Prague

First Eurail:

The train ride was great. We followed a river the whole way and there were hills and rafting sites, people biking, and huge mansions. We stopped at a small town in Germany and 6 or so teenagers got on ready to party. They had beer mug hats, a huge 1990 style boom box, and copious amounts of alcohol. They sat behind us and sang along loudly with thick German accents, which we managed to film some of. Greg and I were cracking up, as were the four other, calmer, German boys. The rest of the train was all staring at them. One old lady even took out a camcorder and was blatantly filming them. Their choice in music was interesting to say the least. Hearing them sing it in bad English was priceless. After the second song I got out my notebook and started keeping a list here it is...

List of American songs heard blasted over CD player:

-Everybody Dance Now (original)

-I'm a Barbie Girl (original)

-I Like to Move It Move It (German rendition)

-POD Last Resort (original)

Greg's first time on a Eurail

Ode to Smaziny Syr (by Greg):

There is a little known Secret about Prague. I have only found one article about this angelic creation on the internet and that was written by an American student who was studying abroad in the Czech Republic. But if you are in Prague at any point in your life you must take at least one meal (lunch, dinner, or late night snack) and enjoy a Smaziny Syr. This is a sandwich made of a battered and freshly fried piece of Eidam cheese that is put between a sliced hamburger bun with a squirt of mayonnaise to finish off this warm delight. You can find these wonderful concoctions on Wenceslas Square at one of the many hot dog stands that line the street. For you non-vegetarians you could buy a foot long sausage or other fried goodies and I'm sure they may be tasty, but they will not give you the same satisfaction as a fried cheese sandwich.

When you take your first bite into a Smaziny Syr you feel the crunch of the breaded cheese then as you pull away you will feel the cheese being stretched between your watering mouth to the sandwich itself. Chew the mild cheese and bread and savor the taste of the mayonnaise as it moves around your tongue and teeth. Swallow the first bite and consider ordering a second one but wait because the first one will go a long way. The morning of my departure from Prague I was able to eat the remnants of one that Kevina could not finish. Now that I'm on a train I wish that I would have gotten another one but it's okay because I will be able to eat other great foods in Italy. Prague, Just know that I will be back in order to eat yet another Smaziny Syr. To the wonderful Czech people, thank you for creating this wonderful sandwich that may very well be my favorite food.

Two years of longing...fulfilled!

I have to admit it was insanely delicious!

Greg holding his first Smaziny Syr in two years...this is what the stand looks like.

Sights of Prague:

The first day we got into Prague we decided to walk all around. I could not get over how cool every building looked. Or, as Greg said “all the buildings look like Disneyland.” When I asked him to explain he said they all look too 'nice' what with their pastel colors and ornate architecture. We walked down by the river and across the main bridge to Old Town Square. This is where the Astronomical Clock is. It was packed with people and there were tons of outdoor seating under tents for each restaurant. Since we had only eaten out once we decided to splurge and eat a nice dinner. We had a lovely, romantic, 2 hour meal. Also, add mashed potatoes with sauerkraut to the list of foods you must try! We stayed until sunset and then had a 20 CZK ice cream...which equals 1 US dollar! I love Prague! Now, since Prague isn't switched over the Euro yet I had to write a cheat sheet on my hand each day from CZK to USD for a quick reference. This came in handy especially at the grocery store where I had to keep checking my hand to make sure I was reading it correctly. The food was so cheap!

All food purchased for less than 10 american dollars, some crowns.

On a bridge looking over to the castle side of town.

We toured around the largest castle in Europe, we got to see the changing of the guards which is always kinda funny. After the guards switch places the new guard fixes and adjusts his uniform for the last time in a certain order, tugging on a belt, pulling a shirt tail, etc. Then they turn around and become statues for the next hour. Seeing the castle at night is quite a site since they light it all up, along with the bridge.

Infront of the cathedral in the castle, on our way up to the castle.

The castle at night and trying to find food.

