Praha

Italian tourists. I live in a perpetual cloud of italian tourists. Not the soft-spoken, friendly kind that I roomed with, but the loud, immaculately dressed, pushy kind that mysteriously light a cigarette in front of you every time you inhale. I know, I'm a tourist too, I'm sure I'm performing a number of really irritating Canadian things (like perpetually thanking people, they don't do that here), but why are they so loud and critical of my clothing?

Still, nothing could ruin Prague. This is a phenomenal city with an amazing history. So far I've spent my days touring the city (extra-touristy style), I won't get into the monuments and history because there's too much to talk about (plus you all have mad google skillz-Czech out the Zhukov TV tower. A communist monument hated by the people and decorated with creepy metal infant things silent-hill style). Old town Prague has just the right amount of broody atmosphere to balance an area lined with curious shops and fed by cheap beer (70 cent pints). The newer areas of Prague, where the tourists don't go, have a different atmosphere (Darker, more grafitti, way poorer, but still many interseting neighbourhoods). This is a town that spent years building a gigantic monument to Stalin, only to blow it up and replace it with the Worlds Largest metronome. You catch yourself going "is that a metronome, a big firccking metronome?" Yes my friend, it is.

I'd love to post some pictures (especially of the metronome) but all of the computers are tamper-proof. I'd need compter hacking skills or a Macgyver-esqe ability to fashion a USB port out of beer bottles and duct tape.

I've noticexd that whenever I say Canada, people either say "Vancouver?" or "Degrassi!" (demonstrating what amounts in my mind to two distinct levels of familiarity with Canadiana). It's amazing really, last night I found myself in a catacomb like bar (normal on the top, but 5 basement levels that each look like caves) being asked by a Scotsman whether I thought the new series lived up to the old one (Uh, No.). I'll have Canadian back up soon, as I meet up with Cam in a couple of days. Then probably off to Cesky Krumlov and the maybe Vienna.

Hope things are well back home, thanks for all of your comments. Did anyone notice that the second I started talking about giving metaphors the finger my Grandma posted (love you Grandma!). Oh interweb...

Mental note - when I get back I have to tell the story about fighting the drunken Chelsea fan who thought I looked like Dominique Monaghan.