You Can't Spell Prague Without RAGE!

So, I slept the entire flight to Prague and when I landed, I realized that the Czech Republic doesn't use the Euro yet. I swore I read that they use both the Euro and the Koruna in their effort to convert over, but no. So, I went to the ATM and my options were something ridiculous like K500, K1000, K3000. At this point, I know nothing about conversions, so I push a button in the middle and hope I'm making a good choice. I guess it's roughly $5 to K100, give or take, so, taking out K2000 wasn't as painful as I thought. I bought pizza in the airport.
Note: don't do this.
The pizza had the taste and consistency of cardboard and I thought maybe they had left the serving board underneath. No. On top of this was a ketchupy substance and some sheets of meat and cheese. WHAT.
All I kept thinking was that Chicago and New York need to put aside their differences, come together and have a pizza intervention with Prague. Woof.
So, I finished the pizza and got a hold of Ricky.
Ricky's a really good friend of mine from high school and through college. He was also my homecoming date when I was a junior in high school and we dated for two weeks Freshman year. Scandalous, right? I love the kid.
He had been backpacking with a couple of his friends and we decided before the trip that there was no way we could be roughly in the same part of the world at the same and not somehow meet up.

TOTAL TANGENT: I'm in the Munich Airport leaving for home and I may or may not be sitting across from Kevin Bacon. And he may or may not have gained 200 lbs. It's probably not him. I will take a picture for a vote.----

Anyway, so, I take a cab into the old city and have no idea what it means at this point to pay K530 for this (as it ends up, that's a good price.) Prague is beautiful. Really, truly. The landscape is gorgeous and the old buildings are so intricately detailed and sprawl on forever. Everything kind of blends into pastel creams and reds. Very romantic... and here I am meeting up with three bros.
I'm not sure how to describe a "bro" but I'm going to try to define it for the less young crowd: Short for brother, it's kind of like a frat guy- loves to drink, party, usually pretty decent looking, and oozing with confidence and awesome. Yes, I just laughed actually putting words to it.
Oh, and Raging is basically just partying hard. I'll say that word a lot, considering I heard it a lot in Prague.
These guys aren't necessarily dumb; all three have their degrees in Engineering from either U of I or Iowa. They're just hilarious and love to rage. Ricky is pretty openminded and will take any dare that you throw at him. His friend from U of I that I had met before was TK. TK is the most confidently ridiculous person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting in my life. With a head like a T-Rex, this kid loves to dance and drink like a champion. Chuck is the other guy. I had never met him before but he had grown up with TK and was cool enough. Needless to say, I don't think I stopped laughing the entire time with them.
Prague is a maze of streets split by a river down the center separating the old city and the castle side- some streets allow cars, others don't. I stayed in the old city within 3 blocks of Prague's famous Glockenspiel (I'm not sure what they call it, but that's what I'm calling it.) The hostel was next to... well, multiple strip clubs. I was trying to think of the other things around, but most of our surroundings were comprised of tourist shops and strip clubs... shopping and nudity. Can't say I didn't feel like I truly belonged. Just kidding. (Love you, mom).
The guys weren't at the hostel so I checked into their room on my own- because in Prague you can say that you need the key to the private room with three guys and they hand it right over. Our room was about 10x14, give or take, and consisted of two bunk beds that were about 2 feet apart on either side of the room. So, close quarters. There was also a huge window with French doors that opened up to a 30 foot drop but was amazing for people watching. I started getting situated when the guys walked in. It was so great to see them. Big hugs... :)
We decided to take advantage of the limited amount of time that I had with them and went straight out to see the Prague Metronome. This was accomplished by going up a ton of stairs Rocky-Balboa style and watching the guys sing "Eye of the Tiger" and be really cool... but when we got to the top, the view was incredible. Prague was quickly becoming less of a "Stop to see a good friend" type of place and a place that is so incredibly charming and beautiful that I fell in love with it. Nothing there is overstated. Sure, there are things you need to see, such as the Old City, and the Castle, and the bridge, but it's one of those places that just speaks for itself. I haven't felt like that since I went to Barcelona in 2006. Great place, same feeling. So, besides providing excellent views and being a super Metronome, this place was also the local hangout for teenage skaters. The perfect concrete jungle for a ton of czech kids pretending to be Dave Mirra. It was also about 3pm, so it wasn't too hot or cold. About 65/70 degrees and sunny. Perfect weather. We went to this beer garden in the park, because you can drink in public in Europe,  we got Staroprammen, the local beer, and some authentic Eastern Europe Kielbasa. At first we were skeptical but it ended up being
To be continued...

I missed my flight...

For those of you keeping up with me to make sure I'm where I am when I'm supposed to be, because of the train traffic of Oktoberfest, I missed my flight to Dublin (which also means I missed dinner with Robert, the Irish boy.)

