Czech Yourself: Spring Break #1-Prague/Budapest/Prague
Day 1: So It Begins….
Our adventure begins on February 19, when the eight of us began packing and preparing for our trip. Our plane left around 5 in the evening, so naturally we felt no need to start packing or preparing until that morning. The problem with this is that “morning” for us usually means sometime between 11 am-1 pm. After getting everyone up and going, we began the chore of packing. A few of us (myself included) realized at the last minute that we had laundry that needed to be done and other things to take care of. This lead to a mad rush to get out the door on time and ultimately resulted in a few people packing some damp clothes in our suitcases.
We gathered in front of our building ready to begin our adventure. Our little group consisted of me, Kathy, Julie, Mathilde, Chad, Kevin (AK), Kevin (Wu Tang), and Nick. We have been spending a pretty good amount of time together over the last month and becoming pretty good friends. However, if you want to really get to know someone, go on a weeklong trip that involves sharing bathrooms, bedrooms, suitcases, food, and just about everything else. I am happy to report that, though at times I wanted to kill some people and I’m sure they felt the same about me, we all came back on speaking terms. I think the trip bonded us in ways that no other experience could. We were responsible for each other; we were all in this together. It was a challenge, an adventure, and most of all a really great time.
We arrived at the airport and made it through security without any major mishaps; although apparently bringing a curling iron in your carry-on luggage is a great way to get your bag searched because it is a large metal object shaped like a gun. Lesson learned. Security in Amsterdam and other countries is much nicer than in the States. I think one reason is that people are, in general, more laid back. No one is in a huge hurry so if you take a little longer getting your shoes back on or bag put together no one is hassling you to hurry along. Very nice experience. After a very short, smooth flight, we arrived in Prague and began the search for our hostel. First, we had to take a bus and a metro, which meant exchanging currency and buying tickets. Currency exchange and exchange rates would prove to be very challenging for the duration of the trip. One would think eight business students could master this topic but it’s harder than you realize. The exchange rate from the Euro to the Czech Crown is about 1:25; meaning 1 Euro is 25 Crowns or there are 4 Euros in 100 Crowns. This was remarkably simple compared to the currency in Budapest. After currency exchange, there is the challenge of public transportation. After buying bus tickets, we boarded the bus then traveled to the metro station. On the metro, we were approached and asked to show our tickets. This wasn’t a problem for most of us, as we all had tickets. However, upon boarding the bus, you are supposed to obtain a time stamp because your ticket is good for 75 minutes. Chad had somehow missed this step and received a 700 Crown fine for this mistake. Another lesson learned.
Now we were finally ready to search for our hostel. Chad had done some research and found a very nice hostel called the Mosaic House. We found it with very little trouble and were very pleased with what we found. The hostel was extremely large and very nice. We were greeted by a very friendly receptionist who got us all checked in. We were given individual keys to the room which we would later learn is not the standard in the hostel industry. Our room consisted of eight bunk beds and one bathroom. We had the perfect amount of people so that we didn’t have to share with any strangers. The bathroom had a rain showerhead and a shower that ALWAYS had hot water. We would later learn that the Mosaic House leaves a zero carbon footprint, meaning they are extremely eco-friendly. For example, the rooms automatically adjust in temperature based on how many people are in the room and the blinds open and close based on the time of day. Dean Cripps and his crazy thermostat and automatic lights have nothing on this technology. Also, the hostel uses reclaimed water. The hostel also had a very nice restaurant and bar in the lobby. The food was very good and reasonably priced. For pictures of our accommodations, check Facebook or Chad’s website at chadhaertling.com. The staff at the hostel was all very young and able to help us with finding things to do. Our waitress at dinner the first night, Jen, was originally from San Francisco and told us of a few places to go.
