[[goodbye, prague! It was nice to meet you!]]
Well, tomorrow at this time I will be on the airplane flying back to America. It is really really bizarre. These four months have comprised both the slowest and fastest semester. I think about the day we got here when we were carrying our bags through the front door of Machova and how everything just seemed so confusing, so foreign (no pun intended). And now to think about how much we have done since we've been here, how comfortable we have become and how use to the city we have become. As sad as it is to be done with this experience, I think it is time for it to end. I need to go back to living a real life and I think most people on my program feel that way.
We have definitely been taking full advantage of our last few days here in Praha. My last final ws on Wednesday , but luckily work here isn't a priority so I have still been able to enjoy my last week. On Tuesday night, NYU rented out Radost, a club that we have gone to a bunch of times through out the semester. It was weird because it was only people on my program and I had never seen some of them before. In addition to us, students, our RA's were there as well. It was nice being able to spend time with them outside of the dorm.
Immeditely after my final on Wednesday, we bought some beers up to Petrin Hill for "Slope and Charter Day" and started to celebrate. It has officially become spring here. The flowers are bloomed, the sun is out and the temperature is about 17 degrees celsius. We found a nice patch of grass up on the hill and sat there from about 1 pm until 6:30 when we left to go to the NYU sponsored farewell dinner at Cafe Slavia. Now that everyone was done with work, it was awesome to have a bunch of people just hanging out and reminiscing about the past semester.
After dinner with our professors and other administrators at Slavia, we went home and took a nap to get ourselves ready for the big night ahead of us. Even though I hate the idea of going to Mecca, I knew that I had to go just one last time. We headed to Cross where about hundreds of other people obviously had the same idea as us (especially because today is a national holiday). Apparently the line to get into Mecca circa 2 am was infinite. People waited over an hour and still were no where near the door. So as a result we decided to just stay at Cross for the whole night. At 4:30 we left Cross and took the metro to the Charles Bridge where we watched the sunrise until about 6 am. I did my final walk across the bridge and tried to take in the view of the castle and Petrin Hill one last time. This city really is incredibly special and has treated us well. I'm sure when I return to visit in a few years, the city will have drastically changed and will most likely be on the Euro.
So right now I am in the process of packing and its kind of weird to look at my two duffel bags and one smaller carry on and think that for the past four months my life has been completely mobile. Everything that I really need I have been able to just move around with me. There's something surprisingly refreshing in that sentiment. Even though most of my stuff is packed, it still hasn't hit me that I won't be back here. I'm not sure when it will hit me, but I have a feeling it might be sometime soon in America as soon as I hear a great techno song.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Burning of Thy Witches
In Prague, April 30th marks the eve of "Burning of the Witches" [pálení čarodějnic] which is an old Czech tradition where people make bonfires and burn witches made out of straw. The point is to ward off all evil and winter and welcome in spring. Even though I love winter, I'm ready for y lst week and a half here to be nice. I felt obligated to contribute.
Obviously I became obssessed with the idea of us going to the celebration that is most authentic. Researching these bonfires was not the easiest thing since although it is tolerated because of its tradition, bonfires in the middle of the city are stil illegal. On the outskirts of the city, however, is where people really celebrate. So our first stop on this witch burning adventure was Ladronka Park which is about an hour from where we live. Once we got there we see a ton of people walking down a thin dirt path. For about half a mile we just followed the crowd only realizing we were heading in the right direction because of the smell of fire and the sight of smoke. Finally we get the festival and there is a huge bonfire in the middle of a field, venders selling Czech goods, sausages galore, live music, and parents helping their kids fly on brooms. There was even a Ms. Witch competition (everyone had really incredible witch outfits on- I felt a little out of place in my jeans and shirt). It was such a beautiful night to just be hanging outside observing this pagan-like ritual.
After Ladronka Park, we went to Kampa Island which is a little island right off of the Charles Bridge. This was more of an ex-pats scene, but still a good bonfire and tribal music. The views were also spectacular as you could sit on the water and look at the castle lit up at night. The funniest part about this scene was that police were selling hot dogs and sausages out of a police van for people to grill at the bonfire.
Oh, Prague and Czech folk traditions...
Obviously I became obssessed with the idea of us going to the celebration that is most authentic. Researching these bonfires was not the easiest thing since although it is tolerated because of its tradition, bonfires in the middle of the city are stil illegal. On the outskirts of the city, however, is where people really celebrate. So our first stop on this witch burning adventure was Ladronka Park which is about an hour from where we live. Once we got there we see a ton of people walking down a thin dirt path. For about half a mile we just followed the crowd only realizing we were heading in the right direction because of the smell of fire and the sight of smoke. Finally we get the festival and there is a huge bonfire in the middle of a field, venders selling Czech goods, sausages galore, live music, and parents helping their kids fly on brooms. There was even a Ms. Witch competition (everyone had really incredible witch outfits on- I felt a little out of place in my jeans and shirt). It was such a beautiful night to just be hanging outside observing this pagan-like ritual.
After Ladronka Park, we went to Kampa Island which is a little island right off of the Charles Bridge. This was more of an ex-pats scene, but still a good bonfire and tribal music. The views were also spectacular as you could sit on the water and look at the castle lit up at night. The funniest part about this scene was that police were selling hot dogs and sausages out of a police van for people to grill at the bonfire.
Oh, Prague and Czech folk traditions...
Monday, April 28, 2008
Weekend in Copenhagen
I just got back from Copenhagen with Amy. I'll admit I was having second thoughts about traveling again last week. As horrible as it sounds, I am tired from all this traveling! I love being able to see different cities, but I still don't like the actual transportation part. Possible solution: Teleporting myself. If only...I did, however ,make friends at the airport. While I was ordering a coffee, the man behind the counter and I started talking in very basic Czech. I was so proud, until he through like a real Czech sentence into this conversation. It was then that he realized I was American. We got to talking and his English was fabulous. He ended up giving me his favorite Czech author and novel to me.
Once in Copenhagen, it was absolutely gorgous outside. I'd say about 70 degrees and sunny. Beautiful day for just being outside. So, that's just what we did. We walked from our hostel (Absalon Annex--great hostel) to the center of the city where we met up with Christina from Hamilton and also randomly bumped into Tipper as well. So weird. Christina led us to the Round Tower (picture)
and we also strolled down Stroget Street which is one of the famous shopping streets in the city. Near Stroget there was a gorgeous park right near the Royal Castle. There were tons of people laying on blankets, playing frisbee and just enjoying the weather. It's really funny how much a city can change as soon as the weather does. Without a doubt Prague is a completely different place! All Czechs really want to do is rollerblade in beer gardens - no wonder no one is happy in the winter!
(This is a picture of the park)Our hostel provided us with a guide book to "April in Copenhagen" and Amy and I saw that there was a big soccer game on Thursday night. Coincidentally, when we ran into Tipper randomly on the street, he mentioned that he and his friends were going to the game. But it gets better: Amy, Christina and I were trying to buy tickets when three separate people handed us free tickets! And they just happened to be excellent seats as well! Team FCK (pronounced F C Kah) couldn't quite capitalize on all their shooting opportunities but at least they tied.
On Friday we woke up and decided to do some of the main tourist attractions. Inevitably that led us directly to the statue of the Little Mermaid.
We proceeded to navigate our way through Kastellet Park over the river and through Charlottenburg into Christiania. Christiania is considered to be the "Freetown" of Copenhagen. It is technically self-governed and has only 1000 inhabitants. It was this little oasis amidst the hustle bustle of a city. The entrance part was very touristy but as you got further in towards the river and some of the homes, it was just beautiful and incredible to see. 
You are not supposed to take any pictures in Christian so this is just a picture of the entrance. But as you can see it is completely covered in graffiti, as most of the 'town'. I think my favorite sign which happened to be graffiited everywhere said, "Imagine a world without wheels, forced labor and high heels". In Christiania we stopped and ate some lunch at basically someone's house. Essentially you walked into this house and there were a few vegetarian salad options. We sat outside as people were planting and gardening. Friday night we met up with one of Amy's sister's friends who she met while studying abroad in Denmark! How crazy! We met her at a hip bar called Bang & Jenson and then went to a late dinner. I feel like I say this after every trip when I get to speak to people from the country, but I just love speaking to people my age from around the world. She was telling us how so many of her friends are planning trips to America right now since the dollar is so bad...After dinner she took us to this new bar/club called Karriere Bar which is in what used to be the meat packing district of Copenhagen. As we were walking through the area it was completely vacated until all of sudden you heard loud music and then out of nowhere came this bar.
Saturday morning we decided to go on a canal tour. Copenhagen is very similar to Amsterdam in the sense that they both have canals running through the city, bikes everywhere and beautiful, little side streets. It was nice to be on the water, but like on most boat tours, it is very hard to understand what the guides are actually saying.
This is one of the many pictures we got from the boat.Amy and I decided that we wanted to try some traditional Danish food. Little did we know that Danish's are not really from Denmark. In fact, Danes actually call what we call Danishes, "pastries from Vienna". Weird. So instead, we decided to try Smorebrod for lunch which is basically just slices of bread with different kinds of toppings. We decided to share two different kinds: salmon and herbed goat cheese. It was delicious and much less intense than Gulash. This is a picture of the place we ate in. They were so nice there and were so concerned with making sure that we enjoyed our first Danish meal.
After our lovely lunch we walked to the Carlsburg Brewery which was much farther away than we had anticipated. We ended up missing the last tour so we ended up just heading up to the bar for some taste testing, since we had walked all the way there.
Our last stop of the trip was Saturday night when we went into Tivoli Gardens. From the outside, Tivoli just looks like another amusement park, yet when we walked inside it was huge and beautiful! I couldn't believe all of the flowers and how much they had bloomed already. It was like a fantasy land in a fairytale. I felt like a little kid in Willa Wonka's factory. We walked around and took a lot of touristy photos.
On Sunday, as we were landing in Prague I realized how bittersweet leaving Praha is going to be. With less than two weeks left, Sunday was the last time I would be flying into Prague. I am full of a mixed sense of emotions: a sense of accomplishment, excitement to go home and start the summer, but also sadness to leave Prague when I finally feel really comfortable here. I was running outside today and was thinking back to the beginning of the trip when I ran outside for the first time. I remember being so nervous of not knowing where I was going, of something happening. But today, I was running like I actually did know where I was going and it actually felt like I was running in my neighborhood.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Am - star- dam
What a great city. Honestly, Amsterdam feels and looks like its right out of a fairy tale. Between the beautiful canals and bridges to all the different colored buildings covered in ivy, Amsterdam is like a doll house and I felt like a Polly Pocket. In addition to ivy growing on the buildings, ivy even grows out of some of the bikes. I've never seen anything like the bike culture in Amsterdam. They are everywhere! And will run over anything! You have to be more careful about not getting hit by a bike than you do of a car. It seems relatively energy efficient, though...The streets are absolutely crazy though. Not only are there sidewalks, tram tracks and roads for traffic, however, there are also separate lanes for bikes, making crossing the street as a pedestrian quite the obstacle. Regardless, everyone who lives in Amsterdam are the nicest people. While it's such a small city, you can stop and ask anyone on the street directions, something that was refreshing to see.
