Howdy from Prague...

So we set off from Austria bright and early and make our way to our first stop... Mauthausen... this is a concentration camp. It is a couple hour drive to get here. On the way Keira and I discuss Dachau, the camp I went to in Germany last year and how we are feeling about this camp. We also discuss our family history as both of us had ancestors that fought in World War 2... We both knew it was going to be a hard couple of hours and it was good to chat about it with someone else who also was feeling the same way.

Just before we got to the camp I messaged dad to check who it was that fought in the war and it was mums Uncle Arthur who she thinks may have also been a prisoner of war. The next message I got from dad I was not expecting. My little man Percy had eaten some plastic as the little terror does and was having surgery. Dad said he wasn't himself so he took him to the vet who x-rayed him and found that he had plastic stuck in his stomach and then had some sort of fibre wrapped around his intestines or something and if they had have left it much later then he would not have made it. Mum and dad said they would let me know when he was out of surgery and awake... I then had to walk into the camp and watch a movie about Hitler's rise and the conditions within the camp and see footage and photographs of the prisoners... this all got way too much for me... After the movie we had time to look around the camp grounds... I lasted 5 minutes before leaving and making my way to the bus. I sat with Phil (driver) and Tony (tour leader) and waited for the others... I had been through Dachau which is another camp less than a year earlier so I felt that I still had a full experience at the camp I just didn't feel the need to see a second set of gas chambers and another crematorium... one set is enough..

All the other topdeckers made their way to the bus and it came apparent that it was a pretty rough day for all on board and that the storeys we heard and the things they seen had affected them all in some way or another and it is something they will learn from and carry with them... I don't think you can quite explain the feeling you have after the camp... the mood on the bus for a while after was quite sombre... I think if you have a chance then going to a camp is a worthwhile experience. It won't be the greatest day of your life but you get a greater understanding and appreciation for what happened back then and that's something everyone should feel.

As we approached Prague the mood lifted a little and we checked into our hostel. We had an hour or so to kill before dinner to freshen up... Cold Showers were on the agenda as there was no hot water... AWESOME!! Haha we got ready and headed down for dinner. There were a couple of other TopDeck groups there as well. We ate and then headed on a walking tour of Prague where we say the main square and the Charles bridge and the Astrological clock and all the quaint winding streets in between... it is a really pretty, medieval type city with cobblestone roads and souvenir shops galore. After the tour was finished we headed to an Absinth bar... I am going to admit it right here and now... I did NOT do a shot... I hadn't heard about Percy yet and I didn't think it would sit too well whilst I was worried... lame excuse some may say but I was just being responsible... and how glad I was... Keira had to sit for a bit, a few others were coughing their guts up and all I heard was complaints haha I was very happy with my decision. We then headed off to another bar... it was here I woke my parents who said he was ok and I got on the ciders... we got Elley up for a dance and compromised that tomorrow she would keep her leg up for a bit.. So we danced and drank and then after we got over that place we moved onto a 5 story nightclub... we had lost shifty already and Elley was still kicking with us. We headed into the club and straight to the oldies music floor. We formed a massive circle where random as well as Topdeckers would jump in the middle a bust a move... Some of the random that jumped in were older ladies and a weird old man... it was rather amusing. About 3 or 3:30 or something like that we got over it a bit and a group of 9 of us headed for home. We got lost a little, asked for some direction, we didn't believe the directions given so we kept going and then asked another person who confirmed the first set of directions... we swallowed our pride turned around and headed on the correct way to the main square to catch the tram.. We wanted maccas and when we arrived found that it was closed... we were all devastated... we got some horrible chips from a kebab shop and caught the tram home.

The next day I slept til 10 and went down to breakfast and skyped Grandma and then called mum and dad. Dad was at Mark and Tracey's so I spoke to everyone which was great. I got updates about Percy and what was happening at home. I then scoffed some brekky and went upstairs to see what the others were doing. We got ready, Fleetwood mac came down and we headed out for a day of sightseeing and shopping. We did the walk we did with Tony the night before again, stopping at markets and stores. We stopped and had an amazing lunch in a cheap little cafe that was busy with locals on their lunch breaks from work. It was hidden away and delicious.

We met Keira by the Astrological clock and it started raining... this confused us as we hadn't seen rain in so long and it was still warmish... We waited for it to ease a little and headed for Charles Bridge where we looked at the market stalls. We started heading back to the main square to head back shopping along the way... we lost shifty and Fleetwood mac who got tired... me, Keira and Elley went a little shopping crazy.. We got back to the accomm at about 7:30pm... very long day... the end verdict was that I love Prague!

Elley decided to rest her leg so the rest of us headed down for dinner. We ate, sat around chatting. I uploaded some pics to Facebook and then about midnight called it a night... Tomorrow we head to Berlin :)