Spring Break: Prague

March 2

We got a later start on the day than normal but we still made it to the 10am free walking tour. Our tour guide really, really liked to talk. He told us about the Astronomical Clock, and how underneath the clock are 365 names that are in accordance with the 365 days of the year, (the Saint names and the days they are celebrated, basically). He told us about how if you had a name that wasn't on the clock, you were basically shunned and people who had names on the clock normally hated them (which reminded me of Grandma Glesser), but they couldn't change them. The tour lasted for another 3 hours before we finally got to leave for lunch. 

Intrigued by this clock/name situation I was curious to if my Grandma's name was on the clock. It is on July 11th. I then asked my dad for Grandma's siblings names. I could find their names, or what I think is the Czech version of their names for Mary (Marie), Andrew (Andrej), David, Martha (Marta), Arthur (Artur), Robert, but Loretta isn't on the clock. Mom told me that Loretta dies when she was very young, and it's just really strange because her name isn't on the clock. Interesting. Regardless, being in Prague really hyped me up about Czechoslovakia and the history of the land and everything. 

We went to a twisty thing place, that Kathy had sent me a link to the day before, where they put ice cream, fruits, and chocolate into the cones. It was pretty spectacular. I got mine with chocolate, strawberries and whipped cream. We ate as we walked along the river towards the Dancing House. We went up to the top but didn't go out on the terrace, We passed churches and the train station then we went back to the hostel for a small break before dinner. The guy working at the hostel suggested this weird medieval place. It was dimly lit and the servers were dressed for the time. It was weird. Emily and I, and Logan and Jacqueline, split a pork knuckle. Jacqueline got a pork knuckle in Munich and has not stopped talking about it. This one we had was not nearly as good as the one in Germany, but it was interesting for sure. The only other people in our dining area were British, and they were very, very loud and super drunk. It was pretty entertaining. 

We stopped a at convenience store for some dessert like items, and after talking to Mom for a while at the hostel I decided she'd get cookies so I got cookies. It was a great decision on my part, they were pretty good. There was a lot of arguing going on and Jacqueline and I were/are just trying to keep the peace.

Step Count: 22,589

March 3

We (me, Jacqueline, and Lia) wanted Thursday to be an easier, more relaxed day. That didn't necessarily happen, Emily wasn't going to let that happen. So, through compromise, we walked to the John Lennon wall, the castle and saw some churches, how exciting? Honestly, after being in Europe for so long, all churches start to look very, very similar. The climb to the top of the castle graced me with the best hot chocolate I had ever had, better than Paris, though, so that's a positive to come from it. Jacqueline and I ended up splitting from Lia and Emily, which is funny because those two were not and are not on the best terms. That was their problem though. Jacqueline and I walked in and out of 2 or 3 different chocolate shops, and I held off and didn't get anything, but man, I could've. We met up with Emily and Lia for lunch and then we walked around one of the malls in Prague. Lia wanted to "shop," but I don't think she really bought anything...and Jacqueline and I were falling asleep watching her walk in and out of stores with nothing, so we left. We went for dinner around 8 and I got this realy great burger and fries...it was much needed. There was more arguing and Lia kept Jacqueline outside talking until 11ish. I was getting really angry, because we still had to pay and we had to find a way to the airport in the morning, and they weren't back at the hostel yet. Lia felt bad when she found out I had been keeping myself awake for them, but once we got everything sorted out I finally got to sleep.

Step Count: 19,887

March 4

We were up at 5:30 to walk to the metro that took us to the bus that would take us to the airport. We made it through security in about 2 minutes...it was empty. Our flight didn't leave until 8:50 and it was 7:15 when we finally got to the terminal, so Jacqueline and I decided to get some breakfast at an airport restaurant. The server was not the nicest and was very upfront about his tip. I didn't want to give him one, but he didn't let me handle my credit card, like the rest of Europe, so "and I'll add on a 10% tip, is that okay?" Like, no, bro, you were rude when we walked in, and you charged Jacqueline for butter and you're just awful. But, I just sucked it up, because it was less that 50 Crowns, which is less than 2 euros...but, still.

We had a small, 2 seats per side plane on the way to Dusseldorf, which reminded me of flights to Florida with Mom. Lia thought we were going to crash flying into Dusseldorf. The plane was shaking for the 2 minutes before landing and it was just rough. She was really thankful, as was someone else in the back who started clapping once we landed. The guy in front of Lia, who helped her with her bag earlier, was trying to calm her down, and he was laughing, it was pretty funny. We made it though. Then our flight into Valencia was nice, a little rocky, but not much. This was the first flight that I didn't have the row to myself, but that was okay, because I was going home.