Towers & Pubs

For my last day in Prague I went back to a few sights to explore them more. First I climbed the old town clock tower to take a few pics of the square. Then I took a quick tour of the Monastery library, which was quite impressive, but I somehow managed to buy the ticket that made you stand on the other side of the rope from the best parts of the library while you watched more important people get a guided tour in those areas. Still very impressive collection and the library itself was beautiful. Worked my way back to the castle and braved the crowds outside the gates and cathedral. I ended up spending more time waiting to buy a ticket than to get inside the cathedral. It was amaying inside. I walked around the nave and apse, down into the crypt and up into the tallest tower. The narrow spiral stone staircase was jam packed with people going up and also trying to squeeze past on their way down. There were 287 steps in the tower, but I lost count after 190. Once at the top I took my time and lots of pictures to make it seem worth the hassle. Then I pushed and shoved my way back down the stairs. I think I may have crushed a few children and grandmothers along the way. It was every man for himself in there... horrible. I managed to lose my ticket in the crush somewhere, so I couldn't get into any of the other sights in the castle, but I think I saw what I wanted to anyways.

That evening I went on a guided pub crawl. They promised one beer at each place and dinner at some point along the way. We gathered under the astronomical clock and was surprised to see a rather attractive young gal gathering the money and handing out tickets for the tour under her bright yellow umbrella. All the tour guides use some sort of device like this to herd their tourists around. You see many umbrellas, sometimes a flower on a stick, and other times more interesting choices of icons. Anyways after everyone was gathered and paid up they did the old bait and switch move as the umbrella was taken by a balding guy in his late 30s, named Radk, who would be taking us on our tour. It seemed more appropriate at least, I would expect our pub tour guide to look like he spent most of his time in the pubs, not a fresh faced girl with hopes and dreams. Our crew was made up mostly of Brits, Aussies, a couple of Germans, and three Americans, including myself, and of course Radk, our Czech guide. I struck up a conversation with him about the tour. He doesn't actually get to pick the pubs at all, they are chosen by the tour company and change only infrequently. I was disappointed to hear that, but it lined up with what I suspected. Radk was a decent guide and personable enough, but it did feel like we were being hustled through our tour as efficiently as possible. We ended up at three different spots, none of which had much character or would have been a place I would have chosen on my own. Dinner was a non-event, your choice of chicken, goulash, or fried cheese and french fries. I went with fried cheese, and I think I got the best out of the bunch from what I overheard. After the last pub Radk walked us back to the clock tower and said good night. I thought about heading back to bed, since my train was leaving at 6:23 the next morning, but it was my last night and I didn't want to end it with a disappointment.

I ended up finding the discoteque that the guys in Krakow told me about, right near the Charles Bridge, which has five floors of bars, djs, and dance floors. It was fun to wander between floors and check the scenes, but only two floors had much going on at all. I had a Red Bull & vodka and watched the people dance, not feeling too dancy myself. I was glad to see they had free internet (well cover was stiff enough so it had better be free) so I plopped down for a bit and did some emailing until my terminal crashed. I finished my drink and wandered home.