So this one time when I went to Prague...

I've been meaning to write this entry for awhile, but I had a lot of schoolwork to catch up on this week...

So anyways, in perhaps the most spontaneous decision in my entire life, I went to Prague this past weekend. I had been talking to my friend Dan, from high school, and he mentioned that he had heard from Eileen and that she would be in Prague Thursday-Saturday and (half-jokingly) suggested I come too. Now normally I would have said no, however this all seemed too perfect: I had the weekend free, all of my girlfriends from my program were out of town, one of Dan's roomates was out of town so I would have a free place to stay, I would get to see people I haven't seen in awhile, and most importantly I would be surprising my best friend by visiting her...in Prague, a city I had really wanted to visit during my time abroad.

So I did it! I found a flight, got directions from Dan to meet up with him, packed, and left. Friday April 20-Sunday April 22 were perhaps two of the most amazing days in my entire life.

I got in on Friday at around 5:30 and after waiting forever to get my bag, a bus, two metros, and wandering the neighborhood looking for a tram, I finally made it to Dan's place at around 8. We hung out for awhile, had a beer, and then took off to go meet up with some people for dinner! Eileen was completely floored- she obviously had absolutely no idea I would be there, but we both agreed this was one of the coolest things we have ever done as friends. Dinner was amaaazing- it was so nice to have a break from Spanish food, and everything is so cheap! My meal, with drinks, was no more than 200 crowns (which is about 10 US Dollars...gotta love that exchange rate!) After dinner we went to this crazy Czech bar that was made up of all these different rooms, and tunnels, and big Czech beers! Fuun times!
The next morning I met up with Eileen and her roomate from Galway, Katie, for breakfast at "Bohemia Bagel" where we had blueberry pancakes!! Delish. The girls had to leave after that (caught a train to Krakow, no big deal) and I headed back to Dan's to get ready for my day of sight seeing! Lemme just say that Prague is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen- had I not spent the past 11 years of my life studying Spanish, I would have really thought about studying here.
It's a big city, but still really managable, and we got to see everything: the Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral, the Charles Bridge, the Old Town Square, the Astronomical Clock, the Jewish Quarter (6 Synagogues and a cemetary, woah!), the Lennon Wall, and Wenceslas Square.






After walking around for a few hours, we stopped in off of Wenceslas square to get a quick snack and relax for awhile, before heading back to Dan's to get ready for the night! We went out with my friend Evan and Eric to eat some authentic Czech cuisine, and then went to "Star Bar"- a sports bar off of Wenceslas square where we watched the BULLS win Game 1 of the Playoffs. After the game we wandered around for awhile (stopping at a street vendor to do some shots, of course)
before going into a club called Lucerna- awesome night there, considering it was 80's and 90's pop night- does it really get any better? I met up with my friend Christa, who lived on my floor freshman year, and we danced the night away!
Got up fairly early on Sunday to meet up with Christa for yet another amazing meal, before walking around some more, and then finally heading to the airport and back to Madrid. My trip could not have worked out any better- I had such an amazing time in only two short days, and it helped me realize how much I really have grown during my time in Europe. In the fall, if you had told me that I would be traveling alone, to Prague, I would have thought you was out of yo damn mind- but after this trip, I feel so much more confident about traveling in Europe, and in the U.S. I'm so glad I decided to do this!!

Well, to continue on with my traveler's attitude, I don't have school again until May 7th (thanks Madrid for having Festivals on Monday and Tuesday, the only days I have school!!) so tomorrow I leave for Edinburgh to see my cousin Katie!! :) I am SO excited to see the city she has called home since September- we're going to have an amazing time. Then we're off to Dublin, and then Galway to see Eileen, and then Eileen and I are off to Amsterdam- should be a crazy 11 day trip (wow! Spring Break Part II?), but I know I will continue to have to time of my life-Hopefully I'll get the chance to update a little while I'm traveling!