While we mainly just enjoyed the spring weather and walked around the city, we did make it to the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum. When I went into the Anne Frank House I was expecting to see a replica of what her house actually looked like, but instead it was set up more like a museum. I actually had the chills though when we walked through the secret door behind the books case which led to the secret annex where anne frank and her family hid from the Nazis. I enjoyed the Van Gogh museum because I was able to see some of his paintings that I had never seen before in addition to some of the artists' works who inspired him.
Our hostel, the Flying Pig Uptown" is actually right next to Vondel Park, which is pretty much like the central park of Amsterdam. It was so beautiful there and when it was really nice there were a ton of people just lying in it. It was quite resemblant of minor field during the spring, if I might say so myself.
Here are some pictures from the weekend:
While we mainly just enjoyed the spring weather and walked around the city, we did make it to the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum. When I went into the Anne Frank House I was expecting to see a replica of what her house actually looked like, but instead it was set up more like a museum. I actually had the chills though when we walked through the secret door behind the books case which led to the secret annex where anne frank and her family hid from the Nazis. I enjoyed the Van Gogh museum because I was able to see some of his paintings that I had never seen before in addition to some of the artists' works who inspired him.
Our hostel, the Flying Pig Uptown" is actually right next to Vondel Park, which is pretty much like the central park of Amsterdam. It was so beautiful there and when it was really nice there were a ton of people just lying in it. It was quite resemblant of minor field during the spring, if I might say so myself.
Here are some pictures from the weekend:
 |
| Amsterdam |
Thursday, April 17, 2008
i forgot to post this a while ago
It's been a while since I sat down and wrote an entry. I actually have had some necessary school work and some great visitors. Two days after Meryl and Diana left, my parents came to visit Praha! It was so great to show them around and let them see where I have been living, what I have been doing, what I have been drinking, and who I have been spending my time with. As soon as my parents arrive in Prague we started walking...and walking and walking and walking. I didn't want them to get jetlagged so I immediately took them on Jamie's Walking Tour of Prague. And that was only the beginning. I felt like their visit was a true test of how much I have learned (and consequently retained) about the city. I'm no history guru, but living in Prague has definitely increased my interest in the history of the Czech Republic.
While my parents were here, I refused to do certain things and take them to certain spots. For instance, those places where 'all-the-american-students-who-are-abroad' hang out- aka Bohemian Bagel. I don't even like Bohemian Bagel, but it's just so convenient. I wanted to my parents to try and get the gtrue Praha experience, however much that is possible. So in addition to showing off the main sites of Prague (Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, Petrin Hill, Jewish Quarters etc...), the beautiful weather permitted us to go to a Slavia soccer game. With popcorn and kielbasa's (spelling?)we enjoyed the sunset and a win.
We also decided to take a day trip to Terezin. I am really glad that I didn't go to Terezin before my parents got here. The fact that Terezin is currently still a town (population of around 2,000 people) is beyond me. It is so desolate and resemblant of a ghost town. Everywhere you look there is something there to remind of the horrors that occured at Terezin. Small rooms in which 80 people were locked into until they suffocated, bathrooms which never had any plumbing--they were merely set up as a facade for the Red Cross. It was just absolutely unbelievable to see. Luckily, our tour guide offered us the chance to go and see a secret synagogue that had recently been found in someones house. I had no idea what to expect--but what we ended up seeing was a tiny concrete room. I couldn't imagine having this room be my "get away" place, my place to relax.
Alas, another check point has come and gone! I bought a three month metro pass at the beginning of this trip and never really thought that it would ever expire. At the time, April just seemed too distant. Now that I had to buy a one month metro pass, I can't believe that three months have gone by already. The times I thought would never come are now flying by without me even realizing it!
Now...next stop: Amsterdam!
While my parents were here, I refused to do certain things and take them to certain spots. For instance, those places where 'all-the-american-students-who-are-abroad' hang out- aka Bohemian Bagel. I don't even like Bohemian Bagel, but it's just so convenient. I wanted to my parents to try and get the gtrue Praha experience, however much that is possible. So in addition to showing off the main sites of Prague (Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, Petrin Hill, Jewish Quarters etc...), the beautiful weather permitted us to go to a Slavia soccer game. With popcorn and kielbasa's (spelling?)we enjoyed the sunset and a win.
We also decided to take a day trip to Terezin. I am really glad that I didn't go to Terezin before my parents got here. The fact that Terezin is currently still a town (population of around 2,000 people) is beyond me. It is so desolate and resemblant of a ghost town. Everywhere you look there is something there to remind of the horrors that occured at Terezin. Small rooms in which 80 people were locked into until they suffocated, bathrooms which never had any plumbing--they were merely set up as a facade for the Red Cross. It was just absolutely unbelievable to see. Luckily, our tour guide offered us the chance to go and see a secret synagogue that had recently been found in someones house. I had no idea what to expect--but what we ended up seeing was a tiny concrete room. I couldn't imagine having this room be my "get away" place, my place to relax.
Alas, another check point has come and gone! I bought a three month metro pass at the beginning of this trip and never really thought that it would ever expire. At the time, April just seemed too distant. Now that I had to buy a one month metro pass, I can't believe that three months have gone by already. The times I thought would never come are now flying by without me even realizing it!
Now...next stop: Amsterdam!
Monday, April 7, 2008
some things just never change
We're in the home stretch of this whole "abroad thing" right now and I honestly can't believe it. I've been creating checkpoints for myself along the way ;little events that I am looking forward to, but that also act as significant markers of time passing. This past weekend marked my second to last major checkpoint: Meryl and Diana's visit to Praha!
After a great Wednesday night of listening to Jo's uncle Bruce playing at Retro, I woke up early to pick Meryl up at the airport. It was actually a pretty nice day, despite threatening weather reports and so I decided to create my own walking tour for Meryl, of which I plan on repeating step-for-step with my parents in 2 days! The tour covered Vinohrady, Wenceslas Square, Old Town, Lesser Town, Bridge and various stops on the way at some favorite places [including the PEACOCK garden] It's really incredible how you can see most of this city in one day. In an attempt to show Meryl the more creative side of Praha, I got us some tickets to go and see a show at the Alfred vedvore Theatre where Jo and I saw the Movement Theatre show a couple of weeks ago. We were supposed to see a improvisation pantomine show, but I'm pretty sure we ended up walking into the wrong theatre and instead we saw a show called Trains. It was interesting and visually stimulating, but most of it definitely was over my head. The show capitalized on the sounds train makes and image of never ending train tracks.
On Saturday, we woke up and went to the new Gregory Crewdson exhibit at the Galerie Rudolfinum. I had never seen any of his photographs before and could not believe how incredible they were. Each photograph was basically a single film clip. With such vibrant colors, huge formats, and bizare scenes, his photographs seemed very realistic, in a creepy kind of way. Afterwards, the 'museum fatigue' began to set in and so I took Meryl to the lovely Shakespeare and Sons to relax, take pictures and have some delicious coffee.
Diana came into Prague from London on Friday, and it was just like good 'ole times at Hamilton. What a treat... I never would have guessed that Diana, Meryl and I would meet up in Prague together. I really liked being able to show Meryl and Diana all my favorite places in Prague so far. And as Jo says, Prague is just full of so many little hidden spaces. At this point, I had started thinking that I was definitely ready to go home, but after walking around and doing some of the touristy things again this weekend, I realize how much this city has to offer and just how beautiful it really is. I guess when you remain within your daily routine, only going from home to school, things become mundane. Nevertheless, I'm glad I still have one more month left...
After a great Wednesday night of listening to Jo's uncle Bruce playing at Retro, I woke up early to pick Meryl up at the airport. It was actually a pretty nice day, despite threatening weather reports and so I decided to create my own walking tour for Meryl, of which I plan on repeating step-for-step with my parents in 2 days! The tour covered Vinohrady, Wenceslas Square, Old Town, Lesser Town, Bridge and various stops on the way at some favorite places [including the PEACOCK garden] It's really incredible how you can see most of this city in one day. In an attempt to show Meryl the more creative side of Praha, I got us some tickets to go and see a show at the Alfred vedvore Theatre where Jo and I saw the Movement Theatre show a couple of weeks ago. We were supposed to see a improvisation pantomine show, but I'm pretty sure we ended up walking into the wrong theatre and instead we saw a show called Trains. It was interesting and visually stimulating, but most of it definitely was over my head. The show capitalized on the sounds train makes and image of never ending train tracks.
On Saturday, we woke up and went to the new Gregory Crewdson exhibit at the Galerie Rudolfinum. I had never seen any of his photographs before and could not believe how incredible they were. Each photograph was basically a single film clip. With such vibrant colors, huge formats, and bizare scenes, his photographs seemed very realistic, in a creepy kind of way. Afterwards, the 'museum fatigue' began to set in and so I took Meryl to the lovely Shakespeare and Sons to relax, take pictures and have some delicious coffee.
Diana came into Prague from London on Friday, and it was just like good 'ole times at Hamilton. What a treat... I never would have guessed that Diana, Meryl and I would meet up in Prague together. I really liked being able to show Meryl and Diana all my favorite places in Prague so far. And as Jo says, Prague is just full of so many little hidden spaces. At this point, I had started thinking that I was definitely ready to go home, but after walking around and doing some of the touristy things again this weekend, I realize how much this city has to offer and just how beautiful it really is. I guess when you remain within your daily routine, only going from home to school, things become mundane. Nevertheless, I'm glad I still have one more month left...
Monday, March 31, 2008
wagamamamama
Traveling for 10 days is a true test of stamina; a test of which I think Jo and I aced. Well, except for a few minor miscalculations, but those were mostly directional so they don't actually count.
I honestly don't really know where to begin recapturing this journey. So much happened and I don't think anyone wants to read about it all- hence the list form that will incite after this paragraph. The main thing about this spring break that I realized was that I could actually travel by myself. I guess that is one of the main points of studying abroad: recognizing your independence. But once you have that realization, it really does feel great.
My adventures began in Paris, where I got to see MERYL. I needed a whole lot of Meryl in my life right about then, as the half way point of this adventure seemed to be dragging on a little. I love seeing other people's abroad situations, so that when we all return back to the states I'll have some idea of what they are talking about when they say, "Remember that time when...". Funny thing: We had a layover in London to get to Paris which was quite the treat...(I have no idea how this could even make sense at all...geographically, especially). It wasn't too bad except for the fact that Jo and I were SPRINTING through Heathrow Airport trying to catch our next flight. The weather was pretty rainy and windy outside which made for some heavy turbulence. But Jo knows how much I hate flying and always held my hand :).
