Prague

So here I sit in my Room at the Hostel with my shoes off letting my blistered feet rest. I have walked so much that my feet are torn up. Since I am forced to take a break before my train leaves on Friday morning to Linz I thought I would post Blog about my travels in Prague.

First, I arrived a little late, but not too bad considering the fact that I had to change planes in JFK and CDG. Of course my luggage was lost at JFK so all I had was my back pack. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I was able to take the bus and metro to Stare Mesto (old town). I wondered around for half the day looking for a place to stay and never found the one I was looking for. Eventually I settled on a place in Nove Mesto (new town) that was 90 Euro a night. It was a full accommodation with two single beds, TV, Phone, and my own WC w/shower. However, it was a little out of my price range, so I moved the next day to a place closer to the old town square. It turns out that 30 Euro a night is about the going rate for a single with shared facilities. Anyway, on to the fun stuff.

My second day I found a bike rental agency and rented a bike. I was so excited because the blisters from the first days wanderings were making walking out of the question and the bike gave me back my mobility. Besides, it was fun just riding around in a new city. The architecture is a amazing, you could easily spend a whole day in any part of the city just looking at the buildings and learning a little about their history. The first thing I did was cross the bridge north of old town and road up the tallest hill I found. At the top I was surprised to find a relic of the Soviet days, I giant metronome, it is set atop an elaborate hill with wide staircases up either side that lead into a plaza that must have once been used for important events. However, after the fall of the Union the locals reclaimed it and it is heavily vandalized. Aside from the tourists there for the view, it is mostly used by skateboarders who have adapted the old granite and marble steps and benches into the ultimate urban stake park.