I switched my flight to fly out of Munich tomorrow to make it home around the same time.
To describe everything I'm feeling requires tons of inappropriate words. So, I'm back safe with friends in Munich, I'm healthy, I'm fine. I have nothing to complain about.
Missing my flight now has been, literally, the only thing that hasn't been pretty great this week. Can't wait to see my dog.
Ah! Ok. Time for a drink. Or, 5.
The only thing I might need prayers for is that I'm staying with my friend who lives in Munich by way of Milwaukee. We're currently watching the Bears/Packers game. If the Bears win- great. But I might have to sleep on the sidewalk if they do. Maybe a tie? ;)

Quick update

Hi all- I'm here in Munich on a Saturday night. I've been packing so much into each day that I've had no time to write. Tomorrow, I go back to Dublin for one night- until I leave for home Monday. Can't believe it but I feel like this trip has been amazing so far.
I will write more later. Cheers!

I'm caught up to Wednesday.

I'm currently on a long bus from Prague to Munich and need to get some sleep. It's currently Thursday night. I've also been typing these on my iPhone. My hand is kind of hurting. I had an amazing trip in Prague. I love that city and will write out the craziness later. I met up and stayed with Ricky, a good friend from high school who was also backpacking, and his two bros from college- Chuck and TK. We did what we could to cross paths on our trips. It was outrageous. Love those guys. So much fun.
Thanks again to everyone for supporting me on my adventure. Hope you're enjoying this. I'm having a great time.
Next stop: Oktoberfest.

Back to Dublin...

I got back to Dublin around 8pm- just enough time to get back to the hostel, do some laundry, and be in bed by 11 for my early flight to Prague to meet up with a very dear friend of mine from high school and his friends. Yeah, because planning stuff like that always works out. Spoiler: it didn't.
So, I got down to the laundry room and did the washer stuff with no problem. I had some decent Internet in the laundry room, so, I grabbed some food, called Mommabear, and caught up on some reading. After my wash, there were only two dryers and they weren't available. So, I waited for one dryer person to come check on their stuff, only to find out that the dryers are horrible and take a few loads to finish. Grr. Luckily, my hostel has a pretty sweet bar in the lobby, so, I let my wash sit until the other dryer was done, found one of my hostel roommates, and started chatting.
-Quick note: in our room was an Anna, an Ana and an Ann. Made it really easy for everyone who was meeting us.-
So, a quick chat turned into, "Sure, I'll have a pint quickly.", *dryer finally available and have 45 more minutes to spare*, "oh, another pint? I couldn't. Well, ok."... Etc. Soon enough, Ana from Portugal and I were talking to a group of Irish guys, German guys and Italian guys. (Bless you, Blarney stone.)
Anyway, we chatted and had some pints and it was great. Once my laundry ended. I told Ana I had to go to bed and be up by 7am to get to the airport for Prague. So, I say goodnight, go back up to the room, change and settle into bed. I swear to goodness, Ana needs to work for the US government. She stormed into the room and gave me every convincing reason in the world to go out with them. "You only get this opportunity once. You can sleep on the plane." She recruited Ann quickly and as much as I politely wouldn't budge, she held strong. So, it's about 11:30. I'm tired and I have to be up in about 8 hrs for a flight. After Ana was done pleading her case, I can't really say that I thought twice about staying at home.
It was great. We went with one of the local Irish guys (our bartender) to his flat around the corner above the Jameson Distillery where we listened to Irish songs, had some beers and laughed a ton.
One of the Irish guys was about 7 ft. tall, so, Ana (small Portuguese girl) kept referring to him as, Giant. "Giant, why are you so tall? Giant, why are you drinking that beer? Giant, how long did it take you to make the Causeway?" I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. He was such a great sport for it all and totally played into it.
Anyway, around 2:30, I was finally done and wanted to leave. So, I looked over at Ana, whose head was suddenly drooping down and I realized she she was Titanicing (going down, about to wreck). As if in slow motion, I say Ana, 'we have to go' and she responds, "buuuttttt I'mmmm noooot drrrrrunk." After watching her drink about 4 beers and a couple shots, I knew this only translated to: I'mmmmm waaaasted.
Oh, no.
So, we packed up and I had to do my best to convince her she was alright and we just had to go to bed. It took about 10 minutes to convince her that we had to leave while she was blaming the bartender, kind of jokingly, for 'doing this to her.' So, we get her down the stairs and start getting her out the door. As she stumbles out, the bartender guy, Robert, who was sooo nice for entertaining us, giving us his beer, and helping with getting drunk Ana out the door, screams! "No! Don't let the door shut!"
Slam. That door was locked good and we were definitely on the wrong side of it.
3am on a Tuesday night when his roommate is out of town and he doesn't have his phone to call neighbors. So, he says it's fine and encourages us to get Ana home safely.
We walk her back, I get her in the door of the hostel safely while a guy and the other Ann get her into the elevator and I have the best spontaneous decision I've had in a long time...
"um, hey, you guys can get her into the elevator, right? I forgot my scarf." Before they could say, "but you didn't have a scarf", I was on my way back out the door to Robert's to keep him company as he sat in his lobby alone waiting for someone to let him in. I mean, come on. He had no phone, was locked out and all he had was a lobby. We sat up chatting til 5 when someone was finally leaving his building for work and I got to sit there listening to Irish guy talk for a couple of hours. *swoon* It was really a win-win. Because hey, you only get this opportunity once, right? I slept a LOT on that plane.
Made it to Prague by 3pm Wednesday afternoon. To be continued.

