Prague

I got denied a beer! We got off the train in Czech and the first thing we had to do was get some cash, so we both hit the ATM. Unfortunately they only give $1000 notes- and its $18 for the train, and the machine only takes coins... No probs- I'll buy a $25 beer and use the change! Apparently I was about the millionth tourist to come to Prague with that idea and without even an apology or anything the chick at the train station deli snatched the beer off me and shooed me out of her store!

Once we had finally found someone to change our $1000 notes, and tried to speak with the train info booth man, we translated the ticket machines and had a couple of slips of paper in our hand. The funny part- as soon as we got out of the train station that looked like a derelict construction yard with its bare concrete, flyers plastered everywhere and trash tumbleweeds blowing past, we saw a huge sign pointing us to our hotel saying it was 800m or a 10min walk. I opted for the 800m, because its clearly shorter- As we have now discovered the person that did the marketing for our hotel cant read or draw maps. After settling in we took a hike in the local area- Its all multi storey non-descript buildings with dead median strips and footpaths that are a 4-wheel drivers dream. Around the block we found an Italian restaurant, and after finding the prices we went in for our first decent sit down meal in a long time. On the menu: asparagus, mozzarella and red onion stuffed pork fillet with roast veg, potato pancakes and spinach dumplings- Awesome! It was pretty cool eating real meat after so many 2.80EUR kebabs in Germany and even better to actually have a sit down meal with a table cloth and a waitress.

The next day we jumped onto a tour, and after missing the deadline for the free tour we got onto a $400 Kr ($31 AUD) tour of the Prague city. There was only one other bloke on the tour aside from me and Lyn so it was pretty cool- we got to choose where to go and stopped where we wanted- Like when we saw a Wine tasting event in the Prague Castle Gardens... We got a brief run down of the history of the place and culture. Czech tried communism for 20 years, didnt like it and gave it up- I'm hoping thats going to happen with the GST back home too, minus the soviet occupation and all. Theres over 400 Castles around here- Some put Buckingham to shame, others look the same as the shed on the yokine golfie that the 4-wheelers that chase you off the course stay in. There were a few getting run down so most smaller ones were donated to other countries as embassies, and now they are maintained in a "Ours is better than your country" contest- Good plan Prague Government.

We got our guide to show us his choice of local watering hole for some pub grub and settled in for a feed in the basement. I spent a little too long trying to figure the secret herb in the home made bread here. I knew it was a green leaf- Tasted like basil or sage maybe... nope- got it! Marijuana. I'm not sure if it was served deliberately, but it gave me a laugh. Its on the same level as the Marijuana infused vodka on the shelves here next to the hallucinogenic absinthe and the Marijuana Energy Drinks (How does a sedative become a stimulant?). During dinner we had a chat to the table next to us- a couple of German chicks over for a holiday. One was in grade 13, the other a year 2 teacher. We got a bit of a run through on German grammar, pronunciation and a general run through... would have been more use if we were still in the country I guess. We all had a laugh when we found none of us could speak any Czech though, Except for AHOY! which is hello, but I reckon a pirate taught them that one. We also found its compulsory to learn english in German schools, which explains alot- why they study shakespeare to learn english is beyond me though.

Today we sorted out the train to Cesky Krumblov, then the next leg to Vienna, Austria. It was all pretty painless after we found where the ticket booth was, then started on the march to find a laundromat- if only that was as simple! We got a few bum steers from shops, our hotel and google, but go there in the end, but at $20 AUD to do a load each it wasn't a happy ending. Actually being dragged to shops while Lyn went jacket and shoe shopping wasn't much of a filler either. We did discover that no one in Czech has "giant feet" and a small is larger than a Medium, but no great win in the end- She settled with something that looks like a poncho with tassles that shrunk on a hot cycle. Apparantly I don't know fashion though. Im sure the two blokes we met at the cafe today at lunch would agree... Lyn asked "Are you two brothers? Im travelling with my brother.""No- we are husbands"

Imma try and get some sleep- I just wish I could get past the bare-arsed image thats burnt into my retinas after seeing a bloke taking a dump on the side of a main road as our tram rumbled past. Think happy thoughts- Like the "Paranormal Pub Crawl" we have lined up tomorrow. Im hoping its better than the ghost tour we were just on this arvo. $20 AUD each, and the chick couldnt speak proper english so her ghost stories ended up in us scrtching our heads, translating for each other and trying to make out what the story should have been. For example: "the Golden Bell, that glowed with gold had a girl look down it from the top and she fell. When she died, the owner had the bell drained of water and it was full of gold!" yep... an English guide for sure on the next one!I wonder what that bloke used for a bog roll on those fluoro white cheeks of his...