The getting-tired stage also arrived with Prague. But, I was going to be around for a whopping five nights, so I had time to recuperate. And, oh yes I was excited. I remember when Mum and Dad came back from Prague, Dad’s favorite attraction was, “Anish yaar, the women in Prague are so bloody beautiful.”

I then looked awkwardly at Mum and she reaffirmed, “Their skin is so white and so beautiful.” So, when your parents rave about the women of a city, you can’t really forget about it. I entered Prague and looked for these mystical creatures and maybe, I looked too hard. Anyway, so yes, the women are pretty and I was glad I was spending the extra time here.

All historic European cities have hints of similarity – the Old Town with its narrow stone roads, cathedrals with their spiky Christian stokes, the frugality of cars and the abundance of tourists, tour guides and cameras. Prague was no different. The Charles Bridge was spectacular but underwhelming, and the Castle was interesting, but castle-like. The city center was nice but all too familiar. There was this Jewish Synagogue with Moorish (Islamic) architecture to thank the Spanish Muslims for their generous hospitality. So ironic. Prague didn’t have the novelty bonus points that the first destination of my trip had. For once, my favorite part about the city was this non-Christian, unconventional structure that was just a wall. It’s called the Lennon Wall and it is amazing. It’s a wall full of graffiti, but with a lot history and significance attached to it. It stands for the freedom of expression and was a symbol for the Czechoslovaks during the oppressive communist days – every individual deserves the right to think differently. The wall was a tool for a peaceful rebellion that made the communists feel so impudent about themselves. It was whitewashed multiple times only for the graffiti artists to re-garnish it in the early hours of the day. They even had an officer on duty to make sure nobody paints on the wall. He stood around for two weeks and as soon as he was removed, the artists brushed away again. This wall never remains the same. It’s constantly changing as people from all over the world express themselves and commemorate what John Lennon stood for – the right to imagine. All this was like good music to me.

The most memorable, literally memorable sight I saw was the Bone Chapel at Kutna Hora. It was this chapel made of bones. Human bones. Thousands and thousands of HUMAN BONES. There were damaged glaring skulls and teeth and fingers and legs. These were bent and connected to make “creative” things like a coat of arms and a pyramid. There was a chandelier made out of every single bone in the human body, apparently. Pictures can’t do it justice. There is a difference in being there, around these bones, in this cave-like chapel with some solid negative energy around. What was the priest thinking while making this “creative” coat of arms from dead human bones?

The extra time gave me extra opportunities to do what I love doing when I am traveling alone – go on tours. I did the Free Walking Tour, the Castle Tour, the Kutna Hora Tour, the Beer Tour, the Pub Crawl and everything else possible. The Beer Tour was especially entertaining. I tasted 20 different types of beer including the incredible Chocolate Beer, this Rose Beer, some lagers, etc, but the best was the Pearla. Anyway, the purpose of doing all these tours is two fold. First of, I am no historic genius so I find statues and art useless without attaching any meaning to them. Once a statue has a (true-ish) story behind it, it makes a lot more sense and is a little more entertaining. And the second reason is that I get a chance to meet people. Oh man, people are so important. I met this Brazilian I am going to party with in 2014 when I go there for the World Cup, this girl from Houston, TX whose sister I know decently well because she went to UT, this possibly gay guy from Arlington,TX that is going to start teaching in Dubai, this Canadian girl who teaches in Dubai at the same school that the gay guy is going to be teaching at, a lot of Ozzies, a friend-look-a-like who also parties like that friend, a delightful young British couple and this six-month pregnant tour guide from Australia who moved to Prague for a Czech man she met in Dublin at 5 AM, hungover, and eventually ended up marrying. Awesome.

I also spent an evening with one of my favorite people from Texas who just happened to be in Prague at the same time as me. We got soaked in the rain, and sneaked into parks that were not welcome. So awesome.

P.S. Local beer = Pinsler =  tasty.