Main things we did/saw in Paris:
1. Louvre: We really only did this because you have to go to the Louvre when you are in Paris for the first time. Of course we saw the Mona Lisa, but to be honest, its hyped up a little too much. The photo itself is like a celebrity: enclosed in a glass case surrounded by body guards preventing you from entering the imaginary sphere around the photo.
2. Les Vedettes du Pont Neuf boat ride across the Siene River where we got to see the Eiffe tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, Musee du Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, the Grand Palais and Pont Neuf (the oldest bridge in Paris), among many other sites. Although it was absolutely freezing and raining outside, we endured the cold and stood outside on the boat for most of the journey. I'd say it was well worth it. After our walk back to Meryl's apartment we ended the night properly: with a nice cup of hot chocolate and sweatshirts.
3. American Church in Paris: I went to my first church service on Easter!
4. Pompidou: museum of modern art. The outside of this museum is a tremendous piece of art itself. It looks like one huge science experiment. Inside we saw a ton of installation art work, of which I enjoyed. But what I don't understand is how these pieces of art are moved from exhibit to exhibit...are the simply meant to be temporary or are they replicated each time?
5. Falafel: If you want to have the best falafel, you need to go to the Jewish quarters in Paris. The long line is well worth the wait and quite reflective of just how good the falafel actually is.
6. Versailles: We decided to take a day trip to Versailles once we found out that it was only a 40 minute train ride away. Our plan was to wake up at get to the chateau by 9 am so that Meryl could be back in time for her 1:30 pm class. So, we buy tickets and wait for the train to come. Once we get on the train and it is almost at the last stop we realize that we don't think this is the right train. No one else is on the train and all the lights have been turned out. We had heard an announcement a few minutes ago, but none of us were paying attention. Most of the train ride is underground, so it became quite scary with all the lights off especially since we knew we were pretty far away from the center of the city. Needless to say, we decided to pull the emergency alarm to let the conductor know that we were stuck on it. It was a scene, for sure, and the observers at the train station loved seeing us walk shamefully off the train. But, nevertheless, an hour and a half later we did arrive at Versaille and we did get to walk down the hall of mirrors where at the end, there was a cardboard throne of Louis XIV's. Kind of disappointing, but nonetheless absolutely beautiful...and like most buildings in Paris, gigantic! I think the gardens in the back were my favorite, though.
7. Haircut: Meryl's host family lives right next door to a salon. So on Tuesday when it was pouring rain, I decided that there was nothing better to do but to get basically 8 inches cut of my hair. I'm getting more and more into each day and love the fact that my head feels way lighter now.
On Wednesday Jo and I travelled to London to visit Diana, whom lives above the pub called The Spotted Horse in Putney. What a great area. It's more of a residential neighborhood, yet the center of London is extremely easy to get to. My favorite sites in London:
1. National Portrait Gallery: We went and saw the Vanity Fair exhibit at this museum which was incredible. I was especially able to appreciate many of the photos because we have been discussing them in our photography class recently. It was interesting to see how the photographs have changed since the early 1900s. I think some of my favorite photos were taken by Man Ray and Nan Goldin.
2. Tate Museum: This museum is so big, we only made it to 2 floors. The third and the fifth-- The fifth floor dealth with 'states of flux' while the third floor included 'material gestures'. There was a ton of pop art and minimalistic art which I enjoyed.
3. Freud Museum: this museum is located in one of Freud's old houses in a beautiful residential area on the outskirts of the city.
4. Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Picadilly Circus....
5. Avenue Q: since Diana loves broadway shows, we thought it would only be appropriate for us to go to one with her. Avenue Q is absolutely hilarious, it was basically like a puppet show for adults. At first I was skeptical... but the show was really terrific. The show itself is about a recent college graduate who was an English major and now moves into this new neighborhood and embarks on a journey towards an elusive self discovery and purpose. (too bad the plot seemed a little too realistic for me at this time...)
6. Camden Market, Portobello Market: the perfect markets for vintage shoppers :). Although it was raining we still made our way through the streets of the infamous markets. Too bad the dollar means nothing in London. Literally. I could not believe how expensive everything was-- it was a good thing we were only there for 4 days.
7. Saturday was the Putney Boat Race which is basically like Class and Charter Day in Putney. Diana's bar was full of people from early in the morning, so we made our way trying to avoid the crowds, yet still enjoy the day. So, we sat on the curb of an alley eating subway.... there really were a ton of people there leaving our options quite minimal.
Somehow Johanna and I managed to make it home last night without any major catastrophes. Since we were travelling on the day of daylight savings time AND flying through a different time zone, I was pretty convinced we were going to miss our flight. But luckily our flight was 2 hours delayed because Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport is not really functioning at this moment. They opened the terminal about a week ago and between the lack of hired staff and the lack of staff who know how to use the luggage technology, flights are being cancelled and luggage is being lost. But regardless, we are back in Praha and it was a beautiful sunny day today! Hopefully spring is starting to bloom. I can't believe we have 5 weeks left. Time is seriously flying by...
Here is the album from break for those of you who read this far:
I honestly don't really know where to begin recapturing this journey. So much happened and I don't think anyone wants to read about it all- hence the list form that will incite after this paragraph. The main thing about this spring break that I realized was that I could actually travel by myself. I guess that is one of the main points of studying abroad: recognizing your independence. But once you have that realization, it really does feel great.
My adventures began in Paris, where I got to see MERYL. I needed a whole lot of Meryl in my life right about then, as the half way point of this adventure seemed to be dragging on a little. I love seeing other people's abroad situations, so that when we all return back to the states I'll have some idea of what they are talking about when they say, "Remember that time when...". Funny thing: We had a layover in London to get to Paris which was quite the treat...(I have no idea how this could even make sense at all...geographically, especially). It wasn't too bad except for the fact that Jo and I were SPRINTING through Heathrow Airport trying to catch our next flight. The weather was pretty rainy and windy outside which made for some heavy turbulence. But Jo knows how much I hate flying and always held my hand :).
Main things we did/saw in Paris:
1. Louvre: We really only did this because you have to go to the Louvre when you are in Paris for the first time. Of course we saw the Mona Lisa, but to be honest, its hyped up a little too much. The photo itself is like a celebrity: enclosed in a glass case surrounded by body guards preventing you from entering the imaginary sphere around the photo.
2. Les Vedettes du Pont Neuf boat ride across the Siene River where we got to see the Eiffe tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, Musee du Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, the Grand Palais and Pont Neuf (the oldest bridge in Paris), among many other sites. Although it was absolutely freezing and raining outside, we endured the cold and stood outside on the boat for most of the journey. I'd say it was well worth it. After our walk back to Meryl's apartment we ended the night properly: with a nice cup of hot chocolate and sweatshirts.
3. American Church in Paris: I went to my first church service on Easter!
4. Pompidou: museum of modern art. The outside of this museum is a tremendous piece of art itself. It looks like one huge science experiment. Inside we saw a ton of installation art work, of which I enjoyed. But what I don't understand is how these pieces of art are moved from exhibit to exhibit...are the simply meant to be temporary or are they replicated each time?
5. Falafel: If you want to have the best falafel, you need to go to the Jewish quarters in Paris. The long line is well worth the wait and quite reflective of just how good the falafel actually is.
6. Versailles: We decided to take a day trip to Versailles once we found out that it was only a 40 minute train ride away. Our plan was to wake up at get to the chateau by 9 am so that Meryl could be back in time for her 1:30 pm class. So, we buy tickets and wait for the train to come. Once we get on the train and it is almost at the last stop we realize that we don't think this is the right train. No one else is on the train and all the lights have been turned out. We had heard an announcement a few minutes ago, but none of us were paying attention. Most of the train ride is underground, so it became quite scary with all the lights off especially since we knew we were pretty far away from the center of the city. Needless to say, we decided to pull the emergency alarm to let the conductor know that we were stuck on it. It was a scene, for sure, and the observers at the train station loved seeing us walk shamefully off the train. But, nevertheless, an hour and a half later we did arrive at Versaille and we did get to walk down the hall of mirrors where at the end, there was a cardboard throne of Louis XIV's. Kind of disappointing, but nonetheless absolutely beautiful...and like most buildings in Paris, gigantic! I think the gardens in the back were my favorite, though.
7. Haircut: Meryl's host family lives right next door to a salon. So on Tuesday when it was pouring rain, I decided that there was nothing better to do but to get basically 8 inches cut of my hair. I'm getting more and more into each day and love the fact that my head feels way lighter now.
On Wednesday Jo and I travelled to London to visit Diana, whom lives above the pub called The Spotted Horse in Putney. What a great area. It's more of a residential neighborhood, yet the center of London is extremely easy to get to. My favorite sites in London:
1. National Portrait Gallery: We went and saw the Vanity Fair exhibit at this museum which was incredible. I was especially able to appreciate many of the photos because we have been discussing them in our photography class recently. It was interesting to see how the photographs have changed since the early 1900s. I think some of my favorite photos were taken by Man Ray and Nan Goldin.
2. Tate Museum: This museum is so big, we only made it to 2 floors. The third and the fifth-- The fifth floor dealth with 'states of flux' while the third floor included 'material gestures'. There was a ton of pop art and minimalistic art which I enjoyed.
3. Freud Museum: this museum is located in one of Freud's old houses in a beautiful residential area on the outskirts of the city.
4. Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Picadilly Circus....
5. Avenue Q: since Diana loves broadway shows, we thought it would only be appropriate for us to go to one with her. Avenue Q is absolutely hilarious, it was basically like a puppet show for adults. At first I was skeptical... but the show was really terrific. The show itself is about a recent college graduate who was an English major and now moves into this new neighborhood and embarks on a journey towards an elusive self discovery and purpose. (too bad the plot seemed a little too realistic for me at this time...)
6. Camden Market, Portobello Market: the perfect markets for vintage shoppers :). Although it was raining we still made our way through the streets of the infamous markets. Too bad the dollar means nothing in London. Literally. I could not believe how expensive everything was-- it was a good thing we were only there for 4 days.
7. Saturday was the Putney Boat Race which is basically like Class and Charter Day in Putney. Diana's bar was full of people from early in the morning, so we made our way trying to avoid the crowds, yet still enjoy the day. So, we sat on the curb of an alley eating subway.... there really were a ton of people there leaving our options quite minimal.
Somehow Johanna and I managed to make it home last night without any major catastrophes. Since we were travelling on the day of daylight savings time AND flying through a different time zone, I was pretty convinced we were going to miss our flight. But luckily our flight was 2 hours delayed because Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport is not really functioning at this moment. They opened the terminal about a week ago and between the lack of hired staff and the lack of staff who know how to use the luggage technology, flights are being cancelled and luggage is being lost. But regardless, we are back in Praha and it was a beautiful sunny day today! Hopefully spring is starting to bloom. I can't believe we have 5 weeks left. Time is seriously flying by...
Here is the album from break for those of you who read this far:
 |
| SpringBrea |
Saturday, March 15, 2008
what now?
