I hope I don't get sued for copyright infringement or something due to my theft of that book title for my blog title.
Anywho, so after we get off the night train from Krakow into Prague at 8am, we make a beeline for the ticket reservation desk at the train station to reserve seats for our train to Vienna in a few days. That's a five hour journey and I am not going to spend it sitting on the ground in the train hallway, thankyouverymuch. This must be a popular route, because we got charged €6 to make this reservation! What the heck; ten bucks(ish) to make a reservation??
And then we went to McNasty for breakfast and Wifi and bathrooms. But boy were we in for a shocker: in Prague, MCDONALD'S CHARGES MONEY TO USE THE BATHROOM! WHAT?!?!
Admittedly, it was only five Czech korunas (crowns) to use it (which is the equivalent of like 25 cents) and you can get a receipt to deduct that fee from your order, but.... I'M A PAYING CUSTOMER! And who uses the bathroom before they order - isn't that kind of frowned upon because then it looks like you're just coming in to use the bathroom then running out without buying anything? Anywho. Pay toilets are far too common here in Europe. I'm an American, goddamnit, I expect everything to be free! I have been using restaurants as my refuge since their bathrooms are USUALLY free to use if you're a customer, so this was quite irritating for me. Especially since I decided I would wait until we got to the hotel (which was 2km away) because I refuse to give in and pay for a toilet (Steve thinks I'm being silly, and tells me I'm not allowed to complain about having to pee if I pass a pay toilet and don't use it, because obviously I don't have to pee that bad).
After a long walk with a full bladder, we finally get to our hotel (a hotel! A real hotel! Thank you Booking.com for getting me such a sweet deal!) at the end of Charles Bridge (which is one of the main sights to see in Prague), I get to use the bathroom for free, and we drop off our backpacks so we can wander the maze-like cobblestone streets of Prague for the next five hours until check-in time.
Prague in the morning was so beautiful. We spent some time walking around and getting to know the area around our hotel, and everything looks so stereotypically European: tons of apartment buildings in different artistic styles, statues in hidden squares, cobblestone streets, people drinking coffee and speaking foreign languages. It was too early for the tourists to really start coming out (most likely they were still in bed hungover; the Czechs drink the most beer per capita than anywhere else in the world, and anyone who visits Prague knows, when in Czech Republic, do as the Czechs do...) so the city was still very quiet. We walked along the Vltava river (and once noon hit, we ordered a beer at a riverside restaurant and watched the boats go by) and spent an hour or two sitting in a park, watching some dogs play around. Once it was time to officially check in to the hotel, we went back and promptly fell asleep for a few hours. The bed looked too cozy and the thick curtains shut out both light and noise, and after a night of restless sleep on a train, naptime was too inviting an idea to pass up.
The evening consisted of us, a boat, and a buffet. We took an evening dinner cruise on the Vltava River and enjoyed the view from the top deck of our boat with a bottle of wine. The sun was just barely setting, the air was brisk but not too cold, my husband was handsome (as always), and I was quite content.
A live jazz band was on board, a flock of swans was swimming along the banks of the Vltava (you can see them in one of the pictures above), and the city was just beginning to light up when the cruise ended. We finished the night with a moonlit stroll back to the hotel - is there really any better way than to end your first night in a new city walking hand in hand with the person you love?
I think not. <3
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