Lost v2.0 – The Prague Sequel3/3/2010

Imagine begin dropped off in the middle of a city square, alone. Your surronded by people, but they don’t speak your language. You have no map, no compass, no phone, and no idea where to go next. It is night time.

Your mission:

Find your hotel without ANYONE knowing where it’s at!

That was my scenario today. In all fairness, I did have a street name, but had trouble beliveing that the street was the correct one, turns out it wasn’t.

My cab driver bascially robbed me. Overcharged then dropped me off a few miles from where I should be. (Travel note: When you can, always take buses and trams!) I would have been better off walking from the train station.

So there I am in the middle of the Prague city center with people as my only resource. I do have a street name and am told that it is near the Charles Bridge.

Step 1: Find Charles Bridge

After going through about 5 people I am able to get to the Charles Bridge. A bridge should be easy to find but it took me a good 30 minutes or so passing through narrow streets and turns.

Next I start looking for directions to my street. If I can find the street it will be easy to find the hotel.

Step 2: Find Malostranske Namesti

I’m informed that the street I seek is at the end of a city square, Namesti Square. Found it, no problem.

The last in final step SHOULD be the easiest. I mean once you have the street then the hotel is simple. NOT SO MUCH.

Step 3: Find Little Town Hotel

OMG! No one knows where its at. I ask 3 girls at starbucks, 2 cab drivers, 2 police officers, random people that work in Prague, and to top it off, I even paid a visit to the tourist information center. No one has heard of Little Town Hotel!

I spent a good hour walking up and down the street with 25 pounds of gear. I must have asked around a dozen people or so and not a soul could tell me where this hotel is at.

Just when all hope is lost, I spot a dimely lit sign that says “Little Town Hotel”, almost completly covered by buildings and architecture that dwarfs this little hotel. The hotel was just on the other side from where I was looking. Unbelievable as a taxi cab driver was right next to it and didn’t even know it was there! It’s not like this hotel was built overnight. It has been there for a while and has recieved one of the highest rated and one of the most rated hostels on Hostel World.

I have a hard time believeing that something like this will happen again. Getting lost, ya thats almost guranteed to happen tomorrow. Asking 20 people who live and work in Prague where a hotel is, you better believe someone will know!

Rant over, now lets go have some fun!