Czech Republic, part VI - Prague (iv)

St. Vitus' Cathedral

Location: Pražský hrad.

There was a HUGE cathedral within the castle ground - St. Vitus' Cathedral, or Katedrála svatého Víta/Václava a Vojtěcha. Definitely up there in the top five. It was built in the mid 14th century, and contains the tombs of numerous Bohemian kings and Holy Roman emperors. One of those works of architecture that make you draw up short and goggle in wonder. Its sheer size alone is good for at least 10 minutes of gawking. Admission to the cathedral was free but I had to queue for a good fifteen minutes to get in.

When you emerge from the cathedral to the other side, there's a very beautiful bohemian mini-square.

Was feeling VERY peckish by then so decided to splurge a bit - although it's that part of the world, thus the definition of a Czech splurge is quite different to a British splurge. I have never ever splurged in England before. I'd have to go hungry for a month if I wanted to splurge in London. That's not a joke. Whereas here, in Prague Castle, I can walk into a four star restaurant with a panoramic view of the entire city and order a three-course meal for less than 15 euros.

Czech goulash - yes, I think we've established that Hungarian goulash is still the best.

I hogged a four-person table all to myself, but the restaurant was doing a roaring business (I think it was actually a hotel restaurant, whoops) so it was only a matter of time before someone asked to share the table with me, especially considering the fact that my table was arguably the best one, with the best view. An elderly American couple with their Czech guide came and asked very graciously if they could sit with me. We ended up having a very nice conversation, and the couple insisted on paying for my lunch, despite my protests. I'd like to do that too when I'm their age - go gallivanting around the world, meet serendipitous strangers and talk with them and buy them dinner, and then go back to my fancy five star hotel and do it again the next day.

The view from the restaurant.

A manhole lid in the Hrad.

One last glimpse of the square.

And here I am waiting for the tram back to the hostel.

Spent the rest of the afternoon/night chatting with the newcomers in my room, a girl from Colorado named Amy, an Australian girl named Carly, and a typically handsome German bloke from Hanover named Klaus. Carly had been in Europe for three months already and was here for the party scene, but she had somehow managed to get some sort of infection that had resulted in a rather nasty growth on her thigh. She'd been due to leave Prague that day but the growth was bothering her so much that she had been obliged to go to the hospital, where the doctors told her they had to perform surgery on her immediately or the gangrene would spread to the whole leg. Amy had never been out of Colorado for her entire life, since she had dedicated her life to staying at home caring for her mother. She'd been saving up for a new car, but one day decided that you only live once, and resolved to use her car savings for a trip to Europe. Klaus was in Prague simply because it was nine hours from Hanover by bus and he wanted a weekend alone. The three of us were all pretty jealous of him.

Anyway, it was rather nice that evening. Klaus didn't really have much to say to Carly and Amy, although he and I talked quite a lot. He eventually sloped off at around 10pm and didn't get back till rather late. When I got up at 4am, I was mildly surprised when he stuck his head out from his bunk and whispered, "You're up early."

"Got a bus to catch," I said. "You didn't just get back, did you?"

"Been back for about an hour," he said with a slow smile that lighted up his entire face, and momentarily drew my attention for a bit longer than it should have.

"Yeah, well," I gestured to my belongings. "Better get cracking then. It was nice meeting you."

When I'd gotten myself all sorted out and was about to leave, he whispered again, "Bye. It was nice talking to you. Take care."

This conversation kind of sums up about 70 percent of the friendships you make on the road - you meet someone, have loads to say to them and them to you, but then there's that mutual, unspoken agreement not to leave any contacts, that goodbye is goodbye and you'll never see each other again and even if you do, odds are you've already forgotten what they look like anyway. It's a pity, I suppose, but we all have to say goodbye at one point or another.