I love this woman. Johana had been planning something for my 26th birthday now for a month. She meticulously crafted and thought carefully about everything. Completely to my surprise, she had planned a full birthday party, with cake, presents, and friends. It was easily the warmest and most special birthday of my life and I will forever cherish all its details.

The party, however, had only just begun. Johana had to do it early because we had spontaneously made plans to leave Bernstein and travel to Prague for a few days as a holiday from castle life.

Vienna in the Morning

The easiest way for us to get to Prague, was to head up to Vienna and take transit from there. However instead of just rushing to Prague straight away, we decided to go very early in the morning to Vienna and spend a few hours walking around before our Prague bus.

So, crazy as we are, we scrapped ourselves out of bed at 03:00 so we could catch a commuter bus to Vienna.

Arriving in Vienna, Johana and I walked around the city early in the morning, just like Celine and Jesse in the Before series. We wanted some coffee, and I had read somewhere that Café Central in Vienna was a popular spot for famous historical figures like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Freud. Tickled by this idea, after walking around for a few hours, we went to share some apple strudel in Café Central.

Brilliant! After the cafe, we had to quickly stop at the post office to post a letter for a friend in China. Then, we were off to the bus for Prague.

Prague

This isn’t my first time in Prague. My first time was after my chapter in Levi during the winter. It was a very different period in my life, and my experience here somehow served as the nexus for all that has happened since. If I hadn’t had such a poor experience the first time around, I wouldn’t have come back to Germany, and I wouldn’t have met Johana.

Because of this, I had already dreamt of the idea of returning to Prague sometime with Johanna—both because of the beauty of the city, and because of its connection to my story. Upon arriving in Prague again, all the memories started coming back to me—good and bad.

For this trip, Johana and I primarily wished to visit the Prague Zoo and the National Museum. I also wanted to have more authentic Argentinian/Uruguayan cuisine. So that was our mission when we first arrived, as we were hungry.

After a bit of Googling, we found this hidden gem of an empanada restaurant: La Paisanita Žižkov. You’d never find this place unless you already knew about it. We went downstairs and were the only ones inside. The guy working there was amazing—this Californian who spoke Spanish with a thick American accent. He was very enthusiastic and entertaining as he explained the magic that goes into the empanadas.

We made our choice of empanadas, and I ordered a glass of maté tea. All that was missing was the Calabash con bombilla, and it would have been perfect. The empanadas were to die for, and the entire experience was delightful. Afterwards, we walked around the city in the evening before crashing back at our flat.

The next morning, after eating some English breakfast, we went to the National Museum. Besides the crowds, it was a great museum and a wonderful time with Johana.

We hunted around the city afterwards for some souvenirs, got caught in the pouring rain, and took advantage of the fact that everyone cleared out for some great pictures in otherwise super busy areas.

Getting back, we spent hours drying out our clothes with a hair dryer and got ready to go out for dinner. The place I wanted to go to (another Argentinian restaurant) turned us away, as it was too late. Everything else was also closing, so we ended up just getting a pizza. Never a good idea to think with your stomach, because I ended up asking for the “big” pizza—which turned out to be truly gigantic. Enough food for the remainder of our stay.

The next day, we set out straight away for the zoo. I knew it would make Johana happy to see so many animals, and it just sounded like a nice thing to do. We ended up spending pretty much the entire day there, and again—besides the crowds—it was quite nice. This time, with dinner in mind, we went straight to the same restaurant as the night before, and this time successfully got the asado!

That evening, we just walked around the city at night again. We got some churros, and some more great photos.

In the morning, we had our return bus back to Vienna. It was a much-needed trip for both of us. Life in Bernstein has left us feeling quite trapped and bored lately—though it is very peaceful. Soon enough, October will be here, and we’ll set out on a new adventure.