Exploring Prague

Saturday, September 28, 2013 @ 4:47 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 94

After checking into the hostel last night I started talking with an Australian guy in my room. We went out to the lobby and the lady working at the hostel counter had just ordered some Vietnamese food from across the street. It smelled good so we went out and had dinner there. When I get sick in Albuquerque I pretty much solely consume green chile stew or Vietnamese Pho to help fight the cold. I jumped at the chance to get some Pho which I happily spiced up with chile sauce.

After that, I watched Breaking Bad, took some cold meds then went to bed. This morning after breakfast I set out to walk around the town and explore Prague. I started out by walking to the famous Charles Bridge. By the time I got there it was already pretty crowded. The bridge goes to the other side of town where the castle, cathedral and basilica are on top of the hill.

I walked up there for some good views of the city. Unfortunately I got there in the early afternoon so the sun made it a little difficult to photograph and see the city. After that I walked down the hill and started on a walk outlined on a guide map that I was given at the hostel. The walk took me along the river through some parks and scenic parts of town.

Along the way I made a stop to try a trdelnik. It's actually a hungarian treat but they make them here as well. It's basically a cinnamon roll that's made by wrapping the bread around a rod and heating it up rotisserie style. Mine wasn't quite as warm as I was hoping for but it still tasted good.

The movie Mission Impossible (1996) was filmed partially in Prague so I ate the trdelnik by the river overlooking the Charles Bridge where they filmed several scenes in the movie. There was some kind of rowing race going on. It was funny to watch because each boat had someone yelling "row" but no one was doing it at the same time and it just looked like no one could follow directions. I'm sure whichever team got their act together and actually rowed on pace would have destroyed everyone else.

I started to follow another walk outlined on the map guide but decided to cut it a little early. I made it back to the old square / astronomical clock area where I was distracted by all the food stands set up. I read that while in Prague I really needed to try one of the sausages. Eventually I found a stand that was selling them and ordered one. Instead of being served on a normal bun like an american hot dog, they're served in a cut open baguette.

On the way back to the hostel I stopped at a grocery store and picked up some apples, oranges, a couple beers and some food for dinner. By the time I got back to the hostel it was getting close to 4 so I'll probably just stay here the rest of the night. My cold is still present so I'll take some more meds and hope that another full night of sleep helps.

Tomorrow I'll take another walk on the guide map which will take me through some parts of town I haven't visited yet. Some of the cities I've visited so far have maps by a company called Use-It. Each city map is created by locals for tourists. It's all free and they're usually really informative and don't have any kinds of ads or anything on them. That's what I've been using here in Prague.

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