Lessons learned in Prague

I had high expectations for Prague, as one guide book was calling it the prettiest town in all of Europe. We were only there for one night before heading to Poland, and then one morning on our way back from Poland, so this is a short list of a few things I learned while in Prague.

- Don't judge a city by its "New City." Pretty much every touristy European town has an "Old Town," which is where the fun begins. When we first started driving into what we considered to be "Prague," I was a little sketched out. It was dirty and rundown, and I was wondering what people saw in this place. But once we arrived at the train station and walked to our hotel, I was able to see where Old Town was, and its appeal to tourists. 

- Most Old Towns have the Center square, which is where you find souvenirs, booths, people, food, more old buildings to tour. In Prague, there was an Easter festival going on at this time so we even had live music, and lots of colorful Easter eggs everywhere. It was a fun, young, hip atmosphere that delightfully contrasted against the ancient architecture that surrounded it. 

-When you are traveling in Europe, you must eat at least one local dish to each location you visit. I didn't do this in Prague, and I regret it. My dad had the Czech Goulash, and I had.....pizza. It wasn't even like Italian pizza! It was closer to American pizza. It was a safe, but boring choice and I should have been more adventurous like my dad. 

-If you need to get ahold of someone in the US, do it through the internet. Buying calling cards is NOT worth it. Don't do it. Don't waste your money! When I came to Europe, I could have gotten a global cell phone, but even then it would have cost me about a buck 30 per minute to call home, and even more in some countries. Calling cards cost anywhere from 10 dollars to over a hundred dollars, and the amount of minutes you get is never guaranteed. Some hotels charge to make the toll free number, and some pay phones wont accept the calling card. I tried 3 different times and in 3 different ways to call Adam from a pay phone at the airport in Prague and by the time I finally succeeded, I had wasted about 15 dollars and he had already left for work! I was so sad that the voicemail I left for him on his phone was basically just me crying. Pathetic. I learned fast that it is much more worth your money to go to an internet cafe and Skype with the person. Send them an email, telling them to meet you online at a certain time. Or just email. If you have to make an immediate, emergency phone call then you can use your credit card at a payphone, but it's going to be expensive. 

-The second day in Prague (with Poland sandwiched in-between the two days) was basically a day spent at the airport, as my dad and Sheri, my brother, and I were all splitting in different directions. It was THE SINGLE DAY I saw rain on my ENTIRE trip. ONE DAY. And it was the day we spent indoors. So incredible. My brother's flight was first and we had about 5 hours until my dad's flight. We  could have gone out and done some more sight-seeing, but we didn't. And that's what I learned this day. It's ok to not be doing something every single second in Europe. Sometimes I would find myself falling into this mentality of "I'm here, who knows when I'll be back, I need to make the most of every minute." But boy did that get exhausting. I had to learn to not view my day spent at the airport as a "wasted" day, but just enjoy being comfortable in a dry, warm, safe space.