Prague

Our time in Prague was quite a whirlwind experience.  We were in the city for about 40 hours, and we did so much while there!  Prague is by far one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen.  We never had a chance to do any kind of guided tour, so we didn’t get to learn much about the history of the city, but the cathedrals and buildings were a sight to see. 

            We got in on Friday night and checked into our hostel.  It’s interesting to note how our expectations have changed over the course of the trip.  For example, our hostel had free water and a fan, and we felt like we were in heaven!  All eight of us that were in Prague took showers and went and had a nice dinner in Old Town.  My spinach fettuccine might have been my favorite meal I’ve had all trip!  On Saturday, we walked to the Prague Castle and to a monastery that also operates as a brewery.  The castle wasn’t what we were expecting.  We were expecting to see a medieval castle that was hundreds of years old, but it actually more resembled a sprawling palace.  While there, we also went inside the St. Vitus Cathedral.  It was built in the same style as the cathedral in Cologne and St. Chapelle in Paris.   We then walked to the monastery to see about getting a tour of the brewery.  We couldn’t get into a tour, but we sat in the beer garden and tried some of the locally brewed beer.

            On Sunday, we spent the day walking throughout Old Town, looking at the shops and listening to the street vendors.  I love the music that you hear on the streets of Europe.  We wandered through the streets all day taking in the sights, including the Astronomical Clock and the big main square.  The weekend had been tons of fun, but there was a little bit of drama when it came time to get back to Bonn.  We got to the train station about an hour early.  Soon, we realized that our train was not on the board for departures.  After getting help from a DB representative, we realized that we were in fact on a bus to Nuremburg then a train to Bonn.  However, half of our group did not have reservations for the bus.  We soon learned that all the buses for the day were full, as well as all the night trains.   Those of us with reservations went ahead on the bus while the other half booked flights to get home.  After getting to Nuremberg, we also learned that our train reservation to Bonn was for Monday, not Sunday.  Luckily, there was room on the train and we were able to find seats, but it was a stressful adventure.  Overall, I enjoyed Prague and our time there, but I have never been so glad to be back in Bonn!