Prague is easily my favorite place so far. My original intention was to spend 3 days here. Well...3 turned into 6. The city is in immaculate condition. Prague was one of the only cities in Europe to escape World War II without being bombed. Furthermore, when they finally gained their independence from the Soviets, not a single shot was fired. The byproduct of that is a city that has largely retained it's character when the city was built centuries ago.
There's lot of fun things to do in Prague but my favorite has been hiking all of the hills that surround the city. There's many and each one affords a different perspective on the city. There's also a "treat" at the top of every hill whether it be a castle, botanical gardens, a fort, etc. This is important because it gives me an excuse to rest and not look like an out-of-shape 27 year old. The hills are also nice because the leaves have started to change color here so you get to see some cool landscape that you would otherwise not see by hanging out in the city.
Overlooking Prague
Prague Botanical Gardens
While in Prague, I also took a day trip to a little town roughly an hour east of Prague called Kutna Hora. Kutna Hora was a silver mining town back in the day. To appease the various gods the miners believed in (christian, pagan and others) they built some of the most impressive churches (one of which I got kicked out of trying to sneak into) I've seen so far. No expense was spared. There's also a really creepy church in a town not far from Kutna Hora called Sedlec which has a church that is completely decorated with human bones. It's a mystery why the church was decorated this way but seeing a chandelier made out of femurs and skulls is beyond weird.
The Bone Church
The hostel I'm staying at has been my favorite so far. The bar has live music several nights a week and more importantly has a big screen TV where I can watch FOOTBALL (real football...not soccer)! I've been suffering withdrawals for 4 weeks now so it was nice to finally watch a game (the Chiefs lost to the Colts FYI). If this weekend were the OSU-Nebraska game, I would definitely stay to ensure a place to watch the game. Yes, I'm that dedicated to the cause. Unfortunately, me and football is like crack to a drug addict. Now I feel like every place I stay should have a big screen TV for me to watch games!
In case you were wondering how I am faring on a personal level...I'm great! I decided to take a sabbatical (a mutual sabbatical) from my friends that I've been traveling with and go visit Berlin and spend some time with family friends in Denmark. I reckon I've lost quite a bit of weight, but I've not seen a working scale in a month so who knows how much. Aside from a brief bout of sickness in Munich I feel good. I've had Mexican food 3 times. I've snapped 926 pictures so far.
And my list of favorites so far:
Favorite place: Prague
Favorite currency: Icelandic Krona
Favorite museum: Imperial War Museum - London
Favorite activity: Hiking to Gullfoss waterfall - Iceland
Favorite picture taken: Schonnberg Palace - Vienna
Favorite Beer: Spaten Oktoberfest
Until we meet again!
Prost!
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