After about 2 months of living only an hour away from Prague, I finally made it! Any free day I have I'm always tempted to go to Prague, because why not, right. I'm so close, the train is so easy, just go. Well it took me some time but I finally got the chance to go! More than half of the Fulbrighters reunited the weekend of October 8th since it marked about the halfway point of the first half here...haha...so a quarter way done. We'll all see each other for Thanksgiving and later in January so this was a nice mid way point to reconnect and check-in.
So after school on Friday I took the train into Prague with another ETA who lives close to me, and we reunited with everyone, some people I hadn't seen since orientation so it was really refreshing to see them all again. As soon as I got in a couple of us went to the most important place in Prague: Zara (and H&M). I'd personally been dying to go for no other reason than to buy some clothes and try to become a bit more European in my clothes lol. I'm actually really loving the fashion here and feeling kinda inspired to step it up a bit. Even my students dress up for class everyday and it makes me wanna try harder because I'm definitely not used to making myself look presentable on a daily basis haha. So we went shopping for a bit - actually a really long time - and I really shocked myself and only bought one thing. Shopping sounds so fun until you realize you're living on a ~living stipend~ which is intended to literally keep you alive and not like...go splurge on clothes. So that was kinda sad but it's okay haha. We walked around the Old Town Square, saw the astronomical clock which was beautiful but like, a little underwhelming when the hour hit?!? They tell you that every hour, on the hour, the clock does this whole thing and it's amazing since it's really old. Well I was really prepared for a show. A massive crowd formed in the square to see this clock turn and then 6:00 hit, two tiny doors opened on either side of the clock, and a bunch of scary random figurines rotated through the doorway. I didn't take a video because I thought it was gonna be so cool I should just watch, and well, it was interesting for sure haha.
After that we met up with some more ETAs for dinner at an Italian restaurant which was sooo good and then ventured out into the Prague nightlife. We tried out a rooftop bar and then made it to this pub that was cool with long picnic-like benches down a big hall. Really fun night mostly catching up with everyone and comparing experiences/highs and lows/everything.
Saturday was a LONG day but a GREAT one. Some people did a free walking tour of Prague but another ETA Alden and I kind of just wanted to wander on our own time and see some other things than the basics. So we all woke up early, got such a good breakfast at this waffle place, and explored! Alden and I walked about 16 miles that day and saw literally everything we could imagine about 8 hours. Our feet were in so much pain but I'd do it again because Prague is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. The river, the bridges, the castles, everything. The whole group went out for Indian food for dinner which was actually the best time. We all were telling stories and just laughing so hard. It was really refreshing when you realize how long it's been since you were last able to like, tell stories and talk casually and laugh so hard you're crying. It's the little things haha. We went out that night to this underground pub which was kinda scary at first like totally underground, so many little rooms and tunnel like places haha but really cool vibe. And then Alden and I managed to get ourselves up for Sunrise before heading back home to Tábor! It was all incredible and so much to explain but pictures do it better justice anyway:
Some major highlights of the weekend:
Finding the most incredible piece of pesto toast I've ever put in my body at a waterfront market
Satisfying my deep need for Starbucks (3 times. I had 3 large Starbucks coffees on Saturday and loved every bit of it)
Warming up with a hot apple cider at a cute cafe with blankets after walking 10 miles
Watching a proposal on Charles Bridge at sunrise :)
Finding a *fake* Ravens sweatshirt at a thrift shop in Prague haha
Buying slippers finally <3
Overall, a fast but filled weekend in Prague that only made me want to come back and see everything again. This weekend confirmed how easy it is for me to get there and can easily make it a day trip whenever. A really really refreshing weekend I know I'll want to remember!!