I am pleased to report I was able to get some laundry done for under $2!!!!! I don't have the luxury of a dryer, unfortunately, but hey, clean clothes are clean clothes! It wasn't so much that my clothes were dirty. However, in Eastern Europe they still allow people to smoke in the bars and the restaurants, and even if you don't smoke you're going to come out smelling like an ashtray! Little things that you take for granted back home, they come with a vengeance when you're traveling! For example, there are no public bathrooms. If you want to use one, you have to pay a dollar or so to join the club! Each bathroom is it's own club, so there aren't any carryover membership privileges! I completely made that last bit up, but having to pay to use the bathroom, I just ain't used to that! Also, you don't get complimentary water with your meal when you eat out. In fact, there have been more than a couple of occasions where beer is cheaper than water! This may sound like heaven for a lot of you, but I tell you, there will be times when the desire for water is insatiable.
I had a good final two days in Prague. The tendency is to try and cram as much as you can in final times because you just don't know when you'll be in the part of the world next. I had heard of the bone church in Kutna Hora, and I thought it would be good to get out of the city for a few hours. In hindsight, it was a rewarding challenge to buy a train ticket and figure out where to go without speaking any Czech, but at the time it sure wasn't any fun! All the ticket person was able to tell me was the train left for Kutna Hora at 12pm, but no idea what platform I should catch the train from or where it was. It took me a while to realize that the train arrival and departure schedules are done in the moment, and you won't know where to go until 10-15 minutes before your train leaves. It all worked out, of course, but it's just one of those things you don't know about until you know.
Kutna Hora is a pretty small town, and I really don't think they would have people coming there if it weren't for the Kostnice Ossuary bone church. I admit I felt a bit uncomfortable as I took pictures of the inside - it almost seemed a bit like grave robbing. However, learning the history of the church and how it came to be put my mind at ease. Plus, I paid a few crowns to light one of the candles to show some respect to those that rest there. If you think about it, we are remembering those who perished during the plague by visiting this church.
I needed to get back to Prague fairly quickly, so I was only able to stay for an hour or so. I had plans to see my friend Diana perform with her trio at a small cafe on the 'other side' of Prague. I mean 'other side' in that it was a ways from where my hostel was, not that it was a bad part of town.
I can't say enough good things about the tram/train system in Prague. It gets you from one side of the city to the other in 10 - 15 minutes, plus it is cheap! I was even able to get to a beer festival at the end of the train line where some friends from the hostel were. $2 24 oz beers, can it get any better?
My last day in Prague I spent just outside the city on the Vltava river. It was a beautiful day, and it was good to get away from the constant traffic within the city. I was also able to walk around some of the neighborhoods in Prague that used to be the wealthiest in the city, until the Soviets took over. There are still remnants of soviet occupation if you look in the right places, but most of the homes have gone back to the original owners, or were subsequently sold.
All for now! The train from Prague to Krakow was uneventful, but I'll tell more about the city as I write more!
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