Hello Prague

We are officially in Prague, arrived yesterday courtesy of Polski Bus and first impressions are of the so-so variety but first a few words in praise of Polski Bus.  We went from Gdansk to Warsaw, Warsaw to Krakow, Krakow to Prague for the unbelievable sum IN TOTAL of 151 zlotys which is approximately $51.00 and that's for the two of us.  These prices are unbeatable, cheaper than Mexico and that's saying a lot considering Mexico has extremely competitive prices.  Other travelers appear to have had a somewhat negative experience with this company, rude drivers, delays, cramped seats, "midget size" toilet, WiFi connectivity not great, people who sit where they want etc...That was not our experience. Yes the drivers  did not speak English but why is there an expectation that everywhere one goes, all over the damn world, everybody should and must speak English.  Frankly it's annoying and disturbing.  We travel to experience other cultures not to seek and find the same thing we left at home.   Sure it's helpful if one can understand the language and yes Stan speaks Polish but even if he hadn't been there I would have managed just fine.  Most of the buses are direct.  You get in at one end and off at another.  The only bus who stopped somewhere else was the bus to Prague and it was clearly indicated where you were, I don't understand what the problem might have been for other travelers.  They're just a bunch of whiny little babies, sorry but some of them expect royal service on a shoe string budget.  I've traveled all over the world and made efforts everywhere I went to speak whatever little local language I could without the expectation that they would know mine.  OK enough of a rant.  If you don't mind long bus rides in fairly comfortable buses I would recommend this company, enough said.
Driving into the Czech country was not much of a contrast except the roads were in much better condition.  Poland needs new roads that's for sure.  This highway was a paying highway in Poland but stopped being so once we entered the Czech Republic.  Noticeably there were no panels filled with ads along the road.  Poland is littered with them, they're quite unsightly especially around Zakopane, they were everywhere.  In the Czech Republic they filled up the panels with the Czech flag instead of removing them completely.
The arrival at the bus station was a bit complicated.  It was dark, we were tired, we didn't have a map of Prague or any of their currency which is the koruna (1 $ equals about 17.64 czk) not the easiest conversion and frankly we haven't been really bothering.
The cab driver knew where the hotel was. The hotel is called the Park Hotel and it's a big, square, glass building, not at all what I expected but good enough.  It's not in the old town of Prague but there are plenty of old buildings around.  We were hungry and had Vietnamese food, not very good and too expensive for what we got.  There are plenty of Asian restaurants around more than in Poland but they all seem a little questionable.  We love Vietnamese food and after two experiences here we're not impressed.
The next day it was raining pretty hard.  I suggested we take a tramway to the older section of Prague but first we went for breakfast at a coffee shop.  Weird breakfast with cucumber slices, tomatoes, two stringy pieces of white toast, slices of ham and cheese plus some bocconcini like cheese and a croissant on the side....like I said weird although the coffee was good.  There doesn't appear to be any buses in Prague. The whole public system runs with these very efficient tramways on rails which is great since they're never bogged down by traffic.  We took number 17 which did get us close to old town but we continued on since it was still raining. Went all the way to the end where we had to get off and hop back on another number 17 going in the opposite direction.  Lots of Soviet era buildings in the burbs and an unbelievable amount of graffiti.  It's a pain in most European capitals but I have to say Prague has really outdone itself when it comes to tagging. Every available surface which can be tagged has been, even upright standing poles for electricity, doors to private buildings, buildings themselves, signs, fences, you name it it's tagged.  It's extremely distracting.  I suppose if you only go to the old part of Prague you might not notice this as much but it was hard to miss for us.  We did get off at a bridge into the old city which was again filled, to the brim, with tourists.  Lots of beautiful old buildings, shops which sell the usual "tourist" crap, restaurants, cobblestone streets but no big meeting area plazas like in Warsaw or Krakow.  We preferred those two cities by a mile and then some. Yes it was raining and shoving your way through masses of people with umbrellas is no fun but the mood of the place is off somehow, sort of sour.  It's not a shiny, happy place full of vim and vigor it felt aged and tired frankly we did not enjoy old Prague or the little we saw of it. The weather might have had a role to play but regardless of weather the atmosphere was not "sympathique".
In the afternoon, the sun came out.  I went out for a walk by myself. There's a sort of hush to the place, it's all quiet and subdued. Found where they shop for groceries, kind of small, poor selection of fruits and vegetables, the bakery section slightly bigger than our room which isn't very big.  The buildings appear to be somewhat neglected, the stores I saw were more on the rundown end of the scale.  I found a bustling place with second hand goods, mostly clothes for women. Went in and was not impressed with the quality of the stuff.  We sell way better stuff in our cafe in Ste. Adele, much cheaper too. They had coats for around $18.00 (more like jackets) we sell them for about $5.00 to $8.00.  In any case it was a popular spot.  I noticed a lot of bars. Stan loves the beer Pilsner Urquell one of the best beers around.  I tasted it and it is very very good.
I'm sure Prague might be a great experience for other travelers but in our case it just didn't do it.  Poland was definitely the highlight.
This will be the last entry for my blog.  I've written about Paris before, don't want to repeat myself. I've written quite a bit about France in general. There are many different entries in my blog including some film criticism when I got bored and wanted to write something.  Hope you enjoyed reading this those of you who took the time.  It's fun to write but it's also great to be read so thank you.