See what I mean about the banana seats?
Petrin Hill, on the way down
I want to swim naked in the Daube! - Mandy Moore in her early 2000's movie "Chasing Liberty", in which she plays the wayward daughter of the current US president and incorrectly identifies the river Vlitava as the Danube during her trip to Prague.
No matter which river it REALLY is, the gorgeous and majestic waterway that runs through the entire city and separates the new town from the old town is one of the most famous Prague landmarks, along with the Prague Castle that sits atop the city, watching over the residents.
Getting to Prague was no easy feat. It took us almost 18 hours to complete the entire journey, including a 10 hour overnight train from Manheim, Germany.
Overnight trains are really interesting, especially if you are on a student budget and can't afford to book a sleeper car, which clearly we are, and couldn't.
The seats are about twice the size of regular train seats, and look like giant blue bananas that lean back into an angle that seems conducive to sleeping...but it is not.
It was around 3 am on our night train, and I was going to lose it.
All around me there were other passengers, leaned back in their chairs, blissfully un- aware of the fact that their body was emitting odors one hopes to only find near garbage cans and snoring that could wake the dead.
Reaching a certain breaking point, I shook Sarah awake and told her I couldn't handle it anymore, which sent us both into a fit of terrible, delirious giggles, to which she replied, just put on some Colbie and relax a little.
I took her advice and was soothed into a shallow slumber, only waking up as the sun rose with our train gliding east through the Czech Republic.
Those morning hours railing through the rural countryside are fairly fuzzy due to serious delirium, but as the scenery flew by, images of green rolling hills and a large, brown and murky river met my eyes, and as the buildings began to speed by, I noticed the striking difference in architecture from the west...everything was pointy and looked like a castle.
Our arrival in the city was flawless, as was our trek to the hostel.
We had heard the notorious stories of the dangerous cab drivers in Prague, so we opted to walk, and with Sarah leading the way, we found our way to the Riverbank Hostel...which was located directly on, you guessed it, the riverbank.
Our hostel was an absolute dream come true. It was made up of like 6 rooms, all of which were practically private apartments that had been converted into dorms for students like ourselves. The wood floors were as clean as could be, and pillows did not smell like feet.
The first order of business was, of course, to head to Starbucks to pick up our beloved city mugs. We had learned a few cities ago that it's best to pick them up at the end of a day, when you are less likely to be carrying them around in your purse all day.
We made our way blissfully onto the crowded street that lines the river, headed in the direction of the Charles Bridge, where old meets new, and crossed over the famous cobblestone platform to our favorite coffee shop.
It was around 3pm (exactly 12 hours after my train meltdown) that I began to fade. Our restless night had begun to take its toll, but we reluctantly agreed that we couldn't go to sleep until at least 9, and naps were out of the question.
We were in serious need of a pick me up. Luckily, Sarah had done her research, and found a delightful English bookstore called The Globe.
She located it on the map and we set out to find it and have a beverage....assuming of of course that it would remind us of our dear Book In Bar.
This bookstore blew Book In Bar right out of the water. It was two stories of English book bliss, and had a cafe that served food and offered free re-fills of their iced tea and lemonade.
I got hummus with veggies and Sarah got the mozzarella sticks (who's surprised?), and we relaxed until it was time to make dinner and finally hit the sack.
The next day dawned sunny and warm, which was a perfect representation of the spring break we had always imagined. We spent the morning climbing the famous Petrin Hill, which sits over 1000 ft above sea level, and has a watchtower modeled after my own Eiffel Tower.
We took an alternative route down the hill, which led us through winding Czech neighborhoods and we even passed the US Embassy ( you know how I love to spot an Embassy)...and finally wound our way to Prague Castle, where we spent all of five minutes looking at the copper and sea-foam green palace before the hoards of tourists drove is away.
Lunch was spent in the Jewish Quarter, because you know we can't help but find our way to the Jews. Along with the usually amazing shopping ( Gucci, Prada, Burberry), there were delicious restaurants left and right.
We finally settled on an Italian place, where the salads were huge and the bread was served with garlic butter. It was like living in luxury for us, because we never go out to eat, much less opt for soup and soda, but this was Prague, and it was cheap.
Honorable mention must go out to the afternoon spent wandering around new town, going into shops and the chocolate museum, where all the wrappers were pink and brown and looked like Juicy Couture.
All in all, Prague was a total success.
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