Radost and Obama (I wish I could combine the two!)

Radost was awesome. The music is great, the crowd is friendly, and the place itself has a nice set-up. I'll definitely go back. Tiago came along and we had a great time hanging out as usual. I kept losing him but then we'd find each other again :) One time I lost him for a long time, maybe an hour or so, and I was up on the balcony dance area, and I looked down to see him dancing on stage with three girls. So at least he wasn't alone or bored :) Life really wouldn't be as good as it is if Tiago weren't in it.

I made a friend named Ziggy and he is pretty darn cool. We're probably hanging out tomorrow. I also spotted a guy in a STEELERS JERSEY, wearing a PITTSBURGH HAT. I had to go over and say something. I asked if he was from Pittsburgh and he said, "Yeah I am, are you??" I said, HELL YEAH!! and we hugged :) He was wearing Santonio's number. Turned out he's from Wilkinsburg and in Prague for just a few days. We didn't talk much after that but we were happy to meet each other :)

So we stayed at Radost until around 6am, then headed back to Andel so I could change clothes real quick and get my purse. We left Ziggy and David (our new friends) at that point, and headed down to Old Town Square. We got some breakfast (which was way too expensive - 430Kc for two omlettes, some cold bread, a juice, and a tea. That's a little over $20 - ridiculous. Especially when a few hours later we were at the area where Obama was speaking and we got really nice sandwiches for 40Kc, which is about $2. Whatever, man. All I can say is, when you've got a tummy full of long island iced teas, you will pay whatever it takes for some breakfast food. :)

Anyway after breakfast we headed by tram over to where Obama was going to speak. Good thing I didn't make my sad little sign. Why I was naive enough to think that the crowd wouldn't be that big or that I might be close enough for him to see me is beyond me :) The crowd was HUGE. We had to go through security to get in there, which took forever. We got there right around 10, when the speech was supposed to start, and got some spots in the grass (and omg, it felt soooooo good to sit, because we'd been walking or standing for hours) in front of a huge screen. So, while we couldn't actually see HIM, there was a really cool feeling all around. Everybody was excited, lots of Americans showed up along with people from every other country you could imagine. Everyone clapped, cheered, hooted and hollered, though I was the only one singing along to "God Bless America" when they played it at the end. I did not care and proceeded to whistle it the rest of the day.

The speech itself was great, but I really thought the whole thing would last longer. I feel really good though. There were a lot of times that I was tired and sore and just wanted to give up on the plan, and now I'm so glad I didn't. I was there to support my President in Prague, of all places, and got to witness his first speech to the public in Europe. And just seeing him live, right there, was so freaking COOL.

The trip home was rough. We got a little lost in the tiny winding streets, but we knew since we were near the castle we had to go downhill. So we did, and ended up in this funny little valley with a HUGE wall (pictures to come later). There was the option of walking up another very steep hill or taking some very rocky steps. We chose the steps, and the view once we got up there was amazing. I took a tiny little nature walk (I was actually walking along the top of the huge wall) and could see a lot of houses and rooftops, and the castle off in the distance. Gorgeous.

The trams were absolutely packed, and the number 22 we got on, not to be gross, but really smelled like somebody did number 2 in his/her pants. Everybody noticed it, people had their hands over their faces, etc. It was tough but it was either that or wait who knew how long for another packed tram. We got into town, transferred to a number 12, and finally made it back to Andel. I said byebye to Katy, went back to my hotel room, and in the proverbial "before my head hit the pillow" I was asleep.

And I don't think I moved an inch for about 5 hours - I never slept so well. I forced myself to get up so I can actually sleep tonight, watched a little TV, had dinner, e-mailed my mom, and now I'm very excited to go to sleep again :)

And that's all! Great weekend :)