FYI: Local Irish People Pee On The Blarney Stone

Yup. No, I didn't find that out the hard way. Plenty of people had warned me beforehand but I was still on a mission. So, I woke up early. Finally, on my own. I wasn't really up for hiking and I had already been to the Aran Islands. I felt that I could save the Cliffs of Moher for next time. So, I considered going to the Rings of Kerry (a gorgeous county in southwest Ireland) but I knew I had to do laundry and only had time for either that OR the Blarney Stone to make it back in time- so, I made my way to Cork for the afternoon where I could explore the city and take my time at Blarney Castle. As soon as I arrived in Cork, I loved it. I think that as far as Irish cities go, this was the most American. Cork is on the southern coast of Ireland. Very pretty. It, too, has a large river running through it. People were busy, but very nice. Much like Chicago. I took a walk down Oliver Plunkett Street and explored the long strip of stores and boutiques. I walked down the river and through more of the square. It's a somewhat small city, so, it was easy to explore.
I quickly was able to get a good gist of the city and make my way to Blarney Castle. The entire castle grounds are incredibly beautiful with parks, lakes, forests, streams and paths that highlight all the points easily. The Blarney House museum was closed to the public for the season but everything else was so great. The land is believed to be enchanted and famous areas are stamped with what some believe to be fairy circles and areas where witches were believed to have practiced their craft. It was incredible. I took in a lot of nature and just enjoyed long walks. Lots of cool trees.
When I made it to Blarney Castle itself, there was a very spiritual woman sitting on the bench out front doing something... Well... Spiritual. She had what looked like a quartz bowl with something that made it hum when dragged in a circle around the rim. I believe that it's a tool used by spiritual people to tune into and stabilize the natural energy of the universe. I only know this because my mom is a nutjob (love you, mom). But I digress. It was kind of cool to watch. She was doing some chants. Better her than I, I guess.
As I walked through the castle, I learned a lot about the castle structure itself. There were tons of stairs. Tons. All in a spiral to the top where the stone is. For those who don't know, the Blarney Stone is believed to give those who kiss it the "gift of gab", or the ability to be well-spoken. It's a huge tourist lure. However, it's rumored that locals pee on the stone a lot. Deciding to take my chances on a non-porous stone that gets cleaned after each kiss, I stood in line and did it! I am now well-spoken and on my own in Dublin! Look out, Irish boys! But seriously- very cool experience. You actually have to lay down off the side of the castle holding metal bars which allow you to lower yourself down with someone holding you about 2-3 feet to kiss the bottom stone on this wall.
After I kissed the stone, I made my way back through the charming town of Blarney and back to Cork in time for my 4 hour bus to Dublin. On which, I finally slept. And perhaps drooled a little- but I like to think of that more as my newly acquired gift of gab overflowing. Alas, it worked!

