Prague...do I need to say more?

Prague is definately at the top of my European favorite cities list. I've even marked it as a 'you must go back and show the hubby' list, which is saying something because he does not impress easily. Prague was a 4 day trip with IxESN and my first time in mixed room hostels. First, the bus ride was super long and only got interesting when we got closer to the city. Second, I had forgotten what sleeping in a room with a bunch of twenty-somethings who can't hold their liquor is like. That was not pretty and the room smelled of vomit for the rest of the night. Third, I am weird, I go on group trips and then get as far from the group as possible.

The trip cost included our hostel (we were in Hostel Ananas), which was okay once you got through the rediculously long and inept administration to check in, but there were about a hundred of us, so that may have had something to do with it. You do pay for linens, so be prepared for that additional 10E fee. We had dinner and a city tour and you could go to a pubcrawl, which I don't understand the point of and did not participate in.

I did take the optional Kutna Hora trip, which took us out by bus to the Sedlec Ossuary (the church made of bones), St. Barbara's Church, and the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist and of course the town itself. If you like churches, history, or weird, this is a great day trip.

The city walk tour was really good. We saw a ton of locations like Lennin's Wall (which he never went to), the Palace, Charles' Bridge, the Opera House, Jewish Quarter, etc. I really liked the mix of old and new and if I'd had more time, I could have spent another three or four days wandering around easy.

Panhandling is a thing though and very common at the bus and train stations. Even if you don't speak Hungarian, it will make you uncomfortable with their persistence. Go inside a building and they will leave you alone. The Prague train station, btw, has awesome bathrooms. You pay to use them, but they have toilets or showers you can use if you are traveling long distance or over night through the station.

While most of the others were at the party drinking, I found a festival right in the middle of Prague celebrating the anniversary of the end of Communism. Jazz and Rock were played well into the evening and people were dancing right there in the street. Overall, I'd like to go back and walk around without a bunch of crazy college students with me. I think my enjoyment level will be higher and I'd get to see more things. I definitely want to go back though.