Prague, Bachelor-mania, Ryan the Aussie, and for their final appearance, Texas.

Hello friends,

    We rolled into Prague around 5 pm and immediately had to exchange our money so we could receive some Czech crowns. Basically I gave them 100 dollars and they gave me approximately 2000 crowns.  I felt rich as hell...not the case.  We hiked to our hostel "Oregon Trail style" because we didn't want to spend money on a tram or taxi.  It took us a good 30 minutes but when we arrived it was all gravy.  The hostel was wicked nice.  Our room was high-end hotel style.  We actually had a bathtub shower, only one, but had it none-the-less.  Our room was designed for 6 people but we lucked out the first night and got it for ourselves.
   We settled in, found the girls, and left the hostel in search of some nourishment.  The restaurant we found was nice enough but I have to say the food was sub par.  I did get to have duck for the first time though and it wasn't so expensive.  After dinner we headed back to the hostel, which again, had a bar in it.  There was a band setting up for live music so was stayed and listened to them, danced, drank, and met some new friends.
But, that just wasn't enough for our lady friends, so we started a game of truth or dare.  It wasn't the craziest game of truth or dare you've ever seen or played but when your in the middle of bar it adds another element.
   Jenn had to snort pepper through a 500 Czech crown bill, Mal had to dance on the bar furniture for everyone to see (earlier in the night than your typical drunk dance), Dylan had to use lime juice as eye drops, and I had to float around the bar talking to strange girls and convincing them to dance with me.  It was a silly little game but it set the mood for the rest of the night and we all really enjoyed ourselves.  That was also the evening we met the Scottish Bachelor party and met Ryan for the first time.
   The Scotts were a wild bunch of drinkers.  During their entire stay at our hostel they wore some of the most ridiculous clothes.  I sadly don't have a picture to show you but I assure you every costume was ridiculous. (the company who made their clothes was called "foul fashion")  They had goddy, multi-colored jackets one day, Ninja outfits another, and they were just plain hungover another day.  Those guys would start drinking at 10 am when we left the hostel and would not move from that table until 8 pm at night.  Their BAC was a constant .3. It was unreal.  We only hung out with them that first night during truth or dare but I'll never forget it. We also met Ryan the Aussie that night. He didn't play a major role at the time but he will return.

- Not only was there a scottish bachelor party but there were a good three other crews there as well.  All of them were celebrating their future marriage.  The reason we must make this a staple in our story is because of the ridiculous outfits these guys were wearing. Case and point.

Like I said, ridiculous.. Chains and whips will like him. 

    The next day in Prague was pretty mellow.  Mal needed a phone charger and my jeans were getting rather ridiculous and i needed new ones so we walked the city and went to the mall to take care of business.  We finished up there and headed back to the hostel, took a nap, and got ready for the pub crawl that evening.  From 10 to 11 we got free drinks before heading out to the first bar.  (re-enter the Aussie).  We had already met Ryan from the first night but when we saw him drinking alone the second night Dylan and I sat with him and chatted for a bit.  After some work, we convinced him to come out to the pub crawl with us and Texas.  Best damn idea we ever had.  This guy was a riot.  That first hour at the hostel bar was one of the best hours on the trip thus far.  The 5 of us had this wild dance circle going in the middle of the floor and the people around us couldn't help but want to join in.  The circle just kept growing and growing.  I can't express how much fun I had.  (Btw, I had my first two-steppin' lesson... Thanks Jenn...Soon enough I'll being throwing cowgirls around my hip and the whole shi-bang)
  By the time the crawl started I was feeling hazy but we didn't stop. We went to two or three bars, got free shots at all of them, danced, and met more people.  It was a great time and the Aussie made it 1000 times better.  If there is one guy on this earth that could make any moment a raging party it is him.  We never got to exchange information and I regret letting that happen.  (Ryan, if you ever happen to read this blog... Email me   ASAP)  The next morning I woke up broke....Dylan and I both did.
   The final full day in Prague was a site-seeing frenzy...kinda.  We spent our last day with Texas looking for some castle. I mean we seriously probably walked around for 2 hours or more looking for this "castle".  Do you know what we found? no castle.  Turns out when you get close the castle just disappears.  Mal, better known as Sacajawea is the worst Indian guide ever (sorry).  All was well though, we had a good time bull-shitting all day and walking around.  When we got back from our walking last night we all napped, again, and then met up for dinner, drinks, and a futbol match downstairs.There were so many people there for the game but after a few hours things started to clear out and we just played drinking games with the girls. Nothing crazy, just enjoying their company for one last night.

