Prague

After a couple of days extra in St Petersburg, I was really looking forward to Prague, which I'd heard so many great things about. Prague airport turned out to be a great improvement on the previous one. I got instructions in English about getting to my hostel, and also bought a metro/tram pass that I could use for the three days I was there.

They were easy to figure out (because I did, so they must have been easy). After a bus ride, two train rides and a tram ride, (only once in the wrong direction) I made it to the "Sir Toby's hostel", which I had booked before I left Toyko. It turned out to be a great find - elevator, friendly staff, and best of all, clean and modern with nice beds. Two Japanese girls and two Canadian girls in my dorm room. The first day I decided to get to know Prague with a walking tour that lasted six hours and included lunch. It was a bit of a splurge but it was a good way for me to meet some people and as I only had three days I figured it would be worth it. Our guide was a lovely girl who spoke excellent English and had a very good knowledge of the city and it's architecture as she had studied architecture in Italy. We had a boat cruise as well, and at night, they threw in a (rather stupid) ghost tour, (which we only all stayed on for 'cause of the 'free' beer at end).

The first thing that stikes you about Prague is it's architecture, dating from medievil times. It's awfully pretty. I wish I knew the first thing about architecture as I'm sure I would have appreciated it even more, although I really enjoyed the tour. It was scorching hot though, but typical czechs - they get you sorted with lots of beer. A beer on the boat before lunch, a beer at lunch, beer after the tour and a beer at the pub in the evening. Great!

One of the highlights for me was meeting an Aussie couple who were moterbiking across the world back to Oz. Can you believe that? They'd shipped the bike to Amsterdam and it even had it's own visas. The Iran visa was a bit of a problem apparantly, but sounds like they've done their homework in getting it all organised. He is a Melbourne homicide detective with a staff of 60 taking extended long service leave for a year (a few more years at Morgan Stanley and maybe I should have done this??!) and she is a freelance journalist, commissed to write a book about their adventures - keep a look out for it!

Next day, I had been advised to go on a day trip out to Kuna Hotra, a village about two hours away that was first built in the 13th century with the gothic castle still standing, and also apparantly filled with skeleton bones which was supposed to be a really creepy experience. I made it out to the village ok, (a few wrong stops on the metro, but that was the fault of the guide book, not me). The bus ride was cheap (48 crowns about $2), as we passed huge fields of sunflowers. Again it was about 30 degrees so really hot. I trudged around the town and amused myself for a while. Made myself a picnic lunch, (cut myself on my swiss army knife for only the fourth time). Visited the cathedral. Decided it was time to go back. Went back to the bus stop I had alighted on. Waited. Waited. No bus. The locals came and went, studying the time table and shaking their heads. Something was definately wrong. Oh God! I'm stranded! Just then, three lovely looking young guys (turned out to be German-speaking swiss students of bussiness) came by also looking lost. Putting on my best 'help me please' smile, I asked them if they were going to Prague. Yes - but they think this is the wrong bus stop. They planned to get the bus to the train and would I like to come with them? Yes please! Good - four heads are better than one. And lucky because I'd probably still be sitting at that bus stop by now. The trains turned out to be a ridiculous hassle of changing and running for the platforms and then waiting because of delays. They bought me a beer in a nice outdoor bar in the middle of nowhere while we waited though, which was nice. Got back to Prague ok. Remembered on the train back that I was supposed to go and see the skeletons which I completely forgot to do. Idiot.

Now, the third day, I have to basically eat my words about the tram system being easy to understand. I just kept seeming to screw it up. Not quite sure if all that sunshine had addled my brain (or maybe all that Czech beer?), but this is how it went:
At the park, having a nice drink and thinking, 'I've got loads of time until my flight to London at 11pm'. As it starts to thunderstorm, decide it's time to get going. Get on tram 12 going West and get off too early. Cross over the tracks and get on tram 25 heading Southeast but not the Southeast I thought it was heading...the other Southeast. Should have got off one stop back but didn't make a decision fast enough and ended up back on the wrong side of the river heading for dodgy looking suburb. Hmmmm.

Get off and wait for another tram; not sure if it's going anywhere near your hostel, Jane, but lets try it and see because by now you're completely lost and can't even identify your location on the map anymore. Go a few stops desperately trying to match up the stop names with the street names, and getting into more of a flap. Get off on the last stop. Consult platform map and timetable once more and decide that tram 14 is the one I want. When it arrives it goes 20 meters around the corner and stops for good. Get a lot of odd looks as to why I waited for a tram to take me 20 meters around the corner. It's still raining and now I'm getting annoyed at myself. Get on tram 24 this time and again it stops around the corner!! I've done it again! What is wrong with me!!! I am a tram lunatic. I am like one of those wind-up tram bunnies that keeps on going and going and going..... OK Jane. This time's for real. You have a plane to catch so sort it out already. Concede that asking directions is my best course of action.

Find out that I should have been standing on the other side of the road. Tram 14 again. Turns out that I was just around the corner from my hostel the whole time! I recognised the road and congratulated myself enormously on being such an amazingly good trammie. Now for the killer. Check my ticket and my plane is at 9.00 not 11.00 and I have one hour till check in! Shit!!! I didn't screw it up this time (enormous concentration). The double whammie - the plane was delayed by two hours (sod's law). Got to Charles' flat in Hampstead at 2am and we've stayed up yacking half the night. Going sailing at his yacht club tonight so no more news except to say it's great to be back in London!