Prague

My adventures through Prague were once in a lifetime. The snow on the cobblestones made the city picturesque. It began Thursday night, with a scheduled 14 hour train ride through the Netherlands and most of Germany, into the Czech Republic. The 14 hour ride turned into 16 hours and made for one interesting night. The train tracks were snow covered and crews worked hard to get us on our way. The occasional stops at train stations throughout Germany brought with them random guards and drug-sniffing pups. I was able to sleep for a majority of the ride, thankfully and made it into Prague around 11:30am. I was greeted by snow and cold temperatures. After purchasing a 3 day train pass, the next step was to locate the hotel. After a transfer on the train line and my nose deep into a street map, we made it to Hotel Anna. The hostess was very kind and informed us that they had overbooked for the weekend. She called us a taxi and handed over a bottle of sparkling wine, then sent us on our way. Hotel number two was less interesting but all the same. We arrived at the hotel, located nearer the city center and locked up our bags then headed out for some grub. Our stomach's were empty and our eyes eager to get on with the sightseeing. After filling up on pasta con broccoli, delicious I might add; we headed straight for the astronomical clock. Upon arrival, I stood amazed at its beauty. Only to find out that it is nearly impossible to tell its time. Nevertheless, I took a photo of the art and headed out to see more statues, towers and crazy Czech's. That evening we found a Cuban bar and enjoyed some drinks and bartending entertainment. We called it an early night and headed back to the hotel to prepare for Saturday.
Saturday came soon and we filled up on the hotel's buffet breakfast before heading out to Prague Castle. It was a magnificant structure on top of the largest cliff hanging over the city. We had quite a long trek ahead of us and wasted no time in hiking up the slippery cobblestone stairs and roads. The hike was worth it, as it usually is and the view from the top was unbelievable. The entire city rustling below us. The castle was huge and the churches just as beautiful. I walked through one of the churches and marveled over the stained glass and marble statues. We made our way down the cliff to find a view of the Petrin Tower in the distance. We stopped for photos and found a warm cafe to enjoy a cup of coffee and warm our hands. Outside there was a carnival going on, people dressed in silly costumes and handing out warm wine and hand-twisted pretzels. It was quite a sight to see and the streets were packed. We joined the carnival for a few blocks and headed towards Charles Bridge. This is quite a tourists sight. Many were walking across the beautifully structured bridge and taking photographs along the way. The river below was running freely, not affected by the weather like the patrons above. The wind blew cold and hard on the bridge and our faces began to freeze. As we came to the end of the bridge we made our way to Bethelem's Chapel and finally some grub. We ate at a nice restaurant near our hotel and I ordered Pad Thai, a dish reminding me of warmth. That evening we ventured back to our hotel to prepare for our journey to find a cocktail bar. We found the bar to be nearly empty and enjoyed a few mixed drinks. As the night grew later more people joined in the fun.
Sunday was a day of rest, well until around 9am when we decided to fill up on breakfast for the last time and head out to see everything we missed on Saturday. It wasn't too much and we even had time for shopping. We ventured out to see the Metronome which stood on the city's second largest cliff at the top of ice covered, cobblestone stairs. It was another adventure and we were up for it. Once again, the hike was worth every minute. Another great view of the city and so much more. We spent the rest of the afternoon browsing the popular shopping streets. They were packed with tourists, naturally. Our last dinner in Prague consisted of a local Eastern European dish of beef and dumplings. It was delicious and we savored every bite. We stuck around for awhile and had a cup of coffee before heading to see the Dancing building which is only of interest because of its 'bent' architecture. It was an amazing sight to see. Time was dwindling down and we made our way to the train station for our 15 hour train ride back to The Netherlands. Once again, it was a great experience to ride the overnight train and wake up in the country I call home for just a couple more months.