Cultural Events for the week:
One World Film Festival: A Human Rights Film Festival in Prague for a week or two. We saw two films, "From Russia with Hate" and "Nazi pop twins". "From Russia with Hate" explored the growing neo-nazi movement currently in Russia, of which I shamefully admit my ignorance. A complete new type of nationalism is emerging; one that contributes to the hatred of immigrants. Stemming from this is a tremendous trend of xenophobia, which is producing a more radical and violent form of hatred. The most absurd part of the movie was that they interviewed a member of Parliament who was an advocate for this brutality and obliterataion of immigrants! I'm pretty sure you can actually watch the film on this website, for those interested (it's short, no worries): http://current.com/items/84906361_from_russia_with_hate
"Nazi pop twins" is a film about the American teenage twins who are in the band Prussian Blue. They are famous mainly because of their white nationalist song lyrics and their support for neo-nazism. The film was an a way an act of resistance again racism. First, the girls were made out to be victims of their mother's manipulation. It was really great to see that despite the sheltered life that their mother forced them to live, the twins still were able to see the flaws in their mother's beliefs. Also, because of the mother's radical beliefs, a group of people began to resist the family's beliefs. It made me start thinking about how you really can't have existence without comparison. In order for to have successful resistance, you need to have something for the resisters to resist.
Movement Theatre Performance: "A Stage for New Theatre" at Alfred Vedvore; Johanna and I decided to venture to the outskirts of the city, to a small theatre which has a hidden, windy entrance. We were the only non-Czech speaking people in the theatre of about 15 people. I felt like it was a true experience of Czech modern art. The performance explores the world of colors using minimalist movement and live music merged with interactive video. It was definitely heady; but, very unique and well-done. The use of technology was not pretentious and deceptful like the black light theatre. Rather it was honest and tastefully done. I was so impressed with the manipulation of perspective.
Kafka Museum: Field trip number 4 or 5 for my Kafka class. This one at least seemed appropriate though. I had such high expectations for this museum since they put Kafka on such a pedastal in this country, but to be honest, I was not impressed at all. I felt that they were trying to make the physical aesthetics of the museum itself compensate for the lack of interesting content. There was one quote that I liked though: "Literature is most potent when it disjoints the powerful fictions which govern men's lives. A powerful fiction is a discourse which time has converted into unquestionable truth, whose fantastic origin has been forgotten (...) Kafka's fiction reveals the hallucinatory nature of what we call reality."
Citizen Havel (Obcan Havel): A documentary film that closely follows the life of the Czech Republic's first president, Vaclav Havel. What a guy, let me just say. Compulsive about his appearance, the story of Vaclav's life is humorous and entertaining and the audience is given a sneak peak into every aspect of his life. The film made like the president seem like a real person. I could never imagine a film being produced like this on a US president. Way too controversial. Although, Bill Clinton and Bush both made some guest appearances in the film.
Laundry: Okay, so maybe this isn't a cultural event, but it's also an event that I haven't done in way too long. At this point, the process just seems to excruciating. I'm getting desperate though so I hope I break down soon.
Rachel: Rachel is Prague this weekend! Whenever visitors come it just gives us a greater excuse to make sure we have a fun night. We tried out some new places last night, returned to some of our favorites. All of which were stellar, especially N11.
A weekend in Praha:
Good times. Good culture.
One World Film Festival: A Human Rights Film Festival in Prague for a week or two. We saw two films, "From Russia with Hate" and "Nazi pop twins". "From Russia with Hate" explored the growing neo-nazi movement currently in Russia, of which I shamefully admit my ignorance. A complete new type of nationalism is emerging; one that contributes to the hatred of immigrants. Stemming from this is a tremendous trend of xenophobia, which is producing a more radical and violent form of hatred. The most absurd part of the movie was that they interviewed a member of Parliament who was an advocate for this brutality and obliterataion of immigrants! I'm pretty sure you can actually watch the film on this website, for those interested (it's short, no worries): http://current.com/items/84906361_from_russia_with_hate
"Nazi pop twins" is a film about the American teenage twins who are in the band Prussian Blue. They are famous mainly because of their white nationalist song lyrics and their support for neo-nazism. The film was an a way an act of resistance again racism. First, the girls were made out to be victims of their mother's manipulation. It was really great to see that despite the sheltered life that their mother forced them to live, the twins still were able to see the flaws in their mother's beliefs. Also, because of the mother's radical beliefs, a group of people began to resist the family's beliefs. It made me start thinking about how you really can't have existence without comparison. In order for to have successful resistance, you need to have something for the resisters to resist.
Movement Theatre Performance: "A Stage for New Theatre" at Alfred Vedvore; Johanna and I decided to venture to the outskirts of the city, to a small theatre which has a hidden, windy entrance. We were the only non-Czech speaking people in the theatre of about 15 people. I felt like it was a true experience of Czech modern art. The performance explores the world of colors using minimalist movement and live music merged with interactive video. It was definitely heady; but, very unique and well-done. The use of technology was not pretentious and deceptful like the black light theatre. Rather it was honest and tastefully done. I was so impressed with the manipulation of perspective.
Kafka Museum: Field trip number 4 or 5 for my Kafka class. This one at least seemed appropriate though. I had such high expectations for this museum since they put Kafka on such a pedastal in this country, but to be honest, I was not impressed at all. I felt that they were trying to make the physical aesthetics of the museum itself compensate for the lack of interesting content. There was one quote that I liked though: "Literature is most potent when it disjoints the powerful fictions which govern men's lives. A powerful fiction is a discourse which time has converted into unquestionable truth, whose fantastic origin has been forgotten (...) Kafka's fiction reveals the hallucinatory nature of what we call reality."
Citizen Havel (Obcan Havel): A documentary film that closely follows the life of the Czech Republic's first president, Vaclav Havel. What a guy, let me just say. Compulsive about his appearance, the story of Vaclav's life is humorous and entertaining and the audience is given a sneak peak into every aspect of his life. The film made like the president seem like a real person. I could never imagine a film being produced like this on a US president. Way too controversial. Although, Bill Clinton and Bush both made some guest appearances in the film. Laundry: Okay, so maybe this isn't a cultural event, but it's also an event that I haven't done in way too long. At this point, the process just seems to excruciating. I'm getting desperate though so I hope I break down soon.
Rachel: Rachel is Prague this weekend! Whenever visitors come it just gives us a greater excuse to make sure we have a fun night. We tried out some new places last night, returned to some of our favorites. All of which were stellar, especially N11.
A weekend in Praha:
Good times. Good culture.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
[insert title]
I've made a new rule for myself: I am not going to go anywhere that is not within walking distance of Machova. [So maybe I'm not going to make it such a strict rule, but regardless, I need to start going to more places that are right around the corner!] This weekend was a great start to finding these so-called neighboring hidden treasures. Lunch at Cafe Meduza (excellent tea), brunch at Radost, and coffee and conversation at Shakespeare and Sons. And tonight, I shall add dinner at Cheers to that list with Ali and Dani-- nothing like a little Port Washington lovin' in Prague.
Johanna and I actually just got back from the Shakespeare and Sons Cafe-- a cute little cafe/used bookstore located oh about 3 minutes away from where we live. It's cheap, cute and conducive for long afternoon conversations. Over numerous lattes and cappachinos, Jo and I discussed the current and overwhelming issue of author's writing illegitmate memoirs. Thanks to the internet, no author can get away with claiming a fake persona as their real identity, however, I wonder how many memoirs have been written in the past that are in fact actually fiction. I don't think that this changes the legitimacy of the work itself, however, I think that the memoir should be categorized as fiction. The authenticity of the author, nonetheless, is questioned. I keep going back and forth on the issue, but it's really becoming more and more common. It makes me frustrated, confused, and somewhat apathetic all at the same time.
It's great though, because whenever I find a new place I want to go to, Johanna always comes with me. We have a great little system. Especially after this weekend, I needed to get out of the dorm. I had some sort of a flu which is finally going away thankfully. Being sick in a foreign country is an interesting experience that I don't think is necessary for everyone to go through. Especially when it comes to purchasing medication. I wasn't able to read any labels or even communicate my symptoms (a simply cough syrup was all I needed). I guess it was good thing to have to do, but Mom, I did miss your TLC.
I can't believe that we are rapidly approaching the half way mark of this program. Time seems to be flying by, yet when I think about how much we've done since January 11, it feels like we've been here forever. What a weird phenomenon. In 'celebration' of our half way mark, Danielle and I decided to add some spice into our room. We moved all the furniture around so that it looks way more like a d-side dorm, than the way they had it set up for us. Danielle has begun to embrace her inner dark-side, and I'm very proud of her. The room actually looks about double the size as well. All it needs is my tapestry and maybe a bit of Emma's moroccan-tent-lovin'.
Johanna and I actually just got back from the Shakespeare and Sons Cafe-- a cute little cafe/used bookstore located oh about 3 minutes away from where we live. It's cheap, cute and conducive for long afternoon conversations. Over numerous lattes and cappachinos, Jo and I discussed the current and overwhelming issue of author's writing illegitmate memoirs. Thanks to the internet, no author can get away with claiming a fake persona as their real identity, however, I wonder how many memoirs have been written in the past that are in fact actually fiction. I don't think that this changes the legitimacy of the work itself, however, I think that the memoir should be categorized as fiction. The authenticity of the author, nonetheless, is questioned. I keep going back and forth on the issue, but it's really becoming more and more common. It makes me frustrated, confused, and somewhat apathetic all at the same time.
It's great though, because whenever I find a new place I want to go to, Johanna always comes with me. We have a great little system. Especially after this weekend, I needed to get out of the dorm. I had some sort of a flu which is finally going away thankfully. Being sick in a foreign country is an interesting experience that I don't think is necessary for everyone to go through. Especially when it comes to purchasing medication. I wasn't able to read any labels or even communicate my symptoms (a simply cough syrup was all I needed). I guess it was good thing to have to do, but Mom, I did miss your TLC.
I can't believe that we are rapidly approaching the half way mark of this program. Time seems to be flying by, yet when I think about how much we've done since January 11, it feels like we've been here forever. What a weird phenomenon. In 'celebration' of our half way mark, Danielle and I decided to add some spice into our room. We moved all the furniture around so that it looks way more like a d-side dorm, than the way they had it set up for us. Danielle has begun to embrace her inner dark-side, and I'm very proud of her. The room actually looks about double the size as well. All it needs is my tapestry and maybe a bit of Emma's moroccan-tent-lovin'.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
the benevolence of a master and the cleverness of a subject
Ahoj,
jak se mas? Ja se mam dobre. Mej se moc hezky!
psych....
still can't write a whole lot in Czech, but we're getting there. Hopefully by the end of the semester I'll be able to write a simple entry in only Czech. [wishful thinking? we'll see].
Funny sidenote: Tonight at dinner Johanna and I were at Country Life and next to the cash register there was a stack of business cards that said, "Dear Customers, due to frequent thefts, we strongly advise you to watch your belongings while at the restaurant." Oh, Praha... I wonder if these cards are some sort of a twisted marketing strategy?
