Day 13 SUP Prague
We woke up early in Prague as to have our hostel breakfast and make it to our Stand Up Paddle-board tour on time. We took an über down to the surf shop and waited for our guide... who didn’t come. He called us from the companies phone to actually apologize and promise a refund. This was a sketchy start to Prague however we still rented paddle boards and took a nice paddle in the canal. As we paddled between the colourful artistic buildings of Prague, there were also tour boats going by us. At one point the passengers on one of the boats (filled with asians) were waving at us, and as soon as we waved back they jumped up with excitement and took their phones out to catch a video of us. The light exercise woke us up and helped us become ready to conquer the day.
Walking around Prague was very confusing. There is so many small streets twisting and turning into one another. We must have walked circles through old town about a hundred times. Even with ever building having their own unique artisan touch the beauty of this city had us twisting in circles.
In the late afternoon, we finally decided to use Alex’s maps on her phone. We found the sculpture of Frank Kafka; a huge cubism moving self portrait. Then, walked over the Charles Bridge, covered in people still beautifully filled with history through black sculptures lining the edges. The Lennon wall was also a highlight in Prague. The way art is used as a political act is a breathtaking form of rebellion. Using John Lennon as a symbol of peace and freedom of speech gives a cool hippy-ish vibe today, however was a true act of heroism in its time.
In the evening, we met Claire (whom we hiked with in Lauterbrunnen) for dinner. We went to a strange restaurant near the hostel that had surprisingly good eastern-styled food. Coming back to the hostel Alex and I were beat, it was lights out for us.
Day 14 Everything Praha
We spent our morning on a long walking tour organized through our hostel. I wish I could write out everything I learned word for word on this incredible tour, however even if I could remember all the details, it would take pages. Our guide even gave a brief lesson of two thousand years of Prague in twelve minutes at one point. My first impression of Prague was a beautiful city with some tough citizens. In reality, they are a striving city from a tough past. This past of war and Communism still takes a toll on many villages of Czech Republic today. As well as, their now heavily right winged government known for "flawed democracy". Hundreds of years of protests and rebellions and now they are still working towards a balance of being a free and fair country. Our guide even emphasized how art is more than art in Czech, it is always very political.
Prague was one of my favourite cities on this trip and there is so much more I would like to explore there. Getting on our last bus of the trip felt slightly melancholy not only because it was headed to our last stop, but also because it meant leaving Prague.
Day 15 Listening to Polish
Poland looks a lot like Canada. Polish sounds like gibberish. Everything is normal other than I am sitting around a table with Alex’s family comprehending nothing that is coming out of their mouths.
We trained down into the centre of Wroclaw and saw some beautiful fountains, churches and apartments. They were much older than Canadian architecture however seemed much more new than the previous countries. Wroclaw also has a thing with these metal gnome sculptures scattered around the city, Alex says there is no apparent reason for this.
For lunch we went to a family friend of Alex’s, who served two courses AND dessert. We were their for four and a half hours and I was stuffed the whole time. Unfortunately those hours passed very slow for someone who knows zero polish words. I fell asleep on the ride back to Oberniki, the travelling fatigue really taking a toll.
Day 16 venture home
This morning we went to a local acro park I spotted in Oberniki. It was fun to practice some of the moves I had not had a chance to do in a while. The excitement an acro park brings me is uncanny. Soon after we met Alex’s grandma for some icecream. She brought us to the cutest cafe that served tasty dark chocolate icecream and a brownie. I couldn’t even finish it it was so rich. Alex’s cousin drove us to the airport and our venture home began. Twelve hours, a layover in Reykjavik and a wicked time change is in our near future.
Sixteen days was a beautiful amount of time to spend in four countries. I may have added a few days to a few of the cities simply to allow more rest, but you would be surprised with what you can do with 2 days in a city.
Our final flight (Reykjavik layover then to Toronto) was a hefty time chasing the sun. Near the end of the flight as the sun started to sink under the horizon it shone bright orange, shining waves of pink into a dark blue sky.
See you next time Europe xo
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