Prague

“Are all the ducks in a row? Do we have everyone? Does everyone have their passports (I’m looking at you John)?!” Do you know how hard it is to plan and then execute a trip to three different countries with 8 people? The answer is very, but holy shit was it fun!

What started as my rough draft for a solo trip quickly escalated to a full blown group vacation in the span of about a week, and I couldn’t have been happier about it. Don’t get me wrong, I love solo traveling, but going on a European adventure with some of my best friends here in Regensburg? What could be better?

After some initial difficulty finding the FlixBus stop in Regensburg, a little passport scare, and being thankful for the delay of our bus, the six of us got on ready to head to Prague! We passed some beautiful countrysides, started a dangerous game of What-Are-The-Odds, and took plenty of naps before finally arriving in the Czech Republic just after nightfall. We walked the twenty minutes from the bus station to our AirBnB right off a major square in Praha 1 and got settled in to the beautiful apartment. After a late dinner, we all collapsed into bed, beyond excited for the next day.

We took a free walking tour the next morning through the old town and through the Jewish quarter, and I cannot recommend our tour guide Scott enough, he was so funny and raised the bar for every tour we took after that. We visited the Old Town Square which was filled with the hustle and bustle of the Easter market, several old synagogues, the Powder Tower, explored some of New Town, and learned a lot about the history and culture of Prague. I can’t help thinking back to my days in AP Euro with Mr. Glenn and to Medieval World with Dr. Byrne when I’m standing in a place we talked about in class, that I wrote essays over and am now seeing in person. After our tour ended, we crossed the river to see the Lennon Wall and take the obligatory peace sign picture in front of it. After exploring Lesser Town for a while, we crossed back to Old Town over the Charles Bridge, a supposed must see of Prague. To be honest it was too crowded to really appreciate it and I much preferred the bridge we’d used earlier which was right next to it and far less crowded.

After a brief respite, most of our group went on a boat ride along the Vlatva river at sunset to celebrate Mazie’s birthday, followed by a vegan dinner in a really cool restaurant in the Old Town. When we got back to the apartment the real celebrations began and by the time we got to bed, I was exhausted and absolutely in love with Prague.

We slept in Saturday and enjoyed a nice morning hanging out in the apartment and playing games before heading to lunch in the New Town, this time going for a more traditional Czech cuisine. John, Kieran, Brynna, and I went on a tour of the Prague Castle and Lesser Town while Mazie and Oliver split off to look at the Kafka museum. Kieran unfortunately was not allowed into the building because he was carrying a pocket knife, but Brynna, John, and I had a blast exploring the grounds. John and I also climbed the church tower and got an amazing view of the city, despite the rain.

That night, John, Kieran, and I met up with some of our French friends from the ILC, Lucy and Imen, and went dancing. I can’t believe that I can just casually say I went clubbing in Prague, but that’s exactly what we did. We had a wonderful time and met some really nice German people there because no matter where you go, you will run into a German tourist.

Sunday morning Brynna got me up bright and early in time to go to St. James Basilica to attend an Easter Sunday service. I had never been to a Catholic mass, let alone one in Czech so it was a totally different experience for me, but an amazing one. St. James is a Bascilica that was pointed out to us during out free tour our first day. The inside is beautiful and the light that came in through the window seamed to time itself to the priest’s words, surging in as he reached his most emphasized words. The full orchestra and organ accompaniment to the full choir was another unexpected but greatly appreciated aspect of the service. Afterwards, Brynna and I slowly headed back, talking the whole time, stopping to shop for a few things on the way. We had actually expected everything to be closed on Easter Sunday, so we’d bought groceries ahead of time, preparing to stay inside and take a day of rest. Turns out, plenty of things are open Sunday, nonetheless, I whipped up some food for lunch and dinner and we really did enjoy that day hanging out and goofing off with one another.

Monday we left our adorable AirBnb, walked to the bus station where we hopped on our FlixBus, and waved goodbye to Prague as we grew more and more excited about Budapest.