For those just tuning in now, I'm about 2 and a half weeks into a 3 month
backbpacking trip around eastern Europe. I started in Austria then made my way
over to the Czech Republic, and I'm now on a train to Bratislava, the capital
of Slovakia. After that, Budapest!
After spending 3 days in Prague (gorgeous), I left for 4 days to see some
other parts of the country, but then came back because 3 days just wasn't
enough... and I also had plans to meet up for dinner with a friend who was also
in town, which I did! More about that later.
I left the village of Cesky Krumlov on Monday for the city of Brno, which
is the second-largest in the country, and the largest in the region of Moravia
(the other main region of the country being Bohemia). After a few minor setbacks,
I made my way to Brno, but by this point I almost wished I skipped it in
exchange for more time in Prague. Additionally, when I booked accomodations in
Brno, I didn't notice the line in my travel book that said, "World War II
completely devastated the city and despite being totally rebuilt, Brno has
never quite regained its former lustre." Oops. Despite all this, I had a fantastic time there! When I first arrived that night, I found my hostel to
be a lot nicer than the last few places I had stayed. I shared a 6-bed room
with a group of 4 girls from England who were on holiday for the week and they
were a LOT of fun. We had our own ensuite bathroom in the room, and I was able
to do a load of laundry at this hostel, which I was pathetically excited about.
The city was built on a hill and is
surprisingly nice. The next day I climbed the big hill in the middle of town up
to the (surprise, surprise) castle, walked past some pretty cathedrals and
through the main squares. Really good shopping there too! Not that I could
actually buy anything, my bag is pretty full as it is, but there's nothing
wrong with looking around and marvelling at how much cheaper everything is over
here.
That night, the English ladies, Beth, Ellie, Debbie and Michelle, invited
me out for drinks with them. We made it to 3 different bars, and I was still
back in time to skype with my parents thanks to the 6 hour time difference! It
was a Tuesday night so we weren't expecting a crowded bar scene... and we were
right, it was pretty empty. But if you have a good group (and enough drinks) it
really doesn't matter.
The next day I went back to Prague
and spend a few more days there. I know I haven't been to that many places yet
but I think it's my favourite so far. This time around, I went to some less
touristy areas of the city and enjoyed the sunny weather (with plenty of SPF 45
obviously). One of my flipflops broke about a week ago and I'd been having a
hard time finding a decent pair to replace them. All of the shops in the main
area of the cities are pretty upscale and didn't carry anything as basic as
cheap rubber flipflops. So yesterday I asked the receptionist at my hostel for
suggestions on where to look, and he directed me to a mall "where Czech
people shop". It was huge and there
was a lot more to choose from, and I found exactly what I was looking for at a
Walmart-type store. Mission accomplished.
That evening, I met Matt (friend I met while shooting in England about 5
summers ago) at the entrance of the Charles bridge, exactly as planned. It was
pretty surprising when we realized that we'd be in Prague at around the same
time, and since he's all grown up and has a real job, he offered to take me for
dinner! It was even more exciting when he asked me ahead of time whether I had something
nice to wear. The restaurant ended up being right on the river, and was
certainly among the fanciest I've ever been to. To give you an idea, here's
what I had for the main course: Veal filet mignon and brisket with salsify
flan, foie gras cream, onion confit and sauce Navarra. (I only remember that
word-for-word because I took a picture of the menu, being the classy girl that
I am.) I'm still not completely sure what all those things are, but it was
delicious.
(This is me using a PIPETTE to put wasabi oil on my starter, a salmon thing. I've used pipettes in the lab many times but I have to say this is the most fun I've had using one.)
We sat on the terrace with a view of the river and old town behind it and
had a great evening. Since we were the last ones there at the end of the night,
no one was around to take a photo of us, so we took one of ourselves (again,
classy). Pure luxury for a lowly backpacker!
Matt lives in London and is super excited for the Olympics. He already has
tickets to more events than I can count, and was kind enough to bring me some
London 2012 swag, so I sported this hat on my way to the train station this
morning:
In other news, I have booked a flight from Budapest to Venice! Again, not
part of the original plan, but too good to resist. Also Ryanair had a limited
time seat sale and I booked a flight for less than it costs for me to take a
train from Kingston to Ottawa. THEN I’m going to meet Ali in Turin, and we have potential plans to see a place called Lake Como. Ali is
also planning on meeting me in Corfu, Greece when I’m there in July!
Even more news- my friend from university, Maggie, is definitely coming to Turkey with me! This is super exciting and as an added bonus, my parents will be happy that I won’t be alone. My mom visited Turkey with a group when she was about my age, and even though times have changed and it’s apparently very safe to travel there, she has some reservations about me being there on my own. Understandable, and problem solved J
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