After showering and getting ready, we headed out. We ended up at a 5 story club that was very cool. It was full of all different rooms with different types of music and lighting. We all had a great time running around the club and exploring the different areas. There were many dance floors as well as game rooms and “chill” areas. My friend Kathy and I met some guys from London, one named Craig, and hung out with them for a good part of the night. At the end of the night we all reunited and made our way back to the hostel to sleep.
Day 2-Failure
After traveling and being out late the night before, getting up on the second day was difficult. Our goal was to go out and explore the sights of Prague. Getting eight people out the door in the morning is somewhat of a challenge. Basically, from the time everyone wakes up it will be about two hours before you can depart. Two hours is generous, sometimes it took even longer. After getting everyone up and going, drinking our coffee, and packing our bags, we were off to explore the city; armed with our cameras and maps. We walked for quite some time before we can to a hill with some statues and a steep staircase offering a fantastic view at the top. Before climbing the staircase, we went into a restaurant to eat lunch. This would be a good time to note that Prague is absolutely FREEZING. Many of you have heard me say how cold Amsterdam is; Prague made Amsterdam seem tropical. Because we were freezing, we opted for a sit down restaurant so that we could spend some time indoors. Our first Czech meal was quite delicious; we tried Czech bread and had pizza. The food is extremely cheap as well. After lunch, part of the group decided to climb the staircase. However, Julie, Chad, and I decided we were tired and that we would see the sights tomorrow. We returned to the hostel to nap.
After a glorious nap, the others returned and it was time once again to explore Prague’s nightlife. We learned that on Sunday, it can be difficult to find things to do, especially in the winter as there are few tourists in the city. Chad, our party planner, spent some time online and, just as we were about to give up, found a cool place we could go. We traveled to a club that was somewhat small and underground. Not a big crowd on a Sunday, but the DJ was good and we all enjoyed it. As we were dancing, Julie looked at me and said “that guy over there looks a lot like Craig (the guy we met the night before).” I looked over and sure enough it was him. Very random. Mathilde said that it must have been destiny. I don’t know if it was destiny, but our group had a great time hanging out with Craig and his friends. We exchanged information and he is helping us to plan our trip to London. After another successful night, we all returned home in a cab to sleep and recover again.
Day 3-I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends
After spending two days in Prague and seeing absolutely no sights, we were determined to do something touristy on Day 3. The main thing I wanted to see in Prague was the Lennon Wall, as I am a big Beatles fan. The Lennon wall is a wall of graffiti dedicated to John Lennon. On the way to the wall, we crossed another famous sight, The Charles Bridge. This bridge is simply beautiful and contains street vendors selling jewelry and art. I bought a picture of the Lennon Wall. We also found an incredible one man band playing several instruments including the tambourine with his foot and the recorder with his nose. We also bought his CD. After this, our journey to the wall continued.
A little background: Czechoslovakia (where Prague is) was under communist regime until 1989. During that time, Western pop music was banned and the government placed a particularly strong ban on the music of John Lennon and The Beatles because of the underlying message of love, acceptance, and peace. As Czechoslovakia deterred from communism, students painted a mural of John Lennon on a private wall and people would come there to add graffiti and express support for the destruction of communism. The wall is owned by a private citizen so the government, although they tried, could not stop the graffiti. Now the wall is a tourist attraction. The mural of John Lennon has long been covered and the wall is filled with poetry, song lyrics, and drawings. Chad took a lot of great pictures at the wall and those can be found on his web site. I also have some pictures that will eventually make it to Facebook, if I ever have time.
The Lennon Wall was definitely my favorite part of the trip. It is a small wall, but we spent about three hours adding our words to the wall and reading all those of other people. It is interesting to think that a part of you will always be on this wall in Prague. Just standing there, listening to Beatles music, talking to people, it’s a very spiritual experience. Even though it was very cold I couldn’t make myself leave.
