All in an entry

Right now, I am writing from the hostel in the Czech Republic's capital city, Prague. I must say this is one of the better ones we have been to so far. I like the room. It is spacious and comfortable (R said it is because I am claustrophic, hence big rooms appeal to me. Well, maybe.) The only bad thing is that there is no kitchen. There is a kettle though, and I am really thankful for that. For the past two hotels we were at, there was no kettle (and hence, no hot water when I needed it!) Anyhow, we were hoping for a kitchen (as most hostels would have kitchens) because we were hoping to cook sunny-side ups for breakfast! I guess hard-boiled eggs will do just fine.

In contrast, the previous hostel was the worst we have been. We were in Cesky Kumlov, a town south of Prague which is also an UNESCO site. Hostel M*** housed us in the attic and I knocked my head twice in a night because of the slanting roofs. Plus the staff wasn't especially friendly. That is not it! The worst is, the room (and the bathroom!) smelt of sewage. R said it was from the river outside. I don't know-rivers aren't supposed to stink, are they? Well, I guess we can't complain much since we only paid 9E per person, the cheapest so far. Although if you ask me, I will say this experience will make me think twice about a cheap deal-I definitely don't want to risk a concussion over some savings.

We managed to attend Mass for the past weeks that we have been here but apart from one young Hungarian priest who could muster "The body of Christ" in clear English amidst the whole jargon of Hungarian, all other Masses have not been in English. Apparently, English Masses are only for tourists, so for example in Salzburg, there are only two English Masses in the whole month. It is rather amazing though-75% of the population is Catholic in the cities that we have visited and churches can be located as closely as 50m to each other! Just imagine the bells that ring continuously one after another!

Apart for all these happenings, the weather has been weirdly unpredictable. I have always imagined that Summer is just about sunny days! Guess I was wrong. A few of our travel plans were thwarted because of the rain. For example, when we were travelling from Salzburg to Hallstatt, we were told that the railway lines connecting a few stations were closed because of some mudslides and we had to take a bus connector instead. That stalled up all the plans. When we were leaving, the railways were amazingly restored and we didn't even know! (Of course, neither of us spoke or understood German!) So we ended up missing a pre-booked vehicle and arriving at our destination four hours later.

The thing about Eastern Europe, if you ask me, is that it is really very authentic and exciting. I enjoy the thrill of gesturing and muttering bits of Hungarian and Czech (and trying to sound like one) and finding my way around the unfamiliar surroundings. But that in itself can be frustrating sometimes-I think I finally can emphatise with the Amazing Race participants who lost their cool at their teammates.