We left our wonderful but cringily named hostel 'Czech Inn' after abusing their very good breakfast buffet. A half hour walk took us to our supposed next hostel, the Abex Hostel, which we had booked online over breakfast. Feelings of discomfort arose as we walked behind what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse leading to a railway track, all following the signposts for the hostel. We got in there by walking across a rusted metal platform. I think to both our relief they hadn't received our booking in time and were full.
There was nothing they could do but were very kind and directed us to a hotel of a friend of theirs, 'Hotel Sunshine'. We got there and checked in without too much hassle. It was nothing special, but a secure couple of beds and shower for the next two nights. We got the metro to the main station and began to wander towards the old town. Prague was the kind of city that just kept hitting you with how beautiful it was, the buildings were gorgeous, easily surpassing any of the towns we had passed through on our hitch. Our walk led us through the tourist areas, over Charles Bridge, past the castle and up towards Petrin Tower. It looked like a mini eiffel tower and 2 euro got us to the top. It was nice to get a sense of Prague from above, just a shame that the sun had gone behind the clouds as we were up there. In the evening we grabbed some food from a local shop near the hotel and sat in our room writing up postcards and journals.
The next day (Saturday) we took a train ride to Kutna Hora, an hour outside of Prague to visit the Ossuary. On the way there we passed through a town fair. It was fascinating to see all the different things they had to offer, and amusing to see exactly some of the same things you find in any fair at home. We got to the Ossuary and it was incredible. In an unremarkable church lay this morbid but beautiful work of art, in the form of a mass grave of 40 000. There was a chandelier made from human skulls and bones, and a very elaborate crest. We wandered around, occasionally laughing at the bunch of German goth kids who seemed to be trying to exercise some kind of superiority over everyone else, just by grace of being goths. After the trip back and a quick stop at the hotel, we met Claire and Alex, the two hitchers we had met in Newcastle, at the main train station. We went for a very nice meal and exchange of hitch experiences before wandering into town. They happened to meet two other hitchers they had met in Berlin, Kenneth and Lucy, and en masse we went to a local bar. It was lovely to swap stories, all united although virtual strangers. After a lovely evening of social activity we headed back to the hotel for our last night there. On Sunday we left the Sunshine and checked into the more central Oz Hostel, equally uninspiring but a clean bed and a good location for our last night.
Next we met Kenneth and Lucy before their flight home. We sat in a park over the river and Peter played Ukulele whilst we watched the people go by. We went our separate ways and Peter and I headed up to the castle after grabbing a bite to eat. There we found not only fantastic views over the city, but also a toy museum. Instantly drawn in we decided to go for it. We spent ages in there looking at the most interesting assortment of old tin toys, rather sinister dolls and a range of other things. On the top floor they had a barbie exhibition. I think we both loved it, me maybe slightly more as I was delighted every time I saw a barbie or a dress that I had owned. After that we walked down away from the castle grounds to do some gift shopping and stumbled upon a lovely garden filled with peacocks.
We sat there for a while watching them before moving on to the hustle and bustle of the old town. Gift needs satisfied we bought some food (oddly from Tesco) and went back to the hostel. Here we are on our last night in Prague, both reflecting on the journey and the holiday. It has been such a fantastic experience, and we were well rewarded with such a beautiful city at the end. There is the torn feeling of wanting to stay to explore more, but I think we are also both anxious to get home so we can share our stories and adventures with everyone.
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