The following morning I awoke to a couple different things going on. To begin I was told that ‘we had a problem’ apparently we needed to be out of our room by 10:00am and have breakfast by 10:15am. The current time then was 9:45am, so that meant a quick shower and breakfast on top of what could only be described as a ‘slowish’ morning due to the decisions made the prior day. However I got everything done in the time frame and made it to our bus back to Prague on time. The bus ride home wasn’t bad, I got an opportunity to sleep and watch a movie on my iphone. Upon arrival back in Prague we went to meet up with the Czech Mates again for a final dinner. The pub we choose was also airing the world hockey championship, which was between Russia and the Czech Republic. To the Czechs this hockey represented our ‘miracle’ hockey game against the Russians in the 70s.

Dinner was very good, once again I had the Czech Mates pick out my meal and guess what was part of the meal, dumplings! Anywho as always the beer and food was outstanding! The conversation was also really interesting with our Czech counterparts. This time the mood was livened by the hockey game in the background and the fact this was our second time meeting. For this conversation I personally had more questions directed at me about the United States, which is fitting because last dinner I was asking all the questions about the Czech Republic. The Czech Mates were continuously shocked with the American lifestyle in the regards to the McMansions, large yards, guns, trucks, and so on that defines America. Towards the end of our meal and conversation we witnessed the Czech hockey team beat the Russians by 1 goal! Keep in mind the Czech people are not to fond of the Russians so to beat them is a double victory.

After the Czech hockey team won the world championship everyone in the pub immediately began singing their national anthem, clanking their drinks together and began ordering shots. Overall it was a very tame atmosphere if you compare it to PSU beating Ohio State or the Phillies winning the World Series.

Soon after we departed from the pub because some of our Czech Mates needed to catch the metro before it stopped running for the night. In our travels we encountered the area where everyone was celebrating the win, so 4 of us Americans stayed and participated/watched. Everyone was running around with Czech hockey jerseys, Czech flags and beer bottles since there are no open container laws. Once again the Czech people were VERY tame compared to any other riot I have ever seen in the states. Even the cops didn’t care what people were doing so long as damage to property didn’t occur.  Like I said people were just running or walking around cheering, screaming with a big smile on their faces. On the roads some individuals had a very large Czech flag and had cars and Buses drive through it. But it was honestly the best thing ever to watch and participate with a foreign nation celebrating its identity.

We left the ‘riots’ because we noticed some riot police had shown up and that’s the last thing that we needed to be apart of. So since the metro was closed we headed for the tram. Keep in mind I was now a pro at taking the tram thanks to the English speaking, Asian guy from Kazakhstan. So we walked 5 blocks from the riot and arrived at the exact station I had taken 2 nights ago to get home from the clubs. The tram then came and we made it back safe and sound.

Location: Prague, Czech Republic