So because Prague was so impressive on day one, on day two,
we wanted to be as impressive as the city. This meant a cute outfit, makeup,
hair- the works. I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but when the showers
are nasty and cold your desire to groom yourself well goes straight down the
toilet. Or, you are just lazy and using dry shampoo becomes your go to (and
blaming it on the showers conditions makes you feel better about practically
being a hobo). Well, either way, I have fallen as a victim of this rut many a
times. Not on Prague day two. I was just a beaming little beauty and I got to
finally use the cute hat I lugged here all the way from America (hats are NOT
travel/suitcase friendly people).
After we were all feeling pretty and were ready for the day,
we decided to head up to the Prague castle and Cathedral. This is the place I
had been dying to go. I couldn’t be more excited. When I saw it, it didn’t
disappoint. It was stunning. I could just stare at it all day. The cathedral is
at the top of a big hill so we spent a ton of time just admiring the view of
the city of steeples. We also took plenty of Prague selfies because we were in
Prague duh.
On the way back down the hill, we got traditional Czech
trdelnik (that is not a typo). Trdelnik is incredibly delicious. It is kinda
like a cinnamon roll but it is in the shape of a tube. The make it by putting a
slab of dough on a metal tube and smoothing the dough around the tube into a
cylinder. We had seen people eating them all day, and we were so excited to try
one. When we did, we were hooked! When I get home, I need to find out where I
can get myself a trdelnik. This just made us even more hungry. We decided to go
out to eat.
As we were on our restaurant search, we happened upon the
most adorable little outdoor café you have ever seen. It was complete with
fresh flowers on the tables, a cute bow-tied waiter, and blankets to wrap
yourself in if you were cold. I would say we picked a winner of a restaurant.
Good job team.
After our fun café experience, we decided to go to the Old
Jewish district. We had gone there yesterday, and we wanted to go in the museum
and explore it more fully. We walked all the way to the ticket office, and then
we realized that none of us had enough money. Luckily, Paige offered to spot
us, and we would pay her back in the next country. Since I don’t like any of
the girls to be in the city alone, I went with her. It was a good thing too
because crap was about to go down in the lives of Paige and Mikele.
We got to the ATM, and I told Paige to take out about 2,000
CZK’s which is about 90 USD. This would be enough for all six of us girls to
enter the museum and eat dinner to finish off the time in Prague. Well, Paige
didn’t take out 2,000 CZK’s… She took out 20,000! That is about 1,000$ USD! Let
me replay the scene for you. I was literally freaking out.
M- “Paige did you get
the money?”
P- “Ya I got it… Mikele? There is something wrong here.”
M- “What Paige? Let me see…. OH MY GOSH PAIGE YOU HAVE
20,000 czechies!!!!! What are we going to do? Ah! Paige OMG we have to go back
to the ATM.”
I seriously thought
the ATM broke and we won the lottery. I told her we had to find the ATM people
and tell them that the ATM was broken and we would give the money back. At this
point, we walked back to the ATM and luckily there were three very kind
American women there. We explained to them what had happened. Then they told us
the saddening news. Paige didn’t win the ATM lottery. She accidentally pushed
the wrong button on the ATM and every single cent she took out was hers. We
were stuck with it. All 20,000 Czechies of it.
Paige pretty much started sweating to death at this point.
We were two young girls with the equivalent of 1000 American dollars on our
hands in one of the most renown pick-pocketers locations in the world.
Crap. We started shoving money in our
bras, in the obscure pockets of our purse, anywhere so that it could be split
up. The three nice American ladies even bought 200$ off us. Bless their souls.
Now we only had an 800$ problem left. We probably looked so suspicious walking
back to the ticket office. We seriously couldn’t wait to split the money up and
get it on as many bodies as possible.
When we told the other girls they tried their best not to
laugh. It was a serious situation, but it was a tad funny. Who knew one zero
could do so much damage? Our plan of attack was to find out where a real bank
was a switch it back. We found the least sketchy bank/ exchange shop we could
and went inside. We got the whole situation under control and could finally
walk the streets without feeling like we were going to get jumped.
After we could breathe easy, we went back to our hostel,
dropped off our stuff, and went to the grocery store. It was getting dark at
this point, so it was fun to walk the charming streets while all the nightlife
was coming out. My two favorite things were a hippy dread locked man creating
giant bubbles, and a highly talented Asian man who was playing songs with cups.
It was so fun to watch. At the grocery store we picked up a few cheap snacks
for the bus ride the next day. Then we went back to the hostel and just did what
traveling girls do best…. sleep.
I love you Prague.
XO Mikele