The night began with dinner at a cool pub near our hostel. Me, Alix, and Hanna had a great time. I had a pilsner and they had Mojitos I think (?) Alix did anyway. She was really into them! We caught up on the day's happenings and learned a lot about each other's lives. They told me about their semesters studying in Cork and about Minnesota. Apparently, Hanna grew up near Duluth, MN, which is home to one of my favorite bands of all-time, Low! Go see them if you have the chance. They are unreal.
At the pub, there was a girl/guy duo playing. They are alright. We thought that they were Czech at first, but found out that they were probably North Americans by their accents. Perhaps they were students abroad, who knows. It made Alix and I think more about what we were going to name our band. After dinner, we walked back to our crappy hostel to figure out what to do. It was probably the worst hostel that I have ever stayed in. The showers are filthy, the toilets are worse, the beds are made so cheaply that I rock it when I get out of bed, the staircase is drafty, and the lights always go out unexpectedly. A charmer, right? But for all that it's worth, they have a Nescafe machine and they give you *something* in the morning, even if it is only bread, jam, and coffee. So we sat in our vestibule/common area with these two Mexican guys (ones our age, not the old Darth Vader snorers in our dorm room) and two socially awkward, engineering types who are French and speak little English. The Mexican guys were very cool, as were the French guy from Orleans. The Mexican guys spoke English and we communicated with the others in a bit of French, as well as in charades.
I looked at my watch after a while and it was near midnight. I had an 8 a.m. bus to catch to Bratislava (the one that I am writing on right now). Against my better judgment, I went out to a club with all of them. It was advertised as "the largest club in Central Europe!" HA! So we stroll through the clear Prague night, feeling every cobble beneath our feet. We find the place, which is in old town, in about 40 minutes. It is only 120 crowns to get int (about five bucks). The floor was sticky with who knows what. It makes matters more bizarre that there was a *coat check!* A coat check in this dump. Each of the, count them, FIVE floors had a different style of music pumping. Trashy 80s, 90s, hip hop, and I quote, "chill out" music. There were seizure-inducing lights that reminded me of laser tag in seventh grade, only all of these seventh graders were drinking and smoking like chimneys. Seriously, we were some of the older people there.
So many of the kids looked 16 or younger. There were the occasional creeper middle-aged guys too. One came out of nowhere! Red polo, Magnum P.I. stache, disheveled hair...pedophile? Alix and I kept making up stories about this guy and all of the unattractive teenagers making out everywhere. It was 3:30 a.m. by the time that we decided to walk back. My bus was at 8 a.m., mind you. I had to wake up at 6:30 to make it to the station in enough time. Walking back was sad because I knew that I probably wouldn't see Alix or Hanna in the morning. Again, I hate connecting with people and having to leave them behind. The constant togetherness/loneliness is the path that I chose going at this alone though. I wasn't tired when we returned to the hostel and checked my e-mail. After a few minutes, I shambled up the dark staircase to my bed. Hanna was around and we had a quiet moment without much to say. It was just sad because I knew that I wanted to travel with them and they wanted to travel with me as well I think. Hey, Minnesota isn't too far from where I live. I foresee gigs there in the future!
By morning, (or rather, two hours later) I quickly left notes for Alix and Hanna and rested the paper scraps by their beds because they were sleeping. 30 seconds later, I vanished into the Prague new town labyrinth to make it to my metro and find the Florenc [FLOOR-ENSS] bus station. I made it to Florenc, but could not for the life of me find the station. I asked a woman in broken Czech where it was and she did not know. Trying to to freak out, I found a guy with a pack and thought that he was also a traveler who might know. He turned out to be a local, but was friendly enough to walk me to the station, which was not far from where we were. I thanked him in Czech and arrived at my platform with 30 minutes to spare. I hope that next time, I will have someone to travel with. Any takers?
At the pub, there was a girl/guy duo playing. They are alright. We thought that they were Czech at first, but found out that they were probably North Americans by their accents. Perhaps they were students abroad, who knows. It made Alix and I think more about what we were going to name our band. After dinner, we walked back to our crappy hostel to figure out what to do. It was probably the worst hostel that I have ever stayed in. The showers are filthy, the toilets are worse, the beds are made so cheaply that I rock it when I get out of bed, the staircase is drafty, and the lights always go out unexpectedly. A charmer, right? But for all that it's worth, they have a Nescafe machine and they give you *something* in the morning, even if it is only bread, jam, and coffee. So we sat in our vestibule/common area with these two Mexican guys (ones our age, not the old Darth Vader snorers in our dorm room) and two socially awkward, engineering types who are French and speak little English. The Mexican guys were very cool, as were the French guy from Orleans. The Mexican guys spoke English and we communicated with the others in a bit of French, as well as in charades.
I looked at my watch after a while and it was near midnight. I had an 8 a.m. bus to catch to Bratislava (the one that I am writing on right now). Against my better judgment, I went out to a club with all of them. It was advertised as "the largest club in Central Europe!" HA! So we stroll through the clear Prague night, feeling every cobble beneath our feet. We find the place, which is in old town, in about 40 minutes. It is only 120 crowns to get int (about five bucks). The floor was sticky with who knows what. It makes matters more bizarre that there was a *coat check!* A coat check in this dump. Each of the, count them, FIVE floors had a different style of music pumping. Trashy 80s, 90s, hip hop, and I quote, "chill out" music. There were seizure-inducing lights that reminded me of laser tag in seventh grade, only all of these seventh graders were drinking and smoking like chimneys. Seriously, we were some of the older people there.
So many of the kids looked 16 or younger. There were the occasional creeper middle-aged guys too. One came out of nowhere! Red polo, Magnum P.I. stache, disheveled hair...pedophile? Alix and I kept making up stories about this guy and all of the unattractive teenagers making out everywhere. It was 3:30 a.m. by the time that we decided to walk back. My bus was at 8 a.m., mind you. I had to wake up at 6:30 to make it to the station in enough time. Walking back was sad because I knew that I probably wouldn't see Alix or Hanna in the morning. Again, I hate connecting with people and having to leave them behind. The constant togetherness/loneliness is the path that I chose going at this alone though. I wasn't tired when we returned to the hostel and checked my e-mail. After a few minutes, I shambled up the dark staircase to my bed. Hanna was around and we had a quiet moment without much to say. It was just sad because I knew that I wanted to travel with them and they wanted to travel with me as well I think. Hey, Minnesota isn't too far from where I live. I foresee gigs there in the future!
By morning, (or rather, two hours later) I quickly left notes for Alix and Hanna and rested the paper scraps by their beds because they were sleeping. 30 seconds later, I vanished into the Prague new town labyrinth to make it to my metro and find the Florenc [FLOOR-ENSS] bus station. I made it to Florenc, but could not for the life of me find the station. I asked a woman in broken Czech where it was and she did not know. Trying to to freak out, I found a guy with a pack and thought that he was also a traveler who might know. He turned out to be a local, but was friendly enough to walk me to the station, which was not far from where we were. I thanked him in Czech and arrived at my platform with 30 minutes to spare. I hope that next time, I will have someone to travel with. Any takers?
No comments:
Post a Comment