Bits and Pieces: Prague - Good Kings and Opera

I know my favourite time of the year in Europe is the time leading up to Christmas. The temperatures, the hot chocolate, the markets, the spicy smell....it really doesn't matter the city, the atmosphere is unlike anything I've ever experienced in the states. Even the crowds don't get to me. In fact, the bigger the market and number of people, the better. Everyone is so cheery (in their language of course) and there is a civilized nature to everything going on - there are no crazy black Friday run everyone over type moments.

So after Vienna last year, I decided that I wouldn't waste a single weekend during the 3 weeks leading up to Christmas. I found a cheap flight to Prague back in July and booked for the weekend after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is by far the toughest holiday over here which is why last year I went to Rome (do you really need a reason though?) and this year was Prague.

I have some huge news as well. September is the time when new secondees join from all over the world...this year, the Hague office picked up a new American, who also happens to be named Lindsey (spelled differently, but close enough). It is so great to have someone here in similar circumstances, who, bonus, happens to be very nice and obsessed with travel as well! Anyways, over dinner at my favorite Italian place here in the Hague, I mentioned my Prague trip, and L booked the next day to come with. So this was the first trip I haven't done solo (other than London with work friends) and it was great!

After work, I rushed to catch the flight, only to find out that my train to Schiphol was severely delayed. For those that know me, I go through spats where I lose stuff constantly. I've been in a severe spat for about 4 months. I've lost gloves (thanks Dad for the $1 Walmart gloves - I have left them all over Europe), a set of head phones, a passport (replaced), a debit card (replaced), umbrellas and countless other things.

On Friday morning, I was packing my backpack for the trip. I lost 3 very important items in a span of about 30 minutes. First, for the life of me, I cannot find my RS Czech Republic book. It is gone. I have no idea what I did with it. I kind of wonder if it made it back from the trip in May with my parents. Anyways, I swore I have seen it recently, so I tore through my apartment like a mad woman looking for it. No luck. In the process of tearing through said apartment, I lost my bike keys. I had them in my hand (a la lost passport) and then I didn't. What is wrong with me? I then found them 30 minutes later in my glove/hat/scarf box. Why were said keys in there and when did I go into that box in the 30 minutes spent looking for my RS book? I have no idea. I then proceeded to lose my printed boarding pass for my EasyJet flight. I recovered the keys, but not the boarding pass or book. Something is clearly wrong. Stress at work? I haven't lost anything there, but it's really shocking that I haven't. I'm not pregnant or that old. What is going on???

After a long day at work, I hopped on my bike and got to the train station for my delayed train. I've gotten pretty good at cutting it just perfect to Schiphol, enough time to not feel rushed and yet not enough time to feel like I'm wasting time waiting on an airplane. However, given the boarding pass situation, I was now in a bit of a panic. EasyJet does not have kiosks to print boarding passes - part of cost saving measures. You print it before you come or you don't print it at all. Anyways, I'm texting with L the whole way on the train (which for some unknown reason stopped in Hoofdoorp, which it NEVER does) and freaking out about said missing boarding pass and train being late etc. I got to the airport with 20 minutes before the gate was going to close....with no boarding pass. I tried downloading the mobile app, but realized that I could only have used it when it was 2 hours before flight. I downloaded it an 1 hour 45 minutes before the flight. GRRR.

I got in line at the ticketing counter behind two clearly stoned backpackers who were trying to figure out where to go next and if they had enough cash for the flights. After impatiently waiting for 10 minutes, the kind lady behind the desk asked them to step aside and luckily was nice enough to print my boarding pass after my hurried explanation of spats of losing things and the boarding pass being a victim of this. I was shocked she did it - airline+Dutch customer service is usually a recipe for disaster (see KLM, United in Amsterdam), but she was realllly great about it. I then knew that weekend was destined to be great.

There was no wait at security and I ran about a mile to the gate (functional exercise - I learned what it will take to get me to run a mile). I made it with about 10 minutes to spare (boarding pass was lying about when gate would close!). I would highly recommend EasyJet to anyone considering travel within Europe. It's a British company with great fares, locations and now, customer service. Best of the budget carriers by far.

Anyways, I found L and we were off to Prague. Without my RS book, I wasn't sure how we were going to get from airport to hotel. Prague airport is very nice, but very far outside of town. When in doubt, get a cab...and that's what we did. We were ripped off on the price as we would find out in the return trip, but not as bad as they could have done. Only about 100 Koruna more (which is about 4 euros).

I booked a hotel on the river, right next to Charles Bridge. I usually use booking.com, which is similar to Expedia, Priceline, etc. I have never booked a bad room through booking.com. I use it for every trip. I feel like I'm advertising a lot in this blog, but seriously, I wish someone had told me this stuff before I moved over. I've made some mistakes, but never on hotel through this site. I sometimes use it just to price hotels and then buy through the actual hotels website (sometimes cheaper). But most of the time, booking has a great rate and really good recommendations (love the Solo Traveler reviews).

Anyways, we stayed at the Mamaison. When I booked, I knew it would be in a convenient location and the price was right - 108 Euro/night. A bit pricier than I normally go, but figured I was worth it just after Thanksgiving. What I didn't know (or failed to remember) was that the hotel is in a former palace. This place was deliciously furnished and fancy. I had to pick my jaw up off the ground when we walked in. Not my normal stay for sure. That's what I love about countries not on the Euro....you can get some fabulous deals on hotels (see Budapest, Dubrovnik). And it was made better as L and I were now splitting the bill. And when we walked in, they immediately had us upgraded to a 2 bedroom suite. WHAT! 2 bathrooms, 2 huge rooms and a kitchen/living area. I was thinking that sharing a room would be a slumber party, but I couldn't even hear L from my room. That's how far apart we were - separated by the kitchen/living area. And the bed was soooo comfy. What a find. Highly recommend the hotel for future Prague stays.

Anyways, after picking up our jaws from the ground, we did a bit of wandering around to find food and take some pictures. It was freaking cold. And I swear I saw snow that night, but L would disagree.