Czech shoes

So... I am losing my mind in Europe. We arrived in Prague a few days ago, obviously, and I thought I had lost my shoes in Munich (left them under the bed when leaving). It didn't really surprise me, because I was planning on wearing my slippers the whole train trip, so the first thing in the morning was on with the slippers, pack quick, and off to the station. The shoes were (supposedly) still under the bed. So... we get to Prague, and I walk around for two days on the slippers- not the best footwear for the terrain, with the old cobblestone, big hills, and castle-nastiness. Today, broke down and bought some Czech shoes. Nice shoes, actually, I think they look pretty cool. Back at the hostel to grab some socks, I reach under my sleeping bag (buried at the bottom of the pack, which has been buried at the back of a locker since we got here) and... what do you know- shoes. My old shoes, still wet from the fountain in Munich. (this is Aud adding-I actually found them on the top of his sleeping bag-not even hiding at all. I figured he would look in his bag before he would be new ones!) (But in a part of the bag I hadn't opened since before we left- Brian!) Awesome. I looked all through my bag, but didn't think to check in my sleeping bag. Naturally, as soon as I found them, I remembered putting them there, but... I don't think I can (nor could I, given the rather fantastic language barrier) return the Czech shoes, so- new kicks.

Today, they worked well. We wandered all over the city, first to the shoe store (housed in a monstorous seven-story "supermarket"), then down to the south. Took in a local freeride shop, and talked to the owner for a while- Him: "You know Transition? I like the Bottlerocket!" Me: "Really." Pretty cool guy, but apparently the small bike stores are having a really hard time getting new riders over the age of 18 or so. Freeriding is mostly illegal in the country too, and the only ski area to offer it in the summer was shut down for a few years. So, he complained about competing with internet sales for a while, and I drooled over the new forks (Norco and Kona, mostly), and then we left.

We then made it to the older castle in Prague, Vylskevsky (or something like that), which is really just a tall plateau, with massive brick ramparts on the side. The top had a cool Art Nouveau cathedral, and Jan Naruda's grave, so that was interesting. Got some pics, but they are on the big camera, so we can't get them off to post.

We finished with laundry, a much needed exercise. Expensive, but I guess it usually is at laundromats. The "helper" lady got us through the weird symbols, and we were off.

Tonight is Germany v. Croatia. We're making spaghetti for dinner, and just cracked a Budweiser (the Czech version) and it's tasty! Really! So... America got screwed on that one. It's not legal to sell in the US because of copyright (and visa versa for the US Bud). Too bad for us, good for the Czech's.