A day that never truly ended

Welcome back! My apologies for the delayed post… I simply had no time to write yesterday! You’ll never believe everything I got up to in one day.

Generali Prague Half Marathon

My day started at about 5:30 am when I started getting ready for the Generali Prague Half Marathon. The race didn’t start until 10am, but I wanted to be extra early just in case transportation/lines got busy. Apparently, the expo was a mess on Friday, with people waiting over two hours for their bibs! I am so glad that I went early on Thursday.

Since it was early, I figured it would be difficult to find a place where I could buy white bread (the ultimate race day breakfast). For this reason, I chose to opt in to the hostel breakfast. I had some apple juice, bread, and espresso, and then headed out the door… approximately three times because I kept forgetting things!

Eventually, I made my way to the nearby metro station where I took the C line to the event area. From there, it was about a 10-minute walk to the technical area. I dropped off my bag and then spent the next hour or two just waiting around and observing the action. It was fun to see people from all over the world!

The time went by quickly, and all of a sudden it was time to line up. I could feel the adrenaline rushing through me. The Mayor of Prague gave a speech, the announcer hyped everyone up, and then BANG the gun went off. There were screens showing the elite runners starting the race which was pretty cool to see. They literally sprint the whole race! I can’t believe it.

Before I knew it, I was crossing the starting line. The race course was absolutely stunning, with excellent views of several famous sites such as the National Theater, Dancing House, Prague Castle, and Charles Bridge. Crowds of people lined the course cheering loudly and holding funny signs. I purposely didn’t listen to music during this race so that I could fully take in the atmosphere. It was so fun and gave me so much energy when I needed it most!

Something that I really loved about this course was how flat it was. Unlike other races and training runs that I’ve done, there were essentially no major hills at all. It felt very fast. I tried to find the balance between pushing myself a bit harder and conserving energy for the finish. I will say, it was a bit difficult to find that balance but only because I had started off the race with extremely fatigued legs and blisters on my toes thanks to my daily walks of 13+ miles. No regrets, though!

One unexpected feature of the course was the number of cobblestone streets. I had anticipated that there would be maybe one or two sections of cobblestone, but it was much more than that! It was more difficult to run on the stones, and I really had to watch my footing. However, each section of cobblestone made me appreciate the stretches of pavement 1000x more.

Throughout the entire race, I couldn’t stop thinking about how grateful I am to be able to run in such a magical city like Prague. It’s so inspiring to see people running together and cheering each other on from all over the world. This energy carried over into the post-race party.

After crossing the finish line at 2hrs and 7 min, I waited in line to get some photos taken. This is where I really started chatting with people. First, I talked with a German couple who had also just completed their first SuperHalf. We talked about how the race went and how excited we were to be starting the SuperHalf series. A man walked past us who had just finished his last SuperHalf, and the couple was quick to enthusiastically shout, “CONGRATULATIONS, MAN! THAT’S AMAZING!”.

Another photo opportunity included your race time, which was pulled up using the chip on the bib (pretty high-tech if you ask me!). The line took over an hour, but it was very entertaining because people would cheer every time someone’s time popped up. I couldn’t believe how fast all of the runners were! I saw a bunch of people who had run a 1:30 or so, which is under 7 min miles. Impressive!

As I was waiting to get my photo taken in front of the RunCzech sign, I got talking with the couple in front of me. They’re from Chicago! I was so excited to meet other Midwesterners. We had fun discussing our past and upcoming races. They run a LOT of races and actually organize a charity! Turns out, their next one was TODAY (Sunday) — the Berlin Half Marathon!!! They were taking the train back to Berlin that night. I couldn’t believe it. Two half marathons two days in a row?!?!

On my way back to the hostel from the expo, I thought to myself, “I can’t wait to shower and spend the rest of the afternoon lying in bed”.

HA. HA. HA.

Yeeeaaaaah right, girl. You really think you’d do that?! On your last true day in Prague?!

I had just gotten out of the shower and into comfy clothes, ready to climb up to my top bunk, when I heard a voice say, “Hello!”

I turned and saw that one of my roommates was standing there. I said “Hi” and asked what her name is.

“Sarah, and you?”

“Clara!”

Well, that’s easy to remember. Sarah and Clara!

