Czech Republic

Prague is an absolutely gorgeous city. It's a huge tourist trap but there's a reason for it, your eyes are never bored. I was still a bit sick when I arrived in Prague from Munich (turns out I may have had swine flu) so it took a while to warm up to the city but I ended up loving it and staying longer than planned. The buildings are gorgeous with really intricately decorated skylines. There are churches with huge domes and gothic spires and towers everywhere so the view from any high point is amazing.

In Prague I met up with a travel buddy, Erin from Brisbane, who also did not want to explore Eastern Europe on her own so we teamed up and set off to Cesky Krumlov which is a really quaint little town in southern Czech Republic. We planned it to be a nice little detox and relaxing couple of days after Prague. It didn't really work out that way, free keg on the night we showed up and an awesome group of people made for a fun couple of days. We finally did get our chill time on the last afternoon when we went into this little tea and shisha shop. Sitting on cushions, drinking some exotic teas, and smoking peach flavored shisha with two girls from across the world; good for the soul :)

Favorite memories from Czech Republic:

1. Ice hockey game!! The game was between the two rival Prague teams. The fans were totally into it and never stopped chanting or drumming. At one point the Sparta fans set a huge fire in their seating area with a flare. Never a dull moment.
2. Awesome hostel in Prague. Small homey vibe so we quickly formed a tight knit group and spent a lot of time exploring with new friends.
3. The cafe around the corner. Fantastic food. Pork Gnocci, mmm. We spent many a meal and a lot of money at this cafe.
4. Ossuary in Sedlec, an hour outside of Prague. This is this church that is lavishly decorated with the bones from 40,000 human skeletons. Totally creepy but a really cool experience.
5. Astronomical clock. I'm still baffled as to how it works but it is amazing.
6. Meeting two guys from Pismo Beach. We spent lots of time comparing stories on bars, restaurants, favorite sandwich shop (High St deli obviously). Small world.
7. The hippie hostel in Cesky Krumlov. Perfect vibe for this small little town.
8. Tea and shisha shop in Cesky.
9. Student agency bus between Prague and Cesky. $30 gets you a really comfy seat, nice bus, free newspapers/magazines, and hot drinks served to you with a smile.
10. Cooking huge family meals in Cesky. Felt like a little piece of home.

Astronomical clock in Prague. It keeps track of the time, date, season, moon, names day....



















Ossuary...the bones church.














It was really creepy.



















The Prague crew at the cafe around the corner.














Free keg night in Cesky Krumlov.














Cute little Cesky. All of the roofs were red making it a beautiful little town.














Travel Buddy!














The reflections on the river in Cesky were awesome. I got some great photos.














Big home cooked family dinner.














Our new friend Sheena.














The Cesky crew about to take a shot...not knowing it will be the worst shot we've ever taken.














Tea menu at the Tea and Shisha shop. There were about 100 teas with very detailed descriptions. Drink this tea when you are anxiously awaiting a long journey to a warmer place...














My tea was by far the best. Good choice Jen :)