Graffiti

Everywhere. That was my first impression of Prague. It could have to do with the fact that I didn't plan well and didn't give any thought how to get to my hostel from the airport (and since my Czech is a little rusty and all of the signs were in Czech, I really blame myself for not doing one iota of research beforehand) so I ended up taking the very, very long route to get there. I'm sure I saw the worst first, because it proved to be a beautiful city. Many times I looked up towards the castle and thought that the city was built to look like a perfect postcard. Beautiful. The reason that Prague has such a medieval feel is that during WWII, it was captured early by the Germans, so there wasn't a lot of damage done by them, and it was too hard to get to (and really not a strategic target) so the allies didn't really bomb it either, so much of the ancient architecture remained in tact.

Feel as though you had your history lesson? Now the good stuff.

After getting to my hostel and taking a quick power nap, I then headed into the main part of the city to do a little sightseeing. As I was walking towards the Charles bridge, I met a couple of American guys going the same way and ended up hanging out with them for the next few hours while we saw the bridge and then retired to a patio near the bridge on the river Vltava. It was one of those great afternoons where you are sitting outside with a drink and just really enjoying the scenery. It would be wrong to not partake in the famous Czech beer, which I’ve heard to be the elixir of life. After a couple of beers, Lauren (an Aussie I had met on the bus from the airport) joined me and we continued to wander around for a couple of hours and grabbed some dinner. We then met up with another Aussie we had met on the bus and some of here friends. The rest of the evening is a bit blurry – I’m having vague memories of a cocktail ounge, meeting back up with the American guys from earlier, a Cuban place with great mojitos, and a scary tram ride back to my hostel. All in all, a pretty good first day.

So I stayed in a hostel for the first time and it wasn't so bad at all. Especially for the price - I think I paid $75 for 3 nights. The hostel is Plus Prague, and although it is a little out of the way, it is really, really clean. Probably because it opened last week. Despite the opening chaos, I would definitely recommend it. Part of the reason I chose to stay in a hostel was to find other people to hang with while in a strange city and it proved to be a good idea. There were all kinds of people, mostly traveling students. First time I've woken up to a strange man with zero guilt. I'm kidding Mom – just trying to be funny. One of the people in my room was a guy who wasn't there when I fell asleep on the first night, but when I woke up, he was in the bed next to me. We actually chatted for a couple of hours in the morning after the 2 Canadian girls woke up and left at 7 in the morning to go sightseeing. Damn Canadians. Anyway, he was the third Aussie I'd met in one day (yes, Ron, I know what you're thinking) and was quite a nice guy. I’m definitely glad I decided to go the hostel route on this trip.

Saturday I was a bit lazy for awhile and played tourist mostly. I really needed some relaxation after the last 6 weeks of crazy hours. The good news is the project I was working on launched last Monday - my company has officially renamed ourselves globally - Cision! I’m happy about the rebrand because 1) I no longer work for a company named after a pork product 2) It will be much easier to work globally under 1 name instead of a dozen plus names 3) this project was part of the reason I got to work in Europe. Sorry to throw in that little bit of work.

So, on Saturday night, I went on a pub crawl with the people in my hostel.The first bar we went to was the first capitalist bar to open in 1989 after the fall of communism. Pretty cool, but besides the history and the eclectic, authentic characters, a regular kind of pub. The second pub was pretty unassuming as you enter, but deceptive. Head towards the back and go downstairs - it goes on forever. A sort of catacombs of rooms. I think it was appropriately called Cave bar. Very cool – and I think my beer cost about $1.60.

But by far one of the coolest things I have ever seen is the third bar – Cross Club. It is almost indescribable, but I will do my best. I had seen it a few times passing by it on the tram, but I thought the entrance was just a random piece of art – it was this huge metal structure that sort of looked like the insides of a clock; I had no idea there was actually anything else back there. But there DEFINITELY was. The inside reminded me of some bar you would find in a Star Wars movie - I kept expecting to see Jabba the Hut in one of the many, many, many rooms of this place (what can I say, I was raised with all boy cousins and a brother, I know my Star Wars). I didn’t think I could get any decent pics that night, so I just stole some off of their site. I’m sure that I completely looked like a tourist because my mouth was probably gaping open the whole time. It was spectacular.

Prague is one of those cities that seem to have a dual personality. On one side, it is this very romantic, beautiful city that seems caught in a moment in time with its beautiful light and cobblestone streets. On the other side, it has this sort of seedy under belly from a history full of oppression and violence. Just as some people are very simple while others are incredibly complex, Prague strikes me as an incredibly complex place. I imagine that it would take a person years and years of living there to really understand it. I sure wouldn’t presume to have gotten more than a mere taste of it.