I asked what she was up to the rest of the day, and she told me that she was headed to see a monastery in town. I hadn’t heard of it, but I was intrigued. Then, she asked if I wanted to go with her!

For about 20 seconds, I debated in my head… do I stay and rest? Do I go?

I decided to go, and I am so so so so so so soooooooo glad I did.

Strahov Monastery

It was past 5pm by the time we arrived at Strahov Monastery, so unfortunately, the library (which I had seen photos of before) was closed. Luckily, we were still able to see the inside of the monastery itself, though! It was gorgeous. The interior was filled with so many intricate details! I thought the ceiling was especially beautiful.

Someday, when I come back to Prague, I would love to visit the Strahov Monastery again and take a tour. It would be fun to learn more about what the murals depict, as well as the history of the place. And, I would love to see the library!

After we peeked inside the monastery, Sarah and I walked around the area. The views were absolutely stunning! We could see Petrin Tower (which kinda looks like a mini Eiffel Tower) and the wooded area surrounding it, as well as the colorful city buildings. It was just about sunset, so the lighting was perfect. The sun was shining brightly down on the city while the sky darkened. This will definitely be a moment that I return to when I need to calm my mind!

Since it was still early evening by the time we were done visiting the monastery, Sarah and I were planning to just walk back ~1hr to the hostel. We made it a few minutes down the hill when all of a sudden, Sarah stopped and said, “What’s that place???”.

hOST restuarant

I looked up a steep staircase to find a hidden Italian restaurant. Sarah and I looked at each other, shrugged, and said, “Well, should we try it?!”

From the moment we stepped inside, I knew it was going to be a fabulous dinner. The dining room was fairly small but had huge windows facing the Petrin Tower and the city. We were still high up on the hill, so the views were incredible. There were only a couple of other people there, so we got to choose where we wanted to sit. We decided on a table that allowed both of us to have a nice view, since the chairs just so happened to be velvet & cushiony.

Let me tell you, it felt niiiiiiiiiiiice to sit in a comfy chair after running all morning!

We took a look at the menu. At first glance, it looked like most options included beef or some other meat. There were several fish options, but they could only be served to 2+ people. I was so relieved when Sarah asked our waiter if there were vegetarian options!!! I was like, “No way… are you vegetarian?!”

She replied, “Well, I try to be, but sometimes I’ll have some fish”.

YAY! Just like me!

When we went to order, both of us agreed that sharing the sea bass as well as the black truffle pasta sounded like a good idea.

Before long, our waiter came out with the pasta. He asked if we wanted additional truffles on top. Of course, we said yes! He proceeded to bring out a scale and a mushroom. Sarah and I looked at each other with eyebrows raised. This was something we hadn’t experienced before! How fancy!

The pasta was to die for. We sat there in awe, speechless.

Although we were momentarily speechless from how great the food was, Sarah and I certainly did not waste precious moments in silence; we took the time to get to know each other better! We talked a lot about our travels, careers, and family/friends, but one of my favorite things that I learned about Sarah was that she has a pet rabbit named Esmeralda, who gets to roam the house freely because she is litter-trained. Apparently, bunnies live much longer if they are not caged. Esmeralda is already 6 years old!

Eventually, our sea bass came out of the kitchen. It was fresh — head, bones, and tail still intact. Our server showed us the enormous fish and then (thankfully) took it to another table to prepare it for us. I personally loved not having to debone the fish myself!

Once again, the food was phenomenal.

When we were finished with our dinner, the waiter asked if we would like dessert. As he listed the options, Sarah and I looked at each other and responded at the same time, “tiramasu!”. So, we shared that too! We also ordered some mint tea because, well, we couldn’t possibly have caffeine in the evening. We both wanted to go right to sleep after this!

The tiramisu was the best dessert I have ever had in my life. We agreed that it would be fun to make a candle or perfume scent that was based on the exact flavors of that dessert.

At this point, I was extremely impressed with the restaurant! Before leaving, I went to go use the restroom and found that they had complimentary HAND LOTION. I nearly cried. My hands had been so painfully dry, and alas, I found some sweet relief… for freeeeeeeeee!

So, I would rate this restaurant 1000/5 stars.

We were walking down the staircase and taking selfies when all of a sudden, I saw a creature in my peripheral vision. I said, “Sarah, did you just see that?!”

