Ride-sharing to Prague

I left Berlin two weeks ago (playing blog catch-up again) after twelve excellent days. I was very lucky to be able to spend that much time there, and might have stayed longer if it hadn't been for a fellow traveler going to Prague that day. Kari, from the Washington, D.C. area, was on a two week trip so, unlike myself, time was of the essence for her and she needed to make the most of it. We met at the hostel in Berlin where we were both staying (I have to put a plug in here for the Riverside Lodge hostel in Berlin. Small and comfortable, located in a great area and the owner Enrico is an excellent guy who takes great care of his guests). I had been planning on going to Prague after Berlin so Kari and I decided to hit the road together. Kari introduced me to mitfahrgelegenheit, which is a free ride-sharing service (as well as fun to say...once you can). People traveling between cities post their info on the website, you contact them, pay them a pre-set free, and voila: the driver gets money for gas and you get cheaper-than-a-train-or-bus travel. Since Kari had done this before, and spoke a little German (not to mention she had a phone, and I didn't) she made the arrangements - securing us a 20 euro (each) ride to Prague (which is a bargain).

Prague. Everything people say about this city is true. Visually stunning. The "poor-man's Paris". There were only two negatives about our three-night stay: First, the crap hostel we stayed at the first night. After the Riverside Lodge, the A&O Hostel in Prague left a lot to be desired. Like character, a good location, and a single staff member who knew how to smile. Well, it was clean - I'll give it that.  We toughed it out the first night, before moving on to the comparatively Hilton-like St. Christopher's hostel. As close to a hotel as a hostel gets. Second, I encountered the first really crappy weather of my trip - very rainy and cool. But Prague still shone through. Highlights included:

• the two excellent (though wet) walking tours we did on Saturday and Sunday. 
• eating dinner on the Friday night - before the rain set in - on a terrace just beneath the open windows of a building where a Mozart performance was taking place.
• a very fun pub-crawl on the Saturday night. Well, until I had that blue shooter - which was the size of two shots, actually - which I think had Absinthe in it. I was holding it together until then. Then, my evening was over. 

Grey and rainy, but Prague still looks good.