Backpacking (Central/Eastern) Europe

Frankfurt, Germany, 6am:

We are about to fly into Prague. The Frankfurt airport is a never-ending maze and it doesn't make much sense in terms of being navigation-friendly. It took about 45 minutes to find our connecting flight, get our tickets, go back inside through another airport security, get frisked/patted down and metal-detected (including the soles of my feet...without shoes as if I had some microchip implanted in them) and FINALLY, after endless ramps and terminals, we arrived to our gate only to discover that our flight had been moved several gates back from where we came. Naturally.

The German-Czech flight attendants, all male by the way, are pretty amusing as they all stare, smile and say 'Hallo' in that Lurch-like manner.

Taken from an excerpt in my journal:

"Wow! They give you complimentary beer in flight! I ordered some German beer, Warsteiner, very nutty with a bitter aftertaste. Went well with the wheat & cheese sandwich."

August 15, 2008:

Adam and I got out of the airport and to the train station easily. It was with the ticket machine, we had a struggle with. After an eternity, we purchased our tickets, hopped on the sardine-can-of-a-bus with a ton of people that didn't get the memo to wear deodorant that day, and landed into the heart of it all, Stare Mesto square.

After consulting with several random strangers, we found our way to the 'Traveler's Hostel', and booked two nights for $30/day.

Prague is very quaint and bordering on a fairytale land. I'm still not quite sure what to make of the Czech locals, but as i was in my hostel room (Adam unluckily got sequestered in Part 2 of the hostel, located in some dark, remote alleyway, with creepy bunkmates that stared at him whilst he slept), I met Anna, from France. She barely spoke English, and I, hardly any French, but whatever we talked about, we ended up conversing for an hour. I invited her to have dinner with Adam and I, and we all walked until we found a restaurant U Kororaika.

After dinner, Adam, Anna, and I walked across the St Charles' Bridge, nearing the castles.

Prague is so beautiful, and it's got such two distinct looks in the evening and daytime. My favorite though, is the city at night.

August 16, 2008:

Adam, Anna and I woke up bright and early for a breakfast of hard, crusty kaiser roll, salami and a slice of cheese. I'm from America, it's gonna take a lot more than this for me to function.

After exchanging emails with Anna, she left to stay with a Czech family for a few days, and Adam and I decided to make a day trip up to the castle. Despite being rainy and cold, I did pack my trusty umbrella, and before long, my lack of a sense of direction had us in circles for 20 minutes.

After walking by several XXX stores, we came back to the Stare Mesto square, saw the millions of spiders splattered across the bridge, and regained our path towards our destination. After almost getting pick pocketed by a bald guy in a red coat, we journeyed uphill to the Prague Castle (approx. 1 hr and 20 mins in the rain!), then proceeded to wait in the long, long line to gain entry into the Cathedral. Never one for having too much patience, I dragged Adam into a group of Spanish tourists near the front of the church and although I, being Chinese-American, and Adam being half-Afro American, half-Nicaraguan, I figured the Central American part of him would help us try to blend in.

After our long walk, and frequenting the Cathedral, Adam and I get lured into a sidewalk cafe and it is there, that I first have my taste of the famed Czech beer, Pilsner Urquell. I don't know why I've never tried it in the States, but I do have to admit, it tastes so much better abroad.

After warming up, relaxing our feet, and having a great meal of vickova na smetane (beef with sour cream and cranberry), we hiked back down to our hostel and I napped for several hours. I awoke to Adam telling me that Pavel, his Czech friend, wanted to meet us for dinner.

Pavel brought us to this restaurant in the outskirts of the city, but it was by far, one of the best Czech meals I've had since the two days I've stayed here. We drank several different types of beer and ate to our hearts' content.

After dinner, Adam and I took the metro back to our hostel in preparation for our early train to Munich the next day. Meanwhile, Cyril and Mathieu, the French boys, came in and we all hung out, joked around and exchanged infos. They were so wasted (particularly, Cyril), so it was quite fun to watch considering Adam and I had sobered up by now.