A Couple of Days in Prague
Trip Start
Jul 27, 2007
1
21
31
Trip End
Oct 22, 2007
Prague,
Czech Republic
Friday, September 28, 2007
The remainder of the day was spent getting to Prague and just when it looked like we would be on time we hit the afternoon rush hour on the outskirts of the Prague. We eventually made it to the hotel which was a little out of town and was called Hotel Dum (pronounced Doom) which was quite appropriate seeing the building was a renovated apartment block from the communist era. I thought the lighting in the rooms was a nice touch as I hadn't seen lights like that since I worked underground. The one good point about this hotel was each room use to be an apartment so this meant we had a room each. When we arrived we met the remaining members of the group who were all Australian except a kiwi and a Korean. After dinner we then caught a bus and then a train into the city and did a small walking tour with our fearless leader Justin. At the end of the tour Justin lead us to a bar that sold Abstinence. After my second shot I realise that this could never be my drink of choice so I reverted back to old faithful - Jack Daniels. A few of the braver souls on the trip knocked back atleast 5 or 6 shots and I believe they weren't the best the next day.
The next day myself, Phil my roommate and Dave (the accountant from Adelaide) decided to stick together and after the other two checked out the communist museum whilst I was on the net we caught the train to the base of the hill that the castle district sat on. This day would be the first of the trip where the weather was against us but this did not stop us climbing to the the top of the hill and going for a walk in the castle grounds. When we got to the cathedral in the centre of the castle we decided to climb to the top for one of the best views of Prague. When we found the stairwell to the top we found a safety officer's worst nightmare. There were no handrails and the stairs were only wide enough for a single person even though people went up and down the one stairwell. This meant for a serious of breaks as we climbed the 287 stairs to the top but the view was definitely worth it. The only shame was it would be better on a clear day but you get over it. We left the castle and on the way down we stopped off for some Subway and walked on to the Charles Bridge. At this point of time Phil left to do some shopping and Dave headed off to check out the Jewish district. I headed back to the old town square and decided to climb to the top of the clock town to see another good view of the city. After all this climbing I got a bit thirsty so Dave and I caught up again and head for a bar for a few beers. We met up with the rest of the group at the Charles bridge and as we walked off I finally found my cousin Mark who I knew would be in Prague at the same time. I then left group and head off with Mark and his mate Dave for a few beers. They took me to this place they found the night before called the Beer Factory. Here instead of buying individual beers you actually buy per litre and each table you sit at has its own set of taps so you also pour your own. I also had the experience called a Pork Knuckle which is a big chunk of pork on the bone. I bidded farewell around midnight (and after 13 litres of beer had been drank) and somehow navigated my way back to the hotel.
The next morning I packed up my stuff (which included 2/3 of a carton of beer) and jumped on the bus heading for Krakow. We had a short delay as a few people had decided to polish off a few more bottles of Abstinence the night before and had slept in.
