Hi, guys!
I hope you all are enjoying the blogs I have put up so far! I apologize this is a long one, but a good one I promise!
As I mentioned in the last blog, I decided to take a "wee" trip to Prague to see my old teammate from the University of the Sciences, Garret, play professional basketball. As I write this I am sitting at the airport in Prague to head back to Dublin.
To recap the trip, I'll start at the very beginning. First, I want to mention that being in Letterkenny makes it a little bit of an obstacle to get to the Dublin Airport. It is a three-hour bus ride. Also, I must admit that I don't like cutting it close when it comes to travel. I always get anxiety that I will miss the flight or something. So I like to leave a little room in case something happens. Anyway, being so far away plus my travel anxiety required me to get up at 4:30 a.m. to catch the 5:00 a.m. bus to the airport. Luckily, everything started smooth. I got to the airport with plenty of time, actually way too early looking back. Then, I boarded and landed in Prague with no problems. The scenery was definitely strange when I was landing. I was so used to the green landscape and mild weather in Ireland, but when the flight landed there it was white snow everywhere and it was freezing! I knew it was going to be cold, but man not like that!
Furthermore, I caught the shuttle from the airport to the train station. This is where it started to get a little sketchy for me, or so I thought. I didn’t know a single word of the Czech language, not even how to say hello haha! (In hindsight I should have done a little research on that) Also, I have obviously never been there so I was very unfamiliar with the territory. So I had to get from Prague to a small town called Kolin, where my buddy lives and plays, which is situated 35 minutes outside Prague by train. I was trying to figure out how to read the train schedule, I finally found the next train stopping in Kolin and got a ticket. The only thing is I didn't realize it was fast approaching, I only had a couple minutes to find the platform it was on. I ran through the station and found the platform just in time. I got on. Disaster averted. Once on the train, I began getting a nervous feeling, thinking what the heck would happen if I got on the wrong train haha! I wasn't seeing the name Kolin show up on the upcoming stops. However, it all worked out, a HUGE sigh of relief came across when I saw Kolin station outside! I met my buddy outside the station. I definitely felt a big weight being lifted off my shoulders once I met up with him.
The next couple days in Kolin were great. I got to see one of his practices; we went out to eat a bunch of times and just really had a good time.
On the second day, I decided to take a train down to Prague to explore more of the city while he had practice. It was fantastic. The sun was shining and I was able to walk around and hit all the main attractions the city had to offer. I was really blown away at how beautiful Prague was, it is definitely one of the nicest cities I have ever been to. After having some delicious Trdelnik and hitting the Charles Bridge, the astronomical clock tower, Prague Castle, and St. Vitus Cathedral, I capped it off with a nice cup of hot chocolate in a little café overlooking the entire city. Since I was by myself a lot of thoughts were going through my head. I just kept thinking about how lucky I am to be here. All that hard work on the court and in the classroom has taken me places I never thought I would go!
In addition, I got to catch one of Garret’s games. It too was awesome. I definitely miss playing with him, but it was great to see him doing well and still playing at a really high level.
After the game, we went back down to Prague and stayed in the city for a couple more nights. Overall, it was a blast, we definitely have some great stories for a while!
Lastly, aside from being great fun, it was a great learning experience going to a different country on my own, it definitely taught me a lot! I look forward to doing it again!
In addition, I got to catch one of Garret’s games. It too was awesome. I definitely miss playing with that guy! It was great to see him doing well and still playing at a really high level.
After the game, we went down to Prague and stayed in the city for a couple more nights. Overall, it was a blast, we definitely have some got great stories for a while! I hope to get back if I can!
Lastly, aside from being great fun, it was a great learning experience going to a different country on my own, it definitely taught me a lot!
äóäóäóäóäóäó
