Aw yeah, Cross Club, yeah!

I am doing a good job of ignoring the things I really should be doing right now. I have cleaned my room, done a bunch of laundry, cleaned our absolutely disgusting tub, took a quick trip to the grocery store...you get it. It's not that the stuff that I need to work on is really hard or that tedious, but I just don't want to do it, and blogging is more fun, anyway =)

Speaking of fun, last night was really fun! I got in touch with my friend Camille from middle & high school to see if she had plans for the night, and pretty much gave her no option but to invite me (sorry, Camille). I think it worked out well, though! We had a really great time, and it was awesome to get to catch up with her. There were so many things we did together in middle school that I had completely forgotten about! It was really fun to remember them together!

New friends!

So, first I headed to her place, which is only two metro stops away and really easy for me to get to. A friend from her college who is studying abroad in Scotland for an entire year was here visiting, so I got to meet him, too. We headed out to Bukowski's, a small and comfortable bar in Prague 3 to meet up with a couple of Camille's friends here in Prague. It was crowded, but had a really good vibe, and I think we will head back sometime soon for their free sangria ladies night on Tuesdays. That's a hard one to turn down.

Kovacs looks underwhelmed and I am too excited!

Not my picture

We then made our way to Cross Club, which I am pretty sure is in the middle of nowhere. It took us a while to get there, but it was definitely worth it. This place is crazy! I have never seen anything quite like it. Not only is the inside a labyrinth of stairs, floors, and rooms (or at least it seemed that way in the dark), but the whole place is covered in this crazy assortment of industrial-looking stuff.

Also, not my picture

It's pretty freaking weird, but really cool, and totally fits with the music they feature. On the main floor there is a bar area and then a separate room where the DJ is and everybody jams out and dances. So many people were just in their own little world, doing their own thing. It was really fun to just do whatever and not worry about being the weirdest one there, because there was no way you could be!

On da ceiling

Crazy decor

The dance floor & DJ before people really started dancing

When we first arrived, we got our drinks and ended up at a table with an American guy and his stepmom. I know, we thought it was really funny, too. But, the guy, Aaron has been traveling around Europe by himself for a while now, and when his parents told him they had a week off of work and wanted to come see him, he figured a week paid for by his parents meant an extra week for him in Europe. We talked with them about ourselves and what we do back home in the States, and eventually Aaron's dad and another guy came and joined us. We found out the the other guy was a random Czech dude that Aaron and his family met on the street and asked to show them around. The whole situation was just hilarious and fun! They were all super nice, and we had a great time with them!

Petr, Aaron, his dad, and his stepmom

We couldn't seem to get a picture with everyone's eyes open...

 Eventually, Aaron's parents headed out, and then Camille and Kovacs, but the rest of us figured we would check out another club. Petr led us to a place that means "heaven" in Czech right at Wenceslas Square, but we got sidetracked by the late-night (early morning?) food carts and ended up getting some cheap  (30 Kc or $1.50/NY size slice) yet delicious pizza. At this point, pretty much everyone wanted to go home, but Aaron and I headed out for one more drink. We were worried that every place would be dying down or closing soon, because it was nearing five in the morning. Oh how wrong we were. There is a place on Dlouhá, a street off of Old Town Square that houses tons of clubs and bars, called Harley's. Yeah, makes you think of a biker bar, right? This place is the complete opposite. We went in and down the stairs into the bar area, and this place was crazy! The whole place was packed with young, well dressed people and everyone was singing and dancing all over the place - floors, tables, the bar. The best part was that they played really popular mainstream 90's and older American songs that everyone knows the words to and belted out. Seriously, this place is great! I don't know if it is more of a touristy place (probably), or not, but I definitely want to go back, if solely for the facts that it is still ridiculously fun at the wee hours of the morning and that I can sing songs that I love really loud without fear of anyone actually hearing me.

Overall, this was a very successful weekend. Not only did I get to catch up with Camille, make a few new friends (and actually get their contact info), and experience some new places, but I also got some really great advice and had some necessary realizations.


Aaron has been traveling by himself for I think about a month now. He is my age, and is taking some time off from school (ivy league, jeez) to travel around Europe before heading back this coming year. I was absolutely amazed that he was doing this by himself and having a fantastic time. He stays in hostels usually, which really helps him meet and connect with people that he can go sight-seeing with, go out with, and take trips and make plans with. He told me, though, that when he is out by himself, he will usually just go up to people that he hears speaking English and introduce himself. People are usually really welcoming and excited to meet another traveler, and a friendship is formed, easy as that. This is such an obvious thing to do, and it's not like I had never thought about doing it before, but to hear that someone else does this, that it usually leads to friendships and people to spend time with, and that I should do it too, was so totally reassuring!

Once again, self, you just have to break out of your shell! Who cares is you make an ass out of yourself? The only thing worse than that is not trying!

Solid self-pep talk.

Anyway, I am really excited to have met Aaron and hear about his adventures, because it makes me that much more confident in what I am doing here. Once again, I am just dumbstruck at how much I am learning and evolving through my time abroad. Yesterday marked two weeks for me, and I cannot believe that that time has already passed. Part of this experience is definitely being alone and learning to become more independent and self-sufficient, becoming more confident in myself and with myself and in who I am without other people around, but I have also realized that a huge part of this is learning about other people, hearing their stories. Everyone keeps asking me why I am here, and I am not really sure yet, but I answer as best as I can, and when I ask them, they do the same. There are so many people that I come into contact with everyday and know nothing about, and I think just taking the time to sit and talk with someone new, learn about them, hear their story, helps me figure out where my story is heading, and where I want it to head. There is just so much that one person can do in their life, but it is overwhelming to think about that and realize that even if you live life to the absolute fullest, there are still so many things that you will not experience. Hearing other people's stories is inspiring me to get out there and live! I know that I have grasped this concept a little more each year, but I still am so self-inhibiting, so worried about what other people's reactions will be, or what the consequences of each and every little thing I do will be. It is hard for me to put this half-developed idea into words, but that was my best shot, for now. I will try again in a later post =)



Lastly, as a disclaimer, I just want to say that even though it may seem like I am enjoying the harder beverages here a little too much, I definitely am not. It is much more fun for me to enjoy my drinks and company and feel safe by myself at night when I don't overindulge, so don't worry, I am definitely not going crazy over here. But, on that note, I think Cross Club might brew it's own beer? Or, maybe that is just how they store it. Neat to put on display, either way! It fits nicely with the rest of the place =)

Thanks for checking in with me!