Having bid farewell to Lucy, Mel and I hopped on a train to take us from Bratislava to Prague. Upon arrival, we hoisted our stuff through the fairly dodgy, unattractive streets until we reached our hostel. Next stop was the supermarket down the road, which sold ridiculously cheap Lion chocolate bars. Mel wanted to stay forever, but I somehow pulled her away, and off we went to pick up Maddie from the bus station.
And then we spent four hours in a police station where, I kid you not, they typed up a stolen wallet report on a typewriter. A typewriter. Four hours. We played some inspired charades. Celebrity heads was also a winner; you’d never guess how long it took Maddie to figure out she was Mr Squiggle. About as long as it took to type a police report on a typewriter. Also, they lied about the public transport situation at midnight, which is when we managed to escape, so all in all, Prague started off on shaky ground.
Monday was better. Monday was pretty awesome, actually. First off, we moved from dodgy outskirts hostel to shiny central hostel. Having finally located our new hostel among the twisty little streets, we dashed off through tourist-tarred streets to join a walking tour. The tour guide was fairly sketchy on actual Prague knowledge but was entertaining enough.
And the actual city was jaw-droppingly beautiful. Cobbled streets, cathedrals on hills, sprawling palaces, mosque-style synagogues, shrivelled thief’s arm, Kafka statues, Mozart’s concert hall, a Ringwraith or two…
After the tour, we crossed Charles Bridge and climbed up to the castle, stopping for a quick streetside picnic along the scenic way.
Once at the enormous sprawl of palace complex, we took in the view and made our way around the buildings. The highlight was the cathedral, all gothic towers and flying buttresses.
We drank gluhwein and watched the sun set from the top of the castle courtyard.
Next stop was the Museum of Communism. More like the Museum of Anti-Communism; it was essentially a propaganda machine condemning the Soviet propaganda machine. It was really interesting. Lots of pictures of Stalin; I almost felt I was back in Bratislava…
And following dinner – bread dumplings, smoked pork and cabbage – we headed back to the hostel, having done our best to see Prague in a day.
that is an amazingly awesome christmas tree outside that cathedral/castle! also, ringwraiths = most awesome bit of prague. so jealous!
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