I truly couldn’t tell if I actually saw something or if I was just tired and my mind was playing tricks on me.

She said that she saw it too!

We walked to the bottom of the staircase and saw a small, black kitten. It walked right up to me and rubbed against my leg.

“Buffyyyyyyy?!?!?!?!”

I couldn’t help but think of my kitten at home. This cat looked just like him!

We continued our stroll down the hill, soaking up the serenity of this side of the city at night. There were very few people out, and even fewer cars, so we could just walk right down the middle of the cobblestone streets. The buildings were all lit up with warm-toned lights, which made everything look just a little bit different than in the daytime.

We took our time walking back to the hostel, stopping to take photos and wander through souvenir shops. Eventually, we reached the Charles Bridge. I hadn’t yet gotten the classic Depeche Mode photo, so we stopped for a little photoshoot. Some very kind people offered to take our photo and hold our stuff so that we didn’t have to set it on the street. They also gave us sweet compliments, which made us both light up! We commented on how the vibes of the city were extra, extra good for some reason.

At the end of the bridge, we were approached by a promoter for the 5-story nightclub nearby called Karlovy Lazne. She offered us a deal on tickets if we wanted to go to the club later. We said we would think about it. I said, “you know…. that does sound really fun and cool”.

The idea of going out was planted in our minds, but we still had yet to commit. We continued our journey back to the hostel, stopping next at a pub to retrieve Sarah’s scarf that was left there a couple nights before. 

P.s. if you’re wondering why Sarah and I hadn’t met until this night, it’s because she was at a different hostel in Prague! She hadn’t intended on switching, but we agreed after the fact that it’s kind of a nice way to see more of the city.

Okay, so back to the plot. We go to this pub, grab her scarf, and on the way out we see a man dressed as Lord Farquaad from Shrek. I was so tired that I didn’t notice he was wearing a whole costume… I kinda just thought he looked like the character naturally😂. We saw him again outside, and Sarah goes, “I wanna ask him why he’s dressed like Lord Farquaad. I’m gonna do it”. I , being more shy, was like, “are you really gonna do that?! Oooh umm okay!”

We traced our steps back. Sarah approached the man, while I lingered a small distance away. Within 10 seconds, he and his whole group were laughing hysterically, and we were taking photos of him and Sarah. They even acted out a skit of “do you know the muffin man?!” 

When we parted ways with Lord Farquaad, Sarah and I knew that we HAD to go out. We told each other some of our best stories the whole way back. 

Sarah told me that on this trip, she had accidentally leaned against the Lennon Wall and gotten spray paint on her jacket. She had such a positive outlook, though! 

“Every time I wear it, I’ll think of Prague and the Lennon Wall!” 

This radiating positivity carried us through the entire night. It felt as if every little input of optimism, happiness, and gratitude to the universe resulted in a return that was 10x magnified. 

For example, only minutes after Sarah approached Lord Farquaad, we were approached by a group of kind French men and invited to party with them at M1 lounge. 

We started making our plan. We would change outfits, go to a comedy show, go to the 5-story club, and then try out M1 lounge.  

We made it back to the hostel. Outside of our room, there was a painting of two astronauts with the saying, “I met you for a reason”. 

“Look, it’s us!!!”, Sarah exclaimed.

And that’s what it really felt like! The universe wanted us to meet. Because what are the odds that she would leave her first hostel to come to mine for ONE night before leaving for Berlin? And that we would run into each other in the room in the afternoon (nobody is ever there in the afternoon) right after my race?! And that we would have so much in common?! And that the city of Prague was encouraging us to go out together?! 

We enjoyed getting ready together (it’s the best girls bonding experience I think!) and sharing products with each other. I had literally one brain cell left so I put hand mousse in my hair. And then went to put body spray in my hands. LOL. 

I also felt the need to sit down, but didn’t want to do so in my bed out of fear that I would never get back up. So, I leaned up against the wall and slid my way to the floor. As I was doing so, I had a vision in my mind of the Lennon Wall. 

“OH NOOOOOO WHAT HAVE I DONE?!”

I jumped up and looked in the mirror. Dust was caked into my favorite red top. 

Sarah said, “don’t worry, we’re gonna fix this!”