Jenn and Mal,

If your reading, thanks for the good times.  We had fun roaming random European cities with you and learning about your Texas culture, haha.  Every moment was sOO worth it, and I hope, one day, we run into ya'll again.  Never lose touch and take care of yourselves. You're very good people and a pleasure to be around.

Sincerly,
Your Friends,
Nick & Dylan

 

Berlin and the Texas Return

Hello!

  Berlin was a short and sweet trip, but worth every minute.  We got in somewhere around 7 pm.  The train was like 2 hours behind.  No fun.  All was made better when we arrived at our hostel.  The place was the business.  It was better than a lot of hotels, especially the one we had stayed in around Amsterdam.  Showers were roomy and there was always an open spot.  The rooms were a good size and had safes and outlets for all customers and yet again we had a bar with happy hour.  Not only that, but we also had free dinner every night.  The food wasn't gourmet but a healthy serving a free pasta is like the holy grail to us right now.  Then we hit happy hour for buy one get one free liters of beer...goodness.  Because we only had one full day in Berlin we picked the bartenders brain for sites to see and routes to take so we could absorb as much as possible.  He was a really chill Aussie musician and he was currently working on creating a tour for the hostel so he had all the information we needed.
 During happy hour I went out for a smoke and came across this beautiful Porsche.  I was just about to take a picture of it for Colby Gerau went the lights on the car went off as if someone had unlocked it.  Sure enough I see this group of guys standing close to me and one of them owns the car. I said, "your car is beautiful" he said, "get in it I'll take a picture of you and it". That's when I cried... Just kidding, but I couldn't believe it.
     Once happy hour was over we decided we would go for a walk around and check out the night life.  We didn't get too rowdy since the happy hour already did that for us, haha.  We spent a couple hours roaming around just taking in the city and talking about nonsense. When were returned we found Malory and Jenn in the lobby.  The rest of the night we drank some beers with them and talked about what we had been doing for the past few days.  It was nice to see familiar faces again.
   The next day the four of us walked around Berlin.  We checked out the wall, ghost stations, and had a hell of a meal.  There was so much culture and history in the city that we didn't even get to touch on a fraction of it.  Good reason for us to return one day!  The lunch we stopped in for was DELICIOUS.  Bratwurst, potatoes, and beer.  I can't stress to you enough how much I enjoyed that meal.  I got Dill pickle and the girls beside me and some seriously cultural food in my mouth.  I was happy as hell.
  As if I have to tell you what we did that night.  The four of us went to happy hour and then just didn't leave the bar in our hostel.  Our intention was to bar crawl, but we already had beer and a good time, so why leave? The night consisted of the four of us just learning more about each other, playing drinking games with German playing cards, and forcing the Aussie bartender to play mirrors by Justin Timberlake.  (Thanks for that Mal) We drank until bar close and then went to pass out.  We were all headed to Prague the next day and certainly didn't need anymore of a hangover than we were already doomed to get.

Amsterdam and the Hippie House

Finally... The moment you have all been waiting for... Amsterdam.

   Well, I hate to really kill the expectations, but wildly enough, even though it was great, Amsterdam, for us, was very mild.  I have never slept more in my life.....

  The train ride over was quite possibly the worst 5 hours of my life and Dylan can attest to how crappy of an individual I was during that time.  Brugge's last night with the band, Leo, and Andrea got me real drunk and I paid for it the next day.  After bitching my way to the Netherlands, we got to Amsterdam and walked around for a good 3 hours.  We found shops and "enjoyed the culture" before we even decided to find a place to sleep.  Our intention was yo couch surf via an online resource but all the people we got in contact with were full for the weekend.