After finally leaving the Lennon wall, it was getting dark and with darkness comes extreme cold. We headed back for our hostel and stopped along the way to have a traditional Czech meal. I would like to applaud everyone in our group for being extremely open-minded. Everyone was willing to order anything and everything; sampling food we have never heard of before. Not one person balked and ordered an American dish. To begin, we all ordered Czech beer; mine was a wheat beer and was delicious. Then we all had garlic soup, complete with cheese and bread/croutons. Soup was extremely delicious and so warm and it gave us all excellent breath. For dinner, we ordered a variety of food including chicken schnitzel (very similar to fried chicken), potato salad (I hate potato salad and I loved it), chicken wings (American I guess and sooo good), cabbage and onions (Don’t like cabbage but loved this), and various sausages and meats. It was a great meal and good experience. It definitely was not a tourist place (tourist places=expensive). After dinner we went home and rested so that we could spend the next day seeing more sights.
Day 4-Being a Tourist (Sort of)
On Day 4, we got up to complete our sightseeing mission. We decided to join a free walking tour so that we could spend more time seeing sights and less time being lost. Before the tour, we grabbed a famous Czech street hot dog (awesome) and a hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was wonderful and comparable to drinking brownie batter. Probably not good for your waistline but it made the cold much more bearable. The tour began with the famous clock tower and highlighted Old Town Square, Prague Castle, some famous churches, the Jewish Ghetto, and the Jewish Cemetery. This is all extremely beautiful and indescribable so check out the pictures.
After about one hour of the three hour walking tour, we were over being tourists and needed to go back to adventuring on our own. For all of you who don’t know this about me, I hate touring. (Family please recall: Smithsonian Museums, NASA place in Florida, every place dad took us in Hawaii, etc…) Luckily for me, my friend Julie likes to take a similar approach and our group overall did not want to spend money on all the tourist traps. So, we set out to climb to Prague castle. Along the way, we found a very cool metronome offering the greatest views of the city. It was simply incredible. Please check out all the pictures of this. It was unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. Prague is a beautiful city and we spent a long time sitting above it taking in the view. After tearing ourselves away, we walked around the castle a bit. The Prague Castle is the largest castle in the world and it is impossible to walk around the whole thing in a day. We saw only a very small portion of the castle, but enjoyed the view of the entire thing from below.
After our day of touring, we were ready to start our journey to Budapest. We booked a bus for 7:30 the next morning, so that we could arrive around 2 p.m. Now in case you haven’t gathered yet, no one in our group wakes up at 7:30. Naturally, the only thing to do to ensure we made it to the bus was to stay awake until time to catch the bus. After packing and napping, we headed out to a club. We had another great night of dancing and left the club around 4:30 am to get to the bus station. After taking cabs back to the hostel we began the madness of packing our final items and trying to make sure we didn’t leave anything behind. Somehow stuff tends to multiply when you’re on vacation and this trip was no exception. “Packing” became a process of shoving random stuff into random bags. We made it out in plenty of time and Kathy did a final room inspection then we were off to the bus station. Since we didn’t know how long the trip would take, we allowed ourselves extra time and ended up waiting a little over an hour for our bus. Once the bus arrived, we all settled in, got comfy, and prepared to go to sleep. Our bus ride may have been a little dangerous. We had to drive through the mountains and at times we were rattling and driving extremely fast. I tend to get sick on rides like this so I chose not to look out the window. After everything settled down we all went to sleep to prepare for our arrival in Budapest.
