Happy Birthday to Me!

AS ALWAYS, ALL OF MY PICTURES CAN BE FOUND AT www.flickr.com/photos/jamierushell
I've always said that Prague is my favorite city, and it's still up there on the list, but it just lost it's title to Berlin. This was my third time to Berlin, and every time I go I find something else to do and learn something new about the city. I took a bike tour one day that shows you all the "major" tourist sites and there's so much culture and history, but it's all so recent! You can talk to people who remember when the wall fell and you can still tell the difference between east and west Berlin. I also took an alternative Berlin tour, which I think is something everyone should do if they make it to the city. It shows you so many things you would completely miss otherwise! We saw a lot of local graffiti artists - did you know that Berlin has both the longest (Berlin wall East Side Gallery) and the biggest (Tacheles - google it) graffiti canvases in the world? We happened upon a punk protest/sit-in (in case you ever need to know, the first step to world wide revolution is beer) and saw the Turkish slums - they literally live out of Soviet trucks and vehicles that had been abandoned! And almost next door the Space Beach that I always tell people about is a Reggae beach called Yaam that's way better than Space Beach! There was so much more I wanted to see, too, that I didn't get the chance to. That's ok; it just means I'll have to come back again. I got to Prague the day before my birthday sick as can be - with seriously red and swollen tonsils, a pounding headache, and a fever that was sending me from hot flashes to chills and back again. My first two days, including my birthday, were spent lying in bed feeling sorry for myself. I did make it to the hospital my third day, where I was seen by a very nice nun who spoke no English whatsoever. With the help of charades and an interpreter who was "not so premium with the English" (if you've ever seen or read "Everything is Illuminated", he reminded me of that guy) we determined that I had strep throat and did manage to get me some antibiotics. Since then, Prague has been grand, but it has lost a bit of it's magic for me, I'm afraid. I decided to officially change my birthday this year to Friday the 13th, and my new friend Suzanne came out to help me celebrate. The plan was to start with a quick drink at a bar called the Shadow Cafe across the street from the hostel and then go to the town square, but when have I ever been one to stick to my plans? We ended up meeting a group of English guys over on holiday, and one of them was celebrating his birthday, too. After a few drinks at Shadow, we moved on to Cafe Ujezd, the bar two doors away, where we stayed for the rest of the night just having a good laugh. When we realized it was getting light out, Judge, Gaz, Laurie (3 of the Brits), Suzanne and I walked down to Charles' Bridge for sunrise, which was absolutely beautiful - and that's the only time you can see the bridge empty of tourists. But of course, that's when my camera had to die on me - I'll have more photos once other people send me theirs. I have been seeing the sights while I'm here, but it's been ridiculously hot so much of my days are usually spent lounging in the shade at the park or with my feet in a nearby fountain. The old town square is really beautiful, and the astrology clock is worth seeing - all these figurines come out and dance around, and a skeleton tolls the bell. It's actually a bit underwhelming, but when you think of it in the context of how technological it was for it's time, it really is quite impressive. Tomorrow I'll be going to see the bone church just outside of Prague - a church who's inside is decorated with the actual bones of 40,000 people! Then it's off to Bratislava in Slovakia! I haven't a clue what there is to do there, but i"ll let you know when i find out!