I'll try and limit these to the most important, but right now that seems impossible. There are just too many.
1. The architecture. Again, I wish I knew more about architecture to be able to better appreciate every building I saw, but honestly it's not necessary for Prague. It's just so old and so gorgeous, and in a way that's completely different than Rome, that you can't help but be awestruck at it's beauty. Again, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. I can't. I just...I can't.
2. The food. Yes, it's all heavy and probably has more calories than I'd care to know, but it's DELICIOUS. Everywhere we ate was superb, minus a place called Lokal that the lady from Agent Provacateur told us about. We trekked starving halfway across the city to get to their second location after the first one was full, and the meat I ordered was half the size of my palm. Huge letdown for an empty stomach. But it was still scrumptious. Alternatively, my favorite place had to be Choco Cafe. Lenci, Katie and I went there our first morning and it the cutest little place with pretty lighting and soft cushy chairs and couches. The wafting smell of chocolate chip muffins fresh out of the oven didn't hurt either. The three of us grabbed a table and we each ordered a muffin and me, a choco cafe, Lenci and Katie, hot chocolates. Everything was superb, but apparently hot chocolate is taken literally in Prague as hot. chocolate. Specifically, there was no milk, just warm chocolate in liquid form. At first I was disappointed I didn't order one as well, but when neither Lenci nor Katie could finish theirs (it was so rich) yours truly helped them out. Hans, you would have died and gone to heaven. We'll go back someday, don't worry.
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| what's left of my goulash - so hungry i forgot to take a pic first |
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| pancakes |
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| apple streudel |
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| cappuccino with whipped cream |
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| i'm so cute |
3. Jazzy Jazz Jazz. Our first night in Prague, we stumbled off the alarmingly cold street into a small pub not far from the castle. On our way up to the bar, we saw a sign pointing downstairs that advertised a jazz band that was playing that very night. So of course, we went down to explore. It turned out we were an hour and a half early but we decided to stay and inevitably scored the best table. We settled into our booth, ordered a few beers, and waited for the band to arrive. I still can't believe our luck, the band was so incredible. Each musician was as talented as the next, but I was particularly wowed by the singer, for obvious reasons. Her voice was like velvet, so smooth and controlled but effortless at the same time. I'll see if I can upload a video. Anyways, it was a perfect first night in Prague.
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| love me some guiness |
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| me and len |
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| the best |
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| blondie was the singer |
4. CUZ! For those of you who weren't aware, my dear cousin Nate is studying in Prague this semester as well, so we finally managed to meet up on our last night at a pub called The Pub. Sounds a little hoity toity right? Like who says they get to call themselves that when there are more pubs in Prague than there are freckles on my face? WRONG. This place was cool, and they definitely have the right to their name. It had three floors, but the basement was full of booths that each had 4 beer taps in the middle of their table. At the back of the room was a huge scoreboard that kept a tally on how many beers each table had drank. It also switched to a screen that showed how The Pub ranked against other pubs in Prague. Being an avid beer fan and a naturally competitive person, I loved this idea. We all sat at one booth, my friends and Nate's. I was great to catch up with Nate, who I hadn't seen in years, and his friends were lovely as well. After we'd had our fill, we left to go to a club that had been renovated from a church and danced on a catwalk to house music. All in all, it was an awful night. I hated it.
Still some lows..
1. Some Prahans (?) ripped us off. The meal we bought from the cute vendors on the side of the Old Town square charged us 800 krowns for our meal, when in reality it should have been something over 100. If this still sounds large to you, it's because the quantity of czech krowns, the currency of the Czech republic, is in no way comparable to that of the euro or dollar. This makes it super confusing to convert and hard to know how much you're paying for something, which is precisely why we had no idea until later that we payed about 50$ for a meal that should not ever have been that much. Still a delicious meal though, and worth it.
2. The prohibition. Not the one in the 1920s where there were speak-easys and everything was glamorous. Some sick czechs decided to put methanol in some vodka and rum that people drank and subsequently went blind or died from. The result? No alcohol served or sold in all of the Czech republic besides beer and wine. This really isn't much of a low, it didn't impact me at all. In fact, it was kind of cool to be in Prague during an important historic event. Not to say that I don't appreciate the heartbreak of those affected by the poisoned alcohol and their families, however.
Aaaaaand that's it. No more lows. That's how great Prague is. Seriously, go.
We arrived home in Rome on Sunday evening and I collapsed in my bed without even unpacking. It was funny to think that coming back to my triple in Trastevere would ever feel like home because I still think of it as foreign, but somehow it did. Prague was the perfect end to a lovely vacation before the start of classes. I'll write a post about those another time.
But I'd like to end this post by saying that the biggest highlight of my trip by far was the girls that accompanied me. I am hard pressed to name a time in my life that I have laughed harder and more often than I did on this trip - my stomach is still a little sore. I am so lucky to have met these girls and I can't wait to share more adventures with them, whether they be during our semester in Rome or later in life. Good friends are hard to come by, but best friends are truly rare, and I know I have found that in these two :)
Well FOOK it is way past my bedtime. I actually did end up devoting my night to this blog. Oh welp, it was worth it.
Buonanotte, i miei bambini!
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