Coming back to Prague was definately the best decision. When I got to my hostel, I made some tea and got chatting to people in the kitchen. The other hostel (Miss Sophie's) had been dead, but this one actually had friendly people.
I decided there was lots to do in Prague so I'd stay for a few more days, before heading off to Wroclaw (excuse the lack of accents and twiddly bits, I can't figure out how to get them). In the morning, I decided to be really organised and book my train ticket in advance. The guy in the International Tickets office was really helpful (and spoke English), so it was all nice and easy, and I could feel all nice and prepared.
Over the next few days, I spent a lot of time just walking the streets of Prague. It is such a beautiful city, and I seem to find new bits every time. I went to a chocolate museum (which included surprisingly good paintings done with white and dark chocolate. What a waste!). I took a day trip to Castle Karlstejn (and got in as a student. All those times I've got IDed to get into clubs is finally paying off), which is a very interesting place. It plays a pretty central role in Czech history, though I admit that I chose to go there largely because the place looks and sounds like something straight out of Warhammer. Higlights of the tour include King Wenceslas' toilet (now containing a fire extinguisher) and a picture of a saint with that angelic cow again. I also went on a day trip to Kutna Hora, which is a cool, historical town that has a much better Ossuary than Melnik. This includes a chandeleir made out of every bone in the human body, made my half blind monks. I never found out exactly why. Ooh and they sell the best chocolate icecream in the town square, with chocolate bits and chocolate sauce.
I was mostly cooking for myself, which is a mini-adventure in itself. Buying food is okay, as it mostly involves knowing the phrase "Can I have..?", pointing, and saying "yes"/"no" and "please" a lot. Mostly fairly basic veg (stir-fried in butter for extra healthiness) and noodles for dinner and bread, cheese and fruit for lunch. I did try out the tiny eggs they were selling that I think were quails eggs. They got scrambled with the mushrooms anyway, so if there were supposed to be subtle flavours, I missed them entirely.
Been pretty good on the social side of things too. There's been a stream of friendly people to go to the pub with, play cards with, and to fail to play the ukelele with (don't ask). One night, I went to see some local metal bands out in the 'burbs with a couple of folk from their hostel, one person's Czech friend, and her brother. It was in a park on a hill, and had been going on all afternoon. The sociologist in me enjoyed playing compare and contrast with local metal days in the UK, and the rest of my brain enjoyed the music. Especially good were the comedy band playing death metal covers of Czech folk music.
So yeah, thoroughly enjoyed my time in Prague. I think I could happily spend weeks there. Next time, I'd like to get out and explore a few more of the other parts of the Czech Republic.