We also walked all around Wenceslas square (mainly to get Greg's most favorite food). It was sort of like a times square but not as big. There was also a 10 foot wide median up the middle of the main road with a different garden in each square and benches between each.

Prague is a town that loves their dogs. They all seemed happy and well behaved. Most places we went it wasn't unusual to see dogs off their leashes just walking next to their owners. We saw so many cute puppies!

This is on the insanely fast and steep escalators in Prague. It made me dizzy.

Hostel:

Our hostel was tiny but awesome. We had a private corner room, with two walls of windows! Our key was the old medieval style kind. The shower was tiny and gross but it was fine. Oh, and we have a little running joke now about 'the balloon.' So in Dublin, when I was out of my mind with sleep deprivation and jet lag, I held up the umbrella and looked at Greg right in the eye and said, “Are we going to bring the balloon?” We both just stared at each other until I realized that I said the wrong word, then we had a delusional laughing fit. So now every time it is raining we chuckle as we open up the 'balloon.'

Our sweet key, our hostel building... our room is the right window on the second floor.

We found a big kid juice box, instead of juice it was iced coffe! Playing in our hostel room.

I liked the windows so much I ate breakfast IN them!

Berlin

Father's Day:

First off we want to send out our Happy Father's Day wishes to our wonderful dads. We love you both and we are so thankful for all you have taught us and helped us to achieve. So here it is once more... HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD HUGHES AND DAD CASALETTO!!!!

Ryan Air:

We knew going into the flight that RyanAir is a no-frills, discount airline. As soon as we boarded we understood exactly what this meant. First off you don't get seat assignments. Instead about 45 minutes before the plane boards everyone gets in a huge line. We were able to sit together though so that was good. The plane looked like something from Idiocracy (if you haven't seen that movie you should). The seat backs were orange plastic and they had an emergency procedures sticker attached to it. The reason the information was there and not in a pamphlet was because there was no pocket on the seat back for a pamphlet. There was a tray table and that's it. The overhead bins were the same orange as the seat backs and each had a different advertisement on it. The chairs do not recline and Greg could barely fit his legs. Then we were hit with the constant advertising. Commercials played on the loudspeaker until takeoff. Then they passed out menus with ridiculous food items (hot dogs, pizza, burgers, etc) because no beverage or snack was provided of course. Every five minutes the stewards were walking down the isle. Once for scratch off lottery tickets, another time for perfume and cigarettes, and again for alcohol (there was a buy one get one free vodka special at 6 AM!) Overall, great deal for 25 euros each!

At the top level of the biggest train station in Europe.

Clown Guy:

We're waiting on the subway platform and we hear a long loud clunking sound. The sound is repeated and followed by another pause and we hear laughing. We are right beside the stairs so we can't see what the fuss is about yet...and then we see him. There is a slightly overweight man in his mid-thirties dressed in a skirt, a short tight shirt, a red puffy wig, and a real BALL AND CHAIN strapped to his ankle! He is surrounded by 5 guys in tight pants, tight black t-shirts (cut at the neck for that deep v-neck effect) with dress shirts and ties underneath. They were apparently encouraging and supporting this guy. The guy with the wig would say a little speech then drag his ball and chain over to people and they (real Germans not tourists) would laugh and give him a couple Euros. After receiving the Euros his little Greaser posse would all say “Ehhhh!” and golf clap. Once on the train it got even more hilarious. He continues his little monologue and now each time the posse yells and claps a dog on the train starts to bark...which leads to more cheering and clapping, which leads to more barking...you see where this is going. I'd like to hear what you think was going on. My guesses are either a bachelor party or a dare...but it was so elaborate I am leaning towards bachelor party (especially with the whole ball and chain).

