Winter Weekend in Prague

The best thing about best friends is that no matter where you are, or what you do, even if that includes sitting in an empty room for hours on end, is that it’s always gonna be an amazing time of hilarities and atrocities. One of my best friends Smitty just flew back to California a few days ago after 13 crazy days and nights of crimin’ the streets of Prague and Amsterdam with ME (aka lucky duck). This was her 3rd trip out to visit in the last 18 months so touristy stuff was definitely put on the backburner and all that was left was pure fun to be had. Last summer, she lived on our couch for 3 whole months and we were lucky enough to have our other best friend (we call her Ink!) come join us for 2-3 weeks before she went off to a wedding in Poland—definitely some of the best weeks ever (well for us three amigos, Christian was all by his lonesome most nights! Sorry schatje!).

The last two weeks with Smitty were exhausting but nothing less than awesome. And I’ll admit it, we have only a handful of pictures from Amsterdam…but on the other hand, we have plenty from our escapades in Prague. Smitty is contemplating teaching English in Prague in the Fall (which means I’ll be a regular customer on Easyjet’s Amsterdam-Prague route!) so it was a no-brainer that we should jetset off to Eastern Europe to check it out. I had been to Prague a few years ago when romantic lil' Christian took me for Valentine’s Day but I’m always up for a trip anywhere with my best friends. As soon as we landed in Prague, the debauchery started. We hightailed it to our hostel, dropped off our backpacks and started the night with traditional Czech food at a brewery/restaurant called U Fleku (we may have been serenaded by Polka music too! Haha). The cobblestone streets of Prague glistened under the street lamps as our boots clicked underneath us. It was easy to wander in and out of dungeon-like bars, clubs and to end the night with a 5AM wander along the Charles Bridge...not too shabby for Smitty's first glimpse of the one and only Charles Bridge!

The next morning, we (as we always did in California) dined for 3 hours at a cute little American-founded bagel spot called Bohemian Bagel. This was basically the time where catching up on all everything took priority over sightseeing. Once we walked outside however, we wondered why everyone was dressed in costumes—huh?!? After wandering across the Charles Bridge and seeing a bustling street party below, we soon knew why—CARNIVAL! It was the weekend before Carnival and I had NO idea it was celebrated in the Czech Republic. So once we saw tons of people adorned in costumes and smiles, we did as anyone else would do—we joined in on the fun :) and there went our plans for the rest of the day! We grabbed a freshly roasted sausage and beer, laughed at all of the clever costumes (and saw a texting goat) and warmed up next to a bonfire with a Czech beer in hand :). The rest of our time in Prague didn’t include any of the touristy activities you’d expect…but more beer tasting and getting the feel of how beautiful the city is. And ofcourse when we left, Smitty said “I could totally teach English here!”

Once we returned to Amsterdam, best friend time meant movie nights (Drive is highly recommended! Definitely more violent than expected but good!), wine nights almost every night at our favorite place Bo Cinq, really late nights sitting next to the canals and dancing at Studio 80 and Boom Chicago and looking forward to when the next trip out for Smitty would be. Fortunately, past experience proves that Smitty usually buys her next ticket out to Europe within 2 months of returning to California, so…now we just wait for Smitty's Europe trip #4! :).