Where am I?

This post is intended for July 19.

Aside from the exciting and exhilarating events that we enjoyed in Hannover, the second weekend travels brought me to Prague, in the Czech Republic. Prague was one of the most beatiful cities architecturally that I have ever seen. This is right up there with Vienna, which we were in this week, but back to the weekend...I had a blast!

Although first impressions were not the best, what with the damp, rainy weather on the first day, the irate security woman in the train station, and the temporary inability to hail a cab that would take us to the hostel, the overall atmosphere of the weekend was one that will not soon be forgotten. It was almost as though walking through the streets of the historic town center was like taking a trip back in time. There was the huge cathedral and a strangely arranged astrological clock, which a group of us sat in front of and enjoyed a warm capuccino and soup as a pickup on the cold rainy afternoon.

The hostel, Sir Toby's, was a space that had a very unique atmosphere. There was the meeting room out front, the pub/relaxing area downstairs, and five floors of rooms that contained a varitable melting pot of cultures. For example my room, which I shared with Andrew and Roger, contained some German people, Dutch people, a Canadain, and an Australian. It was just a neat concept to think that little ol' me from a small town in Texas would be in a hostel in Prague that would be shared with such a variety of people.

Probably my favorite part of the weekend was walking. We saw the historical parts of town, the Prague castle, the Charles bridge, and other social aspects such as the pub crawl, but the most interesting thing for me was seeing the town at night. Being able to walk around in a foreign city in Europe with no restraint but my own often makes me take a step out of reality and make sure where I am. While I am in the moment of the trip and the excursions with friends and teachers, I feel like some of the importance and grandeur of the things we are seeing and participating in is lost. So there, around midnight in the streets of Prague chillin with Roger, I found myself stepping out of reality and looking at the big picture in the hope that this is actually happening and I am experiencing this trip to the fullest. I think that this innocent question will help me to get back down to earth and realize that this is reality, and the reality is that this trip is only half-way over!

I literally have no idea what adventures the last half of the trip will bring, but I am sure that they will be priceless.

Until next time,

Matt