Prague and Cesky Krumlov

I spent most of the bus ride contorting my body into different positions, each one more uncomfortable, in an effort to get some sleep. I arrived the following morning at 4:45am with the sky already fully lit. I tried to take the metro but with no local currency I didn't get very far. I opted to walk and follow the terribly drawn map on the back of the hostel brochure. As I neared the old town center I found I was literally the only one outside except for the occasional street sweeper or left over partiers from the night before. I was so tired that I failed to appreciate the absolute treasure I had, seeing Prague's old town in solitary silence. To see the streets just as they've been every morning at this time for hundreds of years, without cars, hoards of tourist, or kitschy shops. I somehow managed to find my hostel by 5:30 and collapsed on the couch in the lounge. The hostel receptionist took pity on me and let me into my empty dorm room at 7:30 where I enjoyed a rare quiet sleep until 12:00. I spent the afternoon wandering the streets seeing the main sights and in the evening I went to the town square where a huge screen was set up and hundreds were gathered to watch the Eurocup. I hung out with kids from my hostel until they went off on a pub crawl and I remained behind to watch the game. I ended up talking with an interesting American who was on his second overland backpacking trip from Europe through Asia. I got a lot of good advice for my trip in the fall!

The next day I took a walking tour that turned out to be a huge disappointment, especially after my last great one in Berlin. Afterwards I made my way across the old town and up the hill to Prague Castle. I spent a couple of hours wandering the castle grounds and finding a quiet spot in the gardens to journal. That evening I went back to the old town square to watch the Czech Republic play in the Eurocup. It has been great this summer to be in the countries when they are playing in the cup. All of Prague seemed to show up in the square to watch the game! Unfortunately they lost to Poland, but since I was hanging out with a group of Brits none of use cared very much. We wandered through Prague in search of a pub to sit down in and ended up in a quiet one a ways from our hostel. We soon realized that below our new favorite bar was a strip joint. This was quickly made clear as each woman who entered would beckon the guys to follow her downstairs where she would give "strip lessons, good price." I was happy when my male companions declined and we made our way home after a few pints.

I woke early the next morning and caught a bus to Cesky Krumlov, a small medieval town about 3 hours south of Prague. After following more terrible hostel directions, i.e. "leave the bus station and walk towards church tower." Hmmmm, which of the 12 church towers might that be? Unfortunately, it wasn't the one I chose and I got a full tour of Cesky Krumlov with my pack and crutches before I finally found my hostel tucked along the riverbank across town. After unloading my pack and eating a meager lunch from my food bag I set off to explore a bit more and took a great tour of the local castle. As it started to get dark I spotted a couple with an appetizing looking pizza and they directed me towards the shop. I carried that pizza home like it was my last supper and savored every bite of it. The Chinese girl who sat across the table and watched me devour it can attest to my ferocious appetite that night. I stayed up later than I planned talking with an interesting Irish man who was on his second backpacking trip across the world (I met at least 4 or 5 people on their second trip). As a result, I wasn't too keen on getting up at my planned hour of 4:30 and ended up hitting the snooze button. Thus began the longest day of my five week trip...