Anyway, so the reason why Johanna and I were out to dinner was because we were going to try and see the documentary film "Citizen Havel" for the second time. Yesterday we attempted to see it, however, it was one of those days where they don't show the film with English subtitles. Then tonight we get on line and I see a sign in half Czech and half English, so I actually wasn't really sure if I was reading it correctly but, the movie was sold out! I really lacked this week on my attempt to complete something cultural at least every week. But at least the attempt was there. Its the effort that counts, right? So I think I'm just gonna wikipedia, youtube or google the movie now, cause I'm too stubborn. Jo, though, is still working on making it to that movie... good for you.
I did do something new this week, however. After quitting my internship (details not appropriate for blog) I realized how much more free time I actually would have. I am now able to go to the free yoga classes that NYU offers every Tuesday. So Johanna took me to this wonderful yoga class with the most amazing teacher. The yoga class is it what is presumably an apartment building. It's so cute, with beautiful wood floors and overlooks a great part of the city. At the end of the class she opened our energy channels by rubbing her hands on our spines. Honestly, I can lay in child's pose forever.
I am staying in Prague this weekend, which I am really excited about. I think its good that we are staying here for the two weeks before spring break, especially because there is so many things we still haven't done in Prague. Also, I could use a bit of a break from traveling, as fun as it has been, it's still tiring.
[[Before I end this entry, one quick, private shout out to Aunt Addy! I don't know when you will be able to read this, but I love you and miss you and hope you feel better so soon!]]
jak se mas? Ja se mam dobre. Mej se moc hezky!
psych....
still can't write a whole lot in Czech, but we're getting there. Hopefully by the end of the semester I'll be able to write a simple entry in only Czech. [wishful thinking? we'll see].
Funny sidenote: Tonight at dinner Johanna and I were at Country Life and next to the cash register there was a stack of business cards that said, "Dear Customers, due to frequent thefts, we strongly advise you to watch your belongings while at the restaurant." Oh, Praha... I wonder if these cards are some sort of a twisted marketing strategy?
Anyway, so the reason why Johanna and I were out to dinner was because we were going to try and see the documentary film "Citizen Havel" for the second time. Yesterday we attempted to see it, however, it was one of those days where they don't show the film with English subtitles. Then tonight we get on line and I see a sign in half Czech and half English, so I actually wasn't really sure if I was reading it correctly but, the movie was sold out! I really lacked this week on my attempt to complete something cultural at least every week. But at least the attempt was there. Its the effort that counts, right? So I think I'm just gonna wikipedia, youtube or google the movie now, cause I'm too stubborn. Jo, though, is still working on making it to that movie... good for you.
I did do something new this week, however. After quitting my internship (details not appropriate for blog) I realized how much more free time I actually would have. I am now able to go to the free yoga classes that NYU offers every Tuesday. So Johanna took me to this wonderful yoga class with the most amazing teacher. The yoga class is it what is presumably an apartment building. It's so cute, with beautiful wood floors and overlooks a great part of the city. At the end of the class she opened our energy channels by rubbing her hands on our spines. Honestly, I can lay in child's pose forever.
I am staying in Prague this weekend, which I am really excited about. I think its good that we are staying here for the two weeks before spring break, especially because there is so many things we still haven't done in Prague. Also, I could use a bit of a break from traveling, as fun as it has been, it's still tiring.
[[Before I end this entry, one quick, private shout out to Aunt Addy! I don't know when you will be able to read this, but I love you and miss you and hope you feel better so soon!]]
Sunday, March 2, 2008
east bohem.
I never would have thought that I could be sitting on a tour bus driving through the windy roads of the Czech Republic towards East Bohemia. We left Namesti Miru at 8 am on Friday morning to go and explore the Czech countryside. I didn't realize how much I missed rural surroundings until I was surrounded by them. Prague, despite the the nice compactedness of its size, can almost feel claustrophobic at times. As soon as we were in the middle of farms and rolling hills, I almost thought I was driving through Clinton, NY. And I loved it. It's weird: I've noticed that there doesn't really seem to be suburbs close to the center of Prague. There's either the city itself or very rural environments.
My problem with the city itself, is the same problem I have with all cities. I always feel like I'm getting in people's way, which in turn makes me always feel slightly on edge. This feeling has especially intensified in Prague, since I'm always trying to avoid the barrier of language. So, it was very refreshing to get out of the city for 2 days and be able to relax and a more comfortable environment.
The first town we stopped in was called Nove Hrady where there is a beautiful Rococo complex called the Chateau Nove Hrady. The Chateau was absolutely huge and beautiful and on the outside there is a huge French garden (with a dinosaur? Not sure if that was Rococo though). The Chateau now stands as an intellectual and cultural center so I found it interesting that it was located a few hours away from Prague, which is the main city of the Czech Republic. The Chateau really does stand out as being the largest and the most ornate structure in the town.
For lunch, we drove to Litomysl, a medieval town which is the birthplace of the composer Smetana (Jo loves that stuff). We continued to Hradec Kralove which is where we were spending the night. Jo and I decided to bail out on the group tour-- I was pretty sick of listening to someone lecturing at me for the entire day-- and we went and explored the cute, little town on our own. For such a small town, there are a ton of nice restaurants, bars, cafes, stores etc. I'm confused as to what the socioeconomic status is of these towns. There are no large businesses surrounding the area for people to work, nor are there many tourists to help with its economy. It's very strange
The weather on Saturday was quite apocalyptic... in fact, it might have even been bordering biblical. We were supposed to visit another Chateau in Nove Mesto nad Metuju (New town upon the Metuje river) and visit the town of Kuks, but the rain and wind really didn't want us to go. We did end up finally making it to the Renaissaince Pernstein Castle, a Baroque and Renaissance style Chateau. There were gardens and a moat that at one point held bears. So as the storm was impeding the skies, Martina made the wise decision to skip Kuks and just head back to Prague. What a scary drive--- it was hailing, trees were falling down, and we were driving on roads that buses shouldn't even be driving on in nice weather. I was so happy to finally get back to Praha. Because of the storm we didn't have heat, hot water or internet access till this afternoon. But alas, the electricity's back on, we're nice and toasty and loving sippin' on grapefruit lemon tea.
Some pictures from East Bohemia:
My problem with the city itself, is the same problem I have with all cities. I always feel like I'm getting in people's way, which in turn makes me always feel slightly on edge. This feeling has especially intensified in Prague, since I'm always trying to avoid the barrier of language. So, it was very refreshing to get out of the city for 2 days and be able to relax and a more comfortable environment.
The first town we stopped in was called Nove Hrady where there is a beautiful Rococo complex called the Chateau Nove Hrady. The Chateau was absolutely huge and beautiful and on the outside there is a huge French garden (with a dinosaur? Not sure if that was Rococo though). The Chateau now stands as an intellectual and cultural center so I found it interesting that it was located a few hours away from Prague, which is the main city of the Czech Republic. The Chateau really does stand out as being the largest and the most ornate structure in the town.
For lunch, we drove to Litomysl, a medieval town which is the birthplace of the composer Smetana (Jo loves that stuff). We continued to Hradec Kralove which is where we were spending the night. Jo and I decided to bail out on the group tour-- I was pretty sick of listening to someone lecturing at me for the entire day-- and we went and explored the cute, little town on our own. For such a small town, there are a ton of nice restaurants, bars, cafes, stores etc. I'm confused as to what the socioeconomic status is of these towns. There are no large businesses surrounding the area for people to work, nor are there many tourists to help with its economy. It's very strange
The weather on Saturday was quite apocalyptic... in fact, it might have even been bordering biblical. We were supposed to visit another Chateau in Nove Mesto nad Metuju (New town upon the Metuje river) and visit the town of Kuks, but the rain and wind really didn't want us to go. We did end up finally making it to the Renaissaince Pernstein Castle, a Baroque and Renaissance style Chateau. There were gardens and a moat that at one point held bears. So as the storm was impeding the skies, Martina made the wise decision to skip Kuks and just head back to Prague. What a scary drive--- it was hailing, trees were falling down, and we were driving on roads that buses shouldn't even be driving on in nice weather. I was so happy to finally get back to Praha. Because of the storm we didn't have heat, hot water or internet access till this afternoon. But alas, the electricity's back on, we're nice and toasty and loving sippin' on grapefruit lemon tea.
Some pictures from East Bohemia:
 |
| East Bohemia |
Monday, February 25, 2008
i'm not lazy, just disoriented
When in Rome...
[almost as old and lame as 'Czech me out']
It feels great to be sitting in my bed right now. I'm enjoy Prague as my home base. But, nevertheless, Rome was incredible. It has been so long since Robyn, Ali and I have been together and had a sleepover for three nights in a row. Honestly, I couldn't think of two better people for me to explore Rome with! After all, we were part of the Latin cult in high school. For real though, being able to see and touch the Coliseum, the Forum, the Pantheon and other ruins was such an unreal, yet very real experience. I have been learning about ancient Rome since I was in 6th grade and now I finally was able to actually see its physical presence. The fact that the Coliseum is still standing so that I can touch what was in existence over 2000 years ago is amazing to me. I asked Robyn whether or not we should give the gladiator thumbs up or thumbs down. She opted for down, but I didn't know if I wanted to see something that gory.
Robyn was a terrific tour guide this weekend - we were never lost and were always heading to another wonderful spot. We were also fortunate enough to have the most incredible weather all three days. 65 degrees and sunny. Friday night we went out for an authentic Italian dinner with a bunch of people on Robyn's program. Homemade pasta, delicious bread, and some vino was a great way to start off my trip to Italy.
On Saturday morning we woke up early to get to the Vatican by 10 am, only to find out that about 500 people had the same idea. We eventually made it into the Vatican museums which were absolutely stunning. I've never seen a building decorated so ornately. The museum itself was huge- so huge, that at one point I didn't think we would actually get out of the building since it had been so long since I saw an exist. One of my favorite rooms was the Hall of Maps-- which was one of the many long hallways which led from the museum to the Sistine Chapel. Talk about a sensory overload...Walking around the museum I honestly didn't know which way to turn. After the Vatican we walked to St. Peter's Square where coincidentally the Pope was speaking. Regardless of your religious values, seeing the Pope speak is such a spiritual and important event (and I can vouch for that).
Robyn wanted to show us the Trevi Fountain in the evening before dinner- so after a nice power nap, we walked over to the fountain and the Pantheon. The Pantheon is much larger than I imagined. I kind of wished it was raining outside because there is a large hole in the center of the roof of the Pantheon- so as to resemble some sort of invisible column (says Rick Steves). All three of us threw coins into the fountain- no worries.
Campo di Fiero: definition: basically the frat row of Rome, consisting of a square of bars and Americans studying abroad-- what a great place, especially The Drunken Ship. That might be all I'm going to say about that night.
