October 31st 2012 (Halloween in Prague)

I woke up today in my hostel room and got ready for a day of travelling and exploring Prague. I met up with Juliet (who stayed in the same hostel) and we walked to the train station around 9. At the station, the oldies in Linz were at the McDonalds having breakfast so we joined them and waited for the rest of the kids to arrive.  As time went on we grouped up in the station, then eventually moved outside and onto the bus. The other Vorarlberg kids (who didn’t stay overnight in Linz) had to travel from home at 5:45 then get to the Linz station an hour late. We waited until they arrived then departed around 11:30 to get to Prague. It was about a 3-hour drive and we watched The Incredibles in German along the way. We stopped once at a gas station to fuel up and stretch our legs. We got to Prague finally, and the sun was already setting. The bus took an interesting route that resulted in some much unwanted delay. We got off then headed to the main Government building/church. Last summer my family and I went through these same grounds, and saw the same sites. It was really cool to see places I recognized and note the changes that had taken place over one year. Also, I got a different perspective, it being fall as well as nighttime. Prague at night is easily one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. It was a cold night, and windy. We weren’t expecting to end up walking pretty much the entire width of the old city, from the residential section all the way through the old city, across the river, through the main square and strip, then back around to the Bahnhof. I was offered cat face paint, and I couldn’t refuse, since it was Halloween. Along the way we saw all sorts of churches, antique buildings, the river, street performers, what I am assuming is the capital building, and had a good time together. Mark and I climbed a tower spontaneously, but were disappointed when it was a museum at the top you had to pay for, so we didn’t even get to see the view. After our 2-hour downtown exploration, we got back on the bus and drove to our hotel, Olympik. It was a big change from the classroom I slept in in Altmünster, cramped mountain bedroom in Tauplitz, Vienna hostel room, and my Linz hostel room. It was unexpectedly fancy. I got settled into my room with Mark and Austin, and then we went down for dinner (a delicious buffet). It was 9 after dinner, and we didn’t have to be in our rooms until 10:30, so a group of us went out and walked around the part of the city we were in. It being Halloween, we walked through a sketchy dark park and back streets trying to get scared. We got a decent scare when we walked back to the street through the park and dogs started barking on both sides while a man with a hockey stick followed behind us. Although there was a hockey supply store up on the hill... Anyway, we went back to the hotel and Mark, Austin and I watched a Zombie movie before going to bed.