I woke up early so I went to the train station to book my night train to Auschwitz. Surprisingly, I found out that my Eurail pass was not valid in Poland. Luckily, it was Eastern Europe and train tickets were cheap. I only needed to pay 14 euros for a flexible ticket to cover the Polish part of the transportation. The lady who helped me sounded very patient and explained everything to me. Since I asked for the cheapest option, she didn’t charge me for reservation fee and tole me to “go on Wagon 350, you will find space there.” I had no choice but hoping for the best; or, this could be one of those classic Euro trip stories, especially in the eastern region. I came back to the hostel and had breakfast before meeting Yujing and Sijia at the lobby. We first had to told Sijia what happened last night and go to the police station to report. The plan for the day was to go to the Prague Castle -- the Castle of all.
We bought some food from the supermarket and I grabbed a Czech newspaper with MJ covering the front page. In a way, MJ was more influential in Europe than in America; and some of his concerts there had to be ranked top live performances in the history of entertainment.
The Prague Castle is located on a hill on the west bank of River Vltava. According to Guinness Book of Records, it is the biggest ancient castle in the world. It was majestic from every view and Roman Empire was here. One thing about the beauty of Prague was that during the War, when the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia, this country did not put on a fight and surrendered right away. Thus, almost all the historical treasures sustained the brutal wartime. I appreciated the fact that the irreplaceable are in their original face and this jewelry city feels real now. However, I had to justify the notion against a country who kneed down in front of the Nazis to leave us with this beauty. We walked up the hill after getting out of the subway station Malostranská, and passed by St. Wenceslas vineyard. Already, there were a massive crowd of tourists. We entered the Castle from the east gate. We passed by a blacksmiths shop, a stage set up with white sheets hanging in air as the background, and caught an outdoor live performance. Then, we arrived at the heart of the Castle: St. George’a Basilica and St. Vitus Cathedral. We were lucky to have a comprehensive Prague guidebook from Sijia, so we had the chance to not only have a look of this magnificent place, but to learn the stories behind it. St. Vitus Cathedral was the first big cathedral I visited in Europe, and there couldn’t be a better first one than that. I learned these majestic buildings took hundreds of years and generations of architects to finish. I wowed in front of the spired buttresses, the Golden Gate, the Rose Window and the facade. I walked by the outer courtyard, the high-vaulted naves, the colourful stained glasses, and the treasury tomb of John of Nepomuk. The entire experience was all first time to me. We came outside of the Castle from the eastern gate and watched the changing of the guard. Then, we walked along the South Garden and dropped down to Lesser Town Malá Strana, heading toward the famous Charles Bridge. This bridge used to be the main connection across River Vltava between Old Town and Less Town to the Castle in old time. Nowadays, it became the center for artists, kiosks, and tourists during the day time. It is well-known with the statues on both sides of the bridge, and the bridge towers on both ends are equally impressive. I got the best view of the Castle across the river on the Old Town end of the Bridge. The timeless river, the ancient Castle, and the old bridge combined into a frame one could only dream of. We had dinner not far off the bridge when a passing shower came. After a short break back in the hostel, we went out to the center of the Old Town for the outdoor concert. Unfortunately, the concert just finished when we arrived -- it was only 22:00. Dejected, we decided to let food and beers solve our pain. We bought some yummy assorted meat potatoes from the stands at the still-busy Old Town Square, and enjoyed it in the drizzling rain along the cobbled streets. The night ended at La Casa Argentina, a lively bar next door to our hostel. I had the best beer so far on the trip: Czech Pilsner.
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