Note: Amsterdam on the weekends is busy... Book your sleeping situation earlier..haha

   After regaining our logic it was about 8pm and we found a hotel online that could book us a room for really cheap.  The only problem was it was 30 min away, outside the city.  Good thing we have a Euro rail pass (thanks Jackie).  So what did we do our first night in the Amsterdam area?  We "enjoyed more culture" and watched Casino with Robert De Niro.  It was so nice to finally have our own room. We slept like babies.

The next morning we woke up refreshed and headed to our new sleeping quarters.  The Fly Pig Beach Resort Hostel, or something like that.  Still not in the city of Amsterdam, but the experience was awesome.  The whole vibe was really mellow and as soon as you walked in you had a feeling everyone there was enjoying some "culture" despite it being outside Amsterdam.  During check in, one of the receptionists main points about the hostel was, "this is the smoking room...you can smoke just about whatever you like in there", and that was that. We spent the next two days there talking to other guests, one of which was from Missouri, playing playstation, and sleeping.  It was glorious.  We regained some energy and some body fat. A very satisfying recharge.

Brugge and the Ecuadorian Mouse

What is up, my friends?

    Dylan and I have been tornado-ing through Europe and at last I have another chance to let you in on our adventure. We arrived in Brugge sometime last week... (I easily lose track of time and dates over here.) On the train to town we met a little, little girl named Andrea.  Cute as hell, so we took the time to chat her up and learn a little about where she comes from.  She was born in Ecuador and now goes to school as a Florida Gator.  She was a smart girl and is traveling alone which was the most surprising.  I mean, you can literally put her inside of her own suitcase.  We took the bus together and dropped her off at her hostel.
  After we left her to do her own thing we ended up getting lost in Brugge while we tried to find our hostel.  The funny thing is, Brugge is like a 30 minute walk from one end to the other.  Fail.... Despite our loss, we stopped and asked a local guy if he could point us in the right direction.  We had left the city walls, haha.  He was a nice guy and without hesitation said "hop in".  So, we got in this guys back seat only to find that his 1 year old son was just chilling in the passenger seat.  He gave us tips for Amsterdam and told us a couple of stories. Nice guy.  While we were in the car he plugged his nose and said "I'm sorry... I believe my son made a shit in his pants.."  I almost cried it was so funny.
  The Charlie Rocket is a bar/hostel and it is where we stayed for our time in Brugge.  You walk in and your in a pub.  Registration is the bar/bartender and the rooms are above.  Very convenient.  Once we got settled into our room we headed back to Andrea's hostel for happy hour.  1 beer for 1 Euro. Pretty good stuff.  We sat with her and met two guys from Portugal and drank the night away.  We all left happy our when the deal was over and headed back to the Charlie Rocket for the futbol match.  It was the local team playing so the atmosphere, as with all futbol games in Europe, was amazing.  When the game was over things got sloppy.  We met a Hispanic Belgian guy named Alejandro.  He was originally trying to get us to go to some party but we ended up sharing stories and lives and found out he and his girlfriend have been saving for 5 years to move to America.  This guy wants to head to California and make himself useful so he can gain citizenship one day and start a pastry/waffle business.  I don't know if we will meet again but I hope it is in Cali.
    Lastly, we met Leo.  He was our bartender. One big ass dude. He has been kick-boxing for the last 8 years so it made sense that he was so jacked.  At the end of the first night Dylan and I were the last customers, so Leo spent 20 minutes teaching us how to beat the snot out of anyone we wanted.  I hope I never need the information, but if I do, I hope it works.
    The last night in Brugge, or second night, however you want to read it, was just as exciting. We went to happy hour again at our new friends hostel and then returned to our bar for a concert.  The musicians were from New York and put on one hell of a show.  The lead singer was a girl and she tore it up.  You'll see her picture soon. Brugge was a diamond in the rough on this trip. Tiny little city with a lot to give back.

More to come...
Nick Ras