Prague with Easter

 Having looked through countless of my friends’ Facebook albums from their semesters abroad, a weekend trip to Prague seems to be one that most American college students take while spending a semester in Europe. When the opportunity to satisfy a stereotype arose, I naturally took it—not to mention that this trip would mark the 20^th country I would have visited.  I was especially excited for this trip, as I would not be traveling alone! “Prague with Easter” was the Facebook group, and I was so excited to see more and more people joining. 

 I’m not entirely sure how many people in total came to Prague from HWR, but I spent most of my time with 6 other people from 4 different countries—the US, Brazil, Norway, and the Netherlands.  While there were quite a few of us from the same university in Prague, I found it odd that we all ran into each other so frequently throughout our stay despite staying at different hostels throughout the city.  Overall, we had a fantastic time despite obstacles we faced with the hostel, location, and nightlife.  (Berlin truly ruins nightlife in other cities).  

Upon arriving in Prague, I learned that my hostel did not exist. Holding back panic-tears, I found free wifi—something that is quite common in the city—and quickly booked another one. The hostel turned out to be fantastic, and close to the city center! Meeting up with the rest of the group at the Charles Bridge, we decided to go to the largest nightclub in Central Europe—Karlovy Lazne.  While it may be the biggest, it certainly does not compare to anything in Berlin.  The club seemed to be geared towards male tourists, as the club was 90% guys--the creepy kind.  The club also had free wifi—which is actually unheard of. We gladly left a little after 1 am—the time we leave to go out in Berlin. 

The next day, I moved into the hostel where everyone else was staying in. It was cheap, outside of the city, and sort of gross. Even though we were all a bit freaked out by the sights and scents, it matters most who you are with and the city which you are exploring. We had a great lunch in the city center, as we were there for Easter weekend, and the Easter Market was in full swing. We did a free walking tour of the city, and went back to our hostel to get ready for the Party Boat we had booked. Again, this was an example of Berlin ruining nightlife. I ended up spending my night on the boat on the top deck looking at the city from the river at night, away from the “party”. After the boat ride ended, a group of us went to McDonalds where we enjoyed a McBox, and then went up to Prague Castle at night. It turns out that Prague is a city that, in fact, does sleep, as the lights were shut off by 3.

The following day, we returned to the castle, but this time, we could see the magnificent view of the old city and river. After yet another traditional Czech meal, we explored the Hrad, and after our photo shoot, we went back to the old city for dinner.  By now it was Sunday, and we realized that there was no point in trying to go out again, as both “weekend” nights were a bit of a disappointment, so we headed back to the hostel with what was probably the worst beer and wine any of us have ever unknowingly purchased.

On Monday, we gladly checked out of our hostel, and headed for the city.  One of the guys and I stayed behind and got coffee and breakfast, while the others went to see the John Lennon Wall. Over breakfast, I met a woman from New York in the bathroom, who talked to me for probably 15 minutes about hair and traveling.

Overall, I found Prague to be extremely beautiful, romantic, and a great place to visit with a great group of friends. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to come with (aside from the few that stayed in Berlin).   I also learned that nobody checks for tickets on the Trams in the city. We had numerous journeys, and not once were we stopped (or fined) for not having purchased tickets.