Prague
After spending an uneventful night in Birmingham, I flew to Prague and am extremely proud to announce that I made it all the way from the airport to Robin's front door on my own. On the first night I got a great little taste of Prague in a evening walk through the old town and to the Charles bridge where we leisurely sipped hot wine while catching up and watching the city lights glimmer in the river below. We then had dinner at a Czech restaurant with Robin's roommies which was quite good, basically: meat, onions, garlic...oh and Czech beer, of course. I also tried Becherovka, the traditional Czech liquor, at a cool, smoky tavern down the street from the apartment. Smoky-ness is a description that applies to anywhere you go in Prague because there are no laws against smoking...well anywhere, so essentially people are smoking everywhere you go. When I got home my entire backpack of clothes smelled like they had been doused in cigarettes.
The two full days that I was there were full of exploring the city, playing in the fall leaves, drinking mulled wine, hot chocolate, and general adventure. I think I got quite a bit in site seeing wise and we managed to find some great places out of the main tourist areas. We had quite an outing on monday night to a local, some what expat, bar called Blind Eye. It was Karaoke night so we all got up and did our best while taking advantage of the cheap czech beer. We displayed a wide range of songs including Spice Girls, Jackson 5 and ABBA among others. Robin and I finished off the night, at around 3am, with a unique rendition of "Dancing Queen," and that my friends, is what karaoke is all about!
The last night I was there (tuesday) we stayed in for dinner and ate homemade mac and cheese that Robin's roommate made for all of us. After dinner Robin and I went to Bar and Books, a swanky americanized bar with an extensive menu of martinis and other tasty cocktails. It's only in New York and Prague and was probably the coolest chill out place i've been to. There is a cozy bookshelf at one end, dimmed lights against bright red walls and candles everywhere. I ordered a Chelsea Rose Martini and Robin had a Cucumber Martini. I felt utterly mature sitting with an old friend, sipping martini's in a swanky bar in Prague. My last morning I spent wandering around the old town while Robin had class. It was a great time because it was too early for the tourists to be up and about so I felt as if I had the city to myself. I was also very proud of my mastery of the center bit of the city without a map or my personal tour guide. We spent my last bit of time in Prague having breakfast near Robin's apartment before I had to make my way to the airport and back to England.
Hadrian's Wall
I didn't have long to rest after my Prague adventure before I was off on another very different adventure with Outdoor Society to the northern reaches of the country: Northumberland. It was a long, dark journey on friday night getting from York to our bunk house hostel in the middle of nowhere Northumberland. We finally arrived a little after 11pm and got settled in. The bunk house was actually surprisingly nice with three bedrooms and 18 beds, a kitchen and living room. There were 15 of us on the trip about half of which were international students hailing from everywhere; China, South Africa, Germany and Singapore. Our long walk took place on Saturday where we walked 14 miles in 7 hours. Luckily the weather held up great with blue skies and sun, it was still cold and there is no such thing as dry paths in England. Not even two hours into the hike, while passing through some extremely muddy marshes I was unlucky enough to sink into a mud bank up to my knees, very exciting, i know. Thankfully I had invested in gaiters (waterproof chap things that protect your lower leg and upper boot) last week and was saved from the worst of the mud and moisture.
Now for a brief history lesson because above all I am an aspiring historian! Work on Hadrian's Wall began in 122AD under the Roman Emperor Hadrian (hence the name) It spanned the northern border of the Roman Empire in Britain across 74 miles from coast to coast. It was built to protect the empire from the Picts, the ancient inhabitants of Scotland, and included many watchgates and roman forts, some of which can still be seen. We walked about 5-6 miles of the actual wall which, though not at large and imposing as it once was, is still quite a structure. We first approached the wall from the north and it was great to think this is what it would have been like for the Picts who would want to attack the wall. If it were me, I would have stayed at home and had a cuppa because it is one ferocious climb through muddy marshes and hilly brush. We were able to conquer the wall from the North and felt very pleased to have done so, of course we weren't facing an imposing Roman garrison but that's only a small detail :) We passed some of the old roman forts and mile castles. Originally there were small forts placed every (Roman) mile along the wall for protection. It was good fun but none of us were complaining when we made it back to the bunk house and took off our muddy boots and got a hot shower! We spent a few hours at the Twice Brewed Inn near where we were staying where we all had large hot dinner and scrumptious desserts. I also tried the Conqueror's Bitter that I thought was a really good local beer.
Today was much less arduous as we only walked under 5 miles, although it was all up and down hills so it's a little more than first meets the eye. It was a beautiful day and we even had some sprinkles along with the sunny sky which produced a lovely rainbow arching over the ancient wall. On the way home we stopped at a small market town, Hexham, to have a look around, see the abbey and have a hot drink. We made it back to York by 6 and I immediately came home, had some dinner, and took a hot shower. It was a great weekend and I met a lot of great people. The girls in my room were all great and we had a good laugh. I'm really glad I went and had the opportunity to go on a trip that normally I would never have done. I've taken quite a liking to walking in England and hope to do a lot more this year and in the future.
Now after that whirlwind tour I have few days of down time before I head up to Edinburgh for the UC program Thanksgiving Dinner, Scottish style! I'm bringing my friend Amanda along and we're spending the weekend there so hopefully i'll get to see some more of the city as i've only been there in bits and pieces. Make sure to check out my pictures from the last few weeks here! Peace out.
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