Poked by a Praguian Guard? Ohh laa laa!

This morning we woke up and went on a sightseeing tour of Prague, including the Hradcany Castle, the Cathedral of St Vitus (pictured), Charles Bridge and Wenceslas Square (all very famous places around the city!) We stopped at this beautiful overlook, and then we had the afternoon to explore on our own.

The guards at the Cathedral actually ended up poking Brittany at one point because she got too close when taking the picture. Aren't those guards not supposed to move!? The bridge was so pretty and I wanted to go on the boats in the river but we ended up just running out of time. Prague was probably one of my favorite cities after Venice. I got a good vibe from just being on the streets and the culture was cool, and the people were friendly and it was very easy to get around! Plus I loved being so close to the river and the architecture was fantastic there!

While walking up and down the streets I happened to run into my friend Gabe from SC on the streets! So random, it makes you realize how small the world really is! We made plans to meet up at the discotheque later that night (although we didn’t end up running into each other cause the club was so huge and neither of us had cell phones.) While walking around Prague we also took note of the fact that there are an absurd number of KFCs in Prague (and they sell beer) so some of our friends decided to do KFC beer hopping for the day! It was sure a hilarious story, and those kind of stories are part of what makes traveling so fun!

When we got back to the hotel we got ready for our last night out in Europe. Surprise, surprise—a taste of the local food and culture at a folklore show. The great food and amazing shows were kind of a staple of the Contiki experience, I’d have to say. We then spent the rest of our night bar hopping and partying it up, living our Contiki Experience to the fullest. Tomorrow is our last day in Europe, well, until next time. And holy shit, I can’t believe how much fun I had with Contiki!!

"I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself." -James Baldwin

Never a Dull Moment in Prague! DOWNPOUR!!

In the morning we wake up and have breakfast a the hotel before hoping in the Coach to cross the border into the Czech Republic, the last stop on our adventures in Europe! On our way we stop at the first of many KFCs of the next couple days (explanation will come later!) and try to figure out the Korona exchange rate. It makes you appreciate the Euro when you enter a country that doesnt use it, but the KFC guys changed our Euros into Korona for us!

When we arrive in Prague, we head straight to the Old Town Square and walk around Old Town for a while. After checking out a couple of shops, we sit down at a café in the square and have a beer in front of this sweet astrological clock located on the Old Town city hall in Old Town Square. We head back to the hotel and relax a bit and go to this huge grocery store nearby for wine and sandwiches, and then get ready for one of the craziest nights of the trip—partying at the discotheque Karlovy Lazne, where each of the 5 levels had its own style of music! I was pretty stoked.

We pre-partied a bit in the hotel until it was time to head out to the town, but before we know it we are caught in a downpour rainstorm! This was the first bad weather of the trip, but in all honesty we were drunk enough to completely not care. We just decided to screw it and run through the rain and jump in the puddles!

We sloshed our way to the discotheque but saw a Coyote Ugly bar and decided a pit-stop for some shots of absinthe was completely necessary, while still soaking wet from the rainstorm! We then met up with the crew at the discotheque and partied the night away, rocking out to Michael Jackson on one floor, European Dance music on another and Disco on another, still kind of soaking wet! Although I ended up loosing my purse and others lost their wallets and cameras, it was still one of the craziest and most fun nights of the trip!

“Make voyages! Attempt them... there's nothing else.” Tennessee Williams

Everyones Free To Wear Sunscreen. And Beer Goggles.

On our way to Munich we made a couple stops at some really cool places. First was this sweet jewelry store, and while the name escapes me right now, it was filled with gorgeous jewelry and everything was all a glitter!

We also stopped at this random park with this cool ass fountain and stuff to play on and even a maze made of shrubbery, which was actually kind of hard and I got lost in there at for a while!

The most intense stop by far was the The Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site in Dachau, Germany. It was so somber and humbling learning about the Holocaust tragedy, and simply trying to fathom the inhumanity, cruelty and lack of empathy of the Nazis was so difficult. Actually being there made the whole thing seem so real, not just something you read about or have heard about. Intense. Ryno gave us some insipirational words of wisdom after we boarded up the coach and we listened to the song (Everyone’s Free) To Wear Sunscreen by Baz Luhrmann. The lyrics are motivational and great, I suggest you watch the video, and imagine listening to this right after experiencing the intensity of spending a few hours at the concentration camp.

When we got to Munich we had some free time to explore the city right away. We walked from our coach to the town centre and Ryan our guide pointed out some cool places to go and, like always, handed us his “Ryno in your pocket” with tips of places to see in the city. We walked around and shopped a little bit, and saw the historic Glockenspiel (this large bell tower thing with 43 bells and 32 figurines that move twice a day). Then we grabbed some tasty bratwurst, and walked inside the The Frauenkirche, a large church famous for the Teufelstritt, or Devil's Footstep, at the entrance. There are numerous legends around the strange black foot-print looking mark, and the church was pretty cool.

We got back on the Coach after spending the afternoon in the city—we were in Germany, so we needed beer (some of us had already started enjoying the fine beer that Germany has to offer!) And where could be a better place, than the famous Hofbrauhaus Beer Hall. Surprise surprise… the beer was plentiful and we were provided with amazing live entertainment! Seriously, every night we have had something cool to watch while we ate and drank. So fun. A couple Contikiers even got on stage and danced and sang with the crew! Just another night in beer-fueled paradise!

“The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.”-G. K. Chesterton