Maddie just left this afternoon from an awesomely fun weekend here in Prague. It was sad to see her go, but so good to have her here. Maddie arrived early on Friday (while I was still in class) so she had to navigate from the airport to the Hotel Pivovar by herself.  Luckily she inherited a good sense of direction and made it here safe and sound.  I was able to meet her on my lunch break, let her into the hotel and allow her to get settled and relax before I had to run back to TEFL for my first teaching lesson!  The teaching lesson went pretty well (not perfect, but thank God the first one’s done!!!) and I wasn’t observed- so that helped ease the nerves a bit.

As soon as I finished up I rushed back to the hotel so we could get out and see some of Prague before the sun set!  Maddie and I headed first to Old Town Square, then up Wenseclas Square- just taking in all the sights.

After some sightseeing we were famished and decided we needed some “traditional” Czech food and beer.  It took a little while to find, but we eventually made it up to Pivovarský dům.  There we shared enjoyed some delicious goulash as well as the 8 beer sampler.  The sampler ranged from wheat beer to coffee beer to nettle beer to the beer of the month: Chili!  We both agreed that the coffee beer was pretty gross, but kind of enjoyed the banana flavor.

After dinner we headed back to the Prague 9 where we met up with all my wonderful TEFL peers at the Villa.  We had some drinks, hung out and then headed downtown to a bar/club.  It was a lot of fun to hang out with everyone, dance and relax after the long week.  Almost everyone went out and we didn’t end up getting home until after 5:00am!!!  It’s a big deal for me considering I typically like to be in bed by midnight and get a full 8+ hours if possible.  Made me feel young again:)

The next day we woke up a bit later than we had originally planned, but still managed to fit in a whole day of sightseeing and touristing.  We (of course) had to stop at Bohemia Bagel for lunch/breakfast.  From there we headed through Old Town Square, down to the Jewish Quarter, over to Charles University (my study abroad alma mater) and then to take some shots of the Charles Bridge.  The weather was FREEZING (33 degrees F and windy) so we had to stop and buy some pashminas. After the shopping break we headed across the bridge, over to the Lennon Wall and up the hill to Prague Castle. We took in the views, walked all around the castle and then headed back down the hill to find dinner.  We managed to find a cheap and delicious pizza place where we were able to warm up by enjoying a hot meal. That night we opted for a movie and ice cream over another exciting night out due to the cold and our 7-hour sightseeing extravaganza.  We (well old me) also needed to catch up on some sleep!

We started out Sunday the same way as Saturday- sleeping in a bit and then heading to Bohemia Bagel for breakfast/lunch. After stuffing our faces with bagel sandwiches and soup (it was another freezing cold day). We headed out to see the city!  We did some shopping, went to down to Vyšehrad, walked up to check out the dancing house and then trekked up the massive Petrin Hill.  It was a lot of walking, but a great way to see the city and appreciate its beauty…it’s also a good way to have hundreds of photo ops!  By the time we covered all that ground it was getting dark and we were starting to get hungry again.  I made Maddie walk with me over to my old study abroad dorm. It was cool, but so weird to be back at Pohorelec, waiting to take the 22.  It made me nostalgic for 2005 and my awesome semester in Prague, but I’m glad we went to check it out (doesn’t look too different).

We enjoyed a dinner that night at a place called Jama (formerly the Dog’s Bollocks) were we enjoyed nachos, chicken wings and chicken fingers…and of course beer!  We then headed back home to warm up and to spend some social time with the suitemates.  Maddie had to leave early this afternoon to catch her flight back to Brussels.  It was sad to say goodbye, but I’m so glad she came!  I’m also hoping to visit her in Belgium sometime before her program ends, plus she’ll be coming to see us in Berlin in December…so more quality time will be spent together soon.  So while I’m sad that she’s returned home I have another amazing thing to look forward to…Dave will be visiting next weekend!  I’m so lucky to have my two favorite people come to Prague two weekends in a row.