Alex's Travels

Confirmation: Prague Sucks

The whole time I only kinda-sorta enjoyed Prague, I never knew exactly why I wasn't having the time of my life. Was I too homesick to enjoy an experience outside of the States? Had I gone about my plans all wrong? What was the problem?!

Spending tonight as my first evening in Vienna answered that question: my Prague experience wasn't great because Prague isn't too great of a city. Vienna, on the other hand, is wonderful. Which leads me to conclude that the problem didn't lie with me, it was with Prague itself.

I took the afternoon train here and arrive around 20:00 after a one hour back-up on the track. On the tram ride to the hostel, I knew Vienna was certainly no Prague. It feels like home except with older buildings and a different language. The streets are wider, there is more glass and steel (Americans gotta love that glass and steel) and seems more down with the times. Prague, on the other hand, seems trapped in the past. Vienna is lively and friendly; Prague is dreary and unwelcoming. As an ignorant American, I am going to chalk that up to the fact that Prague gushes Bohemia while Vienna is all Europe.

When I got off the train, I took the tram to the hostel Wombats. It is very modern and large, with a bar and restaurant in the lobby. It certainly isn't as homey as Soloska Youth (my place in Prague), but at least I only share a modern WC and shower with three other people! After checking into the hostel, I realized I didn't know which room Debbie was in so I decided to take a walk around the city. There is a great main street just a block away from my lodgings that reminds me of South Street in Philly. I was walking along there when two Austrians tried to ask me for directions. When they found out I was an American, they decided to practice their English and even bought me a slice of pizza. They were trying to make their way to some bar district and we eventually got directions from someone who actually speaks German. Out of the metro and onto the bar, we ran into an Aussie who approached just because he heard me speaking English. The four of us had a good time in a cozy little bar with live music (imagine Brewer's Art with a guitarist/singer). Unfortunately, I had to leave just after midnight so I could catch the last metro train to my station.

And thus went my first night in Vienna.

posted by The League: Reassembled @ 4:00 PM