Finally in Prague!

Well, it took us far longer than expected but we finally made it to Prague.  We were supposed to arrive in Prague at 12:20.  Unfortunately, we boarded the plane in Toronto only to discover that there was a (minor) electrical problem with the plane.  As a result, we found ourselves sitting on the tarmack in Toronto for over an hour before we finally got into the air.  We arrived in Munich over an hour late and missed our connection flight.  Luckily, we got onto the next flight to Prague that left at 3:25.  The unexpected four-hour layover in Munich was oh so exciting.

Even after finally arriving in Prague, our journey wasn't near over.  We had to spend another hour waiting in line just to get a bus ticket to the center of the city, another 40 minutes on the bus/metro, and another 40 minutes trying to find our hostel in a street that refuses to put adequate maps in their metro stations and finds it unnecessary to actually label streets in a way that makes it possible to find your way around.  At least our luggage made it despite the confusion and delay.  Besides the outrageously long trip, our stay thus far has been pretty great.

Coming up from the metro in the middle of the city is quite the experience.  We entered the metro on the outskirts of town where the influence of Communism can still be seen in the monolithic right-angled architecture.  However, coming up the escalator into Mala Strana (Old Town) is like entering another world.  The architecture is incredible, much more reminiscent of the Habsberg Empire than Stalinist-mandated building standards.

Luckily, despite our outrageous delay, Alex Loucks had already arrived at the hostel and was waiting for us as we walked in.  The hostel is great, very modern, and in the heart of the city.  The three of us grabbed a quick beer and then headed out to dinner.  Czech cuisine is quite under-appreciated.  I had an incredible pork schnitzel with potato dumplings, Kati had some fantastic goulash, and Alex had roast beef with a chive sauce (A Czech specialty).

Tomorrow starts our real tourism of the Czech Republic.  We'll be taking in all of the major sites Prague has to offer.  It'll be a busy day seeing as we lost a half-day of sightseeing, but hopefully we'll get everything in.  We're in Prague until Thursday morning when we leave for Karlovy Vary.