Thursday, 27.03.08, 7:23 p.m., Prague, CZ, recap of happenings

The past two days have been a blur. I have spent most of my time here with Gennelle and Jean, my two newest and coolest friends. I am so glad that we met, and in such a random way! Always the best. It is moments like this when I live to travel independently because I always meet such great people who are a match of like minds. It is unfortunate that things had to be cut short. Gennelle and Jean left a little while ago to catch a train to Krakow. I wished so badly that I could have gone with them, but I have plans to trek off to Slovakia in a couple of days. I should have canceled my plans to Bratislava. Now I am all by my lonesome again. I suppose this comes with the territory and I have never been good with goodbyes, especially when there is a real connection.

So here has been Prague through my eyes, as of late:

After our train *finally* arrived, around 4 p.m. yesterday, we all changed some money and quickly looked for the metro line to get out of the train station. The language barrier was more apparent here and there were few English speakers to turn to for assistance. Finally, an old guy randomly stopped and directed us to the ticket kiosks so we could get on the red line and transfer to the yellow line (our hostels were only three stops away from each other and on the same route). He must have seen a chance to practice English and seized the opportunity. I don't know why---I find Czech to be infinitely more interesting than English.

My stop was just before Gennelle and Jean's, so we parted ways and I told them that I would find their hostel so we could meet up for dinner and drinks in the evening. My directions to the hostel are decent, but I kept getting turned around. Prague is a difficult city to navigate, despite its compact feel. Maps do not do much justice, as there is no rhyme or reason to any of the streets. Everything is a labyrinth of tightly-packed cobblestone streets, Hapsburg-era architecture, and cherry colored trams. So I kept getting turned around, but didn't mind in the least. The street leading to my hostel is lovely. The epitome of old world charm.

I made it to my hostel without too many navigating issues, but it took FOREVER to check-in because the person at the front desk was a newbie. I paid in Euros because I did not have enough Crowns to complete the transaction and did not want to venture back out to find an ATM. Then, she has NO KEY for me! So she decided to walk with me to the room, which is up five flights of stairs in a very old building, which looks nice from the outside, but is complete shit otherwise. The staircase was dank and drafty. I was in room # 45. Three middle-aged Mexican men had just checked in and the older one gave me his key. We chat for a bit and they tell me that they are from Baja California, just south of San Diego. I quickly unrolled my sleeping bag onto the bed because the sheets were questionable. Plus, I had to figure out how to get to where Gennelle and Jean were staying. The oldest man, whose name I forget sadly, showed me his Indiana Jones-esque fedora, which was decorated with pins from his travels. We had a little exchange about Salzburg. I told him that it is the last stop on the trip for me. After the small talk, I shoved my pack and messenger bag into the tiny security locker, said bye to the guys, and hit the streets.

I was in such a rush that I didn't even time stamp my metro ticket (oops...) because I didn't want to miss Jean and Gennelle. I got turned around a few times and couldn't find the hostel, even after following the signs to it. I saw where I made my error, and had to walk up a flight of stairs that were iron and rusting. From the top, the hostel was in front of me. So I head to the check-in counter and ask for their room. The guy said that they were ACROSS the street in the other part of the hostel and that I had to be buzzed in. Great. Could that have been any more of an ordeal?! I crossed the street, almost got hit by a Renault hatchback, and pressed the buzzer five or six times and still could not get in! Finally, the door opens, and I trek up a few flights of stairs until I see a sign for the reception. I opened the door and there they are! So we left their hostel, Aparcay, and walked for a couple of blocks to find a place for dinner.

I really like this area of Prague. Far from all of the ogling and wide-eyed tourists, this part is the real Prague. Hard factory workers driving home, more dilapidated homes that are side-by-side with renovation projects, and small pubs like the one we went to for dinner. If we were going to eat authentic Czech food and drink cheap beer, this was the place.

Although smoke-filled, it was perfect! A man stood in the corner playing pinball, bartender was tending to a couple of people who seemed to be "Cheers" style everyone-knows-your-name regulars, and a long table was set up for a large family or group of friends. I couldn't tell. Bohemian hockey was on the T.V. I think it was Prague versus Karlovy Vary. And then there was the three of us. The lone English speakers in the joint! It was refreshing.

We each had two rounds of Pilsner. Each half liter was just over a buck! Gennelle and I had beef goulash with massive dumplings for like, $4.50. It was unreal! Yes friends, this is the real Bohemia---Prague for the Praguers. We left completely satisfied and with money in our pockets for today's happenings. We decided to meet up the following day at the Franz Kafka Museum but ended up running into each other earlier in the day, so we went to Prague Castle as well. After leaving the restaurant, I walked back to the metro station and made it to the hostel around 10:30, 11ish. I was dead tired and thought that I could sleep restfully. Little did I know about the snoring from hell...