Back in Norwich!

 So for those of you who don't know, I have been on an epic journey for the past two weeks, hitting up Prague, Bratislava, Vienna and Salzburg. UEA gives its students a month long winter break (and a month long spring break!! - jealous yet?) so my good friend Holly and I decided to use that time to travel. Holly's friend Rebecca, who is currently studying in Malaga, Spain, also joined our adventures.
Here's a map of our route:

 

We began our journey in London. From Stansted Airport, we flew to Prague in the Czech Republic. A few days later we traveled by bus to Bratislava, Slovakia. Another bus took us to Vienna in Austria. And finally we took a train to Salzburg, also in Austria. 

The next few posts will chronicle my adventures across Europe, dutifully recorded in my handy-dandy notebook (thanks for the journal Mom!). And of course, there will be pictures along the way!

So let's begin with day one in Prague, January 3rd.

Holly and I wake up at the crack of dawn to catch the bus that will take us to the Norwich train station (where we will then catch a train to London Stansted Airport). HOWEVER - England neglected to inform its American visitors that January 3rd happens to be a bank holiday. Grrr. The next twenty or so minutes involves a lot of swearing, jumping up and down, cursing the British, and finally a phone call to the local cab company. Great start. Luckily, our fortunes seemed to change for the better, and we had no more trouble with transportation. 

Sadly, by the time we arrived in Prague it was dark and we were all exhausted. Rebecca was sick and continued to be sick throughout our entire journey. She chose to sleep in the hostel while Holly and I went to U Bulinos, the traditional Czech restaurant down the street. On the recommendation of the Czech Inn staff we tried the garlic soup (now a personal favorite) and a platter of different meats. It was all delicious.

Here's a map of Prague itself to give you a bit of an idea of the city. 

(image found on Google)

 Our hostel, the Czech Inn (pun intended), is located near the main train station. It was a quick tram ride into the Old Town. Once there, you could pretty much walk anywhere.

 (Don't worry, I will post actual pictures in the next entry.)