My hostel was near the "Eiffel tower" and there would have been no problem, had it not been for the fact that I had checked out on tuesday morning... I crossed the river when everything was still okay, but in the evening when I found out that my train wasn't going, I didn't no if they still had free rooms and if I could manage to cross the river. Luckily the metro was still functioning! Wednesday morning it wasn't though, but one tram was crossing the Vltava. I needed to go to the train station, but I didn't want to leave my luggage in the hostel and be separated from it. Didn't trust the lockers anymore either, because I had seen criminals breaking them open a day earlier, so there I was, sitting in front of the station for 14 hours!

I think in a few days I can look back and think of it as an adventure, but now I'm still kind of upset. It was my first time in a foreign country without speaking its language and I never needed it more! Where would a regular tourist go to get information? To the tourist information right? Well, all the information you could get there was a sign saying "sorry we're closed because of the flood". Nice, huh?

One positive thing is that I had already visited the whole town and had seen all monuments before the could have been damaged, so not my whole trip was ruined, just the departure. And I must say that it is/was? a beautiful city!!

I really admire that despite the fact you were there for the first time and you didn't speak the language, you were able to handle the situation and get out of there. Lots of other people couldn't have done as well and actually, haven't done as well. That must have been a VERY stressful situation and of course you are still going to feel some emotional aftershocks. But in a while, you'll see, it's going to turn into a big adventure in retrospect and let's face it, you deserve the glory you'll get when you tell the story to your friends. It's great that you had a chance to see it before the floods, too. I'm glad.

I'm sitting here right now looking at a photo of a sinkhole that appeared under some train tracks just north of Ceske Budejovice. It is quite a large one and it doesn't look like there will be any trains on it in the near future, so it could have been a lot worse for you.

I agree that the information given to young tourists was inadequate. There is an emergency on, but that doesn't mean that there isn't someone somewhere whot speak enough English to explain things to people. . In Prague I don't believe you are ever more than 10 meters from someone who can translate. It just takes looking for them. Well, the journalists at the newpaper Lidovy Noviny agree that the situation was badly handled. At least they raised the subject and hopefully it won't happen again. Have yourself a nice cup of tea and go to bed early!

Oh Leau, what a situation you found yourself in! Glad everything turned out okay for you ... in the end and as Dobrov said, you'll have a great story to tell about your trip to Prague but I can understand how bewildered you must have felt.

And Dobrov, thanks for keeping us up to date on what is happening and all the best for your country getting back on its feet after the emergency is over.

Thanks, Copago, I appreciate the sentiments. Things are overwhelming, it's kind of hard to really grasp the sitation, but I'm confident it will be ok eventually. Not right away, but eventually. And good news! The best ice cream in Prague is high and dry. Even for me life has its gleams of sunshine!

Dobrov, I tried that ice cream and I have to say, it was great!

Let's hear it from "our man in Hradec"... how is it lately?