After a short school week I headed off to Amsterdam with Zach, Jordan, Madeline, Katrina, Clarke, Lukas, and Meesh; a group of people from Indiana and Illinois schools. We left for Cork Thursday evening in order to make our 6am flight to Amsterdam. I had not planned anywhere to stay, expecting to maybe sleep in the airport, only to find it doesn't open until the following morning (Dublin airport is open 24 hours). However some of the girls booked a hotel room right next to the airport so I just gave them some cash and stayed in that room - only 20 euro so basically the price of a hostel.
We got to Amsterdam the next morning and split up to find our hostels. I was waiting for Ryan Costello to arrive that night to meet up with me. I went with the Depauw girls (Madeline, Katrina, Clarke) to check-in at their hostel, and check-in at my hostel which was close by. They ended up backing out of their hostel due to the condition it was in: nasty, sketchy people, sketchy employees, overall unpleasant place. They had to pay the total price (around 200 euro) for the stay, and booked a hotel somewhere close by.
Side bar: They purposefully didn't book the hostel I was staying in because it got bad reviews...my hostel was clean, had pleasant staff and people in the hostel.
We went to the city centre and explored a couple touristy spots: the Van Gough Museum, different parks.
They wanted to go take a nap so I walked around and took pictures of the canals and different buildings during the sunset. Quick ran back to the hostel and took a nap before Costello arrived. I met up with him and we started the evening. We had a few brews in the hostel and headed out on the town.
**Attention: parents and family members in the generations above mine and below mine may want to refrain from reading between the rows of stars - I know this may not deter you, but I warned you**
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We went out to a local coffee shop and met some people from Paris and continued to have a very pleasant conversation with them. We bought drinks there because apparently you have to in order to stay there. They don't offer alcoholic drinks in the coffee shops, which makes perfect sense - they don't want people getting to twisted and crazy in the nice calm environments. We tried to meet up with the other crews of kids I came with, but our agendas didn't line up and they ended up going in earlier than us that evening. We explored further in the town and ended up in the red light district, which is pretty disgusting. Women standing in front of glass doors waiting for people to walk in and pay for services...so I figured why not? Just kidding, that's nasty. We ended up at a bar and posted up at a table and enjoyed the vices of the city, while watching Nascar. We meandered back to the hostel around 3am or so, and fell right asleep to prepare for another fun filled day.
The next day we woke up and HAD to get the pancakes because we were told they were delicious, and they were. Another day of working our way around the city - the coffee shops and canals made it very difficult to find our way around. However we did make it to a couple more touristy spots. We came upon a delicious treat that was apparently their seasonal treat - some apple filled danish type thing. It was fantastic. The next evening and night was very similar to the first, but we headed to different places. A lot of the coffees hops had some of the nicest environments in my opinion. Nothing too crazy like a club, or over crowded bar. We didn't go to the clubs because we didn't actually know where the 'cool' ones are, and didn't meet up with the other group that went to a club.
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**Continue reading here: Sunday morning we woke up and met up with the rest of the group and hung around the city getting ready to get on the plane. I met up with Richie to begin our next adventure: Belgium! See the next post for details on that!
Slán
Monday 26 November 2012
Wednesday 7 November 2012
Lone Wolf - Prague
Hello hello again,
Halloween weekend I decided to stick around Limerick, and catch up on some homework so I would be ready for the upcoming month. I went on a PaddyWagon tour with Moira, Kelly, and two of Kelly's visiting friends. We visited the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, Bunratty Castle, and a little more of the West coast of Ireland. It was a great visit, and we couldn't have asked for better weather!
This past weekend however, was the first time I traveled alone (Prague). For some reason I decided to make it a trip to Eastern Europe...which is where the movie "Hostel" takes place. I'm just glad to be able to say I'm alive. Jokes jokes, but it was actually a wonderful weekend.
I arrived on Friday evening around 6 and got settled in the Blind Eye Hostel and Guest House, which I enjoyed. It was a little out of the way for the main area, but the city wasn't all that big anyways. I was starving, so I headed into the town, which the person at the front desk told me about a place, which I spent about 45 minutes looking for (found it on the third day). Later, I went on the famous Prague Pub Crawl, and met some great people. It was the first time I had gone to a bar by myself, but it was an awesome experience because I talked to people that I otherwise would have never talked to. Two German guys that seemed uninterested in me, so I moved onto a group of people that sounded American. They were all studying in Paris; it just so happened that one girl, Sofie, goes to University of Denver and know Samantha (my cousin). Weird, small world out there i tell ya. Another group of people I met were from Russia, Sweden, Florida, and Baltimore. One of the guys was based in Berlin, and wanted to go on a last 'euro-trip' before he was going to Afghanistan; one of his friends was there doing the trip with him. The others were all studying abroad as well. It was funny when I realized I was probably the only person that did this pub crawl by myself. We ended up going to two other bars, and a big club, but I called it an early night since I was by myself and didn't want to be drunk walking home.
The next day I got up and just started walking. I had a pretty good map and had some places that I knew I wanted to see. I started with a river walk and saw a bunch of important buildings (most of the buildings are on Facebook with the names; too many of them to explain here). I went over to the Petrin Tower just in time for the sunset at 17:00ish. It had beautiful views, which is easy to do since Prague is beautiful. Then I walked through some parks and made it to another amazing lookout point, and just sat down for awhile and watch the city. Then I went into town and grabbed a beer at a pub, and headed back to the hostel around 22:00ish; I was avoiding a 'hostel' experience.
