Day 20 - 21st July, Poděbrady

After a lie-in and breakfast at the cukrana (technically a patisserie which sells sandwiches), S, Sheffield!Nic and I decided to see if we could hire roller skates. Unfortunately, despite finding a hotel where we could hire the skates, they didn’t have enough pairs, so we grabbed T, and went for a walk instead. We walked to the nearby town of Kluk (which translates as “boy”), passing by a tiny chapel on the way which was hosting a photo exhibition of everyday life in the Czech Republic and a restaurant that looked like it had been lifted straight from the Swiss Alps. When we arrived in Kluk, we visited the local graveyard, which was incredibly well-maintained, which I found surprising given that 60% of Czechs are atheist.  On our walk, T and I talked about universities and periods of study in our respective countries. Not only was it interesting about to find out about higher education in another country, but it was really encouraging to see how much my Czech has improved, as there’s no way I would have been able to have had that conversation three weeks when I first arrived. 

We met up with the boys in the evening, (Mike and Jones had been on a trip to Kutná Hora and Misha had gone to Prague) and after dinner headed to the Irish Pub. What followed was hilarious. In between rounds of whist, we drank local wine and beer and finally bedarovka, the Czech spirit. Becherovka has a strange herby taste, which I only find nice once I’ve started drinking. Give it to me sober, and I hate it. When we left in the early morning, Misha’s English had deteriorated and Jones and S were decidedly worse for were, Jones to the extent that Misha and Sheffield!Nic forced water down his throat when we got back to the hostel until he convinced them he was sober enough to go to bed. However, he told us the next morning that instead of going to bed, he decided he was still too drunk, and had proceeded to wander around Poděbrady in his pyjamas. Meanwhile, S had dumped her handbag in the shower and completely stripped before getting in to bed. I’m kinda glad I’m merely got into my pyjamas and gone to sleep.