Him: Bradford, near Leeds....in England. (Lucy was right!)
Me: Yeah I know where Leeds is I go to Newcastle University.
Him: Oh right sorry I thought you were foreign.
I walk away in anger. I even seem foreign to the English apparently, god knows where the Americans in my dormitory think I'm from. Being in Prague we have definitely encountered a much wider mix of nationalities, the Americans sure do love Europe and especially announcing the fact loudly to everyone in our dormitory, two boys are currently on an exchange to Israel. ISRAEL, the geography department in Newcastle gets all worked up when we want to conduct dissertation work anywhere but England.
The French are of course still haunting us on this trip with more French accents popping up just about everywhere we head. A few hours of yesterday was even spent stalking three with particularly nice hair and accents round Prague, a sneaky picture was even taken of them, before deciding we were university students not twelve year old girls.
Us British do also have a reputation abroad, the boys from Leeds are here for the drink it would seem and managed to spend close to forty quid each on a a night out, believe me this is something of a feat in Prague. They should head to Newcastle! Not drinkers of that quantity our Britishness for the day was the discovery of not only a Marks and Spencer but a Debenhams, Tesco, and wait for it TOPSHOP. That sign has never made me happier, stuff Czech culture when British clothing is near. Topshop aside the mall had a food court that had me gasping in delight for a good half hour, with all you can eat sushi, an Egyptian casino, Lebanese food and delights that no British food court could ever compete with....
Before we forgot which country we were in, we managed the steep walk up to the the castle which contrasts British ones completely by being more of a gated complex with palaces, cathedrals and shops. I'm still not sure where exactly the castle even was... These days most of the buildings are either museums or expensive restaurants neither of which we found much interest for. We did of course manage an ice cream and a quick game of travel scrabble (sitting with our Tesco produce of course). Holly won this time, a fact she will not let me forget in a hurry I feel. Holly and Lucy at this point decided to take on a Lesbian/mother-daughter role as we walked through the park....
Something not to be avoided in Prague is of course Czech beer and the traditional beer halls. We got chatting to an Australian girl travelling round Europe on her own and decided to head out for a drink. We managed to find a scenester bar but wanting something more traditional opted out of its smoky interior. Meeting up with some other girls from our geography field trip we somehow made it to a Hawaiian Bar (when in Prague...) where the evenings fun consisted off a very bizarre tribute band and what we believe was a swinger's party. Or if not that a large group of middle aged couples dressed lewdly while making eyes at one another. Take from that what you will...
After a beer induced sleep Holly and I decided to hire bikes this morning as walking everywhere does take its toll. We can conclude that cycling through Prague is not worth the bother, not only do you have tourists everywhere but trams that don't seem to have brakes and suicidal motorists. We cycled as quickly out of the centre as possible needless to say, luckily the edges of Prague are beautiful, no where looks less than post card perfect and the river cycle path was a lovely change. We stopped to pose for picture and investigate a Czech grave yard (anyone who's anyone in Prague is buried here) before heading back to the hectic city...
As for tonight, our last night in Prague, unless something terrible occurs it looks like the Prague pub crawl may be our only option. God help our souls and our livers, 15 euros for 3 hours unlimited drinking apparently....
Wish me luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment