Breakfast was served at 7:30 AM on weekends so a few minutes after this time I headed downstairs to the dining room. The buffet breakfast was included in the hotel price. The breakfast was very nice. The menu contained all the basic elements of the other breakfasts I had in other hotels, however the food here was of a higher quality. I headed for the bacon and eggs first. I loaded up with eggs and sausages and some bacon and found a seat. The room was nearly empty at this time and I could sit anywhere.
I found a seat then went back for some juice and some toast. The breakfast was really nice. I finished off with some Fruit Salad and then went out for a cigarette as I couldn't smoke in the hotel or in my room. Czech Republic is more in line with the rest of the Western world with it's smoking laws, as was Hungary. When I came back in the hotel I spoke to reception about arranging a tour. He arranged it for me and i payed the 850 Czech Korunas ($43.00 AUD).
There would be a tour bus to pick me up from the hotel at 9:30 AM. I went upstairs and got my stuff ready for the day. The tour was by bus, walking and a boat. I went downstairs at about 9:20 AM and had a cigarette while I waited. It was freezing cold and snowing. I looked at my phone and it was -2 degrees celcius. The bus arrived and I got in. It was so warm inside, the bus had heating panels all around it. We drove around a little and the driver came to a stop. He said he was just going inside to get some more people for the tour. He came out and 2 girls got on the bus. They sounded American, or Canadian. We all said "Hi" and then we drove to Old Town Centre Square where the tour operators were based.
Another guy from the tour company got on and looked at our tickets then gave us some instructions, Me and the 2 girls were doing different tours so I had to get off the bus and wait for another one to arrive. I smoked a cigarette while I waited and watched some more tour buses arrive. As the time drew near more people came to where I was standing waiting and eventually we were lead onto the bus.
There were maybe 20 people on the tour altogether and I took an empty seat near the back of the bus. The tour was in English and Spanish. We drove around the city for a little while and a tour guide pointed out all the historical buildings and gave information about them.Prague is massive and so amazing. It's much bigger than Budapest. Prague is referred to as the heart of Bohemia. I took some photos as we drove around.
We then headed up a hill leading out of the city itself. At the top of the hill is Prague Castle. When I think of castles, I think of them as being like homes, but Buda Castle and Prague Castle were different. They had courtyards and churches inside them and other buildings used for different purposes. I guess in Medieval times they would be the entire city.
As with all the cities I have visited in Eastern Europe, the buildings and courtyards all have beautiful statues and decorations. A lot of the decorative pieces in Prague Castle included gold elements. Inside one of the courtyards stood a huge gothic cathedral.
After walking around Prague castle we headed back to the bus and drove to a restaurant boat on Vltava River and cruised around for awhile while being able to see both sides of the city and Charles Bridge. Charles Bridge is amazing. A big concrete bridge that has statues mounted all the way along it. It is definitely something to be witnessed. There was something interesting in the river itself too. There was some sort of lip separating the river and creating a wave effect. Another interesting fact is that there about 40 bridges that cross this river.
On the cruise I met a young Irish couple and they encouraged me to come to their town when I am in Ireland and they will show me around. I mentioned that I would love to do a pub crawl in Ireland and they were very encouraging. They told me there aren't that many pubs in Dublin though, but Killarney is the place to go. That is their town. Their accent was rather thick and it wasn't always easy to understand what they were saying.
They said they would love to live in Australia. It seems to be a common theme echoed throughout Europe. At least from the majority of people I have spoken to. I told them I was just travelling around and writing and they seemed rather impressed by my bravery. I didn't tell them I was scared out of my skin.
After we did a circle of the Charles Bridge, we left the boat and walked around the cobblestone streets of the Jewish Quarter and the Old Town districts which is the main tourist spot in Prague. After we walked around there we ended the tour at the Astronomical Clock.
When the tour ended I looked around a little, bought some souveneirs and asked the woman if she could direct me to the Main train station as I needed to arrange my ticket for Vienna on Tuesday. She gave me a map and some directions and I was on my way.
The thing about Prague is it's not so easy to find the street names sometimes and after turning a few corners I realised I was lost. I was in the main town square where the tour began and this happens to be the most trafficked area of the city. I found a tour window and waited for an elderly couple to complete their business. I gave the woman the map and explained I had gotten lost. She pointed me in the correct direction and from there it was easy. I just followed the street all the way until the train station.
Once I reached the train station, i asked at the tourist information centre as you walk in, where I could buy a ticket to Vienna. She told me to go to a booking office nearby and once there i bought a ticket for Vienna for 19 Euro. I found a store on the way out and bought 5 cans of Pilsener Urquell, which is a local Czech beer and a pack of Rothmans cigarettes as they don't sell Dunhill here. All together it cost me 600 Czech Korunas (about $30.00 AUD).
I walked back into Old Town, It was about a 10 minute walk. On the way back I passed a liquor store and decided to go in and have a look. The store was run by an asian man and his daughter was also working there. They appeared to just sell spirits and behind the counter was all the Absinth. I bought a small bottle and continued back into Old Town.
Now Absinth you might say, 'What's so special about that?, you can get that in Australia". The absinth sold in Australia is a weaker version of the true Absinth. There are restrictions on the volume of wormwood that the Absinth sold in Australia can contain. Wormwood is one the three key ingredients in Absinth. It is apparently what causes hallucinations when you drink the Absinth. The Czech Republic is one of the few countries where you can buy Absinth without restrictions on the wormwood content.
Once I made it back to the main square, I found a traditional Czech restaurant and sat down. The waiter asked me if I wanted something. I said "Do you have a menu?". He said "Not until 6:00 PM". As it was only about 3:00 PM, I asked him for a pilsener and just sat there for awhile to take in the view. I payed my bill, it was 70 Czech Korunas (about $3.50 AUD) for 500 Ml. I went down to a nearby food stand of which there are many scattered around the area and got a chicken baguette made with kebab meat. I sat down and ate that, it was very tasty. I wondered over to the other side of the street and found a taxi stand.
There was once taxi waiting and it seemed some tour guide was organising for some people to get into it. I waited. A few cabs drove by but none stopped. I looked at a nearby sign and it said 'fair place' and listed taxi rates to certain destinations. It seemed most of the ones that kept going were the private taxis. Obviously they try to overcharge you and didn't want to stop. I guess they drive around looking for someone to hail them to try and get them to stop.
I waited about 20 mins. While I waited I wondered up and down the street and looked at all the stores. This is the main shopping area of Prague as well and all the retailers have stores here. Finally a taxi came and I jumped in and showed the driver the card for my hotel which contained the address. It cost about 140 Czech Korunas (about $8.00 AUD) for the taxi ride back. I gave the driver a 200 Czech Koruna note and told him to keep the change. As i said when I left Brasov, I think it's important to support the drivers that do the right thing.
I went up to my room and started drinking the beers. Pilsener is a very nice beer. Not bitter like some of the lagers. I texted with Miss C a little and whilst we didn't fight, I needed some answers toclarify things in my head. I got the answers that I knew I would get and it helped simplify some issues surrounding my journey in particular. Basically, what will be, will be.
I drank all the beers and then decided to drink the absinth. I was going to take the absinth with me and see if I could get it through customs, but fuck it I can buy another bottle. I drank it with some coke from the mini bar. Absinth is meant to be drank a special way, but I had neither the equipment nor patience. I wasn't going to drink it straight either as it tastes like absolute shit. I poured a little coke into the absinth and it took the edge off the taste.
Sami began texting with me and then we ended up talking for a few hours. I think it was after 4:00 AM when I finally went to sleep. I don't recall having any hallucinations, but boy was I drunk.
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