Prague

Prague was different from Vienna in ways I wasn't prepared for. Our professor described it as 'the Disneyland of Europe'. There's a gift shop at the end of every path and experience, and a lot of tourist attractions. Prague is home to over 200 museums, including some for subject that aren't expressly rooted in the history of the city. The Lego museum there is simply to pay homage to Legos, not because they have anything to do with Prague. It's an interesting dynamic between the city's real history and tourism appeal.

Something the cities have in common is the friendliness of the street vendors. In Vienna's Naschmarkt (or an open-air market mostly for food) vendors would call to tourists and offer samples to attract customers. This can get a little overwhelming when several vendors do so at once, but it was also a lot of fun.

Prague's open-air market was intended for goods more than food, especially tourist-focused items. All sorts of things could be found depending on what you looked for. There were layers of items and hidden alleyways within the market; it seemed that more layers were evident each time you returned. There was some fruit available for sale in the market itself, but all other food stalls were outside of the main body of it.

Fresh things are also so expensive in Europe! Any fruit or vegetable goes for a premium. It's easy to purchase too much because everything is priced per every 100 grams. And it's a fortunate thing when vegetables are offered on a menu as part of a meal that isn't strictly gourmet. That said, I've never had so much different delicious food at once in my life. A huge variety of cuisines are represented through the city! This makes choosing dinner a real problem.

I joined into a triad with my friends Alyssa and Kelli, and we've spent most of the trip together. We decided to go to a medieval tavern where Mozart went to drink during his lifetime! We were led through small passageways and four different sets of stairs before settling at the very back of the place.

Prague has a huge underground presence, with up to six floors extending underneath the city's buildings. This tavern allowed us into these places, and I just couldn't get over it. It was a bit unnerving to think of the city above. Nevertheless, the duck confit was delicious (and shockingly cheap, considering). They gave a teaser for the show happening in a different area. There was a person eating fire, dancers, and someone doing rope tricks. To finish, our waitress stabbed our receipt half an inch into our table with a knife.

There were many other experiences we had in Prague, but far too many to cover here. That's the update for now! There are more pictures to be found below.