Day 5-Rolling into Budapest
Everyone began to wake up at various points, but Day 5 started sometime around 1 pm. We all woke up, some people watched the end of the Hangover (playing on the bus televisions, in Hungarian with English subtitles), and we began to get excited for our arrival. Now, at this point we have gone out all night and been on a bus for almost seven hours since any of us had last showered or eaten. Needless to say the priorities of food and showering were above all others. After getting off the bus, we set out to find our hostel. Of course we first had to go through the currency exchange/buying metro tickets process again. The exchange rate from Euros to Hungarain Forints is something like 1 Euro=271 Forints. Needless to say that can make things difficult. Also making things difficult was our friend Nick who told us two essential pieces of information that were based on no facts whatsoever. 1. The Hungarian currency is called the Franc. It is not called the Franc, it is called the Forint. We called them Francs the entire time we were in Budapest and no one corrected us until we were back in Prague trying to exchange them back to Crowns. This made us look really stupid to the guy at Western Union. 2. Nick also told us the exchange rate was very different than it was. I think he might have been off by a decimal place, I’m not sure, but the end result was everyone taking out way more Forints than was necessary or advisable. As if this wasn’t bad enough, Nick then decided to take it upon himself to lead us to our hostel. This lead to everyone (complete with all of our luggage) taking a brief detour down some random Hungarian streets before we finally asked for directions and learned we were going the complete wrong way. Lesson about taking advice from Nick learned the very hard way.
Our Budapest hostel was one that I had found online after about ten minutes of research. Needless to say, we weren’t really sure what to expect. After arriving, we were pleased to find that our hostel was very small and homey. The staff worked 24 hour shifts so we really got to know them and spent time talking and hanging out with them. We were again all in one big room and the hostel had only two other rooms, both of which were empty for our first night. It also had three bathrooms (upgrade) all with hot showers! After throwing our stuff down we immediately ran across the street to eat at a wonderful Turkish restaurant. We then headed back to the hostel for much needed showers and naps.
After napping, a few of us decided we wanted to eat again. We went down the road to a kabob place, as it was the only thing that was open. This was probably my favorite interaction in Budapest. The workers at the restaurant absolutely LOVED us, especially me and Julie. They spoke a little English and loved that we were friendly to them. In Eastern Europe, many people are fascinated with Americans because they don’t see them very often, especially in small shops like this one because a lot of tourists probably don’t go there. They ended up offering us free Turkish tea and we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner there.
Side note: Interactions like this one restore your faith in humanity and people; even though we could barely talk with them they were so hospitable and kind. I think as Americans we often act superior and stand-offish to people in other countries. There is a reason America has a bad reputation internationally. We can be unapproachable and our lack of interest in improving our language skills creates difficulty. I have stated many times how pathetic it is that citizens of third world countries learn more languages than those educated in the USA and this trip echoes my opinion. Although I myself fall into the ignorant American category I will actively try to embrace other cultures; through language, travel, and lifestyle. I plan to continue to try to learn at least one other language.
After dinner, we went to a club on the top floor of an old school building. I’m not going to lie; it was probably pretty sketchy by most of my reader’s standards. It was dirty, dark, and no one there spoke English. The DJ was a drum and bass show which is very hard and loud music. In short: it was awesome. Definitely my favorite music of the trip. The DJ spun records while a guy rapped over the music. Girls got in free and guys paid just a few dollars and this was the kind of show that you would probably pay at least $20 to see in the States. A night that started with everyone being tired turned out to be a great time! After the club we split up to cab back to our hostel. Somehow, Me, Chad, Julie, and Wu Tang ended up getting screwed by our cab driver and paying way too much for our cab back. The driver claimed it was a “night tariff” which apparently does not even exist. That was not a positive experience.
I should mention also that in Eastern Europe VERY few people speak English. In Prague, there were people who spoke a little and a lot of cab drivers who we could at the very least communicate with. In Budapest, this was not the case. Hardly anyone from cab drivers to waitresses to people on the street spoke English. To me, Budapest seemed a lot less “touristy” compared to Prague.
