By Endsley Eggert
15/11- Draggin a rolling suitcase across the cobblestone is no easy task. By 8:30PM Abby and I were checking in for our Bus2Alps Prague trip with sore shoulders. There is always a race to the bus to get a good seat and this time was no different. I handed off my suitcase to Abby and clambered on the bus to get our favorite seats towards the back. We were joining the Rome kids and they didn’t seem to happy to give up their rows to themselves. We settled in and were ready for our 12 hour bus ride. I fell asleep in Florence and woke up in Prague.
16/11 We checked in to the Czech Inn and went upstairs to drop off our stuff and freshen up. Our roommates were also students in Florence but from a different program. I found out that Jackie goes to the University of Denver which is about 20 minutes from my home. She is also a Gamma Phi Beta so we are sisters and have many mutual friends. I love how small the world is. Our roommate in Florence did the Eastern Loop for fall break and also stayed at the Czech Inn. She came back with the coolest journals that are homemade and filled with blank pages and random things. They are sold at our hostel and Abby and I cleaned them out before breakfast. I bought 2 and Abby got 4. The one I chose for myself was filled with a poem, a family picture, math homework, a map, and 3 pages of a book. They are so cool.
Our tour guide, Filip, met us at the hostel and took us to Old Town Square. We had to take a tram and metro to get there. The escalator down to the metro is the longest escalator I’ve ever been on. We timed it at 2 minutes and 15 seconds. I am Colorado born and raised and can definitely handle the cold. Going to school in California and Florence have made me a baby though. Prague was freezing! I have not been in 35 degree weather in a long time. Filip showed us all around Old Town and New Town. He is the most animated and energetic tour guide I’ve ever had and it was so fun touring the city with him. We got a break and while everyone raced to Starbucks, Abby and I ventured to Bohemian Bagel. I haven’t had a bagel for a long time and it was so delicious! Prague is an absolutely beautiful city and it was great having someone show us around. After we said goodbye to Filip, we had the rest of the day to ourselves.
Abby and I ended up at The Pub. A pub that serves traditional Czech food where you pour your own beer at your table and order on a little screen. It was semi confusing at first but we got the hang of it! We got garlic and potato soup, french fries, and poured beer after beer. Beer is literally cheaper than water! After getting our fill, we headed back to the hostel to get ready for the pub crawl.
The Clock Tower pub crawl is supposed to be one of the best pub crawls in Europe and it did not disappoint. The first bar, Propaganda, was unlimited sangria, beer, wine, and shots. You know it’s going to be a great night when I’m telling everyone to “GET ON MA LEVEL”. My friend from Chapman, Audrey, is studying in Prague and came on the crawl with us. It was great seeing her! After we hit up the other bars, Abby and I made our way to Burrito Loco. We got giant burritos with beans, rice, chicken, corn, salsa, guacamole and cheese. I was in heaven!
17/11-The next morning was a Bus2Alps self guided tour. Tena and Anthony took us to the Charle’s Bridge and across it to the John Lennon Wall. The Lennon wall was amazing. It’s crazy to think that every time you go it could be different because the police are always washing it down and people are always repainting it. After a giant photo shoot with the wall, people started getting creative. There were a bunch of jumping pictures and people doing handstands against the wall but I wanted to do something no one has ever done before. My solution? Twerqing. I don’t think many people have twerq-ed on the wall before. Abby and I finally grabbed Starbucks and got our red cups and Christmas drinks. As a group, we all sat down and had traditional Czech food. Potato soup, goulash, and an apple tart! Yum!
Abby and I noticed signs everywhere around Prague for Thai massages so we figured, why not? We were put in a little room and had to strip naked except a little towel. My massues got up close and personal during my massage but it felt great! Especially when she worked the knots out of my neck. We spent the rest of the day exploring, buy souvenirs and ended up at a pub called Motto for drinks and dinner. We were absolutely exhausted and came back to the hostel to hangout with our roommates and take it easy. It was a great day.
18/11-We reluctantly said goodbye to Prague and settled into the bus for another 12 hour bus ride. I will definitely come back to Prague some day. I fell in love with the city.
Endsley Eggert is a junior at Chapman University in Orange, California. She is majoring in Film and Television Production and minoring in Advertising. Endsley is currently studying abroad Florence, Italy and loving every second of it. To read more blogs by Endsley, click here.
