In Prague, Beer is Cheaper Than Coke.

Yes, my friends, it is.
Also, Ariel says "hi."
Anyways. 0.2l of coke is 40 koruny (sp? anyways, prague dollars) and 0.3l of beer is 30 prague currencies. So, coke is twice the price of beer here. Which is fine, because I donªt really drink soda and this is the first place that I have been able to justify having a beer.
A few nights ago Ariel and I ran into this guy that we hung out with in Amsterdam and so we hung out with im again and we all commented on what a small world it is etc. it really is such a small world, but not in the "small world" sense so much as there is a rather select group of people who:
A) Like to travel
B) Can AFFORD it
C) Stay in Hostels
D) Travel specifically in Europe
and E) Can travel in September.

So, we really shouldnªt be that surprised.

Everyone but one girl in our hostel room is from the states, specifcally the western US; we have Alaskans, a Hawaiian, and someone who was living in Nevada.

Prague itself is lovely and was warm and sunny for the past two days, and then today the other shoe and the temperature dropped and it was chily chilly chilly. Once more for emphasis: chilly. Which was ok if surprising because the sky was still bright blue and so I couldnªt (and still canªt) figure out why it was so cold. It was like cosmic-all-powerful being suddenly realized that it was September, said "oops!" and hurriedly turned the thermostat down. Every time I walked out of a building I shivered and put my jacket and my sweater back on (which is exciting becaue I found myself a hunter green, plaid, wool-ish, bomber jacket at a flea market in Amsterdam and I like it lots. Itªs almost like having a new toy.

Today Ariel and I went to Prague castle which is huge and pretty and expensive, about 475 Prague units. Which is €19. Which is $25-ish. I can afford it because the hostel is about €9 a night (weªve been paying about €20). I now know some quite random crap about Pragueªs history because of the super-dense audiogiude that I rented, and couldnªt absorb. I know that St. Wenceslas is considered the true ruler of Prague and that somehow Prague became Episcopal in the 8th century (which is strange, because I could have SWORN that the episcopal sect (?) was invented later than that, but then my parents donªt call me the family heathen fer nuthinª.

The real star of the show, thoug, were the little coffee machines that were sprinkled around the castle. I love them. Ohhhh so much. You put your ridiculously small amoutn of money in, then a little plastic cup pops out of the machine and proceeds to fill with your choesn beverage (or, as in my case, whichever Czech gobbledegook seems to fit your mood) and then you slide your super-sweet, fragrantly steaming, excessively warm mystery beverage from itªs track and sip it. I had a mocha (I think) and a marzipan cappucino (I think, I gathered this flavor from the coffee machine in the hostel, which is in English). The coffee dispenser in my hostel also dispense 10 prague-ies worth of soup. I donªt know what kind of soup it is, or even if it is soup, but Iwill try it and get back to you. I promise. Unless it really is soup and kind of dull soup, at which point I may decide that the soup is not worth posting about.

I am going to go try the soup and let someone else use the internet right now, so, more later.