The next morning I got up and went right to the Jewish Quarters, which has a TON of history, and beautiful synagogues. Most of them don't allow photography once you get in, but it makes it seem a little more special when you are there. Luckily most of the information was available in English, so I got to learn a lot about the Jewish history in Prague. I grabbed a quick bite to eat (at the place I was looking for on Friday night: U Parlimentu) and headed over to Exhibition hall which is located in Praha 7. Again; the sun was setting at this time so there were some beautiful pictures. Since it was somewhat uninhabited, I was able to sneak around and get some good pictures. I explored through another park right next to the building, which was awesome. Lot's of fall colors and people walking there dogs and children. It was awesome seeing so many people out, regardless of the dark, since it was so early in the night (if that makes any sense). I continued to walk around until around 11 this night. I stopped by an Absinthe bar and had a delicious absinthe mojito, and chatted with some other Americans I met there. It was fun and I got to see a lot by myself, but at the same time it got boring not talking to people. BUT, I would have seen about half the stuff I saw if I was with anyone else, so I enjoyed the trip.
Monday morning I woke up and walked across Charles Bridge (less people there during the week - it was absurd the amount of people there on the weekends). I headed over to Prague Castle and got the audio tour and walked around the entire 'fortress'. My favorite part was the Golden Lane - it was the old houses that people lived in during the medieval times. The last person left their house in 1952. Pictures of these are on Facebook again. It went in depth of what used to be in each house, and they had set-ups of what it would look like. The history of the city is UNBELIEVABLE. So glad I took the time to read the descriptions, as opposed to just looking like I used to do.
I then headed over to the airport and headed home. Great trip, great craic. I will definitely be going back to Prague (with others next time). AMAZING CITY!
Blah blah blah, it's a lot easier to explain the trip in person with the map, so I will be sure to do so when I see you!!
Until this next weekend (Amsterdam and Belgium),
Slán
Halloween weekend I decided to stick around Limerick, and catch up on some homework so I would be ready for the upcoming month. I went on a PaddyWagon tour with Moira, Kelly, and two of Kelly's visiting friends. We visited the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, Bunratty Castle, and a little more of the West coast of Ireland. It was a great visit, and we couldn't have asked for better weather!
This past weekend however, was the first time I traveled alone (Prague). For some reason I decided to make it a trip to Eastern Europe...which is where the movie "Hostel" takes place. I'm just glad to be able to say I'm alive. Jokes jokes, but it was actually a wonderful weekend.
I arrived on Friday evening around 6 and got settled in the Blind Eye Hostel and Guest House, which I enjoyed. It was a little out of the way for the main area, but the city wasn't all that big anyways. I was starving, so I headed into the town, which the person at the front desk told me about a place, which I spent about 45 minutes looking for (found it on the third day). Later, I went on the famous Prague Pub Crawl, and met some great people. It was the first time I had gone to a bar by myself, but it was an awesome experience because I talked to people that I otherwise would have never talked to. Two German guys that seemed uninterested in me, so I moved onto a group of people that sounded American. They were all studying in Paris; it just so happened that one girl, Sofie, goes to University of Denver and know Samantha (my cousin). Weird, small world out there i tell ya. Another group of people I met were from Russia, Sweden, Florida, and Baltimore. One of the guys was based in Berlin, and wanted to go on a last 'euro-trip' before he was going to Afghanistan; one of his friends was there doing the trip with him. The others were all studying abroad as well. It was funny when I realized I was probably the only person that did this pub crawl by myself. We ended up going to two other bars, and a big club, but I called it an early night since I was by myself and didn't want to be drunk walking home.
The next day I got up and just started walking. I had a pretty good map and had some places that I knew I wanted to see. I started with a river walk and saw a bunch of important buildings (most of the buildings are on Facebook with the names; too many of them to explain here). I went over to the Petrin Tower just in time for the sunset at 17:00ish. It had beautiful views, which is easy to do since Prague is beautiful. Then I walked through some parks and made it to another amazing lookout point, and just sat down for awhile and watch the city. Then I went into town and grabbed a beer at a pub, and headed back to the hostel around 22:00ish; I was avoiding a 'hostel' experience.
The next morning I got up and went right to the Jewish Quarters, which has a TON of history, and beautiful synagogues. Most of them don't allow photography once you get in, but it makes it seem a little more special when you are there. Luckily most of the information was available in English, so I got to learn a lot about the Jewish history in Prague. I grabbed a quick bite to eat (at the place I was looking for on Friday night: U Parlimentu) and headed over to Exhibition hall which is located in Praha 7. Again; the sun was setting at this time so there were some beautiful pictures. Since it was somewhat uninhabited, I was able to sneak around and get some good pictures. I explored through another park right next to the building, which was awesome. Lot's of fall colors and people walking there dogs and children. It was awesome seeing so many people out, regardless of the dark, since it was so early in the night (if that makes any sense). I continued to walk around until around 11 this night. I stopped by an Absinthe bar and had a delicious absinthe mojito, and chatted with some other Americans I met there. It was fun and I got to see a lot by myself, but at the same time it got boring not talking to people. BUT, I would have seen about half the stuff I saw if I was with anyone else, so I enjoyed the trip.
Monday morning I woke up and walked across Charles Bridge (less people there during the week - it was absurd the amount of people there on the weekends). I headed over to Prague Castle and got the audio tour and walked around the entire 'fortress'. My favorite part was the Golden Lane - it was the old houses that people lived in during the medieval times. The last person left their house in 1952. Pictures of these are on Facebook again. It went in depth of what used to be in each house, and they had set-ups of what it would look like. The history of the city is UNBELIEVABLE. So glad I took the time to read the descriptions, as opposed to just looking like I used to do.
I then headed over to the airport and headed home. Great trip, great craic. I will definitely be going back to Prague (with others next time). AMAZING CITY!
Blah blah blah, it's a lot easier to explain the trip in person with the map, so I will be sure to do so when I see you!!
Until this next weekend (Amsterdam and Belgium),
Slán
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