Whilst on my New Years Day flight to Prague I realised that I had forgotten to print out or write down details of where my hostel was. As I’d booked it months before I also had no idea of whereabouts it was located. I’d remembered all the details and information concerning the film locations I’d be checking out the following day but not the most important stuff! I asked at the Airport info desk but the woman was of no help whatsoever so I decided to just get on the bus and then take the train to the centre of Prague.

During the journey I mailed my sister (asking her to google directions) but as it was a work ‘blackberry’ it was on silent and she wasn’t checking it. At Museum station in the Old Town I asked a man who told me which station I had to go to. That station was Florenc and thankfully very close but as it was New Years Day the place was dark and deserted. On top of that it was also freezing cold and the ground was covered in snow and ice making it quite difficult to walk.

After about an hour, and having asked a few people (using my bad German which the locals seemed to speak more than English) I finally found the correct address and buzzed to get in but even after that it wasn’t so simple as reception was on the 1st floor of a very dark building with no lighting on the ground floor.

When I got up to my room I wasn’t happy as there were a group of Germans smoking and drinking in a very dirty room. To be fair they were fine and gave me a beer but I didn’t want to sleep in that smokey room so I later (once they had left to go out) asked reception if there were any other rooms to which he said no.

A bit later as I was cleaning up a bit and talking to a Norwegian guy in the room the receptionist appeared saying he had a room for me. I had low expectations given the state of the place but was pleased to find that I was being moved into a single room of my own which had a double bed and was very warm with the radiators on. He didn’t mention any change in price so I obviously didn’t say a thing and left early the next morning with the key and without mentioning it so that I could keep the room for my second night. As it was the hostel was pretty much empty that night so there was no chance of me being moved again.