Hostel:

I just love this hostel. We got REAL towels and hot showers that stayed on! We shared a room with two other guys, one was from Montreal and had been studying philosophy for a year in Paris. Greg chatted with him for some time about philosophy and Paris. Apparently in Montreal they have this 'after high school but not quite college' school where they can take courses for two years and it is kind of like college. It had a name too...Which perhaps I will look up in Prague. The Generator has its own bar and they were having a Green Party which had drink specials on all green beer and shots. There were so many drunk kids it was ridiculous! We went to bed at 11 and it was insanely loud. I woke up at 4 (because that is when the sun comes up) and would you believe it...it was even louder! Oh and I heard some poor kid relentlessly knocking on a door, I guess he got locked out. Our last day there we came down for breakfast and there were some kids laughing and taking pictures of something. As we got closer we saw some boy passed out IN his breakfast. His 'friends' had covered him in hostel stickers and were proceeding to take pictures with him. Poor guy.

Generator Bar

In our room...hanging out by the windows, utilizing our cool tide sink sized detergent (Which actually worked GREAT)

Fat Tire Tour:

When Kaylyssa and I were in Berlin last we went on a great walking tour. I wanted to do this again but since I'd done it once and we kind of wasted our first day by sleeping we decided to do the Fat Tire City Tour. This was a 6 mile, 4.5 hour tour on beach cruisers through Berlin. IT WAS GREAT! We saw everything; the Berlin wall, Hitler's bunker (where he spent his last days), Brandenburg gate, Checkpoint Charley, the hotel that Michael Jackson hung his baby over the balcony at, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews, the site and memorial to the Nazi book burning of over 20,000 books, two huge parks, a beer garden, Museum Island, and lots more. Our tour guide was great, she was from Texas and has been living in Berlin for 3 years. We met lots of interesting people on the tour, there was even a Kevin there! The streets are pretty bike friendly and our bikes had bells and squeak toys, which were not used sparingly.

On our sweet bikes at the start of the tour.

On Museum island, at the piece of remaining Berlin wall, and the Monument for the Murdered Jews.

'Save Our Planet' On the Berlin wall...the rounded top was donated by East Berlin as sewer pipes. Instead, they cut a slice in them and covered the top of the walls so people wouldn't have anything to grab onto to pull themselves up. The picture of grass is actually directly above the 30 room bunker that Hitler spent his last days in and eventually died in. They wanted to distroy the bunker but it was imposible to blow up and dismantaling was expensive. They ended up flooding it and filling it in to use as a parking lot.

Last remaining sniper tower from within the 'death strip' or the area between the two walls. The tower with the ball is the TV Tower.

Marx and Engles statue and me at Museum island.

Greg doing tricks as we ride through a field by Berlin's parlament building.

Final Thoughts on Berlin:

We loved this city. It was huge but we had the easiest time on the subway and trains (way easier than NY... and the signs are in English there!). Greg really liked it and said he would like to spend a week here, me too! The sun in the summer time is intense, it rises around 4 AM and sets at 11PM. The weather was still pretty cool 18-20 degrees Celsius or around 60 F. The punks are really great to. There were a whole bunch of punk kids playing in the fountain...their green mohawks all soggy and sagging! They were also doing a dance that Greg mistook for playing hacky sack. It resembled a mix of Irish dancing and two stepping. Playing and swimming in fountains is perfectly legal in Berlin! The begging was also not too bad just some gypsies at the main tourist places that would say' “speak English?” and then hand you a letter about their life. Not bad though. The Mayor of Berlin is pretty great too. He is the first homosexual major and his campaign was famous for saying “Berlin is poor, but sexy.” We're on the Eurail to Prague now and we'll post again when we leave Prague. I am shooting for one post per city...Cheers!

At Brandenburg Gate

'Sand Island'

Berlin Teaser Post

We have had so much fun in Berlin...and we've been very busy. We're taking our first Eurail train to Prague tomrrow (5 hrs) and we'll post the rest of Berlin then.

The Generator hostel is wonderful...Kaylyssa and I stayed in it last time we were here. Here are a few more quick pictures. We're watching a soccer game in the lounge now so gotta go!

In the hostel lobby...yea it all looks like that!

Free breakfast! I believe that's Coco Crisps I have there!

PS. I just tried to spell check but since we're in Germany every word came up except so, Berlin, and Generator!!