Arriving in a new city is always exciting. By the time that I arrive, I’ve found clips (on YouTube), reviews on (TripAdvisor), and I’m pretty ready for the day. My seat mate on the train to Prague was from Ukraine and had escaped shortly after the attacks began. I showed her my Facebook profile, with Ukraine’s flag circling my photo. We became fast friends.

My hotel was less than a ten minute walk from the train terminal. Once I spotted Popeye’s Chicken, half a block from my hotel, I knew I would never get lost. There was a McDonald’s at the end of the street and a Starbucks just opposite Popeye’s. Can you say Free WiFi? The hotel was nice. Large tourists groups book there. If you opt out of housekeeping, for two days, the hotel plants a tree in your name.

For meals, I stayed pretty close to home. I had Pho from the Vietnamese restaurant just down the block. I also did a few meals at the baguette spot, on the way to the main road. There was a mini market and a strip club, next to the hotel. But, the hotel lobby set out iced tea, each day, at 2:00 pm. And, that tea was good!

On my own, I walked from my hotel to the famous Astronomical Clock. It dates back to 1410. I was really lucky. I got there a few minutes before the hour. There were crowds of tourists everywhere. I just kept looking for openings and making my way to the front. Then, on the hour, the Walk of the Apostles began. Four figures flanked the clock representing vanity, greed, lust, and death. The statues of the twelve Apostles appeared and then, it was over. I missed seeing Death, the skeleton that strikes the time upon the hour. I just wanted to get away from that crowd.

Having a hotel just a ten minute walk from the train station was perfect. The local Hop on Hop off bus was just on the other side of the train station. I entered the station and went upstairs to exit. I ended up across the road from the bus. I yelled at the ticket seller. He motioned me to take the elevator back down and exit another way. When I got to the correct exit, the guy was there and made sure I hadn’t got lost.

There was a free river cruise with the Hop on Hop off bus ticket. The boat goes up and down the River Vltava, for almost an hour. The great part was what you missed seeing going up, you saw coming back down. You could take great pictures of all the bridges and buildings along the route.

As I was leaving, I noticed the Lego display. I was probably too focused on getting to my hotel, when I arrived. I really enjoyed Prague. I had little idea about the large Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic. It’s the third-largest ethnic minority group overall. They arrived during the communist period, sent by their government for education and training, to bolster the workforce upon their return. Following the collapse of Czechoslovakia, many just stayed. First-generation Vietnamese now make up a large percentage of the Czech Republic small business sector.

This is why I love random travel. I’m so lucky to be able to just travel to a country that happens to be near the last. And, Prague, … that Pho was delicious! Who knew? XOXO—GGT