On Sunday, tour guide Robyn brought us to this huge market right behind her apartment building. It was pretty similar to the market in Berlin, except it wasn't freezing. We purchased some pashmina's for 3 euro- some of which smell like fish and others which are fabulously soft. After the market, I couldn't wait any longer. I seriously needed to see the Coliseum. I'm pretty sure the Coliseum was my favorite site the entire weekend. I couldn't believe how the labyrinth-like floor underneath the stage of the Coliseum was still relatively in tact. I wonder how many prisoners were held captive down there.
On our walk from the Coliseum to the Forum, we really tried to imagine what it would be like to live in Ancient Rome. Good thing something funny almost happened on the way to the Forum...[robyn fell]-- she didn't really, but she almost did. Robyn, Ali and I chose a lovely patch of grass to lie down on in the Forum and read about its history. I could not believe that we were actually in Rome. This whole experience is becoming more and more surreal the farther along it goes. I just can't believe I am actually traveling this much.
In general, the main difference I observed was that while sight seeing in Rome, you are completely struck by awe. Everything is just absolutely amazing to see since Rome was such an advanced society. Whereas in Prague, many of the remaining historic sites remind us of the destruction that occurred.
[Quick and last side note: Traveling TO the Rome airport is not an issue, but BEWARE, when traveling FROM the Rome airport, arrive VERY early because the airport is a complete disaster. Ali and I made it though, whew.]
Here is a link to all of my pictures from Rome:
[almost as old and lame as 'Czech me out']
It feels great to be sitting in my bed right now. I'm enjoy Prague as my home base. But, nevertheless, Rome was incredible. It has been so long since Robyn, Ali and I have been together and had a sleepover for three nights in a row. Honestly, I couldn't think of two better people for me to explore Rome with! After all, we were part of the Latin cult in high school. For real though, being able to see and touch the Coliseum, the Forum, the Pantheon and other ruins was such an unreal, yet very real experience. I have been learning about ancient Rome since I was in 6th grade and now I finally was able to actually see its physical presence. The fact that the Coliseum is still standing so that I can touch what was in existence over 2000 years ago is amazing to me. I asked Robyn whether or not we should give the gladiator thumbs up or thumbs down. She opted for down, but I didn't know if I wanted to see something that gory.
Robyn was a terrific tour guide this weekend - we were never lost and were always heading to another wonderful spot. We were also fortunate enough to have the most incredible weather all three days. 65 degrees and sunny. Friday night we went out for an authentic Italian dinner with a bunch of people on Robyn's program. Homemade pasta, delicious bread, and some vino was a great way to start off my trip to Italy.
On Saturday morning we woke up early to get to the Vatican by 10 am, only to find out that about 500 people had the same idea. We eventually made it into the Vatican museums which were absolutely stunning. I've never seen a building decorated so ornately. The museum itself was huge- so huge, that at one point I didn't think we would actually get out of the building since it had been so long since I saw an exist. One of my favorite rooms was the Hall of Maps-- which was one of the many long hallways which led from the museum to the Sistine Chapel. Talk about a sensory overload...Walking around the museum I honestly didn't know which way to turn. After the Vatican we walked to St. Peter's Square where coincidentally the Pope was speaking. Regardless of your religious values, seeing the Pope speak is such a spiritual and important event (and I can vouch for that).
Robyn wanted to show us the Trevi Fountain in the evening before dinner- so after a nice power nap, we walked over to the fountain and the Pantheon. The Pantheon is much larger than I imagined. I kind of wished it was raining outside because there is a large hole in the center of the roof of the Pantheon- so as to resemble some sort of invisible column (says Rick Steves). All three of us threw coins into the fountain- no worries.
Campo di Fiero: definition: basically the frat row of Rome, consisting of a square of bars and Americans studying abroad-- what a great place, especially The Drunken Ship. That might be all I'm going to say about that night.
On Sunday, tour guide Robyn brought us to this huge market right behind her apartment building. It was pretty similar to the market in Berlin, except it wasn't freezing. We purchased some pashmina's for 3 euro- some of which smell like fish and others which are fabulously soft. After the market, I couldn't wait any longer. I seriously needed to see the Coliseum. I'm pretty sure the Coliseum was my favorite site the entire weekend. I couldn't believe how the labyrinth-like floor underneath the stage of the Coliseum was still relatively in tact. I wonder how many prisoners were held captive down there.
On our walk from the Coliseum to the Forum, we really tried to imagine what it would be like to live in Ancient Rome. Good thing something funny almost happened on the way to the Forum...[robyn fell]-- she didn't really, but she almost did. Robyn, Ali and I chose a lovely patch of grass to lie down on in the Forum and read about its history. I could not believe that we were actually in Rome. This whole experience is becoming more and more surreal the farther along it goes. I just can't believe I am actually traveling this much.
In general, the main difference I observed was that while sight seeing in Rome, you are completely struck by awe. Everything is just absolutely amazing to see since Rome was such an advanced society. Whereas in Prague, many of the remaining historic sites remind us of the destruction that occurred.
[Quick and last side note: Traveling TO the Rome airport is not an issue, but BEWARE, when traveling FROM the Rome airport, arrive VERY early because the airport is a complete disaster. Ali and I made it though, whew.]
Here is a link to all of my pictures from Rome:
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| Rome |
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Jamie... You've got some 'splaining to do!
I can't believe how fast the weeks are going by here. Traveling on the weekends make the weeks seem nonexistant. I feel like we were just on the train home from Budapest and I am already leaving tomorrow to go to Rome! Fabulous.
This week, I decided to organize a little weekday night cultural event. The Black Light Theatre is one of those things that is just unique to Prague and I felt like we had to go see it while we were here. So after forcing people to buy tickets and come with me, the Black Theatre ended up being the most absurd thing I have ever experienced in my entire life. Honestly, I can't even come up with words to describe it. There's like two shows in one: one has a plot (kind of) and the other is just a black light show with people dancing. It's just unclassifiable. At one point, one of the dancers was sucking on a straw out of another dancers ass. Shortly after, it started raining on the audience. I'm not quite sure what the effect of that was. But the greatest line of the night occured when Amy turned to Johanna and whispered, "Jamie... You've got some 'splaining to do!". I did feel bad... But we all decided that in retrospect, we are glad we went because it was hilarious and something that we really should have just seen once. After the show, we took Molly who was visiting for the past few days (lucky her), to Usudu. This is my favorite place. It's so chill and I love the fact that it is becoming our usual Tuesday night place.
Wednesday was the nicest day we have had since we've been in Prague. The sun was shining and it was probably around 40 degrees. I only had one class so afterwards I decided to Czech out the temporary exhibit at the Museum of Decorative Arts. The exhibit is currently on Czech fasion in the 70s under Communism (obviously). Their fashion was influenced very much by the hippie movement in the 60s. The exhibit was small, but was a very pleasant way to spend my afternoon. But better yet, when I came home I decided to go for a run and search for the park that is right near our apartment. I was a little nervous to venture on my own since no one in Prague runs outside. It's a tell tale sign that you are American if you are running with your i-pod outside. Everyone just glares at you and I don't like running in public to begin with. But still, it put me in the best mood-- from the park, there is the most incredible view of the city.
So tomorrow Ali and I are going to visit Robyn in Roma. Haukeland would be proud. I can't wait for the Latin nerd in me to come out--the Colosseum, the forum, perhaps a day trip to Pompeii... it's all gonna be great.
This week, I decided to organize a little weekday night cultural event. The Black Light Theatre is one of those things that is just unique to Prague and I felt like we had to go see it while we were here. So after forcing people to buy tickets and come with me, the Black Theatre ended up being the most absurd thing I have ever experienced in my entire life. Honestly, I can't even come up with words to describe it. There's like two shows in one: one has a plot (kind of) and the other is just a black light show with people dancing. It's just unclassifiable. At one point, one of the dancers was sucking on a straw out of another dancers ass. Shortly after, it started raining on the audience. I'm not quite sure what the effect of that was. But the greatest line of the night occured when Amy turned to Johanna and whispered, "Jamie... You've got some 'splaining to do!". I did feel bad... But we all decided that in retrospect, we are glad we went because it was hilarious and something that we really should have just seen once. After the show, we took Molly who was visiting for the past few days (lucky her), to Usudu. This is my favorite place. It's so chill and I love the fact that it is becoming our usual Tuesday night place.
Wednesday was the nicest day we have had since we've been in Prague. The sun was shining and it was probably around 40 degrees. I only had one class so afterwards I decided to Czech out the temporary exhibit at the Museum of Decorative Arts. The exhibit is currently on Czech fasion in the 70s under Communism (obviously). Their fashion was influenced very much by the hippie movement in the 60s. The exhibit was small, but was a very pleasant way to spend my afternoon. But better yet, when I came home I decided to go for a run and search for the park that is right near our apartment. I was a little nervous to venture on my own since no one in Prague runs outside. It's a tell tale sign that you are American if you are running with your i-pod outside. Everyone just glares at you and I don't like running in public to begin with. But still, it put me in the best mood-- from the park, there is the most incredible view of the city.
So tomorrow Ali and I are going to visit Robyn in Roma. Haukeland would be proud. I can't wait for the Latin nerd in me to come out--the Colosseum, the forum, perhaps a day trip to Pompeii... it's all gonna be great.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
buda buda buda buda buda buda peshtttt
Dobre vecer! [good evening]-- it feels so good to be able to speak [the little bit of] Czech again! It's so strange how Prague is definitely starting to become our home base. It's always a relief to return from a trip and be back in good 'ole Machova.
It's 11:30 on Sunday night and I just got back from Budapest a little while ago. Our train home was at 1:30 pm and we were true champs. We came about 2 minutes close to missing the train because we accidentally went to the wrong train station at first. Unbeknownst to us, there are multiple train stations within close proximity to each other in Budapest. I guess it's all part of this so-called "experience," but I have to say this lack of being able to understand other languages is getting really frustrating at times. But alas, despite our large group of 10 people, we somehow managed to sprint onto the train.
In general, I think that Budapest and Prague are very similar. Both seem to be relatively small and manageable cities. Since we took the overnight train there on Thursday night, when we arrived on Friday we were ready to start the day. [I would no recommend said over night train, yet it was an interesting experience]. We met up with Dan who has now been studying there for 2 and a half weeks. He took us to see The Millenary Monument which is right on the beautiful Andrassy Street.
From the monument there is a great view of the Budapest Fine Arts Museum and we walked to the Turkish Baths and saw the gardens at the agricultural museum. In the Fine Arts Museum there is currently a Medici exhibit which we went to see on Saturday. It was a fair exhibit-- cool, but not unique to Buda. The gardens surrounding the agricultural museum are beautiful. There's a little pond with some chairs and a dock. It was brutally cold outside, but we all enjoyed resting on the waterfront for a while. Apparently Budapest has the most sunny days out of any city in Europe. While it was sunny the entire time we were there, I could not believe how cold it was compared to Praha.
On Friday night we went to a great bar called Szimpla. It was very resemblant of ELS basement--barely insulted concrete floor-- and there were just tables and space heaters. There were just a ton of travelers like ourselves from all over the world. We met a great group of Germans, some Australians, Greeks and some other Americans. I think one of my favorite things about all this traveling is meeting all of these random people my age and getting to talk to them about politics, education and cultural differences.
