Our train left Vienna very early in the morning...and we were up before 7 to pack/shower and hit the road. (Not my favorite thing...but traveling motivates one to get up!) We took a short metro ride to our train station, and then climbed aboard the train for the 4 hour+ train ride to Prague! I was excited to see more compartments like on our last train, and we all munched on some goodies we picked up at the train station for breakfast. Soon, we all were trying to nap...when Theresia made a discovery! We could pull all the seats down to create beds! WIN! We woke ourselves up enough to resituate ourselves and then we were OUT on our much more comfortable seats! :) We had a very COLD compartment though, so we all had our scarves and coats either on or being used blankets...and eventually had enough and relocated to a different compartment. The trip passed quickly as we slept for almost the entire trip, ha, and then munched on the rest of our snacks until we reached Prague.
We were a little worried about finding our hostel in Prague, as there were LOTS of directions...but we soon figured out it was simpler than we originally anticipated. We took the metro on two different lines, then walked two blocks and we were there! This hostel looked and felt more like a hotel than a hostel, and we had our own suite of three beds, a mini kitchen and most importantly - our own bathroom! After a week of being affected by others' sleeping routines, it was nice to have our own room. We also had the luxury of leaving our stuff out in our room instead of having to repack it and lock it up every day. THAT was nice! We unloaded our stuff and hit the streets!
The sun was shining!! We hadn't seen sun the whole trip, let alone since arriving in Europe. This was perhaps the third sunny day I have experienced since arriving on the continent, and the other days had only a few hours of it. Needless to say, we all were in a great mood and wanted to take as many pictures as possible to capture the sunlight!! We walked along the Vltava river toward Old Town - the place where most of the big sites were. We caught our first glimpse of Prague castle and St. Vitus cathedral, which truly took our breath away! We took pictures from far 
away....then as we got closer...then from the middle of the Charles Bridge! Haha...we took TOO many, but we couldn't help it as the sun made it look gorgeous, on top of the obvious beauty of the structure itself. After satisfying our picture taking needs, we headed into the heart of Old Town in search of the Astronomical Clock we had heard so much about.We needed some lunch at this point and the smell of a shop selling kabobs (their word or perhaps another term for schwarmas) caught out eye. It was delicious and the guys working there were pretty entertaining as well. We downed our lunch and headed out in search of the Clock...
Prague is pretty small, so it didn't take long until we were in eye sight of the Astronomical Clock tower and the square that surrounds it. We luckily arrived right before the top of the hour and got to witness the small windows opening above the clock face and seeing the figures that rotated past. A trumpet player leaned out at the top of the tower as well and played a little tune. It wasn't until then that we noticed we could go to TOP of this tower! So...we did! We climbed up the ramps inside...which were a bit easier than stairs, but still made your calves ache! The view at the top was worth it - as you could see across all of Prague. We took pictures on every side...and took even more of Prague Castle! (Hey...it was a good shot! And one can't have too many pictures, right?!?)
After...we grabbed some hot wine to warm up, as the sunshine had disappeared and the chill was creeping in. The hot wine was delicious!!! Theresia told us that she and her mom make homemade hot wine at home...I think she should pass along the recipe! :)
We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling through the town, checking out some of the stores and shops until we ended up on Wenceslas Square. We walked down to the end where the National Museum sits to take some pictures of the whole street/square. Dusk was just setting in - so the pictures turned out pretty cool!We headed back to our hostel to get a suggestion for a dinner spot
that served authentic Czech food...as we loved the local food so much in our last two spots! We learned of a beer hall/restaurant that was 5 minutes from our hostel...so we headed there to fill our stomachs! We walked in to the sounds of men singing loudly to an accordion player and clinking their beer steins! Hilarious! We all got a good 
chuckle watching them at their table...singing loudly and happily downing their drinks. We all ordered some type of meat (the name escapes me) and also had some traditional kinedliki, which are dumplings. My meat also came covered in saurkraut! YUM! The dumplings weren't my favorite...but the meal was wonderfully filling. We also each got a beer that was brewed by this particular beer hall - one of the best I've ever had! Oh - and the beer hall was founded in 1499, no big deal. (SO COOL!)We went home to rest up and get ready for another day out on the town! We had seen most of the sites we wanted to see this first day, and all that was left was Prague Castle...so we slept in and then leisurely headed out the door on Day #2. We started with breakfast which consisted of hot blackberries on top of crepes along with sour cream and whipped cream. Oh yeah, it was drizzled with honey as well. IT WAS DELICIOUS! One of the best things I've ever tasted. (Clean plate club below.) Full and in great moods from a wonderful breakfast we wandered towards Charles Bridge which would take us over to the castle.
Walking across the Charles Bridge we saw multiple homemade goodies at souvenir stands - earrings, magnets, photographs etc. We knew we'd be coming back at the end of the day to purchase some! We followed the crowd that was headed up to the castle, winding through the streets of Lesser Town. We found the historic steps that lead up to the castle and cathedral - which were LONG and STEEP! (Joy). We started the long walk to the top which was made easier by the beautiful view we could see as we climbed higher and higher. (Oh...and the sun was out again! YES!) We took plenty of pictures once we got to the top..and then walked over to the St. Vitus cathedral to look around inside. It was built originally back before the year 1000, but has been added to and expanded much in the centuries that followed. It was beautiful inside and we took lots of pictures. I was especially impressed with the intricate stained glass on the windows...each which had a unique color palette. I was also blown away by the age of the church - it's amazing what our species was capable of, back before they had the technology of today. Truly amazing to see!!
We took a small tour of Prague castle afterward...but we couldn't take pictures. We saw another
smaller church as well as other buildings that were a part of the Castle. We ended on this little street that had small shops with homemade Czech gifts taunting us in their windows. We looked in multiple of these shops and even purchased a few things! We then went to find some lunch...and found a cafe not far away. I had a delicious lox sandwich and then Carolyn and I shared this mouth-watering piece of chocolate and cherry cake. YUM!We proceeded to simply stroll around for the rest of the afternoon in Lesser Town...stocking up on souvenirs and also revisiting the Charles Bridge for some fun jewelry as well. We grabbed dinner later that night at a favorite and cheap place - Subway! Always nice to have a taste from home once in awhile...especially when it's easy on the wallet! We ended the evening with a lot of Olympics watching (with German commentary) and then hit the sack.
The day of traveling home was a long one - with an hour plane delay, missing a train and doing LOTS of waiting in lines. (My favorite. Not.) But - we were safely home by about 9 the next night...and all needing to do LOTS of homework to get ready for the busy week that lay ahead.
Prague was a wonderful way to end our trip - with a laid back approach to the city and stunning views from everywhere we went. Great food was had and also some of the coolest souvenirs of the trip were found as well. The trip as whole was a blast! The girls and I all were on the same wave-length about what to see and when to eat etc., which makes everything very fun and less stressful. We all liked to eat, ha, so we enjoyed quite a lot of local cuisine in each of the respective countries we visited - which is just as cool as touring old buildings (to me...but perhaps that's because I love to eat!). It was nice to finally be home in Maastricht - which truly does feel like home now. I came home expecting a roommate...and there was still an empty bed to greet me. I feel I may end up alone in this large room for the semester - which is actually kind of fun! (I host a lot of get-togethers due to this...and all the space available, which is also a bonus!)
The top ten for this trip is coming soon, lots of fun tidbits to share with you all! :)
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