Prague and Pearl Jam

7/5/12

I should have come to this realization on Day One but a smartphone or any piece of technology really is essential for traveling around Europe. It is quite depressing how pathetic my existence is right now. When I explain my situation to others they more or less stare at me in disbelief. More often than not they ask the same question in one way, shape, or form: How do you do it? Easy. I transform my mindset to that of 15 years ago. A time where cell phones were scarce and computers were cumbersome objects best left at home. I am the technology anarchist. If you're rubbing screens, you're rubbing away the experience.

This trip has transformed me in a good way. For the first time in history I might be the first Daniel to have successfully grown a beard. My attitude is more active than passive. I'm not afraid, yet I'm weary of greasy foreigners. My trip has become more or less a soul search in which I am coming to understand the definition of me.

Every day it is coming clearer than the previous. The hedonistic lifestyle which consumed me for the previous four years turned me into something I was not. I became complacent with the monster I had become and allowed it to do everything against my credo. That however has flown out the window on this trip and it is a wonderful change in my life.

Now that's off my chest I ought to surmise my three nights in this hooker of a city known as Prague.

My arrival into the city was on time into the station yet Matt Kelly was nowhere to be seen. An hour was spent waiting for him but no show. Finally I paid to use a computer and signed into Facebook. Sure enough a message from Matt was waiting for me. Tomorrow he had finals, his place was far from the city center, and it was probably best if I stayed in the city tonight then meet up with him tomorrow. Our meeting point was to be in the Old Town Square at 4 pm, after his exams or something. It was not what I had planned for but I've come to expect the unexpected in this place.

With time to spare in the train station I reserved a bed at the place I originally had booked, The Mosaic hostel. It cost me about 25 bucks for a bed in a six person room.

Tired of traveling, I just wanted to take a cab to the place, yet when I was told it would cost 29 euro I opted for the metro instead. A bunch of schemers these Europeans are.

I found the place and checked in around 9:30. there was a pub crawl starting at 9:45 so I hurried up to my room to shower and change. The room was nice. Plush comfy beds, A/C, and a bathroom en suite. Much better than other hostels I have occupied on this trip.

Showered, feeling, and looking fresh I went down to the lobby for the pregame. A Brazilian from Sao Paolo and I had a good long conversation. Then I met a guy from Buffalo and another Austinite. She went to Westwood and had recently graduated from UT. Can't remember much about those people once the crawl started.

We went to a pub that was a solid 30 feet underground. It smelled like poo and people were ripping indoor cigs. In there I met a couple dudes who graduated from Oregon and two Brazilian girls. Using my ever suave Portuguese we had a conversation consisting of English, Portuguese, and some Spanish.

We went to some more pubs and ended the night at a club. Unexpected rain soaked me at some point in the night. Thoroughly drunk and tired the Buffalo guy and myself cruised back to The Mosaic. It surprised me to discover the sun breaking upon the horizon. I wasn't alone to see the awesome glory of a new day. Clutched in my left hand was a tasty Doner kebap.

The rude reality of an 11 am check out sucked. I stashed my bag in a locker and thought I could get in a good power nap on the lobby couch. Two girls must had the same idea. They were curled up in their PJs with luggage nearby. Jealous and pissed, the notion of giving them a hard kick in the ribcage did cross my mind.

Instead I opted to go to the Franz Kafka Museum. It was cool and all and inspired me to read some of his work. Afterwards I walked up to the Prague Castle and across the Charles Bridge. The sky was looking grim and it was about 3 o' clock.

I metro'd it back to the hostel, grabbed an umbrella, and went to Old Town Square. At 4 on the dot I appeared in the square. No sign of Matt. An hour passed and I grew concerned, found an internet point with a phone, and gave him a call.

He told me how he really didn't want to stay in his dorm for another night and would rather split a hotel room. Fair enough, get your shit together and meet me in Old Town. I waited, it rained, I waited some more, and the next thing I knew another hour had passed. Went back to the internet point and called him again. I don't know what Matt's though process is like but for some reason he was at The Mosaic. Jesus, this is like trying to find Ross in Barca all over again.

So I finally met up with him at The Mosaic, but the place was completely booked. Instead we found an apartment near the Charles Bridge called Royal Residence for $40/p/night.

The place was a palace. It had 3 beds, a huge living room area with couches, and a tv with English speaking channels. Otto Swingler and his girlfriend Callie Kimbell were in town and we tried to sneak them into our apartment but we got caught. So we had to pay a little extra but with those two is ended up being cheaper still.

