Looking to continue on the critical reviews of "24 Hours in Budapest," and hoping to recover from the under-appreciated "Bratislava, Slovakia," comes the next summer travel adventure: "48 Hours in Prague."
This trip is simultaneously long scheduled and incredibly last minute. This weekend was always penciled in for an excursion to the Czech Republic and a continuation of the (unintentional) counter-clockwise rotation of travel through Europe; however, anyone who knows me at all knows that I like to plan. To prepare. To have an idea ahead of time.
Not so in this case.
Yesterday after work I decided this trip was going to happen, even though other friends all backed out due to concerns about cost, or other activities they had scheduled over the weekend, or other reasons. Inspired, I waited for a combined two hours in two different train station ticket offices trying to secure train tickets to Prague. Both efforts failed because the cost-effective fare (with public transportation pass within Prague included) were sold out, and I could not in good conscious afford the full fare ticket prices they were asking. Then, after fearing that hope was lost, I talked to some friends and family who shared a common message: Go!
And just like that, I was off to the bus station.
... well, not "just like that," actually. My travel misery continued when I had forgotten my passport and needed to return home in order to get it and book the trip.
And so, today, I packed and figured out where I'm going and how I'm going to get there and shortly I'll be en route to Prague. Maybe not "last minute" but definitely "last hour" and that readers is so not me.
The forecast for Prague calls for 80% chance of T-Storms in the afternoon, up from 50% yesterday. Combined with the difficulties in actually getting the trip assembled and the fact that everyone else is not going with me, there's a part of me that wonders if the trip is a bad idea. Budapest and Bratislava just worked, things just clicked, every step. Here ... quite the opposite. It has felt like an uphill battle at times. I want to go, I want to get out of this country for a few days, I want to see someplace new and awesome and have this experience. I just can't help but feel a little hesitant in light of the above.
Regardless, I'm trying to take the attitude that "whatever will be, will be." Getting to see so much of Europe like this is no automatic or given; it's something that I want to do and that means working for it a little, right? It means overcoming challenges to experience greater things. I'm excited, and looking forward to the next few days on the road.
