After my night train experience from Krakow, I was dumped in the centre of Prague at around 6am. On the positive I had the whole day to look forward to, and on the negative, all I wanted to do was catch up on some sleep, but this wasn’t going to happen because I couldn’t even check into my hotel room until about 3pm. So I was stuck roaming the streets, however the hotel staff were able to keep my bike and luggage secure meanwhile.
With just my camera, wallet, Cronulla club cap and a few other essentials, I headed for brekkie at a cafe by the river. It turned out that my Hotel, the Residence Bologna, was only two blocks from the famous Charles Bridge, and right in the heart of the old town area. It was also cheap, very clean and even had a fridge to keep my beer cool. I loved it. Somehow I had to kill an entire day in Prague before my friends arrived from London, and given that it was my last day as a twenty-something year-old, I was going to make the most of it!
Hannah and James were flying out that evening to meet me for my 30th Birthday celebrations, so I hada few things to do before they arrived. First priority was to stock the fridge, and it was when I went to the minimart to grab two crates of piss, that I realised just how cheap Prague was. Even eating a meal in the more expensive tourist areas of Prague in pretty decent restaurants was going to be within my budget, and I loved it. What a great choice of a city to have my birthday celebrations! I would eat well, drink well and be genuinely merry.
I did a reccy of the city before the other two arrived, finding loads of awesome little bars, cafes, restaurants and stumbling across nearly all of the major tourist attractions along the way. I also needed to do some washing because I did not have one clean item of clothing left in my bag. The situation was so dire that I had to head out to some dodgy markets by the train station and purchased a new t-shirt and a pair of shorts for the equivalent of about £3 just so I had something to wear whilst I was washing everything else! The lady at the Laundromat tried to pull ‘tourist’ on me by charging me for two baskets of laundry, not one. I clearly didn’t have more than the limit of 5kg of clothes – she knew it and I knew it, because I’d weighed my luggage to see how heavy my bike actually was. Holding my ground, she quickly gave in, obviously hoping that she could get a quick double-for-nothing, before realising that I was a bit to clever for that. Matt 1, Laundry Lady 0. That afternoon I had a freshly washed, dried and folded set of clothes ready to last me another 3 weeks on the road
After a Pizza for dinner and demolishing several pivos from the fridge, I passed out into a deep sleep, only to be rudely awoken by a loud knock on the door. James and Hannah had arrived! You beauty it was great to see some familiar faces, and even though it was midnight, we started cracking more beers and went through quite a number before hitting the sack for the second time.
By the time we had finished brekkie the next morning, we had already demolished an entire crate of beer between the three of us, and my birthday celebrations were getting off to a great start. In fact I was chuffed when I came back to the room after using the Internet in the lobby, to find out that Hannah had baked a cake, brought it out in her hand luggage on the plane, and lit it with candles and everything when I returned. It was an awesome cake, which ended up tasting more like chocolate brownie. A great effort!
We hit the road with beers in hand, and I already had planned the route that we would take around town, having scouted it out the day before. Actually, we had planned on going to a shooting gallery – where you can learn how to shoot some awesome weapons like an AK-47, Czech sniper rifle, M16, glock pistol, etc. But the organisation of that became a bit too complicated, and the advertised price of about £78 was actually only applicable to groups of 22 or more people. Who the f*ck goes to Prague in groups of 22 or more people? The occasional bucks party perhaps but not most punters. It was going to cost us a lot more than we thought, so I opted for the easier and more relaxing option of just walking around town, seeing the sights, eating well and drinking a shitload. Then we would head out on a Pub Crawl in the evening
With an awesomely sunny day ahead, we headed over the Charles Bridge, walked up to the Prague Castle which was pretty impressive, got lost around the river (I managed to rescue a lost duck and return it to it’s mother!) and then we stopped for lunch at a beer garden which also doubled as a restaurant serving authentic Czech traditional cuisine. We ordered three delicious mains, which consisted of the Czech standard of meat, dumplings and a variety of potatoes, gravy and sauces. It was divine and my mouth waters for it right now. And all up, it was less than a pub meal back in London, but just like eating at a top restaurant in any major International city! Hannah’s meat came served on a skewer, it was a pork knuckle where the meat just fell off the bone. James had pretty much an entire headless duck on his plate, and my small yet delicious sirloin was covered in a traditional Czech sauce. We were all well and truly stuffed by the end.
We continued on to check out the old town square, stopeed at a few places to grab a beer on the way and then before we knew it, we needed to head back to the hotel room to change, have a quick half hour nap, and then it was time to hit the town. Prague is famous for its pub crawls, with several groups organised every night by different companies. We chose one which claimed to have its own pub which served as a starting point. Because of this, they offered an ‘hour of power’ when you first arrived. Unlimited beer, wine, shots and absinthe for the first hour. Mind you the guide warned us that any more than 4 shots of absinthe in the night, and we could pretty much call it a night. With that in mind, we only had two shots of absinthe in the first hour, but made up for it with several additional beers and about half a dozen shots of vodka cranberry or whatever it was they were free pouring at the bar.
The pub crawl ended as expected. We were in the biggest night club in Prague, a 5-story joint next to the Charles Bridge, and basically we couldn’t even stand properly. Especially James, because he managed to break his foot in three places by jumping down a flight of stairs… All I can say it, too bad you don’t have a better excuse, I mean it’s not like we had a shortage of ways to inflict harm on ourselves. Just moments before this, we were standing on some pretty dodgy looking tables, dancing away, and I remember thinking that at any moment it could collapse from under me. Some poor bastard did fall off his table – a group of Brits were in town for a stag party, and I ended up dancing with the bloke who was about to get married, when he fell off the table and knocked himself out cold. Out like a light bulb! I have a photo of his mates dragging him out. It was hilarious at the time, though potentially it was quite serious, and I think somebody told me there was a bit of blood coming out of his head, I hope he’s ok now! Probably not, he’s probably married by now the poor bastard.
Anyway, a continental breakfast wasn’t going to cut it the next morning, and I needed a proper feed. We ended up walking around town finishing the beers that were left over, and then fell into a place that was recommended for Czech food by the Lonely Planet guide. Once again it delivered. It was cheaper than the first place, and we went to town ordering whatever we wanted, including starters, mains and of course Czech beers. I was handed an awesome selection of meat and veg, and was once again stuffed.
With two solid days of partying, drinking and eating, we were all dog tired. There were a few hours to kill before we needed to head off to the bus station to grab an overnighter to Munich. Hannah came up with a ripper of a location to chill out, and we walked half way across town to find a park with a cool beer garden at the top of a hill, with a lovely view of the sunset across Prague. We slept on the hill with all the other locals doing the same thing, had a beer or two in the beer garden, and then it was time to head.
And so was my 30th birthday in Prague. I was genuinely chuffed to have such great company and friends come out to join me for the occasion. And splurging again for a few days didn’t do too much harm to the trip budget, and was thoroughly enjoyable. I’d head back to Prague again any time, it’s a very awesome city.
Next stop, Munich, where we will be hiring a car and travelling the Romantic Road!