Day 6-Healing
On our second day in Budapest, I was determined to visit the baths that someone had recommended to me. Budapest is home to many natural hot springs and the water is supposed to have healing powers. The baths are a very popular activity for natives and tourists alike. After breakfast (at 2pm) Julie, Chad, Mathilde, and I set out for the baths while the rest of our group went sightseeing. The baths were absolutely wonderful. It was set in a huge, beautiful, old building and there were many pools, both inside and outside. Outside, all the pools were very large and warm and had jets, fountains, whirlpools, and seats. Inside, there were pools of various temperatures, some very cold, and various sizes. It even included an exercise pool. There were also saunas of various temperatures. We stayed at the baths until around 7 pm and it was heaven. To compare, I could say it is similar to a very large hot tub, but that is a bad comparison because it’s much nicer than that. Also, the water has a very interesting smell due to the minerals it contains. After getting out we changed and headed home, feeling very refreshed and relaxed. Perfect vacation activity and it cost something like 7 Euros. On the way home we stopped at a delicious Thai restaurant; which we found by chance, had a great dinner and went home to shower and relax. We spent the evening visiting with the guy working at our hostel and two other students who were visiting from France. The girl was originally from Seattle and the boy from England (I think). They were really cool and we had a great time getting to know them and staying in for the night.
The members of our group who had been out sightseeing (Kathy, AK, and Nick) decided to go out for the evening. Although accounts of the story differ, Nick somehow injured his foot and this made for an interesting night and rest of the trip. I think he is at the hospital as I type…
Day 7-The Labyrinth
On Day 7 of the trip, it was time for our group to split up. When booking our flights, half of the group got a good price for a flight back on Saturday. After their booking the price increased and the rest of us got flights back on Monday. For our last day in Budapest, AK, Wu Tang, and Nick booked a bus back to Prague leaving at 2 pm, while the rest of us got a night bus leaving at 11:30 pm. Upon waking up in the morning, we said good-bye and went our separate ways. Chad, Kathy, Mathilde, Julie, and I went out to see a few sights in Budapest. We explored the city, saw a famous bridge, did some shopping, then went up a hill to see the Parliament Building, Castle, Church, and famous museums. From the hill we also enjoyed breathtaking views of the city.
At the baths on the previous day, a couple had informed us of a labyrinth under the castle that offers tours. At night, all the lights are turned off and you explore the labyrinth with gas lanterns. We found this labyrinth and the tour was very interesting and a little scary. I had a great idea for a horror movie and am currently writing my screenplay. The labyrinth, we learned, was formed by the springs under Budapest then used to connect the castle and other buildings. It was used by the military from WW1 through the Cold War and can house over 10,000 people. I’m pretty sure our tour was only of a small part of the entire thing. After the labyrinth, we headed down the hill by tram to grab dinner and head to the bus. We had a great dinner at an Italian restaurant near our hostel, bought snacks, gathered our belongings, and headed for our night bus. Approximately seven hours later we arrived back in Prague.
Day 8-Traveling is not for the weak
Our bus arrived in Prague at 6 am and our hotel had a 1 pm check-in. When we got off the bus we were obviously still extremely tired and disappointed to find that the weather in Prague had not improved while we were away. In case you have lost track, it is now Saturday, one week into the trip and a day when many things don’t open early. I should also point out that a week of traveling with eight people, sleeping in bunk beds, riding multiple buses, and getting about five hours of sleep per night can really take its toll on your body. In other words: four girls, one boy, six bags, -6 degrees Celsius, 6 am=not the best part of the trip. This is about the time of the trip when I started to feel less like a tourist and more like a compulsive traveler. After unsuccessfully looking for a place to warm up (Starbucks, Gloria Jeans, McDonalds, Rembrandt Donuts=Closed) we could think of only one option: our home away from home, The Mosaic House. The Mosaic House offers a fantastic all-you-can-eat breakfast in their restaurant and we knew exactly how to get there, so it seemed like the most viable option. We paid for our breakfast (6 Euros, it’s a bargain) and headed to our old table to enjoy it. After a very long breakfast, we were surprised to find it was only 9 am and we were exhausted. We relocated ourselves and all of our belongings to lounge where we plugged in our iPods and fell asleep on the floor, using coats and bags as blankets and pillows (Are you cringing yet mother?)
After a refreshing nap, tooth-brushing, and hot chocolate, it was check-in time for our next hotel. Julie was headed back to Amsterdam, so Chad and I accompanied her to the airport while Kathy and Mathilde headed to the hotel with all of our things. We sadly left Jules at the airport, grabbed some Chinese, and headed back to the hotel to shower, nap, and re-unite with our group.
