Prague (17th-18th June 2017)
The capital of the Czechia, and a favourite holiday destination for the many who want to immerse themselves in the centre of Europe. The name 'Prague' daunted me as a child, but today it feels like a bigger version of the city I've called home since September last year. Prague was the first city I visited on Erasmus. It made sense to do so, even though Vienna and Bratislava are closer to Brno. Something about Prague sounded magical and mysterious. I travelled with my mum and spent the weekend being herded around by tour guides in the historical centre and in Kutna Hora. This time, the second time around, I wanted the trip to be different. A friend had told me about Karlovy Lázně, the biggest club in Central Europe. Indeed, I had never been to a club even close to the size of this one; 5 floors, each with a different music genre. Now all I had to do was persuade as many people as possible to join and plan my weekend around it. I successfully irritated three girls until they were defeated and started planning my adventure. I call it Prague 2.0.
The journey started in panic as my friend Larisa missed the coach we were supposed to take together. The funniest thing about the journey to Prague was that all four of us arrived at different times! Grech first, me next, Daniela and finally Larisa. Nevertheless, we met at the Hlavni Nadrazi (main train station) and Daniela proceeded to take us to Riegrovy sady park, where we admired the view of Prague from atop a hill. She pointed out Prague's 'Eiffel Tower', a smaller version of the original called the Petřín Tower poking out randomly from another hill. Adrenaline rushed through my veins as we emerged onto a bridge parallel to Karlův most (Charles Bridge) and were greeted with the view of the Vlatva river carrying boats, swans and the reflection of Prague on a warm summer afternoon. On the other side of the bridge, the State Opera House stood proudly, a sign that we were now in the Old Town. We decided to walk to Staroměstské námesti (Old Town Square) and were surprisingly greeted with none other than a cocktail festival! Daniela told us the best M.C. in the country was on the stage in front of us, with a bunch of other famous Czechs. We bought four varieties of bizarre virgin cocktails (Larisa's came with an entire paprika floating inside) and entered the gift shop of the chocolate museum. Here, two men rolled out rock candy behind a counter. The shop weirdly sold Belgian chocolate with Prague labels on them, a gimmick that pissed Daniela off, being Czech herself. Being in Prague in the middle of summer was such a different experience.
After having lunch in a large mall and spotting yet another famous Czech person, an actor this time, we said goodbye to Daniela. We proceeded to Hostel Dakura, which I must admit, was kind of in the middle of nowhere. However, for the price (€13) it was totally worth it, especially because it was newly renovated. There was a small obstacle in that I didn't think to bring my passport to check-in to the hostel. I was casually told that it wouldn't be a problem, unless the police came the next morning, apparently not a rare occurrence. We had dinner at this incredible French Café 'bistro à Table!', which had the best quiche I've ever tasted. 200 ml of wine later, and we were cruising in the Metro to Staroměstské námesti. It was still early, so we filled up on beer right opposite the club before queueing to enter. Finally, the moment I had been waiting for had arrived; we were inside Karlovy Lázně! After paying 260 kc for entry and the cloakroom, we made a mission plan; start from the bottom and go up. Ironically, the first bar we entered was the oxygen bar which solely existed to cure hangovers. Yes, you breathe in pure oxygen from multi-coloured bubbling flasks via a mask. We entered the 'Mainstream Hits' level and found an empty dancefloor. I was surprised, I thought this would be the most popular. The design of the next levels blew me away; Level 1- ice bar, Level 2- laser statue, Level 3- old-school dance floor, Level 4- exotic dancer, Level 5-live band (Check out the website http://www.karlovylazne.cz/en/). My favourites were Level 3 (Oldies), where we congaed around the dancefloor, and Level 4 (Hip Hop and R&B). Needless to say we had a fantastic night!
The hangover the next morning was not so fantastic, but we managed to check out, leave our backpacks in the luggage hold in the main bus station and revive ourselves in a café in the centre. The girls wanted to go shopping and after the important purchases were made, we rushed into Hamleys. Who doesn't love Hamleys?! This branch did not disappoint, it had an entire carousel inside! We spent much longer than 20-somethings probably should in a toy store, but the slide and the candy floss were worth it. All went well until the security guard wouldn't let me out because I threw away the receipt for some jellybeans. Moral of the story: security guards suck. ANYWAY, Larisa hadn't been to Prague Castle so we made that our next stop. 208 steps later, and we stood looking down on the city of Prague outside the castle gates. We limped to the statue of Masaryk, the first president of Czechia, and recollected ourselves for a good hour. We were even there long enough to see the blue-uniformed guards change. Now we were heading to an attraction I hadn't seen before: the John Lennon Wall. It was a random wall that people covered with graffiti and lyrics from Beatles songs. It was totally Instagram-worthy, plus there was a man singing 'Let It Be' in front of the wall which totally amped the vibe. Aesthetics-aside, the wall had a history of protests against communism and today is a symbol of love and peace.
We had some time to kill and an instant telepathic decision was made when we spotted the John Lennon Pub. A couple of drinks and a great conversation later, and we were rushing to the bus station like our lives depended on it. Another military-like operation was made where the three of us split up to order food and collect our backpacks with 30 mins to spare. Tipsy, tired and agitated, I sank into seat 21 and watched Deadpool. By the way, Czech coaches are the best I've used in any country. A free hot drink, an entertainment system equivalent to those in planes and free Wifi. Everything was peaceful for the duration of the journey. After pulling in to Brno, Larisa and I promptly missed our respective bus/tram by seconds. Alas, the journey ended the same way it started.