Also on Saturday, in addition to the Medici exhibit, we went to The House of Terror. If there was one thing I would recommend anyone to do while in Budapest it would be to go see the House of Terror. It was the best exhibit I have ever seen in my entire life, both the content and the way in which the exhibit was set up. The museum stands as a memorial for the victims of the two terror regimes in Hungary and also serves to show what life was like in Hungary during communism and nazism. In the basement there are actual prison cells--it was appropriately terrifying.
I think one of my favorite parts of the trip was when we walked along the Danube River which separates Buda and Pest. The views of Castle Hill are incredible and it was just so surreal to be walking along the river. We couldn't believe what we were actually doing.
Today before our train we decided to split up so that we could each do what we wanted to do before we left. Amy and I decided to venture to the Hungarian Literature Museum. Although there was absolutely no English, I still found it fascinating to read about famous Hungarian poets and see photos and illustrations. The museum is named after the poet Sándor Petőfi. I cannot wait to read his translated poems when I get home.
That was longer than anticipated...
It's 11:30 on Sunday night and I just got back from Budapest a little while ago. Our train home was at 1:30 pm and we were true champs. We came about 2 minutes close to missing the train because we accidentally went to the wrong train station at first. Unbeknownst to us, there are multiple train stations within close proximity to each other in Budapest. I guess it's all part of this so-called "experience," but I have to say this lack of being able to understand other languages is getting really frustrating at times. But alas, despite our large group of 10 people, we somehow managed to sprint onto the train.
In general, I think that Budapest and Prague are very similar. Both seem to be relatively small and manageable cities. Since we took the overnight train there on Thursday night, when we arrived on Friday we were ready to start the day. [I would no recommend said over night train, yet it was an interesting experience]. We met up with Dan who has now been studying there for 2 and a half weeks. He took us to see The Millenary Monument which is right on the beautiful Andrassy Street.
From the monument there is a great view of the Budapest Fine Arts Museum and we walked to the Turkish Baths and saw the gardens at the agricultural museum. In the Fine Arts Museum there is currently a Medici exhibit which we went to see on Saturday. It was a fair exhibit-- cool, but not unique to Buda. The gardens surrounding the agricultural museum are beautiful. There's a little pond with some chairs and a dock. It was brutally cold outside, but we all enjoyed resting on the waterfront for a while. Apparently Budapest has the most sunny days out of any city in Europe. While it was sunny the entire time we were there, I could not believe how cold it was compared to Praha.
On Friday night we went to a great bar called Szimpla. It was very resemblant of ELS basement--barely insulted concrete floor-- and there were just tables and space heaters. There were just a ton of travelers like ourselves from all over the world. We met a great group of Germans, some Australians, Greeks and some other Americans. I think one of my favorite things about all this traveling is meeting all of these random people my age and getting to talk to them about politics, education and cultural differences.
Also on Saturday, in addition to the Medici exhibit, we went to The House of Terror. If there was one thing I would recommend anyone to do while in Budapest it would be to go see the House of Terror. It was the best exhibit I have ever seen in my entire life, both the content and the way in which the exhibit was set up. The museum stands as a memorial for the victims of the two terror regimes in Hungary and also serves to show what life was like in Hungary during communism and nazism. In the basement there are actual prison cells--it was appropriately terrifying.
I think one of my favorite parts of the trip was when we walked along the Danube River which separates Buda and Pest. The views of Castle Hill are incredible and it was just so surreal to be walking along the river. We couldn't believe what we were actually doing.
Today before our train we decided to split up so that we could each do what we wanted to do before we left. Amy and I decided to venture to the Hungarian Literature Museum. Although there was absolutely no English, I still found it fascinating to read about famous Hungarian poets and see photos and illustrations. The museum is named after the poet Sándor Petőfi. I cannot wait to read his translated poems when I get home.
That was longer than anticipated...
Thursday, February 14, 2008
a rant
This is going to be a quick update, as it is 8:30 pm and I need to finish packing for Budapesshht. Our train leaves at 12:30 -- I hope this whole night train thing works out. I want to take a sleeping pill and just sleep the whole 8 hours but people warn you about theft. Gotta love Europe.
Anyways, today when I woke up I realized just how much I missed Hamilton. Just to refresh your memory, last year, on Valentine's Day, we had the first snow day in 21 years at Hamilton. With the three feet of snow that we woke up to, there were also bottles of Andre at 7 am, snowshoeing across campus, and jumping out of the third story of Milbank. We have not even seen one snow flake in Prague. As much fun as I am having, I can't help but miss being at Hamilton and everything that comes along with that. This is such a different experience than a semester at Hamilton--definitely not bad, but different [socially, academically etc]
Academically, I truly miss sitting in a class where I am intellectually stimulated. While it is great not having to do virtually any work, I wish I felt like I was learning something in my classes. In classes we only seem to skim over the surface of things. We'll read these really interesting novels by Kafka and Orwell for instance, but the class discussions never really get that deep, to say the least.
I will say, though, that I can't complain about the lack of work and the ridiculously low expectations that professors hold here.
Sorry for that rant. I'm done now. I shall write again when I return from Budapest!
Anyways, today when I woke up I realized just how much I missed Hamilton. Just to refresh your memory, last year, on Valentine's Day, we had the first snow day in 21 years at Hamilton. With the three feet of snow that we woke up to, there were also bottles of Andre at 7 am, snowshoeing across campus, and jumping out of the third story of Milbank. We have not even seen one snow flake in Prague. As much fun as I am having, I can't help but miss being at Hamilton and everything that comes along with that. This is such a different experience than a semester at Hamilton--definitely not bad, but different [socially, academically etc]
Academically, I truly miss sitting in a class where I am intellectually stimulated. While it is great not having to do virtually any work, I wish I felt like I was learning something in my classes. In classes we only seem to skim over the surface of things. We'll read these really interesting novels by Kafka and Orwell for instance, but the class discussions never really get that deep, to say the least.
I will say, though, that I can't complain about the lack of work and the ridiculously low expectations that professors hold here.
Sorry for that rant. I'm done now. I shall write again when I return from Budapest!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Hey there, Visa, welcome to Praha!
My visa finally made its way across the pond yesterday! And inside was a wonderful chocolate valentine from my mom (Thanks, Mom!). It is such a relief to have the stupid sticker in my visa because now I can travel wherever and whenever I want. I also got a fabulous package from Nanners in the mail yesterday. Contents included: sideburns, dark chocolate, and a Mr. Rogers quote book. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better package.
This past weekend was quite debaucherous. My dad so wisely advised me, "Maybe, Jamie, you should stop burning the candle on both ends" -- I think I need to start practicing what he preaches. It was Danielle's 21st birthday so we had two visitors for the weekend (Abby and Abel). On Friday we decided to have a rather cultural day in Prague so we ventured over to the Museum of Decorative Arts. We only saw one of the permanent exhibit which I really enjoyed. Founded in 1885, the museum itself is absolutely beautiful and it displays pieces of European decorative arts that tread a fine line between fine and applied art. From rugs and draperies to clothes and bohemian pottery, there was a little bit of everything. I am definitely going to go back and check out the temporary exhibit which is "Czech fashion in the 70s". We also took our visitors to the infamous Lennon Wall and walked them across the Chuck Bridge. It's so cool being able to navigate our way around
I actually wasn't feeling too well this weekend so I decided to stay in on Friday night and get a good night sleep for Saturday. Since we've had such a good track record with pub crawls, Johanna took it upon her responsible self to create a pub crawl of our own for D's birthday. What a great night. It gave everyone who didn't go away for the weekend an excuse to all go out together. While I'm abroad, I'm not only making new friends from other schools, nor just getting to know people from a different country, but ironically, I'm also meeting more people from Hamilton that I wasn't very close to, which makes the anticipation of senior year even greater!
On Monday I decided that I wanted to get back on a good track and get my life together, so before my internship I went on a cultural adventure to the Mucha and Dali exhibits right in Old Town Square. Dali is one crazy artist. I was actually more interested in the photos of him then his actual paintings.
Much time has past since I started writing this entry-- so time might seem warped. But I just got back from a Datarock concert at Akropolis. What a great scene that was. Music- great. Crowd- fabulous. I need to make myself go to bed now because I skipped last Wednesday's class already and can't do that again...yet. But just so you know, Johanna was called up on stage for the last song. She's famous now and got to drink champagne with the band. What a gal.
Dobre vecer.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
jak se mas?
Usually if I skip a class, I do feel some sense of guilt. But yesterday, being that it was the real "ASH" Wednesday, I just had to skip Civil Resistance. It would have been one thing if I just sat in bed all day, but Ash, Moose, Danielle and I went exploring and found the Eiffel Tower of Prague, better known as the Lookout Tower on Petrin Hill. To get to the tower, you have to walk up a ridiculous amount of steps. But the stairs wind through the woods and as you walk up you just have the most incredible view of the entire city. I can't wait to take my parents there. It was so nice to be surrounded by so many trees, yet also have the view of the city. We were also so lucky because it was the most spectacular weather- the sun was finally shining and it felt like a warm pre-spring day.
Last night, despite everyone's lack of desire to actually go to Mecca, of course we ended up there. But for real, that's it. I'm not going back. First of all, I'm sick of it. Second of all, it's not fun. Third of all, there are so many other places that I want to go to that I need to stop wasting my Wednesday nights at Mecca. Sorry about that rant, but it needs to be written in stone so then maybe I won't actually go.
Four classes on Thursdays have been tough, but I'm definitely getting used to it and its worth it since I dont have class on Mondays. This morning in Civil Resistance we watched the Oscar winning film, Doctor Zhivago which is about a Russian doctor who falls in love with a poilitical activist's wife during the Bolshevik Revolution. We only got to watch half of it but it was really good. We have been reading books and watching films that show very politically active people during the revolution. But this film was interesting because the Doctor did not have any strong political views. So you can really see how for people who don't want to be involved, they are really trapped amidst the violence of war.
Last night, despite everyone's lack of desire to actually go to Mecca, of course we ended up there. But for real, that's it. I'm not going back. First of all, I'm sick of it. Second of all, it's not fun. Third of all, there are so many other places that I want to go to that I need to stop wasting my Wednesday nights at Mecca. Sorry about that rant, but it needs to be written in stone so then maybe I won't actually go.
Four classes on Thursdays have been tough, but I'm definitely getting used to it and its worth it since I dont have class on Mondays. This morning in Civil Resistance we watched the Oscar winning film, Doctor Zhivago which is about a Russian doctor who falls in love with a poilitical activist's wife during the Bolshevik Revolution. We only got to watch half of it but it was really good. We have been reading books and watching films that show very politically active people during the revolution. But this film was interesting because the Doctor did not have any strong political views. So you can really see how for people who don't want to be involved, they are really trapped amidst the violence of war.
