Prague has been a truly wonderful, awesome, Bohemian experience. Deciding to come to the Czech Republic on a whim was a great whim to have; we've met some very cool people and had a really great time, and we didn't spend too much in the process.
When we got off the train to Prague the first time (more on that later), I withdrew the equivalent of $100 US out of an ATM in the most Eastern-bloc looking train station I've ever been to. In budgeting for the trip I had accounted for about 100 Euros a day, which is around $130 US. The 2000 Czech Koruna ($100) lasted me three days, and I still have about $25 worth of it left over. We weren't being careful with our money at all – quite the opposite.
The night of our arrival we went to a pizza and pasta place not too far from our hostel to eat. After seeing the prices on the menu and being thoroughly amazed, we ended up eating quite a dinner. We both had huge pasta dishes, Heidi a four-cheese fettuccine and myself a steak, ham, and green bean penne, and we also had a beer a piece. Afterward we had a very attractive, extravagant looking ice cream with hot raspberry syrup and fresh raspberries. For all of this we paid about $25 US. It was amazing; we both felt completely treated and yet the same meal would cost at least $40 in the States. Not everything is quite so money friendly, but the important things are. :D Beer is about $1 for a half liter, and we're not talking about the cheap crap here. Food is also somewhat cheap; a trip to McDonald's cost about $5 a piece for a value meal.
McDonald's turned out to be rather interesting. Heidi got chicken nuggets, and they were pretty much standard fare other than the very strong curry sauce it came with. I on the other hand, decided to get something not offered in the US and went for the “McCountry” meal, which turned out to be a double cheeseburger constructed from spiced sausage patties with a weird yellow sauce that had a bit of a curry twinge and more of a just plain odd taste. It was alright, I guess, but I know now to avoid the McCountry when/if it comes to America.
Prague was a bit of a scare when we got off the train. Our stop coming from Munich was “Praha Hlvani Nadrazi”, and we ended up getting off the train in the completely wrong town first. When we saw “Hlvani Nadrazi” from the train window after waking up from an uncomfortable nap, we immediately exited the train thinking that we were in the right place and the train had arrived a bit early. We were definitely NOT in the right place, and had to wait an extra hour for the next train to Prague. Thankfully the Eurail passes we have make train travel virtually free, so we didn't have to pay anything but it was still freaky getting off the train and having that WTF moment.
We met amazing people in Prague. The young guy that manned the pub in the basement of the hostel was from America, so we got to know him pretty well. His friends came to hang out at the hostel the first night we were there, and they took us under their collective wing and showed us a great night. We ended up meeting a large group of Germans on vacation staying at our hostel, and they all turned out being very cool. I spoke German to a German for the first time and got complemented :D Prague was a great place, I know for sure I'll be going back in the future.
Dude,
ReplyDeleteYour trip is beyond epic.......
Happy Birthday to Heidi.
Amy is beyond jealous and so am I.
God Speed my friend!