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Monday, Mar 23, 2009
In the morning, I had arrived. I went to the ticket counter to buy tickets for the night train. But they didn't have any spaces open, so I bought tickets for the next morning. That would mean wasting a day on train travel, but I didn't seem to have much choice. I wasn't thrilled about it, but left the station and started heading into the city. Then I stopped...I just thought about it. It just didn't seem like the right decision. There had to be another way. (“There’s gotta be a better way!” [Friends. Joey's milk commercial]) I went back into the station and back to the ticket booth. I would find a way, even if it meant heading to a different city. I didn't want to spend the day on a train and a night in Prague.
Well things turned out well, the lady was very nice, and we found night train tickets for a train leaving at 6:30 p.m. Instead of 11:30. That was fine. I paid a little more for the tickets and left.
I had no map of Prague. That wasn't good. (Sense a pattern here?) It was difficult to figure out where I was going and I simply couldn’t find a place to acquire a map. But I just chanced it and explored. In time, I finally reached the St. Charles Bridge. This was one place that was highly recommended. Oh, wait...half the bridge had scaffolding. Were they not told I was coming? Did they know I was taking photos?!? How was I supposed to photograph half a bridge down the middle?!? This ruined any good pictures on the bridge, but I did see a neat castle on the hillside. Ooh! More photos. (I get excited easily) That was where I would need to go next. I walked a long ways, but without a map, it was hard to find my way to the castle. I finally reached something that looked sort of like a castle, but it was a monastery and it was not the same and it was raining and I was tired. The rain would not leave me alone. Was there just one big huge cloud over Europe with my name on it? It said, "Hi, James! Let's hang out some more!" I could only shake my head and grumble about it being such a pesky cloud.
But I got lucky and eventually did reach the castle. It was quite crowded, even for the winter time. There was also a very long line outside the cathedral, so I departed south. I found a nice place to get some shots of the city. I also checked the guidebook and it really recommended seeing that cathedral, saying it was the only thing worthwhile at the castle. Fine! I would return. I went back north to buy tickets, but it turns out tickets weren't required. I did see they sold photo passes though. The lady said photo passes weren’t necessary at the cathedral, but seeing as the line was so long, I just didn’t want to chance it. She almost protested as I insisted on wasting money for that pass ($2.50).
The cathedral was indeed free, hence the long line. I asked a worker how long the line took and he said 15 minutes. That didn't seem right. Only 15 minutes? But the line was so, so long. Still, what choice did I have?
I entered the line and 15 minutes later I was entering the cathedral. Turns out he was right. It’s like the workers are psychic or something. Go figure. Inside was nice. I got many good shots (no photo pass required), but my batteries were wearing down fast. I had three batteries, but when you don't have enough rest breaks, there isn't time to recharge. After leaving the cathedral, I left the castle. There didn't seem like anything else worthwhile to see there. I reached the bottom of the hill and found a metro station. Surely, they would have a map of the city or least of the train system. They did! Oh they had many maps, but none in English. My feet were starting to hurt walking so much, but since I didn't have a spare set, I carried on. At another metro station, I finally found a map that helped. At least I now knew where the train station was since I had a 6:30 train to catch. But for now, I found the old square. This would give me some good photos. I hoped. I found a nice place serving hot dogs. There was also a nice sit-down place with warm heaters selling the same hot dog; however, it was 5 times more expensive. No exaggeration—it really was. I opted to stand. Two dollars and fifty cents beat spending $12 on the same hot dog. Later I found another church, and went inside. It had a beautiful chandelier, which I took many shots of. I even made a donation. I like places like that!
Later I found a tall tower, which again offered me some good shots, but each photo was one shot closer to me having no battery life. Heading back down, I found a nice little pub. I wanted to have a tall beer, a tall Czech beer. This pub was located underground and had many dead animal heads decorating the walls. Of course, this is done in America too, but it always strikes me as little funny, putting dead animal heads on walls. I guess it's just something you have to get used to. Contrasting this old custom was a plasma television on another wall showing a tennis match. I relaxed a little, enjoyed my beer, and then headed out. What I wanted was an Internet café. I was told there was one in the area, but I couldn't find one. All I found was more rain. Or rather, it found me.
At the train station, I located my train. It had a different number, but the platform was correct and the time was the same, so I boarded, having only five minutes to spare. This time I had my own private compartment, for the time being at least. A few stops later, someone else boarded. He was from Kazakhstan and spoke no English and selected for the same car. Drat. Lost my privacy. It wasn't a huge deal, but the guy did snore rather loudly. I guess I was spoiled having my own car the night before. I charged my batteries a little bit, but didn't set enough alarms to charge each one. You see to charge them all, I would have to set an alarm every few hours and wake up and switch batteries. It wasn't preferred, but it could be done. Sometimes I took that approach; other times I just slept.