Prague: Thursday to Friday

June 21, 2003 (that is when I was supposed to write this)

Thursday to Friday

I left Manola's house sporting my black purse and small travel backpack at around 1:30 pm. I was headed for the Police station and had some "official business" to take care of. To make the loong ordeal I encountered once I got there a little shorter and a lot sweeter, I got the form filled out that I needed to report my lost/stolen Eurorail pass that some Italian postal worker is now enjoying looking at (you see, it is unuseable without a valid passport with a name that matches that on the pass...man these Italians are witty--not so much).

I exited the police station and went to wait my the parking lot for the large Giotto bus to come pick myself and about 50 other students up. There I encountered a drugged up Italian man who touched my arm and communicated in mumbled jargon that seemed to be a mix of about 5 languages: Italian, French, German, English, and one that he probably made up. Because of his persistance, I decided to quickly exit the premises and return when there were more people to protect me.

The buses filled up (I was rude enough (I mean lucky enough) to push my way to the front of the line (I mean happen to be at the front of the line) to get the seats with a table so I wouldn't get carsick--or bussick that is. At around 3:45, our 15 hour ride from h-e-double hockey sticks began. Yes yes, you got it, 15 hours. We drove through the night and guess where I slept. I'll give you a good hint: it was not on the bus seat. Any ideas? Well I will tell you that I have discovered my attraction to crawling under things...now do you know?? Yup, I slept wedged underneath the table and my buschair. It wasn't the most comfortable of all places I would choose, but it was much better than the seat that seemed to cause a pain in my buttocks region (I am still having problems with my tailbone because of my cliff jumping experience). By the end of the ride, my legs were having trouble remembering how to work because they had been curled up against my chest the entire ride. I persevered, though, and at 8:30 a.m., after only about 3 hours of sounds sleep and after being lost in Prague for 1.5 hours), I excited the double decker Giotto Bus that, by then, smelled something like a mix of body sweat and an old sock.

Looking very forward to a warm, comfy bed at the hostel, I ran across the street and was one of the first inside the lobby of the hostel. Come to find out, our fearless travel organizers forgot to consider the fact that the reception of most hostels does not allow check in until after noon. Great, huh? So there we were, 50+ exhausted, crabby, and very ravenous college students looking disoriented and smelling very much like the Giotto bus standing in the too-small lobby of a hostel in Prague. It all worked out for the better though, do not fear. The hostel gave us breakfast and told us to return sometime after noon to check in. At that point, the group dispersed and myself and 9 others were left to find our own agenda for the day. Luckily, Father Bruno also remained in the hostel and asked if he could join us for the day...of course we said "YES"!!!

I won't go through the details of the day, but Father Bruno was an excellent tour guide until the wee hours of the morning--12:30 a.m. to be exact. In fact, he was SO great that we didn't get back to our hostel at all and barely sat down during those 16 hours we were out :) Fun, huh??

Actually, it was fun. We saw the city in all its glory. We went to the castle and watched the changing of the guards, saw the amazing Gothic cathedral, and went to the museum in the old Jewish quarters. The Jewish quarters are the site of the Nazi invasion in 1945 where over 3/4 of the residents who lived in the quarters were killed. It was a mind-numbing experience to say the least. All the buildings that now house collections educating the public about the everyday life of the Jews who lived in the quarters are authentic and survived the war. There was a synagogue the was painted, floor to ceiling in every room, with name after name of victim and their age. I spotted too many children to count and actually had to stop counting because it became too overwhelming. The men had to wear the little hats (I forget what they are called) and patrons were asked to respect that it was still considered a synagogue. I learned a lot about Jewish lifestyle (did you know that mothers were housebound for purification purposes for THREE weeks after childbirth?!?!?) and saw some humbling artwork by Jewish children of 1945, many of whom were killed by the Nazis. We walked across the famous Charles Bridge, the one featured in Mission Impossible--very cool. Each corner we turned invited new adventures. The architecture is AMAZING...the only word I can conjure up to provide you with a mental image is "fairytale". When i was walking around, it was hard to grasp the concept that such a beautiful city was controlled for so many years by communism.

The Euro 'Fotbale' 2004 was on...and Bruno, being an avid fan, insisted on watching both games that night. He even treated the 10 of us to pizza at a bar during the first game! The second bar was a blur for me--probably because I was so tired by then that I fell asleep (yes, I FELL ASLEEP in A BAR!!!) on a bench and didn't catch any of the game at all...oops.

By 11:30 the games were over and the city was crazy. There were fans of all ages, shapes, and sizes dressed up and showing their dedication to the teams...it was like a college sporting event but with families and grandpas and children all out to show just how much they love their teams. We didn't know anything about how the bus system worked and decided to walk home instead, Bruno insisting on his great sense of direction. So we trusted him--BIG mistake. We wandered around a dark park, sending up flares and attracting every mugger in the city, for about an hour. Finally gaining our bearings and walking faster than "Bruno pace" (which is probably equivalent to speed walking) back to the hostel, we walked in the door at around 12:30.

Since we were unable to check in earlier, there were scant pickings for rooms. Come to find out, though, the rooms weren't much of what I expected--at all. I want to make clear that I am not complaining (it was a bed, for which I am very grateful) but I am simply describing our living situation. The beds smelled like pee and looked like they were from 1950 and hadn't been cleaned since. The comforter was so gross that upon assessing my sleeping quarters for the night, I promptly pushed it on the floor and into a corner so I wouldn't have to touch it. I showered to rid myself of the sour Giotto bus smell but actually ended up feeling dirtier afterwards because of the mold and friendly bugs that accompanied me in the shower. In short, the beauty of the interior of our hostel didn't match the majesty of the city around it...but by then, I was sooo exhausted that I really didn't care. I slept like a baby until 9:13 Saturday morning :)