Ah Prague. First we thought London was the most beautiful city we'd ever seen, then we saw Paris. Crime ridden, but romantic and and awe inspiring. After that we saw Munich; with its luscious English Garden and Gothic architecture, it quickly became our favorite city. Then we arrived in Prague. We can best describe it as Paris meets Munich. The city layout is seems more Parisian while the architecture is distinctly western European. It's also dirt cheap! We had a high quality lunch with beer and extras in a tourist-heavy location for only $20! Hence our staying an extra night.
The day began in a rather rough manner, actually. First, let us just say that its is almost impossible for us to read Czech. In Paris and Munich we could at least recognize some of the words we encountered. Here? Nothin'. We had bought sugar and milk to go with the coffee Kaylea had bought. The sugar had been pointed out to us by a helpful grocery clerk. Well that sugar we bought? It was salt. We found out after Kaylea had dumped three spoonfuls into her coffee cup and stirred well. Needless to say, she spit it back in the cup. Later, as we were packing up our belongings, Aaron realized he couldn't locate his watch. We tore the hostel apart trying to find it before coming to the conclusion that it had probably been swiped. We spoke to management, but they weren't much help. Its not that it was an expensive watch, but it held sentimental value being a Christmas gift from Kaylea. Anyways, we got over it by accepting it as a risk of budget backpacking.
After that fiasco, we decided to check out Prague Castle. It was cool. The stained glass was cool. There was this bronze statue of a naked man, but his -cough, ahem- member was gold. Just as Kaylea theorized that the color difference was due to too many admirers touching the phallic piece, Aaron caught a picture of someone rubbing it with earnest for a photo-op.
Cooler than all of that, though, was the experience of getting to hold and pet birds of prey. Kaylea held a barn owl and Aaron held a Golden Eagle. Best birthday ever. After the biggest castle ever (not all built at the same time-lame), we had that great lunch we mentioned. Cranberries and mushrooms pair extremely well with meat, FYI.
Fat and happy, we made our way across the famed Charles Bridge, through the cobble-stoned streets, and back to the hostel. After the episode with the watch, we switched to a private room for the remainder of our stay. It was only $10 more per person and the room is bigger than our bedroom back in Dallas! Also, its got this funky princess netting thingy above the bed that adds to the birthday feel. The view is pretty cool too.
For dinner, Aaron took Kaylea on a Jazz Boat. Live jazz and a view of the city at sunset. For two hours we dined, we drank, and we got to watch fire works at the Charles bridge for some yearly event. In addition to the fire works there was a light show and Chinese (maybe Japanese?!) laterns floating in the sky. There was also a flock of swans hanging around out boat. Talk about romaaaanttttiiiicccc. Well, except for the couple that made out with lots of tongue, sloppy sounds, and eye contact the entire ride. The waiters even had to sneakily ask them to stop. It was sly. Two waiters pretended to adjust cushion seats behind the couple, physically pushed their shoulders apart, and whispered for them to stop. It was quick and slight, but we saw.
Aaron had also arranged for a candle to be brought with Kaylea's desert, but to everyone's delightful surprise, it was a giant sparkler instead. Already a few wine glasses in, Kaylea attempted and failed to make a wish and blow the sparkler out. Dinner was concluded with shots of absinthe (disgusting! vile! licorice!) and Kaylea walking off the boat with (read: stealing) the blanket provided by the tour service.
Now it is time for bed, hopefully we can get some rest even with the group of big, drunken men mistakenly trying to enter our room. One has already vomited all over the kitchen.
Cheers!
The day began in a rather rough manner, actually. First, let us just say that its is almost impossible for us to read Czech. In Paris and Munich we could at least recognize some of the words we encountered. Here? Nothin'. We had bought sugar and milk to go with the coffee Kaylea had bought. The sugar had been pointed out to us by a helpful grocery clerk. Well that sugar we bought? It was salt. We found out after Kaylea had dumped three spoonfuls into her coffee cup and stirred well. Needless to say, she spit it back in the cup. Later, as we were packing up our belongings, Aaron realized he couldn't locate his watch. We tore the hostel apart trying to find it before coming to the conclusion that it had probably been swiped. We spoke to management, but they weren't much help. Its not that it was an expensive watch, but it held sentimental value being a Christmas gift from Kaylea. Anyways, we got over it by accepting it as a risk of budget backpacking.
After that fiasco, we decided to check out Prague Castle. It was cool. The stained glass was cool. There was this bronze statue of a naked man, but his -cough, ahem- member was gold. Just as Kaylea theorized that the color difference was due to too many admirers touching the phallic piece, Aaron caught a picture of someone rubbing it with earnest for a photo-op.
Cooler than all of that, though, was the experience of getting to hold and pet birds of prey. Kaylea held a barn owl and Aaron held a Golden Eagle. Best birthday ever. After the biggest castle ever (not all built at the same time-lame), we had that great lunch we mentioned. Cranberries and mushrooms pair extremely well with meat, FYI.
Fat and happy, we made our way across the famed Charles Bridge, through the cobble-stoned streets, and back to the hostel. After the episode with the watch, we switched to a private room for the remainder of our stay. It was only $10 more per person and the room is bigger than our bedroom back in Dallas! Also, its got this funky princess netting thingy above the bed that adds to the birthday feel. The view is pretty cool too.
For dinner, Aaron took Kaylea on a Jazz Boat. Live jazz and a view of the city at sunset. For two hours we dined, we drank, and we got to watch fire works at the Charles bridge for some yearly event. In addition to the fire works there was a light show and Chinese (maybe Japanese?!) laterns floating in the sky. There was also a flock of swans hanging around out boat. Talk about romaaaanttttiiiicccc. Well, except for the couple that made out with lots of tongue, sloppy sounds, and eye contact the entire ride. The waiters even had to sneakily ask them to stop. It was sly. Two waiters pretended to adjust cushion seats behind the couple, physically pushed their shoulders apart, and whispered for them to stop. It was quick and slight, but we saw.
Aaron had also arranged for a candle to be brought with Kaylea's desert, but to everyone's delightful surprise, it was a giant sparkler instead. Already a few wine glasses in, Kaylea attempted and failed to make a wish and blow the sparkler out. Dinner was concluded with shots of absinthe (disgusting! vile! licorice!) and Kaylea walking off the boat with (read: stealing) the blanket provided by the tour service.
Now it is time for bed, hopefully we can get some rest even with the group of big, drunken men mistakenly trying to enter our room. One has already vomited all over the kitchen.
Cheers!
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