We flew into Vienna late after a short stop in Moscow to change planes. Not wanting to pay for a hostel, we found a quiet space in the airport and began to lay down for the night.

A nearby janitor, seeing us set up, came over to sweep the floor and I couldn't help thinking that I liked this place already. After a few hours, we got up and hopped on a bus into downtown Vienna. We got dropped off by the river as it began to rain and started walking. Every building was a masterpiece and the streets were almost empty in the early morning. We curled around the cobblestone streets for hours until they became crowded, stumbling on an incredible cathedral and old Roman village ruins.

We walked all over town before checking into our hostel for the night. There we met Nick, who happened to be from Connecticut, and Christina, a German girl studying to be a brain surgeon in Vienna. The four of us decided to go out an grab a traditional Austrian schnitzel which is a thin piece of pork, chicken, or more traditionally, veal, fried.

The one we found was pork and came in portions big enough for four people on one plate. It tasted a lot like chicken strips and the waitress gave us an interesting look as we asked for to-go boxes. Apparently taking away your leftovers is not really a thing here. After, Christina took us on a walking tour of the city just as the sun was going down and the buildings were beginning to light up. It was incredible. She then showed us a local rooftop bar that looked over the center of Vienna. Nick was brave and tried the traditional Austrian drink, the spritzer, which is wine and soda mixed together. The rest of us grabbed beers. Then we left and headed to go play some pool at a local club. There I learned that the Austrians are the best Foosball players I have ever seen.

They can do tricks and actually pass the ball. Spinning is frowned upon. We spent the whole night there, dancing, and the whole next day recovering. After a good day of resting and eating, we walked around Vienna for the last time. We bought a bunch of nice clothes for about half the price of clothes in the US so we'd no longer look like bums and hoped on a bus to Brno (pronounced brrrrrr-no). We had heard about the place from a British guy who had moved to Vienna and said Brno was a mini Prague. It was in between Vienna and Prague so we decided to stop for a night in between. I was a little nervous when we got there. It was less touristy than Vienna and, at night, seemed less safe. After walking around for a bit we saw a huge castle lit up on the hill and decided to head for it. After a short climb around winding sidewalks, we reached the castle. The inside was closed but we walked around the deserted outskirts, looking over the whole city. From there we could see a huge church lit up down below. We headed back into town and searched for wifi so we could figure out our way back to the hostel. As we crouched near the doorway of a bar, trying to log on, two Czech guys came up and started talking to us. The four of us quickly struck up a friendship and they took us around the corner of the bar to get another good view of the city. When we turned around, we realized we were at the church we had seen from above.

It was strange to see something so ancient and beautiful around the corner from a bar. Or a McDonald's in a building with vaulted ceilings and gold crown moulding. With our new friends we talked politics, relationships, and hope for the millennial generation. Only when you travel do you realize everyone is the same. We went to grab a beer and ended up dancing until the wee hours of the morning. As the lights turned on, we hugged our new friends goodbye and ventured home. We hoped on a bus the next morning, after walking around the town a bit more, and headed for Prague.

When we arrived, we walked through town to get to our Airbnb. It was amazing, one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I fell in love almost instantly. We walked through the park where tons of people were out to watch the sun set behind the cathedrals of the city and bells rang out from every direction. There was a pungent smell of marijuana everywhere and when we got to our place, the host told us it's legal to smoke in public. She also mentioned it's legal to carry a gram of anything, cocaine, meth, heroin. We were a bit stunned but the whole place was very relaxed. Our host, Sandra, was awesome. A preschool and yoga teacher from France, she knew 7 languages and had one of the cutest cats in the world, Maya.

She told us everything we needed to know about Prague and equipped us with a map for the next days adventures. We walked towards downtown the next morning in the cold. She only lived a block from our first ancient church sighting of the day.

All of the buildings were so unique and elaborate. We walked alongside the river before crossing over the Charles bridge and walking up to Prague Castle.

A brilliant light shone in from the sun through the windows as we crowded into the main building of the castle. Outside was a dark statue of a young boy whose only shiny section was where people had passed by and touched it.

We went to an amazing vegetarian restaurant and then headed back to cuddle with the cat for the night.

We went out again the next night and we're amazed at how magical everything looked at night. The old buildings were lit up and tons of people filled the streets out for their evening stroll.

The best thing to do in Prague had been to pick a direction and start walking. We did it again the next morning and found ourselves in front of a crowded clock tower as the old parts suddenly began to move and the tiny figures popped out and began ringing the bells. We'd find ourselves sitting on a roof overlooking that same clock tower the next afternoon. We also trekked out to another rooftop bar with a whole different view of the city. We walked back across the Charles bridge at night to get some photos and suddenly buckets or rain poured down on us. Within seconds we were soaked to the bone and running through the drenched streets to get back to the hostel. The next morning we woke up early and headed for Slovakia.

Photo by Moose

Video by Moose