Prague the Beautiful

The last two days have been too much fun! Briana was the perfect host for my time in Prague and we did a whirlwind tour as I only had one full day there! 
  
After a 5 hour bus ride from Vienna (which featured movies and internet, so spoiled), we arrived in Prague and dropped my stuff off at my hostel before a little exploring. Prague is fantastic and so charming, as it has been preserved over the years with its historic architecture especially in the center of the city. Another great thing about the city is food prices... we went to a nice restaurant and had a big entree, wine, and a huge piece of chocolate cake for the equivalent of 12 euros. I'm a fan!
  
Briana knew I had limited time so we blew through the touristy things that we could in one day. We climbed the Petřín Lookout Tower which is an Eiffel tower look alike, but is on a hill so the structure is shorter but the heights are about the same. The hike up the hill was just as bad as the steps to the Eiffel tower though! We also checked out the Lennon Wall, Charles Bridge and an awesome restaurant that delivers your drinks on an electric train.

After lunch we went Paddle Boating on the river which was way too much fun, and then hiked up to the Prague Castle, where we saw some sort of fancy event outside the church involving horse drawn carriages and Religious leaders... let's be real, we had no clue what was going on! We stopped by a park that was filled with peacocks on the way to the Town Hall clock tower, which we headed up right as the rain and wind showed up! Alas, it was perfect though because we were just in time to see the trumpeter, who plays a little song every hour from the four sides of the tower... and we got to see him up close! It was like a middle-grade celebrity sighting I'd say. 

note trumpeter in the background.

It was tough to say goodbye to Briana but we'll be seeing each other often as we're living together next year! This morning I caught an 8 AM bus to Brno, where I needed to take a city bus to the airport. Let's just clear things up about the Czech Republic. They speak Czech. And not too much english. I had no idea how to buy my bus ticket and basically wandered around for about 30 minutes, ending up in a mall at one point, a grocery store at another, and being asked multiple times in Czech if I wanted to donate to some charity. Somehow my tennis shoes and huge backpack didn't send a clear hint that I was not Czech! I did prevail as a solo traveler though because instead of pulling a classic overwhelmed tears moment, I found a ticket machine and got on the right train to the airport. Look at me go! 
  
Now I'm in my hostel in Milan and headed to bed soon... early tomorrow I'm catching a train back to Florence for once last hoorah! However, I would like to make a very serious announcement... today marked a special occasion in my life. That occasion is: I reached my 50th cup of Gelato abroad. I know, I know, no need to congratulate me. Most importantly though, it was a killer gelato. I went to a gelateria I spotted on my way to dinner where they literally pour melted chocolate into your cone before piling the homemade gelato on top. I KNOW, I'm drooling just writing about it. I got white chocolate and strawberry flavors, with milk chocolate inside the cone. And that, is how you celebrate 50 my friends.