As she was wiping the dust off of my back with her hand towel, we were laughing at the fact that we had our very own Dusty Lennon Wall😂. And the fact that nobody is even gonna know that I have a pound of dust baked into the back of my shirt! It was our little secret.

A wild night out

We made it out into the streets of Prague, stopping first at a mini mart for some Redbull and snacks for later. So much for that mint tea, huh?!

We were delirious and laughing at literally everything possible. For example, we made nicknames for each other based on the names of chocolate bars in the market. Get ready world — Infant Jesus of Prague and Corny Big Brownie were about to take on the city!!!!

Our next stop was at a bar called Origin to “warm up” with some music and drinks, but more laid back vibes. I ordered a double espresso, and Sarah an espresso martini. There was a DJ, and he was playing FIRE music! After a few minutes, Sarah turned to me and goes, “LET’S DANCE!!!”

We got up out of our seats and started dancing in the middle of the bar, despite nobody else doing so. As soon as we did, though, others joined. We ended up dancing there for four hours with the group of Austrians at the table next to us! They were celebrating their friend’s 24th birthday and had driven to Prague for the weekend.

In the time that we were dancing our hearts out at Origin, daylight savings happened. I looked at my phone and said to Julia (from the group we met), “how the HELL is it 3am already?!?!”

That’s when I learned that it was daylight savings. I was shocked! I told them that our daylight savings was already about a month ago, and they couldn’t believe it. I guess you learn something new every day???

Sarah and I still wanted to try out the club, so we convinced the group to come with us. What was supposed to be a 10 minute walk took like 45 minutes because we kept stopping, laughing, and telling stories! The Austrians taught us some inappropriate slang in German, and we made plans to meet up again in the future. I HAVE to go to Vienna now!!! I promised 👀

By 4:30am, Sarah and I were finally in the club. The others had decided to leave since they had to drive home the next day. The moment we stepped inside, we happened to meet some people from Sarah’s other hostel! We danced with them for the next couple of hours, testing out all of the different floors which ranged from Latin music to EDM. At one point, I looked at my phone.

“HOLY SHIT, SARAH!!! IT’S 6am!!! I GOTTA LEAVE!!!! LIKE NOW!!!! I’M GONNA MISS MY BUS!!!!”

I had pre-booked bus tickets to Karlovy Vary for a spa day, and the bus was set to leave at 7am. The walk back to the hostel was 25 minutes. To the metro was another 5 minutes. On the metro another 5 minutes. Another 10 minute walk. 

There was no way I was gonna make it.

We were standing outside of the club, waiting for an Uber to arrive. All of a sudden, I hear Sarah saying to some guys climbing into a taxi, “can you drop us off please?! She NEEDS to make her bus and she will not make it unless we come with you right now”

Well, that’s one way to solve the problem!

I didn’t have time to think about whether it was a good idea to climb into a taxi at 6am with strangers. Full send! We climbed in and gave the hostel address. It was WAY out of their way, but the guys agreed. 

The taxi driver started blasting house music and driving like a maniac. At one point, he tried to say that we needed to stop at an ATM so that the guys could pay in cash.

“We don’t have TIME to stop at an ATM! Do it after! She is GOING TO MISS HER BUS”

The taxi driver obeyed and kept driving. He even let us queue our favorite songs! As I was silently praying that our driver would not smuck a pedestrian going what felt like 50 mph, he was fist pumping the air. I guess he loves house music, too! 😅

The taxi cab was an entire clubbing experience in itself.

At one point, the guy next to me asked, “so, where are you going? Are you going back home?!”

“No, I’m going to the spa!”, I exclaimed.

That in itself was hilarious. Coming home at 6:30 am from the CLUB and being late to THE SPA?! The guy, Jeff, thought it was pretty funny too.

We arrived at the hostel, thanked the guys for saving the night, and sprinted to our room. Within 5 minutes, I was hugging Sarah goodbye and sprinting out the door to the metro station. Turns out, the ride cost our friends a small fortune, but they said that it was the highlight of their night and totally worth it. 

Who would’ve thought that I would nearly miss my bus to Karlovy Vary from clubbing so late?!?! On a day that I had already woken up at 5:30 am and ran a half marathon?!?! 

That’s all for now…Check back soon to hear about my spa day!

P.s. I will also update this post with more photos as I receive them.

Clara