After we did our looking around in Prague, we hung out with David and tried to go see an apartment. We showed up and no one was there. We were buzzed in, but no one opened their doors in the building as Jack and I climbed 10 floors of stairs. It was brutal. I am not sure why someone would stand us up, but we had a sour taste in our mouth.

After seeing the apartment we went to the airport via public transport. Instead of paying 30 USD for a cab ride to the airport we spent 2 USD; needless to say it was gloriously cheap. Once we got into Thessaloniki at 10 pm, we took a cab to Hotel Avra. It was a cute little place right on the beach, on the opposite side of the bay to the city of Thessaloniki. It was a four-bed room with a kitchenette and a clean bathroom. According the Fernando + Gulaya it was luxury… I don’t know if I would go that far. We ate some homemade pasta that they made and chatted, it was very nice to be reunited with them.

We ended up renting a car in Thessaloniki and driving to Ioaninna. We thought the toll road would be too expensive so we took the smaller, more local roads across the country. This made our trip about two hours longer. Let’s just say if you get car sick, you don’t even want to think about this drive. The amount of switchbacks’ would have had you dizzy from the beginning… for six hours. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful ride. We spent the night in Ioannina, which is a cute little town on a lake inland on the west coast of Greece. These was a castle, and deliciously cheap gyros (1,80 Euro). We stayed at another “luxury” hotel and the next day made our way to Igoumenitsa, which was where we would catch our ferry to Corfu. Before getting to the ferry we bought groceries at the LIDL and made ourselves lunch on the 11:30 am ferry. We ended up paying 33.50 Euro for four passengers AND a car… it was a really good deal considering the sign said 35 euro just for the car. I guess G and I just had the charm that day. The ferry was an hour and a half and Jack was taken by the view of everything and baffled by the beautiful blue color of the water, which is very special to the Mediterranean.



We reached the middle of Corfu Island. We hadn’t decided where we were going to stay yet, so we just randomly chose to go north on the island. We took the main road all the way to Paleokastritsa beach, and it was like a movie. The rocks jutting right out of the turquoise flat sea. In checking hotel prices at that beach we needed to use the internet to find some palatable prices. We found a hostel that was a bit more south that had an available room the day we got in. We followed their directions down a 60 degrees down slope of tight switchbacks. We finally got there. It was sunset and the place looked interesting. The way we walked in there were crates full of swarming bees, an empty pool and nobody in sight… we were a little worried. We walked out onto the patio and there it was; endless sea looking at us, with huge boulders sticking out, with a white strip of beach to our east. After seeing the rooms and them telling us that breakfast and dinner were included in the price, we were in. We stayed there for three days. There were 4 other people staying there while we were there. They were super friendly vacationers that we hung out with, beached with, played volleyball and scrabble with, and had some good conversations with. During our stay there Fernando got his flip flops stolen, Gulaya go stung by a wasp and learned a lot about Joburg. After 3 days we went back to Thessaloniki. Our ferry ride back cost 55 euro. I guess this time they charged us more, because on an island the ferry is the only way off. In Thessaloniki we all had an amazing dinner on the water. We ate some delicious fish and eggplant. The locals had a lot of patience with us seeing as we couldn’t speak Greek. It was a really nice vacation all in all. We parted ways with F +G and made our way back to Prague. Next step: find a home.

-Nico

Getting There

It's 8 am in Geneva and we have a five hour lay over until our next flight to Prague. Nico and I head out to find public transit so that we can begin our exploration of the city. After a confusing search for where the bus departs, we found the #10 bus and headed downtown. It was early so the business folk were just making their way into town. Once we saw the lake, we knew to get off and search for some cafe overlooking the water. We stumbled upon a boardwalk and found a quaint cottage. Coincidentally named the Cottage Cafe, we ordered some small espresso shots and honey toast. The cottage faced a small garden with a beautiful fountain statue that was silhouetted in the morning sun. Two stone lions guarded the entrance to the garden facing the lake. After our oooohs and aahhhhs over the mountain of crème brulees that they had set out to cool, we paid our bill and gave our waiter a warm thank you (in French of course).

After walking around the downtown area while watching the store owner’s prep their storefronts we stopped for a moment to listen to a jazz drummer who was firing up some green eggs and ham and truly giving Geneva a morning wake up call. We immediately thought of Jimbo and strode on. Our next encounter with the locals came when we had no change for the bus to get back to the airport. We stumbled into a bakery and the woman sneered at us when we asked for change, especially because the request was in English. Nonetheless, we got the change and were able to get back to the airport in time. So overall we thought it was worth the trek and better than sitting at the airport for 5 hours.

Our flight from Geneva to Prague was delayed 45 minutes but we would wait until Prague to satisfy our hunger. After sleeping the entire flight to Prague we gathered our bags and exchanged money for the taxi. David as well as Roger suggested we take the AAA taxi as the other cabbies are known to take advantage of tourists. After giving the cabby our destination we were set and made it to the U Pisecke Brany Restaurant where we would meet with David around 5 30 pm. After a Pilsner Urquell, a coke, and some delicious potato pancakes, Prague’s first impression was certainly a good one.

David strolled in after we finished and we sat for a while to get reacquainted. David was the first to tell us how hard the Czech language is to speak. He studied for eight months before starting his work at the embassy. He had been there for six weeks prior to our arrival so when it came to paying the bill we looked for some advice on the routine for restaurant manners. It turns out that the wait staff and bartenders do not expect a standard tip. Its more of a rounding up to the nearest hundred korun. We left and went across the street to his apartment and our new temporary home. We dropped our bags off and went in search for our first Czech meal. After taking the metro to the Malastrana we walked across the bridge towards old town and nico’s new school. We walked towards the Charles bridge but the crowds were heavy as the typically are and we walked instead towards the famous Old Town square Staromestska Namnesti. We arrived just a hair to late to see the astrological clock display its hourly beauty. The history behind this clock is that when the king saw it completed he thought it was so beautiful that he blinded the maker so that it could never be replicated. This square is also famous for its pickpockets and its beautiful churches.

We found ourselves in the Jewish quarter just north of the square at Café Kafka. We ordered a round a of waters and I had a Budvar ( yes the same company who claims that Budweiser stole its name), but it turned out the kitchen had closed. We took a few more steps past a pizzeria joint and ended up in Schweik’s. We all ordered types of dumplings (potato, bread and Bohemian style). David and Nico reminisced about El Salvador while I sat back to enjoy their stories. Turns out Nico loved to put on dance shows for everyone to see. She and her friends would practice to the top hits of the day and force everyone to watch their dance routines. “Good info to know” I thought to myself. We walked back across the river and took a tram back up the hill to David’s. Step one: journey to Prague complete.