Prague

Hey all! Our time in Leipzig is almost over, but we still have a few adventures planned. On Friday we headed out of Germany for the Czech Republic. Bryan has been to Prague before, but hadn't spent much time there, so we both knew there would be plenty for us to see and do.

We took the train to Dresden, Germany and then had bus tickets to Prague. During our layover, we ate at a "Californian" restaurant. Their specialty was burgers. As most of you know, neither Bryan or I eat burgers (though for different reasons,) so we passed on the specialties but still had a good dinner. It was nice to recognize all of the items on a menu for once. :) The bus part of our trip was not exactly desirable. Our bus was late on Friday night and this was an outdoor bus stop, which meant that there was no information about where the bus was or why it was late. Thankfully, the bus showed up about an hour late and we were on our way.

Our bus traveled on the Autobahn for awhile, which was pretty cool, but then we ventured on to side roads in the Czech Republic to avoid tolls (Probably. Not for sure for the reason). The trip was terrifying; there were a lot of hairpin turns, traffic circles, and the strange feeling that we were in the middle of nowhere. We finally made it to Prague and were able to catch the last tram to our hostel. Bryan and I have gotten really good at figuring out public transportation in strange cities late at night. We'd like to think it's a handy skill to have mastered. Our hostel was a nice enough place for a base for our weekend adventures; it provided coffee and breakfast in the morning and was clean enough. Here's the view from our window:

Saturday morning started early as we headed towards the city center to meet with one of Bryan's friends from his previous study abroad experiences. If it seems like there is always a foreign friend from a previous study abroad, it's because there is. These people have made our trips so much better!

The next 12 hours were spent seeing the sights, getting sunburnt, and walking 11,830,334 miles (Feels that way anyway! My shoes are worn out!) We spent time in churches, traditional pubs, and hole in the wall restaurants (including one with the best fajitas I have ever had.) We saw a castle, a beautiful river, crafts from vendors on a bridge, lovely architecture, and 498,345,345 tourists. I have never seen so many tourists in one place (well, Paris probably had more, but Prague is much smaller so everyone is crammed together.) By the end of the day, we were worn out!

On Sunday, we had about 6 hours of sightseeing time before we had to head back to the bus station. We ventured up (via a furnicular!) to a park that contains a replica of the Eiffel Tower (1/5 of the size, though) and also bought more presents to bring back home. We also wandered around the Jewish Quarter of the city, had lunch in an adorable underground pub, stumbled upon the Czech Senate and its gardens, and did some major people watching on one of the main squares. Sunday was a much more relaxed day than Saturday!

Here are some photos:

The Astronomical Clock:

The city's skyline and architecture and the Charles Bridge:

The St. Vitus Cathedral (next to the Prague castle):

 

Petrin Hill (the park where the "Eiffel Tower" is):

The Jewish Quarter:

We were determined to not bring any Czech money back with us, so we spent every last cent! Our money went much further in Prague than in Paris and there were some really neat jewelry pieces, photos, and Christmas decorations. I'm not sure how we will be getting all of the great things we've picked up back to the US, but I know that I definitely have some shoes to throw away. :) Also, the drinks were much, much cheaper in Prague than in the US, Germany, or anywhere else we've been.

It was worth the terrible bus trips (Coming back we stopped in some random Czech Republic town because of mechanical problems, which resulted in our bus driving away while our driver was on the sidewalk. No, we didn't go back to get him. No, I don't understand either.) to spend the weekend in Prague. Prague is a beautiful city and it was interesting to spend some time in Eastern Europe. There are definitely differences there than from Germany. It is apparent how much money the eastern part of Germany received after reunification and it was strange to return to Leipzig and think that it was a modern city. I've gotten kind of attached to Leipzig, I suppose. :)

Some final photos for you all: