Arrival into Praha - Holesovice

§ Note that I wrote this on the and am only blogging it now that I have free internet access §

No internet today, and probably none for the next three days.  Internet costs around $0.25-min.  I'll write an email to all telling them I'm fine and to hold their horses until I reach Krakow.  Hopefully I'll have an internet connection there.

Whoever said 'Prague is cheap' is too rich

This morning I woke up at 0830 and left Johns Cozy Little Backpackers Hostel at 0900.  I had a good sleep and finally remember how I like to sleep back at HMC.  I put a pillow covering my eyes but not my nose or mouth.  So last night i slept with a shirt over my eyes and it did the trick.  No more insomnia like in Greece.

Breakfast was a bit of a sandwich from a nearby shop.  The lady spoke little more English than I speak German.  It was fun trying to order especially because I changed my mind from croissant to sandwich late in the game.  I took a ubahnhof to Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten.  I bought a one-way train ticket to Praha-Holesovice for €55 which is around $70.  The train left from Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 1045.

I slept on the first hour and was awakened bz the ticket lady.  It took me a while to realize what she wanted.  But I soon obliged and everything was a-okay.  The German countryside was beautiful.  During this train ride I realized that I am not a city person.  I love being in nature and just feeling relaxed.  Nature is beautiful everywhere, it doesnt matter which country or region.  70% of the ride that I was awake for ran along the Vitava River.  Some houses were built on cliffisde or on the bluff looking down into the river and they looked so peaceful.  The entire ride reminded me of the time mom and I floated down Alaskas Yukon.  Few cities were large except for Dresden.  Its suburbs were really nice!  At least from what I could tell from the train.

Then came the first passport guy.  I gave him my passport and soon remmebered that I hadnt got it stamped in the Schönefeld airport!  He had a 9mm gun so that was scary.  He gave me an odd why-are-you-here look and then stamped my passport and kept going.  I dont know why it was okay that I didnt have to show my passport at the airport.

The scenery continued and really never ended until I got off in Praha Holesovice.  Haha, I farted twice on the train, both quite audible bz mistake, and none of the Germans noticed or acted like they didnt!  There was also a young couple from Mexico, about my age.  I only knew they were from Mexico because I saw their passports.  The trip was 5.5 hrs long.

Anyway, when I got off at Praha Holesovice I started looking for my hostel.  Directions said 'Trams to hostel: N24, N3.  Bus: just 40 metres from hostel and the buses from London, Paris, and Berlin arrive to a stop just 50 metres from the hostel.  For more information, please contact us directly.' ......shit.....  I had noway to contact them because I had already tried their phone number and it didnt work for me.  I have noticed that not many international numbers work with my cell phone...not a good sign.

I suddenly remembered generally where it was because I looked it up on google EArth.  I bought some apples and bananas for 27 Kc = $1.10 to get change for me 100 Kc bill = $5.00.  I bought a 14 Kc ticket and caught the tube-equivalent to Florenc station.  From there I hunted around and got help from a local to find Ya Poricskou Branou street.  That took me 30 minutes even though it was literally right next to the station.  I found the hostel and took another 5 minutes to understand how to ring the door bell.  It wasnt complicated, Im just slow at these simple things.  I met Tony, the hostel owner and paid him €33.80 = $50 for 4 nights at the Levir Hostel.  He didnt accept credit cards...boo.

I was really eager to see the town so I quickly dropped off my stuff and headed into town via metro.  When I exited I was pulled over by a routine metro guard to see my ticket.  It was funny because when he showed me his badge in his hand I thought he was trying to sell me something! I said 'no thanks' and kept walking until he attempted, more forcefully, again.  It was scary because I was just thinking about not buying a ticket to board.  Good thing I did.

To make a long story shorter, I got off at Muzeum station and walked all over the place.  I saw the National Museum (didnt go inside), walked through Wenceslas Square, and stopped off in the Franciscan Garden (miuddle of city quiet rose garden).  There was also a Velvet Revolution memorial that I saw but it was so small and pathetic.  Just a plaque about 3' x 3'!  It didnt have any inscription so I still am a little blury as to what the Velvet REvolution was.

I had another small croissant sandwich from a small shop.  I asked the girls how to get to the Franciscan Garden and neither spoke English...which is really nice to be honest.  Im always up for a language challenge.  We eventually brainstormed together on a map and found it.  Yippee!  I hit some theaters to see if I could catch a show but all were expensive!  The cheapest was 500 Kc ($25) for a junk seat in a 1 hr show.  Thats a bad deal compared to my €12 ($17) German opera last night!  I decided to just grab dinner in STaromestska and a drink and turn in early.  I walked in the wrong direction for 30 minutes and then caught the tube in the right way.  At Restaurace u Parlamentu I had a Moravion pork with dumplings and spinach and a glass of Pilsner Urquell for 124 Kc ($6).  Beer is cheaper than bottled water by three times here in Czech Republic.

Whoever said 'Prague is cheap' is too rich.  I brought only 900 Kc with me because everyone said itd be dirt cheap.  The only thing that is cheap is transport and beer.  All else is similarly priced to anything in a big city.

I caught the metro home to Florenc station and spent the last couple of hours doing laundry in the shower and writing.  My hand is tired and so am I.  Tomorrow Im heading back into town to see more.  Ciao all!!!