Prague

Day 6, continued

We got the really stuffy and cramped train from Berlin to Prague which took about 6 or 7 hours. We immediately stunk out our compartment with really odd sandwiches which we bought from a shop at the train station, curry sauce, ham and orange segments. Whoever thought that up really needs shooting. Anyway, the compartment we were in was full and was just about big enough to fit everyone in at a push.

When we got to Prague it was around 5pm and it was raining, which wasn't so bad considering we'd gone this far with ace weather but it was absolutely pissing it down. We opted to get the metro to our hostel for fear of getting drenched. When we arrived, we bumped into 3 other Irish lads who were staying in our dorm which was nice considering everywhere else we'd stayed we'd had to put up with bits of broken English from people we were staying with. It was good to have a proper conversation without having to worry if they can understand you.

After getting changed and showered I went to get some ridiculously cheap beer from the shop and we went to the common area to chat with the Irish lads we were sharing a room with. We ended up going to a pretty cool bar down the road from our hostel and one thing led to another and we found ourselves in Karlovy Lazne. If you aren't familiar with Prague, Karlovy Lazne is a 5 story club right next to the Charles Bridge. A place where dreams are made and where dreams die. Also a place where beer is less than a quid and absinthe is about £1.50. Needless to say, we didn't find ourselves getting back in until about half 5.

Day 7

We were both nursing stonking hangovers and as such didn't rise until the early hours of the afternoon, still feeling incredibly fragile and tender.

We thought it'd be cheaper to grab some lunch from the shop next to the hostel rather than get it in the middle of Prague. It was here that Rach found out that all the foreign food had taken it's toll on her digestive system and disappeared pretty swiftly and mysteriously.

After we'd got through #shopgate2014 we wandered into Prague Old Town which is really really pretty with the Astronomical Clock sitting in the centre and Cathedral at one end. We carried on walking up to Wenceslas Square which is a bit more westernised as all the buildings began to look more modern. At the top of the square we went to a place where you can pour your own pints, which in hindsight was a terrible mistake and my lifelong dream of becoming a bartender was crushed before my very eyes as I filled glass after glass with nothing but foam.

It was getting on a bit so we decided to walk back down the square and go back to the Old Town to find something to eat. We found a really nice place with traditional live music on one of the many winding streets on the centre of Prague which are so easy to get lost in. The food was ace as well and we got some Czech goulash and a roasted pork knee which was massive and really tasty.

We walked along the river for a bit after the meal and found a nice riverside bar where we stayed until about half 1 in the morning. It was pretty cold and Rach suggested getting a cab back to the hostel. I agreed because it wasn't too far so surely couldn't cost that much. Wrong decision.

Our cab driver was as bent as a nine bob note and claimed it was 7km when he stopped a couple of minutes away from the hostel and demanded we pay 700 koruna, £23. Gutted.

Day 8

Tried to set off a bit earlier today but only managed to leave about half an hour earlier than yesterday.

We walked over the Charles Bridge to the Lesser Town which was really nice and not as touristy as practically everywhere else in the city seems to be.

We then went further up the hill once over the bridge up to the castle which is picturesque and round the other side has a great viewing platform giving an amazing panoramic view of the city. Hence Rach going mental and taking Instagram photo after Instagram photo.

As the sun set we got back down to the banks of the river which meant only one thing. Instagram.

We then went to find another traditional bar restaurant type effort for a couple of beers. Our waiter recommended getting some kind of sharing plate in broken English as he said it was good with beer so we went ahead. Bad decision. What arrived at our table was a basket of bread and two bowls, one filled with raw diced onions and one with lard which still had bits of pig in it.

Day 9

It was our last day in Prague because we'd booked the night train over to Budapest.

On contrast to yesterday it was baking hot and as we didn't really know what to do with ourselves until our train we had a couple of drinks in the sun before walking over the Charles Bridge again and finding the John Lennon Wall.

The wall was pretty cool, decked out in tons of Beatles and John Lennon graffiti but probably wasn't worth the tireless effort and amount of times we got lost trying to find it.

As it was a pretty nice day we walked a bit further up into the lesser town and until we found a place which did a meal and beer for a fiver. Clearly not an opportunity to be missed.

On our way back down to the hostel to get our things and make our way over to the station, we decided to visit the Ice bar which everything is made of ice. Needless to say, it was colder than cold itself.

The night train was a bit of an unknown quantity for both of us. Having booked the bottom two beds in a 6 person couchette I wasn't expecting much, especially not after all the warnings we'd had about looking after our valuables on night trains. It seemed odd then that the conductor wanted to take our interrail passes, our most valuable possession, but he assured us it was just to show the Czech, Slovakian and Hungarian authorities and he'd deliver them back in the morning, which to be fair, he did.

Despite the cramped conditions, i.e. sleeping in a space no bigger than a coffin I had a pretty decent night's sleep. Rach on the other hand, didn't.