Here are some pictures of Prague. There are LOTS of pictures of Prague so I’m only posting a few just as a sample. If you’d like to see the rest just click on any of the pictures playing in the slide show and it will take you to my Picasa site where you can see all of them. They should be in the albums titled Prague Day 1, Prague Day 2, Prague Day 3, and Prague Misc. If you can, try to view them fully blown up 100%. The smaller versions just do not do these pictures justice.

Ciao

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Right now I’m in Cologne, Germany awaiting my train to Paris, France. I have been doing a lot of writing on the train ride here so I will post some of my previous entries from a travel log that I am doing when I don’t have internet connection. I hope it doesn’t look too confusing. I have posted the date above each entry to show when it was written.

June 13, 2009 – 4:29pm
On the train from Amsterdam to Berlin I was approached by a couple of German police who were going through the train cabins to check passports. I gave them my passport then I was asked by one of them, “Are you bringing anything illegal from Amsterdam?” “No”, I said. He then says “ANY DRUGS?” LOL. “Of course not”, I said. He then asks me if he can check my bags to make sure. While one of them is checking my bags the other one is on the phone calling in my passport to verify it, maybe. Or maybe he was checking to see if I was a fugitive or if I had any warrants. After making sure I wasn’t some kind of a criminal mastermind they let me be and were on their way.
After arriving in Berlin, I had to get off to catch another train to Prague. The ride from Berlin to Prague was pretty smooth and I was able to get a nap. I got to Prague on time, then had to find the hostel that I was staying in. I stayed at the Royal Road hostel. This is not your typical hostel. It’s like having your own apartment. I stayed in a flat that is usually for 6 people but since no one else booked any other rooms I had the place all to myself. The apartment was GORGEOUS. It had a full kitchen, a huge sunken in bathtub, living room, hardwood floors, and a beautiful view of the unique rooftops and steeples of Prague. I stayed 2 nights at the apartment, then one night at the Prague Hilton. The Hilton was very nice and the staff there was very accommodating. I had one of the executive rooms so I got my own special reservation desk. They even give you complimentary champagne while you are signing in for you room and all throughout the day. That was definitely a plus.

Will post thoughts and pics from prague later….

June 10, 2009 – 2:08pm

I’m on the train traveling from Amsterdam to Berlin. From Berlin I will get another train that will take me into Prague, Czech Republic. All that I have to say about Amsterdam is that what happens in Amsterdam stays in Amsterdam. LOL. But really, Amsterdam is like Vegas but much more intense. The things that you just know that goes on beneath the surface in Vegas are right up in your face in Amsterdam. After getting off the train at the Centraal Train Station I have to make my way to the hostel carrying, what now seems like, a bag of rocks. My feet are seriously blistered and I feel like I’m developing a sore ankle. What I notice first about Amsterdam is the beautiful architecture of the buildings and various ethnicities of people here. The place is more of a melting pot than New York City. There definitely seems to be categories though. First you have the tourists are walking to and fro looking at everything. Second, you have the guys that are posted up at the side of the roads, up against the alley walls, on the corners, etc. These are the people looking to sell illegal drugs (cocaine, heroin, certain kinds of mushrooms, etc.). Sadly, most of them were African or Caribbean. Walking through the streets I sometimes felt that I was mistaken for one of them. Not all drugs are legal in Amsterdam, only marijuana and one type of mushroom. Then, you have the natives who walk around not even bothered by it all.

The hostel that I stayed in was a block away from the red light district. If you walk out the front of the hostel, turn left, and left again, there you are. I already knew what the Red Light District was about from doing my research but what I was not prepared for was how beautiful the women are. These women who sit in the windows practicing the world’s oldest profession were surprisingly gorgeous. I would have to say at least 80% of them are 8’s, 9’s and 10’s physically by American standards. The windows are different too. Some are on the main streets, some are in alleys, and some are even in tunnels underground. Walking by, most of them will beckon you to come to them or blow you a kiss.

The drug scene there is very prominent. There are hash shops, seed shops and coffee shops everywhere. I’m not much of a marijuana smoker so it’s not something that I was really interested in. I will tell you something about Amsterdam though. IT’S EXPENSIVE. Bring your wallet. Some places charge 8 Euro for a beer! The souvenirs, the food, even going to the bathroom all COST. But I can say this, I survived.

