Prague

First of all, scroll to the next post for photos of Paris. Secondly, what's Scott McClellan doing resigning before I get back? I missed him and had been looking forward to hearing his press conferences again. Without him, who won't comment about an ongoing investigation? WHO? Third, maybe my friend Ari Fleischer will come back.

Now. Prague.

I'll begin with the fact that I really should have done the swimsuit shopping *before* having the dark-chocolate-covered-strawberry-and-banana-stick, and the double-scoop of Cream & Dream ice cream, quite possibly the best ice cream in the history of the world (Sorry, Haagen Daz). In the end, I decided not to buy a bathing suit, because it was altogether too depressing to see. I've also decided that the European stores don't do the same tricky shit with the dressing rooms that they do in America. I miss the tilted mirrors and happy skinny lighting in American dressing rooms.

But the rest of Prague is absolutely phenomenal, definitely one of my favorite places so far. I'm only at an Internet cafe and not wandering around more because I know if I wander around more I'll buy more chocolate-covered happiness and cinnamony-twirly-things and maybe Cream & Dream. And I don't need that. At all.

Today I watched the changing of the guard at Prague Castle. Had gone all around Prague Castle yesterday, but I happened to be in the area looking at St. Nicholas Church (which is gorgeous) at 11 a.m. and the changing of the guard is at noon, so I figured I'd check it out. It's entertaining, but such a huge process. I think eventually they're going to have to discover that changing shifts can be very simple, and doesn't need to involve trumpets and drums and tubas and marching around in circles. The two new guards just need to go up to the old ones and say, "Dude, your shift's up. I got it from here." And then that's it. I think one day they'll figure that out.

The castle itself is pretty amazing, which more than makes up for the fact that the National Gallery here is not so impressive. It has all these different rooms and areas you can go into, and you can climb a tower to look down at the whole place and the city. The cathedral there is also pretty awesome. Not sure what else to say about the place without avoiding boring and not-very-detailed descriptions (I forget specifics when I don't write them down), so I'll move on.

I spent the day before at the Jewish district, a place called Josefov. They've essentially turned the whole neighborhood into a museum, where you buy a ticket for all the synagogues, etc., and they scan it as you walk into each one. The Spanish Synagogue is, without question, the most impressive. It's the first synagogue I've seen all trip that compares with some of the cathedrals, although I'm sure the Neu Synagoge in Berlin was amazing before being burnt down.

I guess that's about it for Prague. I spent most of my time just walking around, looking at everything. The most impressive thing about Prague, I think, is that you can look down just about any city block and see these gorgeous buildings lining the way. My hostel is in a kind of dumpy neighborhood, behind the train station and surrounded by train tracks, but somehow every block you pass on the way is amazing, with these great buildings and vibrant colors.

Oh, two observations I've been meaning to share: 1) McDonald's are EVERYWHERE in Europe. I got twisted around in Warsaw and passed three different McDonald's just trying to find my way back to where I started (and I'm completely sure they weren't all the same one). And the map I have of Prague lists different places, like sites and restaurants, and it actually lists McDonald's under "International Cuisine." Cuisine. That ain't right. 2) Everyone in Europe wears Yankees hats and everyplace in Europe sells them. And someone I was talking to said she's pretty sure people don't even know what they mean. She saw one guy wearing one and said something like, "Yankees, huh?" and he had no idea what she was talking about. I think they think they're just American hats. So in Europe our country, essentially, is represented by George Bush and George Steinbrenner. Again. Ain't right.

I leave tonight for Budapest, and if the last two overnight trains I took are any indication, I won't sleep at all. The trains bounce around a lot and like to come to jerky stops. It'll be great.