Goodbye Touristy Prague

Got a train ride out of Prague in two hours with Adam and James. They are headed to Salzburg and I to Munich (we take the same train, they switch in Munich). From there, things are up-in-the-air. I am faced with a difficult decision of whether to continue traveling with them or heading out on my own once again.

I'm a little unsure as to where I go from here.

I do know that I will be going to Munich on my own, and staying in this place called "The Tent" www.the-tent.com (check it out if you have time). In a nutshell, it is a park that they turn into a campsite each year, allowing people to set up their own tents (which I don't have) or sleep in 1 of the 150 bunk beds that they have set up. I will be sleeping in one of the bunk beds (all are under one HUGE tent)... we'll see how much sleep I'm able to get.

Anyway, about Prague. The place was much more touristy than I originally anticipated. My hostel had A LOT of Americans, so not the European experience that I was hoping for in my living area. Other than that, the hostel was more than acceptable, and Prague was absolutely beautiful. The architecture here is Amazing, with many of the buildings "pickled in Gothic". Prague Castle was great


...and the view up there was uncanny.

Yesterday, Adam, James and I took a one-hour train ride to a little town called Kutna Hora. In actuality, it turned into a 2 1/2 hour multiple train + busses ride (the tracks were down, or the trains weren't going to Kutna Hora for the day from Prague...the language barrier was tougher here than anywhere). We went from Praha to Kolin, then since the first train left late, we missed the connecting train to Kutna Hora, and had to pay extra for a bus ticket (only 20 czech crowns more, which is about $1.35 American). It was an adventure getting there, but I love that stuff... Being in a foreign country, not speaking the local language, having to figure out how to get from point A to point B. It was just good fun (thankfully I had my two friends to share the experience with. Alone would have been much more stressful I imagine).

The place: It was called the "Ossuary" aka the "Bone Church". Why do you ask is it called the bone church?


"Unique skeletal decorations of the interior are probably the work of woodcarver František Rint. Remarkable masterpieces include a massive chandelier, a cross, chalices, a monstrance or Schwarzenberg coat-of-arms. According to estimates, bones of approximately 40,000 people were used to decorate the chapel, creating this unique ossuary – a reminder of the transience of human life and the inevitability of death."

Well, I must get some breakfast in me before this 6 hour train ride. Last night and the night before I sat outside the main town square to watch the semi-finals of EuroCup 2008 (soccer). The finals are on Sunday, and I'll get to watch Germany play Spain in Munich! That should be a very interesting experience. Time to go, talk with you all soon!

------SEE PICTURES BELOW------ Edited July 11, 2008



Not a great picture, but thats me in the Ossuary...aka the Bone Church (Kutna Hora, Czech Republic)



Adam and I watching the Spain vs. Russia game, outside at the Old Prague Town Square.



And lastly... a top of Prague castle.