Little background...we read from the ever-so-helpful Let's Go Europe book that we simply needed to take the 119 bus to the center from the airport and transfer to Metro A....story begins...
Flight=easy enough. Crying children, breastfeeding moms...EVERYWHERE! You would think we were at work.
Immigration=no questions. very easy. Although, they buzz through a gate that is magnetically sealed and too strong for "tired shoulders Alicia". Anyway...luggage made it thankfully, we got the indicated train ticket and on the right bus. Things are going well.
Bus=not so easy. We just figured out we don't speak, read, or write Czech. Don't really know why we didn't figure that out earlier and see these problems coming. We also didn't look at the map of the city beforehand. Luckily Erin wrote the address of the hotel down and ripped a page out of our EasyJet flight magazine...slightly illegal I'm sure.
The saving grace is that the bus ended at the stop we had to get off at...and everyone else disembarked at the same time. We then found ourselves at the underground train (Metro) station...3 lines..A, B, C...should be easy. We knew we needed line A from the magazine page..thanks Erin. Although, with only the address and no map of Prague, we had no idea where we were, or where to get off the train. Also, we apparently we thought you were supposed to stamp the ticket everywhere we went...got in trouble for this of course from (we think) a security officer with a very small quarter size badge he flashed. The deal was we unknowingly bought ourselves more time illegally by stamping the ticket again. Good thing we're cute and naive.
After realizing we were about to go to destination unknown, we turned back to previously mentioned "security officer" and asked for directions. Again, good thing we're cute. This would be the first out of four opportunities to speak with non-english speaking locals to ascertain directions-four different ones in fact. :) We got to the center by sign language, possibly spanish and maybe japanese. We don't understand much here. All signs, stores, maps, etc...in Czech!
Somehow we made it to Mustek center and learned we needed to go out to the street and take a tram. We walked outside and looked like we were in the center of Time Square. Lots of people, no signs in English, no tram to be found. Again the ever-so-helpful Let's Go Europe told us to look for the green i for information booth, and buy a map. After walking with our 30 pound packs about 1/2 a mile...Erin let me ask for directions again. By the way, Erin doesn't like to ask for directions. Hope you do Ron. We wandered the scary streets of Prague for an hour and a half past another metro station and found a book store. We found an old man in the book store, who by help from a translator book led us to the train and told us what stop to get off at. The 3rd or 4th stop was where our hotel was. Names of stops... we didn't know. We both were getting frustrated but tried not to show it. It was getting late and we had a deal about no complaining. But it was getting dark and we only had toast today at 830am...it is now 5pm.
The old man was right..3rd stop. There was our hotel. THANK GOD! It's clean, it's cute. Thanks Steve and Megan! By the way, you didn't tell us there is a XXX erotic store and a Nude Bar across the street. We will lock the door tonight.
Then off to dinner. Again we didn't do our research like Steve and Megan warned. :) We walked down the street to the first pub. No English. How are we supposed eat if we don't know what we are ordering??? Next place is a little farther down the road and looks like it has the beer we hear so much about. AND they have English on the menu! That was the place. We eat, we drink...we pay...do we tip?? We didn't research this. So, we did the American tradition and gave 20 % or maybe 25%...still haven't figured out currency. Alicia was standing at the counter paying asking for assistance for Erin who only said "I don't know." Alicia looks stupid and the waitress and guest start speaking in Czech, probably about the "stupid Americans". She gets a rediculous tip and we leave laughing only to find out later that she was supposed to only get about 10%. We paid 25% on a $10 tab for beer and pizza :)
Needless to say, we spent the rest of the night researching Prague on the free internet..tomorrow should be different!
Chao
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