That night, July 3, we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant and met up with some of the UT people on study abroad. They were pretty cool and we decided to celebrate the 4th at a "beach" on the river. We went home early and got some much needed sleep.

We woke up pretty early yesterday. The bright sunlight and noise of Prague kept sleep and I at a distance. Otto, Matt, and I went to Bohemia bagel and ate some delicious breakfast sandwiches. We then made a stop at a world famous museum.

The sex machine museum of Prague is a must on the to do list when visiting the city. Some of the displays were so absurd it was hilarious. I couldn't stop giggling the whole time. Every imaginable object and machine derived from the human mind was there. We even watched a silent film porno. That was weird.

Otto forgot to buy Callie breakfast so I recommended the ham in Old Town that I ate yesterday during my 2 hour ordeal. Otto got ripped off and was pissed.

We then bought some booze and went to the beach. The rest of the UT folk were there save a few who went sky diving. The weather was nice and made for some good sand volleyball. My team won 2 of 3 matches and afterwards we celebrated by jumping into the cold, most likely polluted river. Matt had told some kid he could make a drink with our rum and when I returned the booze had been completely drunk. Greg was placed on my shit list for that stunt.

Towards the end of the day we packed it in and went back to the flat. That evening we had everybody over for a pregame. It was a really good time and I became jealous of everyone talking about going back home. There was still plenty of time remaining in my trip and lots of sights to see. Much of that night was a blur, but if I recall correctly we spent quite a bit of time searching for a good bar to post up at. Ultimately Matt, Leigh, and I wound up at the famed 5 story club. Leigh and I were dancing with drinks in our hands when hers slipped and shattered on the dance floor. I was laughing at him and not even ten seconds went by when the glass in my hand fell to the floor as well. Perhaps we were a tad drunker than we thought. By now people are pissed and glass is all over the place thanks to us. Time to bounce.

I awoke this morning and was running late for my train. However, I made it to the station on time for the 5 hour haul to Berlin. Talk about a miserable journey. Train cars in Europe make for great saunas. The cabin I was assigned turned into a sweat box the moment we started rolling. My seat was located next to the window, but more importantly next to the A/C vent. With such a primo seat I reasoned that, for the 5 hour train ride, I would stay cool. Au contraire, I sweated for the entire time. What little breeze which escaped from the vent was no stronger than me lightly exhaling. Then to make matters worse an old German woman boards the train and starts speaking to me, in German. No matter how many times I said, "nein spreckenzie deutsche", she kept on talking to me. Finally I threw my ear buds in and drowned her out for the rest of the ride. I'm sorry, the lady was probably being uber kind, but I was in no mood for conversation, especially in German.

The train arrived on time, the only positive comment on DB, the german train company, and I inevitably became lost looking for Hostel One80. However once I did find it I checked in, said, "hey" to the Aussies Max, Bruno, and Pat who were staying in the same room as I, and walked out the door for Pearl Jam.

En route to the o2 arena where the concert was held I met some other PJ'ers. They were from Newfoundland, Canada and had been to three other PJ concerts in Europe. We did some boozing outside the venue which also involved kebap. That delicious meat has easily been in over half of my meals.

Concert time was fast approaching so I split from the Canadians and made my way inside. Thinking ahead I used an old play out of the college tailgating book and smuggled in a vodka fanta mixer to save some money at the concert. Somehow I stilled ended up spending 18 euros on beer.

The concert was awesome. They played most of Ten, and plenty of old and new tracks as well. Eddie came out beforehand and even played a song with the opener. They played two encores in which "Alive", "Yellow Ledbetter", and Pink Floyd's "Mother" were all played exceptionally well.

Setlist: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/pearl-jam/2012/o2-world-berlin-germany-13df5955.html

As the concert drew to an end, the house lights came on and an arena full of stunned fans stood before me. Bravo Pearl Jam, bravo. The place started to clear out and I made moves towards the souvenir stand. My purchase included a tour t-shirt, sticker, and limited edition poster created specifically for that night.

With swag in hand, I walked through the rain along with the other concert goers. My voice was hoarse and after such a long journey I was ready for bed. For some reason the window in my room did not open completely and so I spent the night in a sweaty, delirious slumber. By now if the recurring theme of this trip isn't evident then you're not looking close enough.