For the last two nights, Saturday and Sunday, I booked a hotel instead of a hostel because there were four of us and it was cheaper. Hostels are much more expensive on the weekends and you always pay per person, so sometimes a cheap hotel is a better deal. Our bed and breakfast, “The Bridge” claimed to offer “cheap and charming accommodation in Prague.” The cheap part was accurate: 33 Euros per night divided by four people is next to nothing. (Also, it included breakfast-what a deal!!) However, “charming” might have been an exaggeration. The room was acceptable: four beds (although two of them were pushed together to form one queen bed) with clean sheets, blankets, and towels provided! The down side was the bathroom. The shower was hand-held; meaning when you wanted to wash your hair you had to set down the shower head and freeze to death, and the water pressure poor to say the least. Hot water was almost non-existent and if someone anywhere in the building was washing their hands you might as well forget showering. It took me about six minutes to rinse my hair. For the price, I deemed the conditions as acceptable, especially for only two nights, but some people (Chad) were a little dissatisfied. By Dean Cripps standards this place was at least three if not four stars. (Mom and Carly: it was probably on Dad’s hotel reward plan.) By Chad’s standards it was a negative one star hotel…
For our last night out, Chad had been looking forward to a glow party at a huge club called SaSaZu. Kathy, Chad, and I went to the party while Mathilde stayed in to rest. The party was a perfect end to the trip and we made a new friend named Andreas. Andreas was also an exchange student, studying in Prague, and he led us to an after party and later helped us find our way back to our hotel. Andreas was just another one of many great people we encountered on the trip. Upon returning home, we were pleased to find breakfast had been set out and ate a good breakfast before heading to bed.
Day 9-And then there were four…
For our last full day in Prague the remaining four travelers were starting to feel a little weary. Mathilde was able to get up at a decent hour and take in a museum. The rest of us spent most of the day sleeping and relaxing. After getting showered and out the door, we grabbed another Czech hot dog and decided we might be interested in seeing a show that night. We ultimately ended up at the Blacklight Theatre for “Elements of Alice”: a show that was supposed to be loosely based on the works of Lewis Carroll. The Theatre experience was interesting to say the least and a little more low-budget than we expected. Overall, it made for an intriguing discussion afterward and we were happy with our decision. After the show, we grabbed a snack, headed to the hotel, and slept very soundly.
Day 10-The End
On our final day we planned to get up early, eat our breakfast, and get one last look at the city. We got up early, as planned at 9 am, and enjoyed our last free breakfast. By this point, however; we were all suffering from various degrees of exhaustion and sickness, so we crawled back into bed for a little more rest. We were eventually woken by the receptionist at 11:30 (check-out was at 11). Fortunately, the receptionist didn’t mind our tardiness and allowed us time to pack. (I don’t think the cleaning staff here was on a tight schedule-seeing as how there was no cleaning staff-and I doubt people were lining up to check-in behind us) . After packing, we grabbed a quick lunch (hot dogs again) and went to a few stops to buy some things for our friend from Prague who had helped with our planning. Finally, it was time to say good-bye to Prague and hit the airport one more time. We spent the last of our Czech money on an ice cream treat, boarded the plane, and came back to reality. When reality is life in Amsterdam, it’s not so disappointing to come back from vacation.
Thoughts and Ramblings
If you made it through all of that Congratulations! I know it was very lengthy but I also know I could never tell all of you individually the details of my trip. I learned a lot of valuable lessons; most importantly who you travel with is more important than where you go. As in life, it’s about the journey and going anywhere can be fun when you are surrounded by a great group of people. I thoroughly enjoyed my first big European adventure and am happy to have survived with only minor injuries. My wish for all of you is that you have the opportunity, big or small, to get out of your comfort zone and learn something about yourself and the great big world around you!
