Czech out my Pragueress!

I'm writing this from the Prague Plus hostel so come on, how could I resist the cheesy title? During our 7 hours exploring the Czech capital, Awal and I must have made that sort of joke a dozen times (not to mention we probably saw 100 T-shirts saying "Czech me out), and each time it was funny. I suppose 2 days is a sufficient run for that joke...

Anyway, I have a lot to catch up on.  First of all, my apologies for the lack of photo evidence of the journey...my available wifi has ranged from broken to semi-crappy, so uploading a photo hasn't been possible.  When we last left our dashing travelers, they had just boarded a flight out of Ireland...

England:

We arrived at Heathrow at around 10 and had hopes of getting to our hotel by 11 for a good night of rest.  Before I proceed, let me say that nights like this one are the reason that I hold so loosely to plans of any sort...they just end up getting messed up.  Due to a variety of circumstances, we didn't even leave the airport until around 11 and then found out that our hotel (that according to the booking website was 6 miles away) was on the complete opposite side of London.  We ended up arriving at the "Sleeping Beauty Motel" at around 1:45 and managed 3 solid hours of sleep. *Side note, it's a wonder that my hotel choices haven't caused considerable harm to anyone over the years. Nights at the Passport Inn, Rocky Top Motel, Knights Inn, Days Inn OBT Orlando, The Chesterton Miami, the aforementioned Sleeping Beauty Motel, and my favorite: the Holiday Golden Glades Boutique Hotel have each made me thankful for my fantastic immune system.  Good mercy I'm cheap... The next morning we managed to get to our meeting place on time...by the skin of our teeth. Our plans were to take the subway, but we failed to think that it could possibly be closed at 6AM.  Instead, our 25 pound cab ride provided a mini city tour (Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, London Bridge, the big-giant ferris wheel etc.) in addition to the desperately needed transportation.  Assembled on the Embankment next to London's Cleopatra's needle was our entire 27 member tour group.  The only two Americans strolled up, guitar in hand, and tried our best to not seem completely out of place.  This was like the first day of school...everyone standing around awkwardly making small talk, introducing themselves, sizing each other up, knowing that your actions and behaviors at this moment could impact your next three months.  I went with the "assume you're a cool kid and you are one" tactic...we'll see how that plays out in the long run.

Our first journey was a mere 1 hour jaunt to the coast where we boarded a ferry for France.  Aside from stumbling into a pseudo-arcade called "Thunderdome," I was mostly unamused by the ride and subsequently fell asleep on the bus through France. I suppose I can count having been to that country...I was physically within the boarders while conscious...for a solid 6 minutes even!  Around 3, we arrived at our first overnight stop: Brugge.

Belgium

Brugge is a town accustomed to hosting tourists and does well doing so.  Our hostel is situated within a stone's throw of city center where the towering Belfry of Brugge stands. This enormous medieval structure is the centerpiece to the beautifully ornate-well preserved town.  An 83 meter-366 step spiral staircase winds up its belly and for a mere 8 euros, any ole boy can climb to the top...including me.
Awal and I had no trouble, and made the most of the opportunity to give each other a hard time for past physical failures (me, for the time I passed out during a 20 mile hike, Awal for the time he wore down in a 2 on 2 basketball game and played worthless defense causing us to blow a 9-1 lead...and have to buy pizza for the winners).  The view is breathtaking.  From the 83 meter perch, I could admire nearly the entire town.   After sufficient time of basking in the view, Awal and I (with Rick and Chris, two of our new British friends) explored more of town and happened upon some sort of cheese festival.  Now, I can't say that I'd ever be able to find a cheese festival if I were looking for one, but by gosh I know one when I see one...

This looked a bit like a cheese only flea market with free samples at every turn.  We spent the better part of an hour walking by the booths and devouring the free offerings.  I could have stayed at each booth and learned a bit more about the craft of making cheese, but I was more amused by the next free sample.  Though we probably consumed enough cheese than is healthy for a normal human, we weren't deterred from having waffles with ice cream for dinner.  I had never previously eaten a waffle with ice cream, but it was fantastic. And now, of course, I can say that I've had a Belgian waffle in Belgium.  Awal and I meandered the streets for a few hours, saw a few shady characters, cracked a few jokes about cheese, admired some cars and called it a night.

Germany.

Morning came and we headed out for Heidelberg, Germany at around 8AM. We're only a few days in, and I'm catching up on the lack of sleep I've had since about 2008, so I'm doing a pretty terrible job of enjoying the countryside during our drives.  So far, Europe's rolling hills remind me of rural Kentucky; it's beautiful scenery, but nothing worth keeping me awake on the bus. Anyway, we rolled into Heidelberg in the early afternoon...ample time to roam about.  Heidelberg is similar to Brugge in that it's a compact, old-ornate town that's tourist friendly. That's mostly where the similarities end.  Brugge is flat, is surrounded by a river and has a web of interlocking canals, whereas Heidelberg is perched on the side of a quasi-mountain with the Neckar river dividing the town.  Shortly after our arrival, we traversed the streets and got acquainted with the town's charm.  I'd like to say that we were struck by the historical significance and cultural importance of Heidelberg and its region, but probably our most notable stop was at a H&M where Awal was determined to buy a new jacket. Before we went inside he said "Don't let me buy anything." I was a good friend and didn't let him...he might still be mad.

Back to relevance...
At the top of the quasi-mountain (really it's a hill by my standards) sits majestic Heidelberg Castle. This gorgeous structure has a way of looming ominously over the city.  Not like it represents anything particularly intimidating...just a strange feel.  Anyway, after a great German dinner of Bratwurst, sauerkraut, and potatoes,  we decided to climb the quasi-mountain and explore the castle at night.  I figured we'd be able to merely walk up and roam around the outside, but no...everything was open.  We spent two good hours checking out every room, tower, and staircase that wasn't locked down and even managed to scale a wall, climb through a tunnel and up under a bridge to an area that was actually locked down.  Even though I'm a grown man, there's still something exhilarating about being where you're not supposed to be.  Exhausted, and a bit muddy from the climb, that was all we had to give for Heidelberg...

Ok, that's all I have for now.  Please excuse my jumps between present/past tense, omitted articles, comma splices, and other goofy mistakes I make without an editor.  Hopefully I'll have my Prague update finished tomorrow...you can Czech out. Yep, still funny.