211207: Prague

The train to Prague departs from Sudbahnhof. Quite a hassle actually, considering we are located at Westbahnhof. It’s like, ‘shouldn’t there a train to Prague from Westbahnhof?’ kind of exclamation, but the fact is that given the ‘free’ metro, we shouldn’t be complaining too much.

I don’t know why, but somehow we are always almost late for our trains. The one from Salzburg is so, the one to Bratislava is so, even this one to Prague. Boarding the train and getting a compartment some 3 minutes from departure is a frightening experience, especially in the lands where we don’t speak their native language well enough to request for bread and water or even shelter over our heads.

I like train rides, especially in the day. You might think I’m bonkers, but as a urban kid who stayed in cities all his life, traversing the countryside admiring the scenery while coup up in the comfort of a train seat is an amazing experience. You see, countryside to me only exist very much in the books I read. Of course, my experiences of countryside travel is likely to be distributed geometrically: there’s no memory effect and previous experiences don’t diminish my utility. Haha, the last sentence sounds how statistically a freak economics student I am, despite the fact that I’m not a economics major. Perhaps that’s the very telling symptom that I’m from LSE.

Arriving in Prague started with a big joke. I thought we arrived in a place called Vychod, only to realise that name occurs in every single stop we passed through since entering Czech Republic. It didn’t take long for Jordan to tell me that it most likely says ‘exit’. Seriously, that tickled me so much I can’t forget how stupid I must have sounded. But the joke evolved into a nightmare, when we realised we got off at the wrong station. Prague, it seems, has 2 stations that’s within 1 hour’s walk of each other. We’re supposed to end up at the main station, not the other one. Can’t remember the name though. But the horror lies in the fact that we did not have any Czech korunas with us. All of us came in the mentality that we would find money changers with good rates here, and brought our pounds only while saving our euros for Salzburg. Everything adds up to walking, without a map of Prague.

After walking some 15 minutes in a presumably southwards direction, we ended up at Inter-Continental. This place is where we were salvaged. Nope, we didn’t stay there. Or rather, we requested for a map, only to be provided graciously. And it took us another half an hour before we reached our hostel, freezing in the cold sunset of -7 degC. Yes! -7, can you believe it? And that’s only sunset. The Czechs have got this electronic speeding signboard along one of the roads and it displays a figure resembling -7 with some gibberish language which none of us can decipher. What else can relate to -7, other than the current temperature?

Anyway, the hostel offered us temporary relief from the freezing cold. And it’s cheap. At 8 pounds 50 a night, they offered us a free night for every 4th night we stay there. Of course, that’s only available in the low season which in this case refers to Christmas and winters.

Walking in Prague in the dark isn’t very fun a task. Besides the cold, we gotta contend with a language barrier with the majority of people out there. Along the way though, we encountered something interesting that you wouldn’t see anywhere in London, but possibly in Malaysia. Alongside the main roads, there would be these push carts accompanied by big barrels. And guess what’s in there? The traditional dish of Czechs for Christmas: black carps. And mind you, it’s not anything like the beautiful looking fishes that we see in Japanese ponds. Big, fat, ugly and looking like bloated catfish, it certainty doesn’t look like a delicacy to me. However, we witnessed something that animal welfare groups will scream about. The monger held on to a live carp that he fished from the barrel with a piece of cloth. Then holding on to a club on the other hand, he bashed the head right smack on the forehead! To worsen the experience, he whacked it a few more times to ensure that the fish is rightfully stunned and dead. Talk about animal abuse, huh.

Dinner was at a pub after a search that was suggested by Janice. Guess what, she suggested that cheap local pubs should be located in the small roads feeding of the main roads and not the main roads themselves. Rent would be cheaper, and they have no need for tourists to fund their operations for the locals would know where to look. And true enough, we found one indeed. Not before mocking its name and the street where its found, V Cipu. Sounds like very cheapo to us. The menu ranges around 100Kc, though sides like chips will set you back another 30Kc more. And there is something else I must comment on, that enticed my attention. Sure, the waitress is one hot babe that really changed my impression of how Czech girls look, but beer is at a cheap price of 23Kc!!! Ok, between beer and women, I can’t really place a particular preference for or against either. But seriously, who can resist a beer that costs under a pound for a pint? Maybe only Janice, and all those losers who think that beers are not as nice as cocktails. Come to Prague and drink and get amazed by how cheap doesn’t mean it tastes like piss.