Prague, Round 2 for Conor, Round 1 for Lindsay (and congrats Warndog and Kelly!)

So, we have spent the last 4 days in Prague and it didnt take Lindsay long to understand why I fell in love with it the first time I came here back in 2003. Prague was the 3rd stop on what a group of 9 of us (all guys) called the Eastern European Wrecking Tour. Some comparisons that bear mentioning...

2003 - got lost in the woods up near Prazky Hrad (the Prague castle), ended up stumbling upon a pack of german sheperds and machine gun-carrying guards outside the US Embassy
2008 - got lost in the streets of Jewish Town and stumbled upon some beautiful and quiet streets and shops and warm pubs

2003 - drank flaming absinthe incorrectly due to a problem with a language barrier, received some nasty burns
2008 - drank some of the best beer out there, (budvar and pilsner urquell) and something that rivaled absinthe in taste (Slivovice, could barely get it down). Only burned the throat this time.

2003 - Ate at McDonalds most meals
2008 - Ate at many different restaurants and pubs and have enjoyed some amazing food, in particular, the beef goulash and the pancakes

2003 - advised by a neighbor to stop banging on our door so loudly (after being locked out) because "the people that live in this area still operate like they did before the Iron curtain came down...they will sit there listening to you, they will get upset, let there blood boil, and then they will kill you." We stopped banging on the door.
2008 - not really fully understanding what that guy meant back in 2003 but still terrified, I advised Lindsay to get up from her bus seat that was next to a woman who was incoherently whimpering something at Lindsay from the moment Lindsay sat down next to her. I think I told Lindsay something to the effect of, "if you dont get up now, she might go iron curtain on you and kill you." Lindsay stood up.

2003 - spent our extra day splitting it among an internet cafe, a casino, and a couple different bars
2008 - spent our extra day in Cesky Krumlov, a beautiful European village set on a winding river with a big castle that makes you quickly forget the Iron Curtain/Cold War feel of parts of Prague. If McCain/Palin wins and no houses are for sale in Villeneuve Lez Avignon, we are going to be looking for property there.

Anyway, as you can see, this time around, things were much different and much better. We got to watch the sunset over Prague while sipping wine up in the Wencelas Vineyard overlooking the city, we went on a great pub crawl one night that took us over the statue-laden Charles Bridge and allowed us to snap some amazing night shots, I dragged Lindsay around to all of the places that I visited my first time there (4 places in total) and made her take photos of me standing in front of them (Shaun and Tom, I cant wait to show you guys...), we actually ate Sushi for the first time in months and it was amazing, and we had a blast getting creeped out while walking amongst the buildings with roofs that resembled witches hats on Halloween night. Prague was way more amazing than it was the first time around and I only wish we could stay one more night. However, we have to move along to Vienna, where we will rest up before the all-nighter that we plan on pulling to watch the election tomorrow night. So go vote for Obama tomorrow, or else we might have to go Iron Curtain on you!