Let's Try This Again

I wrote this post originally while sitting in a small smoothie cafe off of Oliver Plunkett Street and Cook Street in Cork, Ireland. I truly believe more streets should have charming names, like Oliver Plunkett Street. It would make the day brighter.
Anyway, I believe I left off right as we took the bus to Limerick. We arrived there and it was a bit cold and rainy. We went there originally only to go to Bunratty Castle but decided to take advantage of the afternoon and explore the city. We walked along the river and through town. Limerick itself is much more of a business town than I expected. There's not much charm as much as there is the hustle and bustle of a big city. It was great though- very familiar.
I kindof tried to keep to myself considering I was still traveling with Charles and Ryan. Ryan, at that point, was a challenge and it wasn't easy to get along. However, simply put, we're different people. So, I just tried to keep to myself and hang out with Charles who was super down-to-Earth and actually cared about the culture and appreciated the surroundings.
We made it to King John's Castle. I thought this was a great place to go because it was kindof a one-stop-shop of all things Limerick; tons of history of the town, beautiful views, archeological excavations and, of course, a castle. Boom.
It was really great. It was nice to notice the smaller details about things- like how flat and straight the old walls are, how much work went into them all, and the years it took to mold the city into what it is today. I love how expansive the views are in Ireland. I have no way of explaining it. Once you think you have a good idea of the perspective, you see a speck move and realize it's a cow. It changes your life.
After the castle, we walked along the other side of the river, back to the hotel to get ready for the castle banquet.
We arrived at Bunratty Castle right as the night was starting, so we didn't get to explore as much at that point. We went straight to our table.
It was AWESOME! Absolutely shamelessly touristic, this medieval dinner show was loads of fun. We sat with a 20-something, Australian guy who was unemployed and traveling for a bit who was so vulgar and entertaining, in his own right. The "Your mom" jokes flew all over. Discussions about South Park and comments about the ladies that were singing made for tons of laughs. Ryan got to talk about himself and how great his job is for a while, which is always a good distraction as this kid was just soaking it in- they were totally on the same level. Charles and I got to relax and enjoy the show.
They had been asking certain audience members to taste the food to 'test it for poison' and Ryan ended up testing the pork. That was funny.
We drank wine after wine after wine. The jugs just kept being filled and I kept filling everyone's cup with an American pour (to the brim). It was so much fun and I'm so glad we went.
After the show, we had to leave the castle and I asked the guard if we could just go in for a moment because Charles really wanted to see it but, of course, no because they were getting ready for the second banquet.
Honestly, Charles is one of those truly good people. He had been so generous, kind and didn't expect anything in return. He missed his family. Plus, he had to tolerate Ryan much longer than I did. I was on a mission: do anything to get Charles into that castle.
So, I found an open door, grabbed Charles and just started heading up some stairs- past kitchens and people, who were not paying attention because they were preparing for the later banquet. I decided to just keep a "naive American" look on my face whenever anyone saw me and they didn't say anything. We made it to this great room that had thrones and some exhibits. We totally nerded out and sat on the thrones and pretended to be kings and queens for a few pictures. It was a lot of fun. Not taking too much advantage of my tigerninja abilities, we headed back down and explored the castle grounds in the rain for a bit. It was such a great rush- not to mention a beautiful castle.
Ryan, being completely allergic to silly, was waiting for us at the bar down the road- the original Durty Nellies. I split off from them there and met a family from Ohio who was on a trip together and asked me to sit with them. I also met a group of old Irish men who, oddly enough, were there after their friends wake. They were so much fun! We were singing traditional Irish songs and drinking Guinness. One of the old men kept grabbing my face and kissing me on the lips- which was not as much fun. When I explained that I have a personal bubble and he has a personal bubble and those shouldn't cross, he would just hug me and scream, "Anna! This girl is the best! Ahlove her!" What can you do? Just go with it.
I was having a great time. When it came time to leave, I tried to get to the bus stop about a block away in time but Ryan was talking with people, etc. We ended up missing the bus and I finally couldn't keep quiet. If I had done that, he'd go insane. Then Ryan said something that made up my mind that I was done traveling with him after I made sure he was safe at home.
So, I walked away. Later, when I went to find them to leave for the last bus of the night, I asked someone where they were and I was told that they left a bit before that in a cab. Bunratty is about 25 min from Limerick and my hotel.
This was a bad moment. I had been drinking, it was late, I was alone (from what I knew), I was tired, and I had no way home in my mind. I didn't really see any cabs around- Bunratty is kind of in the middle of nowhere. And it just kind of all hit me at once. So, I went and took a walk trying to get some focus and came back, sat at the bar with a nice old man and the bartender, trying to figure out how I could get back.
Suddenly, the Australian guy was there and asked me where I had been and I told him what was going on. "What are you talking about? Ryan and Charles are right there." Sure enough, there they were in a back room I didn't even know was there. They had already called a cab and we were to leave shortly. Of course, Charles is the one to tell me.
I just wanted to enjoy the ride back and chill out because we were so tired. So, I chatted with the driver about the Irish language and about who spoke it in which parts of the country. I learned that, really, only foreigners refer to it as Gaelic, most people call it Irish, but if you really know what you're talking about, you'll call it "goo-ale-guh". I don't know how to spell that but now I can sound official in an Irish conversation. :)
I took off from the cab to take a different way back to the hotel and just enjoy some time alone. I randomly hit a cross street at the same time Ryan and Charles did. Charles was like "Anna! Hello!" and that made me smile but when I asked which street I was on in relation to our hotel, Ryan said something unhelpful and sarcastic and I had had it. It was definitely time to part ways.
However, forgetting the fools that trip us up sometimes, this was really the story of one fantastic night with everyone else. It was an unforgettable, crazy, adventure.
Oh, and lesson learned: old Irish men are great kissers. Blaghhhhhh... Grossssss...