Prague, City of...Tourists?

Ah, Prague. I really don't know where to begin. I think the best word for this weekend was...overwhelming. The sights. The city. Just the number of people that can fit into areas that should be very large but end up feeling very small.

I found out about halfway through this trip that 90% of Prague's income comes from the tourist industry, and I can believe it. I'm sure there are some areas of the city where there aren't many tourists, but we never found it, and to be honest, that was probably a good thing.

Don't get me wrong, Prague was quite fascinating in its own way. The food was slightly different than Germany- a different accent on certain spices and meats (I had 1/2 a goose- it was delicious!). And everything was so cheap. You don't think about it because everything is measure in hundreds of kroner, but I pulled 2000 kroner out of an ATM (it gave it to me in one bill, that should have been a tip-off) and I think it was just over $120. And I lived off of right around that for the entire weekend, sight-seeing, souvenirs, and all.

There really are some amazing sights, though, if you can either get there early enough to beat the crowds or fight through them. The castle complex is enormous and extremely well-preserved. It was a little bit of a struggle getting information out of some of the exhibits because many of the titles would be translated into English, but much of the actual facts were not. The cathedral within the castle complex is nearly as impressive as Cologne's, although in a different way. The facade, for one thing, was just beautiful, especially situated in the middle of the enormous castle courtyard. The Oldtown Square was a slight disappointment (the astronomical clock is much smaller than I imagined), and it was packed. The souvenir shops here were thick and the crowd thicker. It was enough to make one claustrophobic.

The next day was better, and much more relaxed. The seven of us walked through much of the town to get to an old monastery that overlooked a different part of the town. The weather both days, but especially this day, was amazing- warm, sunny, no rain. Perfect for wandering around and aimlessly sightseeing. We went back to our hostel for lunch, and then spent the afternoon shopping, which I haven't really gotten to do much of. Found some pretty awesome scarves and really gorgeous, hand-made ornaments made out of real eggs. Now they just have to survive the next 4 weeks and the trip back to the states. Sigh.

Finally, some random impressions:

•  This was my first time staying in a hostel, and we had it pretty good. We had seven people in one "suite" (it was pretty much an apartment) with only one bathroom, so that was fun. But we got free beer in the afternoons and a shot of some odd Czech liquer that was basically Christmas in a shot glass. No joke.
• Everything is paved in cobblestones. Big ones for streets, small ones of sidewalks. Makes walking mildly hazardous. And the horses for the carriage tours have to wear special elevated and cushioned shoes to protect their feet.
• Czech (or maybe just Prague?) drivers are insane. I feared for my life on the taxi ride from the train station to the hotel.

We are now safely ensconced with our vet student hosts in Hannover, and to be honest, it's good to be back in Germany. I have it better than some and actually have my own room, which is really nice. Can't wait to see what's in store for us at the vet school this week!