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6/8/2009 5:00 PM

After spending the weekend in Leeds, UK I’ve learned quite a bit about Northern England culture. First of all, while they still speak English the dialect is different from the dialect in London. When I hear them speak it sounds to me like an Irish dialect. Also, this is the area where fish and chips were born but it’s really quite different from the way we eat fish and chips in the US. I ordered take out fish and chips from a place in town and they didn’t even have tartar sauce. I was amazed because all my life, all I’ve known was that you eat tartar sauce with fish and chips. They did offer salt and vinegar and ketchup though. So I ventured out to the local convenience store assuming that they would have tartar sauce there. I walk in the store, looking around, but NO TARTAR SAUCE. I walk up to the lady and ask her if they sell it and she just gives me a puzzled look and says no they don’t. Very weird, I say, and leave out the door.

Overall it was a good experience. It was definitely a change from the hustle and bustle of London. The people are friendlier and address you with “Love”, “Lovie”, “Sweetie” and “Dearie”. Where I stayed at was a village that had been around for centuries and the houses were all built with brick. After having a great time with some great people, I’m at the airport now awaiting my flight to Amsterdam. Goodbye, England! Cheers!

Right here:

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Last night I decided to go out for my last night in London.  I started off with my hostel-mates Vadim, Ross, and Bazel but we ended up seperating because they wanted to hit the bars and I was trying to go to a dance club.  There is a popular club called Zoo (or something like that) that the bartender at the hostel told me was a happening place.  In front of the club there was a large line for people and opposite to that a guest list line which is pretty much standard procedure for a regular night club.  It was about midnight and raining outside so I had on my hoodie, some jeans, and black shoes.  I wasn’t sure about what the cover charge was so I approached one of the security guards to ask him.  I go up to the guy, ask him the cover, and was told “Sorry, mate this club is guest list only tonight.”  Really?  I tell him, “well, the guy that recommended this place to me at my hostel didn’t say anything about that.”  He then tells me that whoever told me that didn’t know what they were talking about and that the only people allowed in the club have to be on the guest list, NO EXCEPTIONS.  I wasn’t trying to argue with the guy so I thanked him for the information and continued to walk on.  I then see a guy standing not far from the club with a jacket on that says “Zoo bar assistance”.  I walk up to him and ask him what the deal is with the club, if it is guest list only, and if there is a cover charge.  The guy looks at me and says “NO, it’s not guest list only.  Who told you that?”  I point to the security guard that told me that.  He then says, “Here’s the deal.  The other security guard probably thought that you were a Londoner.  They try to keep out young Londoners, black or white (he emphasized this as to not appear racist, I’m thinking), that they think might want to come in and start trouble.”  He then asks me if I had actually spoken to the guy.  I told him yes I did speak with him and I’m sure he could have made out that I was from out of town just by my accent.  I then say, “Well, do I look like a Londoner?”  He says, “Yes, you do.  If you would have just come up to me without saying anything I would have never guessed that you were not from London.”  Ooookay.  He then takes me up to the short guest list line, talks the the security guard up there and tells him that I’m from America.  I’m then escorted ahead of everyone to the booth to pay for my entry and get in the club.  I guess all my effort to not look like a tourist was not in vain, but once again it can be a gift and a curse.

I have posted some pics that I took at the Tower Of London and Buckingham Palace. You can see them on the Images tab. Right now I’m sitting in the lounge area of the hostel falling asleep. I didn’t get in until 5am this morning and had about 5 hours asleep but I’m still sleepy for some reason. Here are some random thoughts and my general impression of London so far:

• when crossing the street here make sure you look both ways!  For one, if you aren’t used to the direction of the traffic (they drive on the right side of the road here) and look for oncoming traffic the way you are used to you could end up as road kill.  People here drive fast and they WILL NOT stop for you by any means.
• People in London are nice in general but there is definitely social tension.  For example, they will not look you in the eye when you pass them on the street but if you initiate a conversation they can be some of the nicest people in the world
• The whole time I’ve been here I don’t think that anyone can tell I’m a tourist until I start asking for directions.  It’s funny but the whole time I’m watching out for other people (i.e thieves, pickpockets) I feel like they are watching out for me.  Seems like young, black men have a bad reputation here but I guess it could be a gift and a curse in my case since no one messes with me.
• Fish and chips, fish and chips, fish and chips…if you come here you must have it.  Oh yeah, and my new favorite fast food joint, Chicken Cottage:

• The hostel has fox that comes by to beg for food. They haven’t named him yet I don’t think but he comes by every night like clockwork.  I have never seen a fox up that close before so that was pretty interesting.

More later, for now I’m going to go crashhhhhhhhhh

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