Prague August 25, 1991

While trying to find the birth certificate of my daughter this morning, I came across a postcard I sent my parents in August 1991 while traveling through Europe the summer after I graduated from college (cliche, huh?). My friend, Joe, and I had flew to Paris on Bastille Day, bought a Renault 5, and drove to Istanbul and back over seven weeks. Here is what I wrote on August 25, 1991:

Aug 25, 1991

Dear Dad + Mom, well well We are in Glorious Praha (Prague), perhaps, just perhaps the most beautiful city in the world. I don't know, it's a toss up between Paris, Venice and Prague. Well we arrived here last evening about 6:00 P.M., the trip from Budapest was uneventful, except for 2 hour delay at the border and we did get to go through beautiful Bratslava (yech!). We did eat lunch at a McD's in Gyor, Hungary, they even had a game where Joe won a large fries. 

Anyways we found private accommodations in the center of town here for a highway robbery of 35 dollars. The room did have a death-trap shower closet though for fun. We hit the center of town and were immediately accosted by "change money" guys, Joe told one to get lost. We ate supper at a Beer Hall place, it was ok but expensive for Prague (5 dollars each). We learned that what the Greeks did for salads fame, the Czechs have made salads unappetizing (they are some sort soupy cucumbers). 

Anyway we ended up trying to find a decent bar and little did we know it but we ended up in a prostitute bar (another scene out of a Bad Movie), anyways we left there and found a decent underground rock club. Today we found new, cheaper accommodations just by pulling our car up to the train station curb. We were immediately accosted by private room hawkers, we ended up having one guy getting in our car and showing us where the house was. 

Well I guess that's all I can write on this card cause I'm outta Room! Jay

A few observations. The postcard was sent from a country that no longer exists (Czechoslovakia - I was there a few years later on the night it went out of existence). I doubt that Prague has "change money" guys anymore since it is no longer an "eastern bloc" country. Even after 22 years, I could remember almost everything I wrote about, except the first place we stayed at. I think this shows what an impact this trip had on me - I still think about it often. And I went back to the underground rock club a few years later with my sister, Katie.