My name is Lindsay, and I have a problem.

It was a long Friday night filled with socializing amongst new friends, explorations and a two hour misunderstanding on which was the correct direction to take on the night tram; can anyone else say they know the scenery of 'Linka 54' as well as Meghan and me?  I would seriously doubt it.  After all of this and a short, but deep night's sleep, I woke up needing a relaxing activity that would also include seeing the city.  Naturally two things came to mind: coffee and books!  The most logical thing that someone could think right now would be, 'Lindsay, you're in the Czech Republic; all the literature will be in a language that you cannot even imagine getting the hang of.'  Fret not, friends.  This was not a concern of mine and shouldn't be one for you either.  It's no coincidence that the first word I recognized on a store front was 'knihy'.  My name is Lindsay, and I am addicted to bookstores.

I exited the metro station, turned left for no particular reason, crossed the street because traffic was clear and found myself in front of a bookstore...exploration successful.  The overhead signs were in Czech.  The shelf labels were in Czech.  The employees were speaking Czech.  And yet I could still tell that the back half of the store was used, and the front new.  I could still tell that the section I was browsing was history of 'Praha' and to my left was fiction.  Bottom line: I could still find something I wanted.

Having completed the literary side of my mission the second portion was clear...coffee.  What's that?  A 'Costa Kavarny' stood across the street?!  One latte please!  I found a quiet table in the corner and pulled out my 'nook'.  There I sat for sixty pages.  Perfectly serene.

It's amazing that I was in a Czech bookstore for forty-five minutes and I don't believe I spent more than four minutes at the 'Anglicke' wall.  It just goes to show that it doesn't matter where I am in the world, my Saturday morning routine is the same.  And it's still as difficult as ever to walk away empty-handed.

I have a feeling I'm going to need another suitcase someday in the future...and it might test the airline's weight limit.