27th to 29th of February, 2020.
A nice man gives me a lift to Pilsen. He is telling me about his daughters, who are visiting different countries right now, and how they also use CS. At some point I think he even kind of offer me to stay with him but I am not sure so I do not say anything. I should, of course, but he also is not more emphatic about it.
When we arrive in Pilsen it is something around 3 p.m., so I decide to go to a McDonalds and check for possible CS hosts. Nothing. Both ladies to whom I could send requests would be out of town and nobody offered to host me. So I jut staid there for hours, planning my trip around town, where to camp, and other things too. I then leave for some food and according to the plan, go to camp in a park nearby.
Unfortunately when I get in the park, there are some people with their dogs. I walk around and could not find a covered spot where I could wait. Yeah, covered because it had just started to snow! So I decide go back to McDonald’s (since it is not far) and stay there until their closing time (1 a.m), because I would be freezing at the tent, for sure, so at least I would be freezing for less time. With luck, I would be exhausted and I would manage to sleep anyway.
I watch some episodes of F.R.I.E.N.D.S and do some stuff until after midnight and then I leave again. At the park, everywhere it is white, covered with snow. Under the trees where I supposed to put my tent (since it is still winter and the trees are all dead), it is also covered in snow, because the tiny flakes can pass freely through the skinny branches. So to make my camp it is a nightmare! A lot of things get wet, inside the tent is quite wet too, mainly the floor. But I am not pissed of furious. Even before get in there I am making jokes with myself, how I am fucked and ended up in those conditions. I mean, what is the point of getting upset anyway? I am just trying to keep the spirit of positivity, and hope for a better day tomorrow. I even though about taking a picture of my first camping under the snow… But nah… It would be too risky for my camera.
I manage to sleep a bit. Early in the morning I leave to McDonald’s to check for CS answers. Nothing again. So while eating my breakfast in there (not at there, because I am having my yoghurt with my muslin and fruits), I send an email to my Workaway in Prague, asking if I could come one day earlier. There was no point of staying one more day in Pilsen without a host. I would have to camp one more night anyway. So I also find another camping spot, this time out of town, in the way to Prague. A really nice park, by the way.
At the tourist info, I get a free map of town and ask to leave my backpack in there. Surprisingly they say yes! Yay! Actually it is funny how one old lady was almost saying a “no” with her head but the other lady, a younger one, say I could leave it. She is actually very sweet because when I came back, she makes a comment about how the backpack it is heavy and asks if I was sleeping outside. When I answer yes, she is surprised and say I am very brave!
Pilsen it is a nice city! You can enjoy nice walks around, the buildings are beautiful and the streets are nice. Unfortunately the Cathedral it is still under restoration (for the last two years?), so I could not go inside. But the tower is still open. Of course, if you need to pay for it, they will keep open even if the ceiling is falling in the tourist’s head. But the square where the Cathedral is located it is beautiful and pretty big. In many of the buildings around there you can go across the shops and check the old infrastructure. I could not visit the Great Synagogue because it is also closed. What a fuck?! Everything is closed? Definitely not the right time to be in Pilsen for me. But I believe that there is plenty of things to do and to see around a good walking area. I heard people saying that a tour in the famous local Brewery of Pilser Urquell is less than 3€ and I think you still get a beer in the end. I could not do it since that is my budget per day on food, so I just bought one Pilser beer at the supermarket (which was on sale!), pop corn for dinner, and some delicious double chocolate muffins (also on sale) and leave town to have a proper rest and, mainly, be able to camp before get dark so I could see where I am and what I would be doing.
A few people with their dogs but once I get into the bushes and start my camping there are no one anymore. The floor is already wet, unfortunately, but it is much better this time since it is not raining or snowing. Yet. And it is a very wise decision to get in there during day light because I could find a good spot. So all prepared this time, I do not ended up with my stuff all wet and I manage to put more clothes on and hoping to not freeze again. I have my dinner, followed by dessert, and try to sleep. I feel less cold than last night, luckily, and manage to sleep much more for sure, but it was still cold. Incredible how my sleeping bag really does not work at all anymore.
Next morning it is raining during the sunrise so I stay a little longer on the tent. I am just thinking: who will come walk with their dogs under this rain or which police officer will come to check the park under the same condition, in case that camping is forbidden (there were no signs anywhere). So I have my breakfast calmly and leave around 9 a.m.
During my walk to the hitchhike spot, it starts a small rain again so I have to wait for a few minutes. Once I get in the place, in less than 10 minutes a father with his son stop for me. They are from Czech, even though the father’s accent sounded quite British. Nice people and the young boy, 14, is quite curious about me, trying hard to make some questions in English. The father is very polite and eloquent. They are just crossing Prague for their destination, but they drop me in front of the tea house. What a wonderful gentlemen!