After visiting Cesky Krumlov in December 2014, I kept referring to this town as "magical" and a "fairy tale town." I had such fond memories of the Christmas market and entering the city by the castle.  I hyped the town so much, that I was worried that returning to it couldn't possibly live up to the standards I had built in my head.  Fortunately, I was wrong and this trip was just as magical.

I spent New Year's Eve in this magical town.  The Christmas markets in the Czech Republic are open until after Epiphany, due to the Orthodox tourists from Russia.  As the new year approached, bands played in the center square around the market.

These are just some casual fireworks above Medieval buildings.  Most of the fireworks were set off illegally and exploded in the air above the town.  It certainly wasn't the safest experience, but made a beautiful site.

After Cesky Krumlov, I returned to Prague where the Christmas markets were still in full swing.  Of course, since there was a cat cafe in the vicinity, I had to stop by.  Prague actually has four cat cafes!  I visited the creatively named Cat Cafe Prague, where a couple of the cats were quite quick at stealing food!

If you are looking for a Christmas market destination, I can't recommend the Czech Republic enough!

My adventure began at 4 AM when I went to meet my travelling companion and friend Lily in front of her dorm to take the first flight out of London. I was paranoid about oversleeping so I only slept for about two hours. When I got to Lily's dorm, she wasn't there. It was so early in the morning that people were just coming back from a night out. I frantically messaged her, then rushed off to take the bus to the airport, messaging her repetitively. I was so panicked that I even tried messaging her flat mates (whom I have never met) on Facebook in the off chance that they were at the flat/awake at 4:30 during exam term. I ended up just deciding to get on the flight to Prague, hoping she would make a later flight. When I arrived in Prague, I thankfully had a message that she would arrive in the afternoon.

I went to Prague in December, so I had already seen most of the tourist sites so I decided to wait to see what Lily wanted to see before revisiting any.

I went to more obscure sites like the adorable Gingerbread Museum.

Prague has a different vibe in the summertime. It was quite hot and more crowded this time of year. I missed the Christmas markets, but there were still a few stalls set up. Prague is such a fairy tale city!

After visiting the astronomical clock, the castle, and the cathedral, we stood along the castle's walls and watched the sun set and city lights come on.

Lily and I are both overly idealistic, slightly insane travellers. Instead of paying for both transportation and a hostel, we decided to take a night bus that left at 3:30 AM. After wandering around the city a bit, we went to the McDonald's right by the bus station, since it was the only place open. The tea that I ordered was surprisingly posh.

So, I got ready for bed and half-slept in the McDonald's until it closed and we got kicked out at 1 AM. We were greeted by pouring rain and made our way to the bus station. We sat on the benches outside because the indoor bit of the station was closed. Just as we were settling down, two Czech police came to kick us out. I tried explaining that we weren't homeless, we just had a bus in a couple of hours. They said, yes, that's fine but the station was closed from 1 AM - 3 AM. We had no where else to go, so they directed us to a 24 hour pub around the corner. We spent the next two hours sitting at a back table in a cigarette smoke filled pub where 90% of the clientele were elderly Czech men. It was definitely one of those moments when I questioned my sanity. Then, we got on the bus to Vienna and I slept for about three hours. We got ready for the day in the bathroom of a Starbucks, having fully completed a night of dodgy, questionable adventures.

After getting a combined five hours of sleep in two nights, what I remember most about Vienna was stumbling around in a sleep-deprived haze. The palaces, gardens, and opera house were lovely though.

And, guess what? There were more Roman ruins.

Then, we went to St. Stephen's Cathedral, which had some interesting white origami boxes hanging from the ceiling. Mass was going on and with the music and candles, I was half-convinced I would fall into a sleep-deprived trance. So we left and went to Naschmarkt, a lovely little traditional Austrian market which I didn't take photos of.