more than
tea and scones
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Prague Blog?
Hello All!Prague is kinda like Rome, take two, but a little prettier. And a harder language to understand. I thought being this far north, things wouldn't really heat up the way they do in the south. But no, it's just as hot, smoggy and people-filled as the rest. I might be cutting Prague short to go give Berlin/Copenhagen a little extra time. Not sure yet.
I know you all are dying to know how Switzerland was. (Well I'm dying to tell you, at least) In one word, amaising! Other than Munich, I think Gimmelwald and Interlaken are my favorite places to go over here.
After leaving Paris, I managed to make it to Interlaken by 11pm. I wanted to head up to Gimmelwald, but the trams stopped at 6pm, so I decided to just stay there, and head up in the morning. I met up with another guy backpacking who was doing the exact same thing, so we both wandered the streets of Interlaken until we found one of the two hostels there. It was actually a pretty cool place. They were actually out of rooms in the main building, but about 6 blocks away they had a vacant lot with tons of tents in it, and you were allowed a bunk in these big tents, which actually turned out alright. After a quick drink in the 'club' downstairs (backpacker clubs are cool, because you instantly have something to talk to people about.) we were off to spend the night in the tent.
In the morning, we hopped on a train/bus/tram for the long trip up the mountain. The view was gorgeous though, and YES!! I DID spend the night in a barn! 2 to be exact. It was awesome! (I was very glad that I thought to bring Claritin with me, otherwise I probably wouldn't still be breathing) It smelt like a barn (In the winter they actually use it to house their cows or goats or whatever) and right outside our front door was a big chicken pen. (I made friends with the one escapee chicken, and named her Walter. We had a little argument when she tried to peck my toes off, but other than that, it was fine. During the day we would all go out hiking (I made lots of friends, actually, including two kickass teachers from Chicago, and we all spent hours talking till 2am in the other hostel.
Kinda getting sidetracked, sorry. In short, I skipped, I yodeled, I braided my hair. I ate cheese, I was on time, I wore wool. Basically, I was about as swiss as you could get. I just wonder what I can do to fit in in Prague the way I do there.
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Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Wearing: Skirt, shirt
Day's Activities: Train, got hostel, accidentally fell asleep, went to lunch with guy from hostel, went shopping/wandering, got lost repeatedly, actually found my way home. Tonight's activities are to find the english used bookstore, then hang out on Charles Bridge all night. Apparently that'll help me blend in.
Thing you miss: Not sweating as soon as I walk outside. Less people. The smell of clean air.
P.S. Jen, I found a store that sells Sudoku. Did you want me to pick you up a book? It's in Czech, but that shouldn't matter.
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Jody at 3:36 PM