Day Twelve: Welcome to Fairytale Land (Prague)… and puke
July 4, 2008
Today we said goodbye to Vienna and hello to Prague! And! to a new experience… namely (and in line with all of this talk about magical experiences), the experience of throwing up all over a beautiful town!
But let’s start from the beginning…
Leslie and I woke up in Vienna determined to do a few more things before heading out to catch our 1:30 train. The main thing we wanted to do was tour the Opera House because we heard it was so gorgeous and it’s such a big part of the culture here. But, we were afraid we wouldn’t be able to make the times work out. However, luck was (for about 5 seconds) on our side. We showed up and got in to the 11AM tour. Soon I’ll go through the pictures and add explanations, but right now I’m still feeling sick… so give me a break!
Suffice to say, one day I will definitely return to Vienna and watch an Opera there. Ideally I’ll go back when I have significantly more money so I can dress up for the occasion in a beautiful dress… and play princess for a night!
As for the tour itself, it was very informative and fun. Plus, our tour guide was super friendly.
After all that we hopped on a train to Prague. We got lucky (in one sense) because we got a super nice train for the ride. The bad news was that this train cost significantly more than all the other ones. But, it was the only option we had, so we sucked it up and paid.
While closing in our Prague Leslie saw lighting out her window! And, sure enough, it was pouring rain in Prague (yay!!!!). Leslie and all the others seemed upset, but this confused me. Am I the only one in the world who recognizes that being in the heat is like being in hell? With humidity saved for the deepest ring?!
Once we arrived I was feeling, officially, like crap. My stomach felt a bit weird and my head hurt and I was tired and it was no good. But, I’m a trooper! So we made our way to the hostel and then decided to walk around a bit. As luck would have it, there was a marionette show playing at the time. And not just any marionette show, but Don Giovanni – originally created by Mozart for presentation in Vienna! How perfect! So we got tickets and watched the puppets (which were awesome). Part of what’s so neat about marionettes is that they incorporate playfulness and child-like imagination into theater.
Sadly… I was not feeling so good. After the intermission I told Leslie, “Leslie, if I just get up and run out, then remember that I’ll come back for you. I will have just needed to throw up and then I’ll be better.” Luckily (I guess) I made it to the end of the performance and about 20 feet down the street before I started puking in a trash can (classy, huh?)
After that I was feeling loads better and Leslie really wanted dinner. So we ended up sitting down right across from the Astronomical Clock Wizard’s tower for some food. By the time we made it there the next cycle of puking hell had arisen in me. I ended up ordering a cup of chicken soup and had, oh, 2 spoonfuls. Again, I tried to be a trooper. But by the end, the smell of Leslie’s food was too much to bear. I threw money at Leslie, told her to pay, and then made it about 20 feet down before projectile-puking all over the main square area. I was so embarrassed.
After that disaster, Leslie found me and we headed back to the hostel (after getting lost about 15 times, which, when not sick is slightly a pain… when sick, it’s just plain-out no good). When we finally arrived and laid down, the guy in the bunk bed down from me started talking a bit. Turns out he’s into AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Robots! He’s a PhD dude up in Canada. It was so funny – Leslie left me in the room for five minutes and I was totally quiet (well, not quiet… I was sort of moaning really) she comes back, I’m sitting there debating this guy on questions of consciousness. Granted, I wasn’t on my A-game and had to leave early for fear of puking again, but seriously, that was pretty neat. It’s always nice when you and some random person have some small thing in common. You’d be surprised how long a conversation can go on, on so very little!
After that I totally laid dying on my bed with a trash can next to me… hoping I’d be miraculously healed by morning.
We’ll have to wait and see…
But in the meantime, you can see the pictures from today here
Comments
2 Responses to “Day Twelve: Welcome to Fairytale Land (Prague)… and puke”
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Heather, so sorry you are feeling ill. If you get this in time, go to the hostel and ask for a pharmacy. Tell the pharmacy people what is gonig on and hopefully they can give you an over the counter something to help. Even Pepto would probably help. Take care of yourself!!!
XO,
Melissa
Oh! I hope you feel better, Heather! The marionnettes sound really neat. I loved the video of you guys on the swing. What a fantastic trip you’re having. Just no more cookies and coke
Love you! (I want to go to the baths - that looked great.)