I arrived in Prague at around 4pm on December 30 and found my way to the hostel where I’d booked my first night (online). The lady at the reception looked through her list of reservations two or three times but couldn’t find my name. No problem, I thought. I had saved the online booking confirmation page when I’d booked it online. I pulled it up on my laptop for her to see.
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“Uhhh… do you see this line right here?” she asked, pointing at some very fine print. I read it silently to myself: You will receive an email confirmation, once this online booking has been confirmed by the hostel you have requested. In other words, this “thank you for your reservation” webpage I'd received and saved was useless… it meant nothing, unless I had received an email which would have been the actual confirmation of my reservation. Arrrghh!
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And thus, I was homeless in Prague. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a major catastrophe, since there are plenty of hostels and hotels catering to Prague’s thriving tourist industry. But this was the night before New Years Eve… and according to one tourist info person, 400,000 tourists were visiting Prague for the New Years festivities. The hostel receptionist called a couple of places where she thought perhaps there might have been available beds… without success. So I was on my own, trudging through Prague – my duffle bag over one shoulder, my laptop bag over the other – looking for someplace I could spend the night. On the way to the first hostel, I had passed a tourist office (i.e. hotel broker), so I headed back to request help. “Do you have any places I can stay tonight?” I asked, as tourist info woman opened the door to her office.
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And thus, I was homeless in Prague. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a major catastrophe, since there are plenty of hostels and hotels catering to Prague’s thriving tourist industry. But this was the night before New Years Eve… and according to one tourist info person, 400,000 tourists were visiting Prague for the New Years festivities. The hostel receptionist called a couple of places where she thought perhaps there might have been available beds… without success. So I was on my own, trudging through Prague – my duffle bag over one shoulder, my laptop bag over the other – looking for someplace I could spend the night. On the way to the first hostel, I had passed a tourist office (i.e. hotel broker), so I headed back to request help. “Do you have any places I can stay tonight?” I asked, as tourist info woman opened the door to her office.
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“No – nothing,” she replied matter-of-factly. Then after I stared at her for a few seconds in disbelief, she said, “Well, I’ve got one place, but you won’t like it. Two different couples I’ve sent there today have turned it down, once they took a look at it.”
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“It’s much too cold to sleep on a park bench tonight, so I don’t really many other choices. I’ll take it.” She went on to tell me that there was a minimum 4-night stay, and it would cost €50 per night. It was an ugly situation, but I really didn’t have options. And I was exhausted and didn’t feel like pounding the pavement looking for other places (which probably wouldn’t be much better). I paid her, and she gave me a map and directions to my new home in Prague.
“It’s much too cold to sleep on a park bench tonight, so I don’t really many other choices. I’ll take it.” She went on to tell me that there was a minimum 4-night stay, and it would cost €50 per night. It was an ugly situation, but I really didn’t have options. And I was exhausted and didn’t feel like pounding the pavement looking for other places (which probably wouldn’t be much better). I paid her, and she gave me a map and directions to my new home in Prague.
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This supposedly 15-minute journey by metro, followed by a ten-minute walk... took me three hours (remember that I’m a bit directionally impaired). And once I arrived, I agreed with her that it was, indeed, a gem of a hotel. There was short-pile, industrial carpet on the floor and all four walls… large black, matted-down stains all over the floor carpeting (making barefoot traversal a bit questionable/unpleasant)… a single bed, which was actually couch cushions lying on a bed frame, covered by a sheet... But hey, I was more than exhausted at this point and feeling a little ill, so I was just glad to be able to lie down -- finally.
This supposedly 15-minute journey by metro, followed by a ten-minute walk... took me three hours (remember that I’m a bit directionally impaired). And once I arrived, I agreed with her that it was, indeed, a gem of a hotel. There was short-pile, industrial carpet on the floor and all four walls… large black, matted-down stains all over the floor carpeting (making barefoot traversal a bit questionable/unpleasant)… a single bed, which was actually couch cushions lying on a bed frame, covered by a sheet... But hey, I was more than exhausted at this point and feeling a little ill, so I was just glad to be able to lie down -- finally.
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The next day, December 31, I headed back into town to check out Prague in the daylight. I saw the famous Wenceslas and Old Town Squares and the iconic Astronomical Clock Orloj; took a tourist bus tour; walked around the castle grounds; and generally wandered all day and evening on foot. Most of the city’s tourist attractions were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with holiday tourists.
The next day, December 31, I headed back into town to check out Prague in the daylight. I saw the famous Wenceslas and Old Town Squares and the iconic Astronomical Clock Orloj; took a tourist bus tour; walked around the castle grounds; and generally wandered all day and evening on foot. Most of the city’s tourist attractions were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with holiday tourists.
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Prague street scene
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Old Town Square
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Old Town Square scene #2
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"Astronomical Clock Orloj" on the Old Town City Hall
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Entrance to Prague Castle
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View of Prague from Prague Castle grounds
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St. Vitus Cathedral on Prague Castle grounds
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Close-up of stained glass window in St. Vitus cathedral
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Once night fell, the partying started up in the city center. There was a large main stage in Wincelas square, and a smaller stage in the Old Town Square. The weather was cold but dry. I spent most of the evening walking back and forth between these two stages and listening to the music – trying not to get bored (but also walking to stay warm). There were a few decent acts on the small stage, such as a Beatles lookalike/sound-alike band. On the large stage were all of the “big name” Czech performers. Although I’d never heard of any of them, the crowd was wildly enthusiastic for them. The music was kind of schmaltzy (Celine Dion-style) pop mixed with chewing-gum pop – mostly pretty dull stuff, in my opinion, but it was interesting to get a taste of pop culture, Czech-style.
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A few hundred yards (meters) from the main stage, there was a large, mostly vacant area, where tens or twenties of individuals were setting off hard-core fireworks. Crowds of people stood on each side of the fireworks area to “ooo” and “ahh” at the lights, bangs, & booms. And I’m not talking about sparklers and snakes… or even bottle-rockets and the smallish fireworks my dad used to buy me in Tennessee (and then smuggle back into Kentucky for July 4)… these were professional quality fireworks… in the hands of amateurs. My sense of reality may have been affected by my worsening cold/flu, but the fireworks scene in this crowded downtown square seemed entirely uncontrolled and unsafe to my prudish American perspective. There were police standing at various locations throughout the square, but all seemed to generally be ignoring the chaos of firepower being set off by anyone and everyone. As red-hot debris and sparks showered the crowd, the police stood and watched, practically as spectators. I stayed in the city center long enough to see midnight turn over, but then I rushed to the metro and headed home to beat the crowds. I wasn’t feeling particularly healthy or lively, so I was anxious to get some serious sleep.
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Night view of Prague Castle & Charles Bridge across the Vtlava (Moldau) River
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Crazy New Year’s Eve scene in Wenceslas Square
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I got back to the hotel feeling dog-tired and a little ill, so I slept until noon the next day. Although I had already paid for one additional evening in my rat-hole of a hotel room, I decided that – given my cold and grouchy humor – returning to Oldenburg and sleeping in my humble but comfy bed sounded more inviting than staying put. When vacation stops becomes less interesting than "home", it's time to head homeward. I caught an afternoon train and was home in Oldenburg by midnight.
I got back to the hotel feeling dog-tired and a little ill, so I slept until noon the next day. Although I had already paid for one additional evening in my rat-hole of a hotel room, I decided that – given my cold and grouchy humor – returning to Oldenburg and sleeping in my humble but comfy bed sounded more inviting than staying put. When vacation stops becomes less interesting than "home", it's time to head homeward. I caught an afternoon train and was home in Oldenburg by midnight.
