Prague, Day 1 and 2
I arrived in Prague late-ish on Thursday night, and navigated my way to my airbnb. It’s always exciting how every city is different and you never know what you are going to get in terms of getting yourself around. I arrive with no local money and have to find the metro and learn the idiosyncrasies of each particular system. Luckily in Prague there was an ATM right outside the bus station. When I went down into the metro tunnel though, I learned that their ticket machines only take cash- and they only take coins- and they only take CERTAIN coins. HA! I managed to get change though, and the rest was easy.
I “splurged” on an airbnb in Prague, because I am finding myself very weary with hostels. I’m not in my 20s anymore, people. Who am I kidding? Living in a dorm was hard for me even when I was 18. Anyway, this place was really affordable, and my host- Pauline- is really sweet and accommodating. We had tea and she gave me some solid advice about where to go/what to do in Prague. I’m staying in the southeast part of town, which is a 20-25 minute walk from the city center.
When I woke up in the morning, this was my view:
My own room! A door that closes! Privacy! Sunshine! Quiet! And a washer/dryer, a fully functioning kitchen, an adorable cat, a shower with a tub- I almost lost my mind with how happy and comfortable I was.
I walked to the Old Town Square to meet my Toronto/Ponderosa friend Vic and her lovely mom for lunch.
After lunch we walked up to a viewing tower on the east side of the Charles Bridge- through narrow winding streets and a park area.
On the way down from these hills, I meandered in and out of cute shops full of handmade pottery and other things. I have to be careful, because this seems to be a city that makes me want to spend money. It’s a lot more touristy than Budapest, which on one hand makes it easier, and on the other hand makes it a little harder to have a more unique experience.
That’s an orchard at the bottom part of this photo- so beautiful!
Other tourists on the Charles Bridge:
At night, Vic and I decided we wanted to go out- which is so against my nature, seeing as how I’m a grandmother and all. I wanted the experience anyway. We went to a place that Pauline suggested, Vzorkovna- it was a dive bar with multiple rooms filled with couches and comfortable places to sit/relax. There were arcade games and foosball tables in the back and in the room where we were sitting- a stage where people would randomly go up and play music.
It was incredibly dark in there, but I did try to do some longer exposures:
People dancing:
We drank a lot of beer and met some very interesting locals- and spent the night talking and dancing and being silly until we eventually left the bar sometime between 3 and 3:30 AM. I had the best time! Vic is amazing, and I’m so happy I got to spend more time with her on this journey.
Today, I am mildly exhausted. Pauline is gone for the weekend and the Chinese students who are renting the other bedroom in the apartment have been gone sightseeing all day, so me and Zoe the cat have pretty much had the place to ourselves. I decided to take the day off- like a real Saturday! I woke up around 11 AM and put pants on and walked down to the closest little market to get some things to actually make myself breakfast at home.
I got organic eggs, vine tomatoes, a bell pepper, an onion, brie, and a latte- for under $10.00. So good.
I’m coming down with a little bit of a throat thing- I have a very swollen lymph node on my neck/jaw area, but only on the right hand side. I’m hoping the restful day will kill whatever plague I am now currently incubating. I think I may head down and get Vietnamese food at a place nearby for dinner and then spend the evening watching bad tv and booking some hostels for the last 3 weeks (!!) of my trip.