Prague: Me Confused

Prague was the last stop on my little three week trek across Europe also known as the month of February. This trip was a little different from the others because we had a group of only 7 of us unlike the 14+ we usually roll with freshmen year style. Every time we travel we have to fly out of Milan which is a 2 hour train ride followed by anywhere from a 10 min to 1 1/2 hour bus ride depending on the airport. Well we booked our flight to Prague within the first couple weeks we were here and did not realize all this and we booked the flight for so early on Friday that there is no train early enough to get us to the airport on time. Whooops. Solution: take a train on Thursday night and spend the night in the airport. Easier said than done my friend. Especially considering I don't like airports, or laying tile floors, or the cold, or being herded around the airport like cattle by airport security. Considered spooning with a random stranger who lay down next to me for warmth but decided against it. You can't go into the terminal until 2 hours before your flight so we got to sleep in 4 different places by the main doors. When we finally were able to check in and go to our gate, we saw that the terminal has plush couches and soft floors and free Dance Dance Revolution. You know your life has hit a low point when you look at a couch in a McDonald's and think "Man, I would have given anything to have been able to have slept here last night."
The Sights: We got to Prague plenty early on Friday and took a walking tour around the city. The city is beautiful but it is so unbelievably fucking cold. I had no idea, it was the kind of cold that really made me think I might lose a foot or a couple toes to frostbite by the end of this tour. Bought a pair of wool socks for 20 Crowns which is the equivalent of 1 Euro, best Euro I ever spent seriously. We met up with Morgan, the friend of one of the girls on our trip who was studying in Prague and she showed us all around the city. Found a bagel place called Bohemian Bagel that Morgan told us was a destination spot for homesick Americans. We ate breakfast there twice. Saturday, we saw the famous John Lennon wall which was beautiful. It was a wall that students created after Lennon died, the Russian communists would come and paint over it everyday. After the fall of Communism in 1989, they made it legal to graffiti on the wall and it changes everyday covered with spiritual and inspirational sayings. On Sunday we went to the famous Jewish district including a 600 year old Jewish cemetary and an ancient synagoge. The synagoge was painted with the names of 77,000 Czech Jews who were killed in Hitler's concentration camps. It also contains several painting done by children who were in the camps. The story behind the paintings is that an art teacher smuggled art supplies into the camp when she was transported there. She used to let the children come and create paintings that depicted how they were feeling and after she died, they found 2 of her suitcases filled with hundreds of paintings. It was really incredible to be able to go see these artworks by these kids who had no other outlet to express themselves through. Prague was a really cheap city too compared to Italy and the US even. I ate nice steak dinners for 180 Crowns aka 9 Euro aka 10 American dollars. Very nice. Again, I took advantage of the English movie theaters and we saw Alice in Wonderland with Czech subtitles. Castles, bridges, pretty views of the city, etc.
Nightlife: The first night we went out to a club that played 80's and 90's music complete with huge screens playing the video. We drank Absinthe from a bottle we bought at the grocery store for like 10 American dollars and sand along to old N'SYNC and Grease songs. Great night. The next night, we went to a five story dance club where each floor had a different theme. It was very cool and the equivalent of 5 different clubs in one. Afterwards, I had one of Prague's famous fried cheeses rapidly folowed by a second of Prague's fried cheeses. Who knew fried cheese on a bun with mustard and ketchup could be so delicious. Not me.
Funny things that happened on the trip: Well this isn't really that funny but it kind of is. When we first got there, we had to buy a metro pass to get around the city and we were told that you must have your pass with you at all times because if you get stopped and you dont have it, you have to pay 700 KC (35 Euro), Well on the first night, our friend Kaitlin lost hers and so of course, Murphy's Law, we got stopped. We thought we would be cute and try to do a pass back with one of our passes but the Metro Gustapo was smarter than the doorman at Kams and we got caught. Lesson learned, do not try to fool a middle aged Czech man cause they get pisssssed. In my drunken stupor, I texted Morgan to meet us at the club on Saturday and instead of saying We are confused, I shortened it to "We are line, me confused." I'm blaming it on T9 and my already disabled texting skills. It was an instant inside joke. There is this famous bridge in Prague called Charles Bridge. For some odd reason, we kept calling it St. Charles Bridge. I think that after living in Italy, I will attach Saint on to everything. Morgan kept correcting us but 20 minutes later we were asked directions to the club we were just at and Kaitlin told them it was right by St. Charles bridge. Fail. Oh well. Ciao, Mia