Sigh, these were the days, when I could just get bored and hop over to Salzburg for an afternoon or Prague for a quick overnight… It’s funny reading back over these, because some of the most salient things I remember, I did not convey here at all… Like, for example, how when we rented the van to go to Prague, we did not have a clue how to get there. Our friend, Stephen, fortunately, somewhat had an idea, but four 20-year-old Americans left to their own devices in Eastern Europe? I can think of about 500 better ideas out there… Anyway, enjoy one of my last Europe posts from just about nine years ago right now.. I still can’t believe I was there.
Ok, so finals suuuuck. I am taking a study break to tell you all about my final weekend of travels.
Last weekend, Lindsay, Stephen, Rocco, and I decided to rent a van and take a joy ride to Prague. It was incredible. We left Gaming around 3:30 in the afternoon, and took our grand ol’time getting to Prague. Since Lindsay had to pee every five minutes, we had to stop quite a bit. One of the times, we stopped at a Spar, and were literally running around the aisles, trying to find someone who could speak English to tell us where the hell the bathrooms were. We didn’t find anyone, and I was able to decifer it in my really bad German. Anyway, once we were empty and ready to go, it was only a little while until we got to the Czech Border. The difference between Austria and the Czech Republic is remarkable. Once we crossed that border, everything changed. Roads were dark, there was nothing around… It was an interesting time. Ok, so at about 9:30, we finally get to Prague. We had every intention of sleeping in the car that night, but once we were actually there, we figured that it might not be such a hot idea. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Prague from square one, but it just wasn’t a good idea. So, we decided to stay in this apartment some of our friends had stayed at the week before. After a long ass time of trying to find the apartment and wandering the streets, we finally found it. The landlady asked us immediately, “how did you know about my apartment?” We told her that our friends had stayed there the week before. To that, she said, “Oh, the ones who vomited in the corridor?” My first thought: shiiiiitttt. Anyway, she was cool and laughed it off and made us promise not to “vomit in the corridor.” Don’t worry, we didn”t. As she turned around to leave, she said, “OK, Prague. Syphalus, Gonnaheria, AIDS, and fleas are everywhere. You can just call me Mother Teresa for tonight.” To that, we polite-laughed, and “Mother Teresa” was on her way. We then ventured into the city of Prague to find the famous Five-Story Dance Club. It was freezing walking there, but we finally found it, and it was sooo cool. Only the bottom two floors were open, but it was still quite an experience. The bottom floor played music from the early 90s, and it was sooo much fun to dance to. The second floor played techno shit, so we pretty much stayed on the bottom floor. We met some guys from Ireland who were amazed at how tall Stephen is… It was pretty funny. Anyway, we called it a night fairly early, and ventured back to the apartment to crash for the evening… The beds were gross, but that’s all you have to know.
At the 4-story nightclub 
Piety at the feet of sweet Baby Jesus
Four well-rested and attractive-looking college sophomores/juniors
. Cool view of Prague!
The next day, we realized we had slept a little too much and sprung out of bed at 11:40. Lindsay and Stephen attempted taking showers, but since the water was all screwed up, they weren’t all that able to. So, we left the apartment, went to this Mexican cafe called Picante for lunch, and went to tour Prague and do a lil shopping. I got this amber ring that I am absolutely in love with. And we also went to see the one and only Infant of Prague. Now, here in Gaming we have had a bit of an inside joke about it… How not-cute and mildly creepy it is… Anyway, seeing it in person did not change our opinions in the least… Sorry, Baby Jesus. Anywho, after the Infant, we departed Prague for Gaming. It was a short trip, but we had to get back for the Kartause Advent Fest Festivities.
“I dare you to look this good” -The Infant of Prague
On Saturday, Lindsay, Kathleen, Natalie and I took the van to Salzburg for the day. We left at 9ish, and were there by noon. Once we got off the highway, we were officially lost. We drove around for 40 minutes, looking for downtown Salzburg before stopping to ask for directions and FINALLY finding it. There we went to H&M, Mango, and ZARA, looked around the Advent Market, and ate lunch before meeting up with a bunch of other FUS people at the Augustiner. We had a few beers and then headed back to Gaming.
All in all, things have been amazing. I’m stressed as hell, but am looking forward to getting home. Chances are that I’m not going to be writing in this until after I get home on the 15th, but I will see you all soon. Get ready to party hardy on the 16th for my 21ST! Love you all!