The Final Push...

A friend of mine posted in his blog that if Halloween was a town, it would be Prague...and I 100% agree. With its ghoulish statues and tall, black towers, its red-roofed houses and cobblestone streets, one wants to carve some pumpkins and pull out the costumes. It was beautiful and different. The vibe there was amazing with its little cafes and great nightlife, I really enjoyed my time in the city.

I spent my first day in Prague by leaving it. I took a train to Kutna Hora to see the Kostnice Bone Church that Ive heard so much about. During the 13th century, this guy sprinkled some soil from Palestine on the ground around the church, and after that, a ton of people decided that they wanted to be buried there. The legend goes that bodies put into the ground in this area will decompose within three days, leaving only the skeletons behind. Because of this, the number of burials outgrew the space available and they began to exhume remains and store them in the back of the church. In the 1800s, a woodcarver decided to make art out of the bones left in the church and now the building is decorated with chandeliers of skulls and pyramids of bones in every corner. Apparentely it houses the remains of 40,000 people...pretty creepy, but Im glad that I made the trip out there.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon touring the city. I crossed the bridge packed full of tourists over to Prague Castle and the neighborhood on that side. I wandered through the old town square and climbed the clock tower to see the hour turn at 2pm. It was raining on and off all day, s0 I did as much touring as I could, but I just didnt pack the clothes for this wintery weather. So I found myself popping into pubs and cafes throughout the day to warm up again. It was kind of nice to space out for an hour or so with a glass of wine, just people watching in Prague and thinking of the last five weeks and what theyve taught me.

I got some souvenir shopping done and dropped off my laundry for cleaning...never underestimate the power of a clean towel...so fresh and so clean, I feel like a new person! When I got done last night, there were a few people in the hostel going out and I ended up hitting the town for the evening....Prague nightlife is amazing, even on a Monday. I ended up at this underground (literally) club that was something like a mouse maze with different dj rooms ( I felt like I was in Toronto again!!!) and these winding little hallways connecting it all. I danced the night away until 2am and loved every minute!

And that brings me to Berlin. There was a guy in Prague who was heading to Berlin today as well, so he and I rode over here by train this afternoon. What a gorgeous ride!!! I almost got off the train in the country just across the Czech border. The train was winding along this river and it was just so green! These picturesque little towns with the perfect German houses and the rolling hills surrounding just blew my mind. I wanted to sleep, but couldnt keep my eyes closed with all of the scenery around me.

Ive got a flight from Berlin to Milan early Thursday, so Im spending a night here and then planning to sleep in yet another airport tomorrow night. Im getting good at it...and really, its not all that bad when you have these 6am flights. Im hoping that Italy will be a little bit warmer as Ive been freezing my butt off without the proper attire. Ive booked a hostel on Lake Como for a couple of days and then plan on hitting Venice this weekend before doing the final push back to Rome.