically, we spent the night in a Harry Potter style car that had 6 seats in it, and only an inch of recline per seat. There was another young girl we met in our car as well who was very nice, and at a stop later in the night, we picked up another man. So, 5 out of 6 seats taken and no real difference from a normal upright seat....picture people playing tetris while trying to sleep. It was a rough night. Oh man, not to mention the car was super hot so we were feeling crazy gross in the morning. BUT, it was an experience, right?!

14 hours later and we arrived in Prague! All I kept thinking was, I could have taken a plane to China for that amount of travel! Prague was an impressive city and we got there early in the morning for a full day of exploring. Courtesy of Google Maps...just take a look at how far we decided to travel, just for the weekend:

Metz, France to Prague, Czech Republic

Yeah....

Prague Castle

But it was so worth it! Some expert travelers might say to avoid touristy sites, but honestly, I enjoy all the old historic beauties that tourists go to see for a reason. Prague Castle was just astounding. I have never witnessed anything like it before. And Charles Bridge was so terrifically eerie at night with the statues of old saints on the backdrop of the water.

Charles Bridge

We visited the Old Town and New Town, and just wandered from street to street, enjoying the view. We also were incredibly sore from the train ride over and got excited at a sign for a 9 euro massage. But, as with anything like that, there was a lot of fine print and it wasn't worth it.

The food was, of course, delicious. Each time our group goes to a different city, we decide to all try something local or authentic from that area, from the beer to the main dish. Therefore, in following our rule, we each tried the Budweiser Budvar. It goes like this: in what is now the Czech Republic, back in Bohemian times, there was a town named Budweis. In this town, the German-speaking Czechs brewed a beer that they  correspondingly named Budweiser. Near, but not exactly, this same time, a Budweiser beer showed up in America. So, there are apparently two Budweisers, not really the same thing, and the Czech's claim to be the first to have invented it. At least I think that's about right. Along with the beer, we tried the Czech goulash, and later on the roast duck. I have never had roast duck before, and just like last week with the rabbit, I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed it far more than the rabbit and it came with some tasty pickled cabbage. Simply delicious. And yet again, the main square was lined with food stands where on Saturday, we tried their sausages and Sunday, their ham. Sunday was pretty miserable though. It was raining and freezing cold, and we got the ham and ate it while standing up, huddled together in a circle like a bunch of hobos. But hey, it was something!

Before we left, we went shopping. Seeing as the weather is not letting up and I have been forced to wear the same two pairs of pants almost every day for a week on end, we needed some more appropriate clothing for this cold weather. (Don't blame me for not realizing we're at about the same degree North as Ontario, Canada! It supposedly hits 90 F here in the summers.) Anywho, we quickly learned that all the clothes in Europe are too pricey, cause they actually dress well here all the time and care about their clothes more than I do. Sorry for still being slightly tom-boyish. The irony then, was that the only store we found that we could afford was New Yorker. So, we went shopping at New Yorker in Prague. Judge me not for buying cheap sweatpants and skinny jeans, for I am comfortable.

The train ride back was slightly better I guess. At least this time we had the car all to ourselves and the window would open and let cool air in. Still, I would not recommend traveling overnight by train unless by couchette. Actually, I would still say if you're young, do it once just to do it! It is an experience, all being miserable and tired and gross together. Gotta go through it once in life.

Sorry that this post is so delayed and fairly rushed through. It has been insanely busy this week as first tests are approaching (as in, my first one is tomorrow and I have no idea what I am doing >.< ) For an update on what is coming up, I leave tomorrow for a crazy adventure that involves buses, trains, planes, the underground, AND a ferry. Literally, all of the above. Destination: London then Amsterdam. Duration: Friday - Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning. Can't wait!