Sunday: I got up at midday and killed oI the afternoon in a cafe nearby, having breakfast and a few coffees followed by a few beers. In the evening I went to the bar downstairs in our hostel to talk and drink. Eventually we headed out to a club nearby, but I didn't stay very long since it wasn't the kind of music I like.
Monday: I did the Sandeman's New Europe free tour, which started in the main square. From there we saw the main churches in the sqaure, as well as the astrological clock and the Jan Hus statue. We went on to see the other main sights, including Winceslas square, the Power tower, the Franz Kafka statue and the Rudolfonium. We finished right next to the Charles bridge, and I went up to the Metronome with David and Pieta, an australian couple I met on the tour, to take panaromas of Prague. We also went to the statue at the Franz Kafka museum of two men peeing on a fountain the shape of the Czech Republic. Afterwards I asked them if they wanted to join up for supper at Ferdinand, the same place I went the evening before, later in the evening and they agreed. I went back the hostel to shower and relax a bit before heading out again. I met up with them just by chance on the street corner after having went in to confirm they weren't already inside. We had supper, I tried out the blue cheese pork steak which was simply delicious. Both of them were very nice and we had some great conversation about travelling, they had some good tips about Turkey. They were extremely generous and payed for my supper. We talked more while walking to the start of the pub crawl and my night out began. I met a group of American students studying abroad and we talked quite a bit. After a few bars and clubs, I came back but decided to start my search for a kebab stand with two dutch girls. We were unsuccesful, and after 30 minutes had to settle for hot dogs, at which point I came back to the hostel.
Tuesday: I didn't get up to much today. Late breakfast, spent some time in the afternoon on the computer. In the evening I went to the bar in the hostel to watch the Tottenham - Inter match.
Wednesday: I visited the ossuary at Kutna Hora with Matt and Ema. I tried to find a sports bar near the hostel to watch the Bayern Munich match, but the one I found was playing another champion's league game, so I went to pick up a pizza and went back there. I spent some time talking with Ema and an australian we met there. I met Virginia when I came back, a girl from Boucherville.
Thursday: I visited the Prague Castle with Virginia, Aaron and Ethan. We then went to the statue of two guys peeing and on our way back Virginia and I visited the Torture museum. We stopped for sushi on our way back to the hostel, where we got ready for the pub crawl that about 10 people from the hostel were going to, which was awesome cause so many people knew each other.
Friday: We got up and Seth offered to cook breakfast, so we headed out to get groceries. He made us pancakes, eggs and some pork and we had a plate of fruit and chocolate as well. Afterwards we watched "The Kite Runner" and napped, getting ready for another night of partying. Rod, one of the guys who works at the hostel, had about 20 czech people over to the bar in the hostel as they were celebrating something. Seth took some amazing black and white pictures, as he's a photographer. Eventually we headed out to Jack Rabbit Slim's to continue the party.
Saturday: I took the afternoon easy, watching a movie. I went out to a pizza restaurant around the corner from the hostel and had the house variety, which came with a scoop of sour cream in the middle. Rod took us out again to a different bar but I hadn't fully recuperated from the previous days so came back early.
Sunday: I took the day slow again, watching a couple of movies with Virginia. We played some drinking games in the evening, and when the others headed out I just went to bed.
Monday: I visited the Pilsner Urquell brewery with some guys from the hostel. Pilsen, as the name suggests, is the birthplace of the Pilsner, the first bottom-feremented (lager yeast) beer. The first batch was brewed on the 5th of October 1842, and from then on changed the face of the pale-lager style. We visited the bottling plant (capacity: 120000 bottles and 40000 cans an hour), the old brewery then the new brewey and finished in the cellar, where maturing still takes place. There we were able to taste an unfiltered version of the product, still fermented in the oak vats. Afterwards we went to see the synagogue in Pilsen, the second biggest in Europe and third in the world. On our way back we stopped at "The Pub", a chain of bars accross the Czech Republic where there are taps on the tables. The concept is that you pour your own beers, and somewhat of a competition begins, with a system that calculates the amount of beers poured and comoares them on a scoreboard, between the pub you're in and the other pubs around the country. We came back to Prague and had supper at a local restaurant that serves a "farm plate": a whole bunch of different meats. We headed back quickly to the hostel before leaving again to go join the Prague Underground pub crawl.
Tuesday: I took the day slow again and watched Pulp Fiction. We played some drinking games and then headed out to Jack Rabbit Slim's again, which was unfortunatley quite empty, so we ended up coming back pretty early.
Wednesday: I went for a day trip to Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad), the filming location of Casino Royale (the Pupp hotel is there) with Matt. Came back to the hostel to chat with the people there before heading back to the train station to grab the night train to Budapest. The night train actually left from Berlin so the compartement I was in already had four people sleeping in it.
