how living abroad has (somewhat) ruined travel for me

So Prague is beautiful. I mean, it's really incredible. Lots of Old World charm and romance. and I was strangely unmoved.

I couldn't figure out why, so in talking with Heather and Austin, we came to the conclusion that it's not as exciting now to travel to places as a tourist as it is to live in a place and really experience it. So I was incredibly grateful to come back to Budapest! although because it was a Hungarian holiday, we heard Hungarian literally everywhere we went in Prague -- we even got to practice a little! It was great fun to speak English in front of a group of Hungarian tourists, and then casually throw in an "oh, excuse me!" in Hungarian as you walked by! They were so confused.... :) Austin and I made a habit of trying to translate people's conversations as they walked by; we did surprisingly well!

Anyway, aside from the fact that actually living someplace is a lot cooler than being one of the crowd touring it, Prague was a lot of fun. Highlights included the picturesque Charles Bridge, a beautiful Gothic cathedral, and the famous astronomical clock. Crowds gather there every hour to watch the display -- although while we were there the crowds had to disperse because of the hail! Yes, hail. Did I mention that the weather has changed drastically in the last few days? It's like we went from the beginning of fall straight into winter. We even saw some snow on the road. And so it begins. sigh.... anyway, I was incredibly grateful to be able to go. Lisa's friend graciously allowed us to stay for free, and the five of us were able to split the rental car and cost of gas for much cheaper than a train ticket, so we toured Prague as cheaply as possible. It was a great time!

Sadly, my camera batteries have basically no charge left in them, so I'm relying on Heather for pictures. As soon as I can steal them from her, I'll post some!

Until then, here's a picture I stole from the internet. It had about 300 more people on it while I was there, but it gives you a good idea!