Girls weekend in Prague!!! (Czech Republic) - Part 1

Prague was absolutely STUNNING! It is by far one of the most gorgeous places I've been to in Europe so far. It's a smaller city (very compact and easy to get around in) and is so charming and inviting - not to mention a pretty clean city. The architecture there is amazing as well! Several people had warned me before the trip that English speaking people are harder to come by than in western Europe, but we didn't find this to be the case at all. Everyone was VERY friendly and willing to help when we asked questions.

The girls weekend started out VERY early for us 3 ladies. BTW, I went with my good London friend Jo and my London A&M Club friend Ashley. The taxi came to pick Jo and I up at my place at 5:15am on Saturday morning - WAY too early! We then met Ashley at the airport and hopped on our "Easy Jet" (Sleazy Jet) flight to Prague. We arrived around noon, got some cash out of the airport ATMs, and then took a taxi to our Hostel (Hotel Rosemary). I can honestly say that out of ALL of the hostels I've been in throughout western Europe - this one was hands down the nicest! :-)

The weather was gorgeous that first day and we took full advantage of it! We went and saw sights such as the Astrological clock, Prague Castle, Petrin Hill with the 1/5th scale Eiffel Tower, and walked around in the Old Town. We had lunch at an outdoor cafe (where the waitress told me off for no good reason at all and we left no tip - but that's another story...) right near the Astrological clock so we could see it when it struck the hour and the little dancing figures came out at the top. We ended up sitting next to 4 American ladies though and they were there on a girls wknd of sorts as well.

That night after doing our sightseeing/touristy bit (and sampling some local gelato - Yum!), we headed over to this steak and cocktail place that Ashley had read about in our tour guide book. It's called "Cowboys"and has a very nice outdoor terrace that you can sit out on and overlook the city. One slightly quirky thing they had there was a huge plastic cow with "Cowboys" printed on both sides - on a rotating rod so the entire cow turns around continuously. Was quite a strange sight to see and we of course got a pic!




After cocktails, we went to dinner at a place called Palffy Palac and it was an absolute HOOT! First of all, we were completely inappropriately dressed: I was in jeans and an A&M shirt, Jo was in a sweatsuit, Ashley was in shorts, and we were ALL in tennis shoes. This place was SUPER nice and of course the wait staff (as well as other guests) kept looking at us when trying to get us a table. We didn't care that much though b/c we weren't about to walk all the way down the steep hill to go back to the hostel and change and then walk all the way back UP the hill just so we could look a bit nicer. They ended up seating us outside (of course!) and in the back corner not really near anyone else - HA!

The food was delicious though and we ended up having a bit of excitement toward the end of the meal. It started when out of the corner of Ashley's eye she saw a tiny mouse scurry across the terrace and behind a potted plant. Jo immediately freaked out and said to keep an eye out in case he emerged again. I was slightly uneasy myself, but having not seen the thing with my own eyes, wasn't really that bothered. Then he came out again and this table of ladies next to us started SCREAMING and stomping their feet to get him to go back in the corner. He still wasn't really near us though - so I wasn't worried. Of course the entire terrace was roaring with laughter, and I was laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face. Then it happened though - while Jo was in the bathroom Ashley saw him scurry over and under the table DIRECTLY next to us! I then caught a glimpse of him, FREAKED OUT, screamed, and then immediately jumped onto my chair for some reason, doing the "mouse dance". For those of you that know me, it was very similar in nature to the "bug dance!"

The entire terrace of the restaurant was in complete chaos laughing at my reaction to the mouse as well as Ashley's. I was still standing on the chair screaming every time I saw the gosh darn thing and Ashley couldn't stop laughing. Jo came back from the bathroom to all of the chaos - and then things started to calm down a bit. Just when I thought everything was getting back to normal - out of NOWHERE comes this flying object that hits my arm and because of being so jumpy I of course jump out of my skin, scream, and it all starts again. As it turns out - the table of Germans next to us thought it would be hilarious to make a little fake mouse of of their wine bottle corks (see pic) and chuck it over in my direction to get another rise out of me. Of course I didn't let them down. Everyone erupted in laughter again (as did I), but it was then time to leave finally!

After we got back to the hostel we got changed and then went out to two of the local clubs. Ashley was a hit and jumped on stage (see pic) to dance with the random guy that was already up there dancing! However, we quickly left that place when it was obvious there were a few strange folks there and headed over to Mecca - another popular club in Prague. It was definitely more of a dance music type of place and we had a good time, even though the fact that we'd been up since 4am was becoming quite obvious! Got in at about 2am and immediately hit the sack!

All in all, it was a fantastic first day in Prague!!! :-)