John flew back into London from Dubai on the 10th so I met him up at London Heathrow in the BA first-class lounge. Yes, one of the perks of being John's friend is that he's a platinum member of Quantas Airlines so he gets access for him and a guest into all the Oneworld first-class lounges. ALSO, he got us bumped up to business class for the flight. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me! It was flowing champagne all day long.
I sat in 1A...awesome.
The sign is wrong. I'm turning 21...for the fourth time.
We arrived in Prague pretty late and pretty much crashed. The next day, we started our tour of Prague. We walked up this long Great-Wall like place to the Prague Castle and stopped for lunch at Lobkowicz Palace Cafe which has a great view of the city.
I had goulash, which is basically meat in a pool of gravy. I know I'm a "vegetarian," but I eat meat when on vacation since it's part of absorbing the culture. I've had way too much meat this week because it was my birthday and vacation. No more for awhile...I feel sick.
Then we went through Prague Castle.
Me on the Golden Lane. The doors are all really low here since people used to be shorter, I love it since I feel tall here.
John in Powder Tower next to the rack. John says he gets chills down his back whenever he's next to one of these. We think it's because he was put on one of these in a past life.
John looking down at his past-time self. (Sorry, I don't know why my vertical pictures keep coming out horizontal. If anyone can help me with this, would appreciate it.)
Inside the St Vitus Cathedral.
I think this was the Old Royal Palace. It's been a few days, can't be sure.
The Illegal Photo. John took this picture in the Palace and this guard got all crazy on us because photos aren't allowed unless you buy a pass. We escaped before we had to pay him.
Scary Czech guards walking around with bayonets. They looked really mad.
We thought those guards who stand in front of a palace that's not even being used anymore have the most boring jobs...
Until we saw this guy pacing back and forth in front of a gate that's not even used anymore.
Then we crossed the Charles Bridge into the Old Town.
It started raining while we were on the bridge. Here's me all zipped up like Kenny.
The Great Wall of Czechoslovakia.
Czechs are pretty open about sex. Here's John with two moving statues of men peeing in front of the Franz Kafka Museum.
Also, here's some old school porn. These were sold in front of every tourist shop.
John lost in Old Town Square.
At night, we took a boat dinner and tour along the Vltava River on this old little boat.
Me and John on the top deck where it was freezing.
Yeah, I know a boat cruise sounds really nice, and we thought so too, until we got on board and found out this guy with the accordian was the "entertainment." THREE hours on the boat with his guy creeky out cheesy music...it's enough to make you want to jump off.
The view...
Then we went to this pub called U Pinkasu because according to my Lonely Planet guidebook, it's this pub that dates back to 1843 and was the first pub to serve Pilsner beer, which is the local beer. BUT it wasn't that interesting. After using Lonely Planet guides on this trip, I'm beginning to wonder if the Lonely Planet people even really visit the places inside the books...
We found livelier entertainment elsewhere. John with Ladiss (right), a fellow American living abroad although he's a New Yorker (boo!) and on the right is some creepy Czech guy who followed us on the street and then jumped into this picture. He was REALLY strange with REALLY gross teeth.
The next day, we went back to Old Town for the day after arranging our train ride from Prague to Vienna.
Old Town. See the clock tower?
Me in Old Town Square.
We had coffee in a restaurant in the square. Every hour, people gather in front of the Astronomical Clock Tower to see it ring and then the little windows open and you see statues of the 12 apostles circle around. It's really not that great, but you know tourists. Here's John and the clock tower.
We went to dinner at another Lonely Planet recommend called U Labuti. The restaurant is in an old palace that was converted. Tycho Brahe, the famous astronomer, used to live here. The book said that Johannes Kepler did as well, but the waiter said no.
Me and John.
So that was Prague. Personally, I preferred Vienna, but John preferred Prague, so I guess it's a matter of preference. Looking back on these photos, though...it was a pretty place.
So that night, John and I took the overnight train to Vienna, Austria. The train went by Krakow, Poland, which is a strange route to take, so it took 9 hours, but since we slept on board, it didn't really matter for us. We took the 9pm train, which arrived in Vienna at 6am. But we took the first-class sleeper train, which was an awesome adventure in itself! We slept in the train!!! It costs like $100 each. I really recommend it as the way to travel.
Here's where I slept on the top bunk.
John took the bottom. There's a little sink inside the compartment and bathrooms and a shower down the hall. Isn't that crazy?
It was actually pretty comfortable although I woke up in the middle of the night because the window fell open and all this cold air gushed in. Also, the train stopped several times, and I felt like I'd roll off the bunk. John slept like a damn log through the whole thing. In the morning, we were awoken by passport control who go compartment to compartment checking passports. It's nice since we don't have to stand in some line...they come directly to you! I didn't even have to get out of bed. Some Czech guy just knocks and says "Passport!" and then another Austrian guy comes by and does it to. Pretty convenient.
And then...we awoke in VIENNA!
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