Day 3: April 14 - To Prague

The train left at about 10am, and the trip to Prague was about 5 hours. It went by quickly. The Czech countryside is very pretty. Again based on my ignorance, I was expecting this previously-behind-the-Iron-Curtain country to be industrial and drab, but it was not so at all. The train ride was empty most of the way, adding some passengers as we got closer to the city.

I knew that Prague is popular with tourists. But when the train pulled into the station and I went to the subway station, it seemed like a very different world than I was expecting. Unlike Vienna, it was all locals, with services in the local language. This was the Holesovice station, a few stops further out than the "main" train station, which was part of the reason.

Here's a tip! Make sure to use the change window to change some leftover Euros (or USD, or Slovak crowns, or whatever) into Czech crowns. The subway system, at least at this station, requires coins to work. After visiting the ATM, I realized I had no coin money. I should have gone back to the money changing window, but instead decided to buy some water at the McDonald's right behind the station (OK, so it wasn't quite so foreign after all...). I don't think they were happy when I paid for a 20Kc bottle of water with a 2000Kc bill..but hey, that's all I had.

One thing I did notice is that all the Czechs are very good looking. They dress stylishly, which is normal, but are pretty/handsome to boot.

I found the hotel. It is by Wenceslas Square (a c ouple blocks away). The guidebook said it is in a "red light zone" which really isn't much of an issue as it just means a couple of seedy bars nearby. Otherwise the neighborhood is quite nice.

The water is terrible! Though suffering no ill effects that I know of, it's like drinking from a swimming pool.

I walked around a bit. My first experiences in Prague were so-so. It happens sometimes; things just don't fire on all cylinders until you get in the groove. I got lost a little, a couple things weren't open, and I wound up further away from the center than I wanted to be. The original plan was to go to the castle and get that "out of the way" as the guidebooks say it's way less crowded in the laste afternoon . But I wound up heading in the wrong direction (yes, you can lose a castle). It was kind of hot, and my feet hurt a bit. For some reason I occasionally get into this mode, and instead of doing the logical thing which is sit down, grab a drink, get my bearings, and decide what to do, I just walk faster...to nowhere.

After walking for a couple hours, I realized that I really hadn't seen anything yet and decided enough was enough. I got my bearings and found the nearby dancing building, shown here. It was a Frank Gehry-designed structure that depicts Fred and Ginger.

Finally! Something that's actually on the list of things to see!

I felt a bit better and decided to go to the Old Town Center as the castle was closing anyway.

The Old Square was packed with people. This was more like what I expected Prague to be...but even moreso. I underestimated its popularity. There is nothing un-discovered about this city. It is wall-to-wall people. Of course, I realized that this was primarily due to the astronomical clock getting ready to chime the hour.

I was surprised that the clock was so close to ground level. Thought it was way up there.

The idea is that "death" (a skeleton) rings the bell, then a bunch of apostles parade by the little open windows, then the bell rings, and that's it. And that's all it is. Yet massive crowds gather for this anticlimactic spectacle. So I did as well.

Prague is a great ice cream town!

I found the city very easy to navigate, once you're used to it. Getting from quarter to quarter (there are four general quarters in the old section of town) was easy. There are about four or five subway stops in this area, as well as trams, but I wound up not using the subway anymore today, as it is a very walkable place.

I also went to a vegetarian buffet restaurant that was listed in both the Rick Steves and Lonely Planet books (the latter had multiple pictures and entries for it). It was actually pretty good. Food was charged by weight, and it felt good to be eating vegetables after all the hot dogs and other sausagey creations from street vendors.

I started to get a feel for the history here as well. I plan to go to the "museum of communism" tomorrow -- above a McDonald's and next to a casino. It's hard to believe that very little of this city's current lively, fun atmosphere existed even 20 years ago, well within my lifetime.

The great thing about travel is that it's what you make of it. In the short span of a half-day, Prague went from a city that I was a little uncomfortable and ambivalent about, to one that I decided was going to be one of my favorites.