Monday, February 4, 2008
"Remember that time in Berlin when..."
Oh, Mondays! [especially those Monday's that happen to fall the morning after the Super Bowl]! Our train came into Prague at 10 pm last night from Berlin and then we immediately changed and headed to Legends, a sports bar at which we had reserved a table, to watch the Super Bowl.
What a great game, although I will admit that I was too tired to stay till the end. Berlin really took a lot out of us, but it is really an incredible city. While more modernized and westernized than Prague, there is still a great amount of history and plus, the people seemed to be very friendly. It actually was very refreshing yet strange at how apparent the differences were between Czechs and Germans. While in Germany for only a few hours, we began to realize how much we were already beginning to assimilate to Czech culture, or at least becomes accustomed to many social habits unique to the Czechs.
We left Prague on Friday morning at 6:30 am and go to Berlin around noon. As we are checking into the hostel (Circus- incredible hostel) we coincidentally stumble upon Rachel whose 21st birthday it was! Her and a couple of friends from her program were staying in the same hostel as us. What a small world. It was great though, because they had already been there for a few days so pretty much knew their way around. They took us to Museum Island where we explored 2 out of 3 of the gigantic museums (Altes and Pergamonmuseum). The public transportation system was on strike all day on Friday so we walked everywhere which was really nice. The exhibits were mainly Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt and a little bit if Middle Eastern Art, which was my favorite. The Pergamonmuseum is like no other museum I have seen before. Rather than just have small pieces of pottery or paintings etc, the Pergamonmuseum is made up of huge monuments and altars that someone purchased.
I had asked one of the RA's "If there was one thing you could go see in Berlin, what would it be?" and she had told me that we have to go check out the Parliament building (Reischtag Dome). They allow people to walk on top of the roof while Parliament is in session so that when members of the Parliament look up they remember that the people are "always above them". The whole concept is kinda neat, but apparently everyone who visits Berlin wants to do that so we ended up bailing out of the line to get inside the building. Instead, we went to see the Brandenburg gate which is really incredible. It's enormous!
Friday night, in honor of Rachel's 21st birthday we went out for Indian food and then did another pub crawl. We're thinking about trying to do a pub crawl in every city we visit. We have already met so many awesome people from the two we have done. In fact, Tim, our new friend from Australia met up with us in Prague last night. The first night in the hostel we got back to our room around 2:30 and we still hadn't met our room mates yet. We were in an 8 person room, but there were only 4 of us girls. In the middle of the night, we are awoken by the four Australian guys that are sharing a room with us. After waking US up, they fell fast asleep SNORING (very loudly).
On Saturday we woke up early to get the day started. We switched into a 6 person room with two boys from Australia. It's really incredible how many people we met at the hostel. And I love having conversations with people our age from different countries and seeing how they view Americans and the rest of the world.
Finally, on Sunday we decided to check out one of the flea markets that Berlin is known for. It was walking distance from our hostel and the sun was finally shining again. There were a ton of people, tchotchkies, and brats. It was very "Berlinesque"...I cannot wait to go back to Berlin at some point and spend a longer amount of time there.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
in libris, veritas; in kava, vita
[in books, truth; in coffee, life]- "The Globe"
Well tonight marks the eve of our first overnight adventure outside of Praha. We are all pretty tired and horrible at packing which makes for an interesting combination. Good thing its only for a weekend.
I thought I would do a quick little update before Berlin:
Last night I just couldn't 'mecca it'. Mecca is a club that we have been going to every Wednesday night. It's fun, but it is quite the intense scene. I made about half way up Machova and then realized that my body couldn't actually physically make it there. So instead, Moose, Ash, and I enjoyed a hilarious evening of Arrested Development and a cozy bed. Since staying in is such a rarity here, I've come to appreciate the feeling even more.
So much so that this morning was not as brutal as anticipated since I had to wake up early to finish my roll of film for photography. In an effort to complete something on my list of things to do in Prague before I leave, I decided to go to the sex machine museum and take my last few photos. Johanna was supposed to come with me but at 8:30 this morning, it turned out I was in this alone. Super sketchy... and weird... especially because I was the only person in the entire museum.
For my class 'Kafka and his Contexts', we had to read 'The Judgement' which I have never read before. But we still have yet to remotely discuss it. I wrote about how last class we went to visit Kafka's birth place, well today we did a walk around Old Town Square and saw the different apartments that Kafka lived in and the schools he attended. Seems to me like Kafka's Contexts are taking priority over Kafka himself. I'm not complaining. It's also weird because one of the buildings my professor took us to today was the same building where the notary is located and I had just been there earlier this morning to get something notarized for my (still non existant) visa.
I have been researching various bookstores/cafes here in Praha and after photo today, Johanna and I decided to wander over to The Globe which is conveniently located near one of the metro stops. It was just what we both needed -- a very relaxing atmosphere with delicious food and great books to peruse. I definitely want to go back -- hopefully we can make it one of those "usual" places.
Well, as the washing machine perpetually spins since it won't open for me, I must go forcefully attempt to pull my clothes out. (Laundry is very difficult here in Prague, just so you know). And then I shall get some sleep only to wake up at 4:15 am to train it to Berlin!
Na schledanou for now! I will update again after the weekend.
Well tonight marks the eve of our first overnight adventure outside of Praha. We are all pretty tired and horrible at packing which makes for an interesting combination. Good thing its only for a weekend.
I thought I would do a quick little update before Berlin:
Last night I just couldn't 'mecca it'. Mecca is a club that we have been going to every Wednesday night. It's fun, but it is quite the intense scene. I made about half way up Machova and then realized that my body couldn't actually physically make it there. So instead, Moose, Ash, and I enjoyed a hilarious evening of Arrested Development and a cozy bed. Since staying in is such a rarity here, I've come to appreciate the feeling even more.
So much so that this morning was not as brutal as anticipated since I had to wake up early to finish my roll of film for photography. In an effort to complete something on my list of things to do in Prague before I leave, I decided to go to the sex machine museum and take my last few photos. Johanna was supposed to come with me but at 8:30 this morning, it turned out I was in this alone. Super sketchy... and weird... especially because I was the only person in the entire museum.
For my class 'Kafka and his Contexts', we had to read 'The Judgement' which I have never read before. But we still have yet to remotely discuss it. I wrote about how last class we went to visit Kafka's birth place, well today we did a walk around Old Town Square and saw the different apartments that Kafka lived in and the schools he attended. Seems to me like Kafka's Contexts are taking priority over Kafka himself. I'm not complaining. It's also weird because one of the buildings my professor took us to today was the same building where the notary is located and I had just been there earlier this morning to get something notarized for my (still non existant) visa.
I have been researching various bookstores/cafes here in Praha and after photo today, Johanna and I decided to wander over to The Globe which is conveniently located near one of the metro stops. It was just what we both needed -- a very relaxing atmosphere with delicious food and great books to peruse. I definitely want to go back -- hopefully we can make it one of those "usual" places.
Well, as the washing machine perpetually spins since it won't open for me, I must go forcefully attempt to pull my clothes out. (Laundry is very difficult here in Prague, just so you know). And then I shall get some sleep only to wake up at 4:15 am to train it to Berlin!
Na schledanou for now! I will update again after the weekend.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Lost in Translation
[["The door was the way to... to... The Door was The Way. Good. Capital letters were always the best way of dealing with things you didn't have a good answer to." ~Douglas Adams (props to Nancy :)) ]]
I'm proud to say that, tonight, two and a half weeks into our abroad experience, Johanna and I successfully made a home cooked meal. While mine merely consisted of a bag of frozen vegetables, rice and eggs, it still felt good to sit down for a well-balanced meal. I feel like so far on this trip we have been scavengers- searching and grabbing any morsel of food we can find. It's basically like perpetual weekends on the dark side. But, yea, it was definitely nice to come home from a long day of internship and classes and just sit down at our kitchen table and eat. I'm getting sick of going out to dinner or just stopping on the street and picking up a sandwich.
Yesterday was the first day of my internship at The Prague Writer's Festival. The office is conveniently located about 5 minutes away from the NYU Center, so it won't be a problem going right from or right before classes. The office is in a really great area of the city, one which I hadn't known existed until yesterday. I'm pretty sure the hours I will be going to the office are Mondays 3-6 and Tuesdays 10-1. It's great because a lot of the work that I have to do can be done while I am laying in my bed. Perfect. The president of the Prague Writer's Festival is absolutely brilliant and he has interviewed and spoken with so many famous authors (Rushdie, Atwood, Schneider, Burroughs, Auster...to name a few). I think I am going to learn a lot of useful and interesting things by working closely with the festival and it will also hopefully help my Czech!
The main thing I am working on right now for the internship is correcting the english translation on the website. It's so weird though - I almost feel bad translating the English because it's almost as if I am re-translating the translation. Someone has already taken the Czech website and translated it into English and it is my job to correct the existing English; however, the problem is that some of the English is incomprehendable. I feel like by the time my 'translation' is through, the original meaning of the Czech will be twice removed. But, oh well, I guess there isn't really anything I can do about it since I can't read Czech.
So as I find myself lost amongst both English and Czech translations, I have also found myself lost amongst the labryinth-like city streets of Prague. Two weeks ago, my biggest fear was getting lost on a side street alone. While that fear still remains (don't worry, Mom), I have found a sort of peaceful angst when it comes to wandering the streets of Prague. Since I now know the general direction in which I should be heading, I love exploring and venturing off on my own. I feel like the only way to truly feel comfortable in a foreign place is to get lost and find your way.
Today on the third day of classes we went on our first field trip to a Kafka museum and we saw the building where Kafka was born. I could do this whole field trip thing...
I'm proud to say that, tonight, two and a half weeks into our abroad experience, Johanna and I successfully made a home cooked meal. While mine merely consisted of a bag of frozen vegetables, rice and eggs, it still felt good to sit down for a well-balanced meal. I feel like so far on this trip we have been scavengers- searching and grabbing any morsel of food we can find. It's basically like perpetual weekends on the dark side. But, yea, it was definitely nice to come home from a long day of internship and classes and just sit down at our kitchen table and eat. I'm getting sick of going out to dinner or just stopping on the street and picking up a sandwich.
Yesterday was the first day of my internship at The Prague Writer's Festival. The office is conveniently located about 5 minutes away from the NYU Center, so it won't be a problem going right from or right before classes. The office is in a really great area of the city, one which I hadn't known existed until yesterday. I'm pretty sure the hours I will be going to the office are Mondays 3-6 and Tuesdays 10-1. It's great because a lot of the work that I have to do can be done while I am laying in my bed. Perfect. The president of the Prague Writer's Festival is absolutely brilliant and he has interviewed and spoken with so many famous authors (Rushdie, Atwood, Schneider, Burroughs, Auster...to name a few). I think I am going to learn a lot of useful and interesting things by working closely with the festival and it will also hopefully help my Czech!
The main thing I am working on right now for the internship is correcting the english translation on the website. It's so weird though - I almost feel bad translating the English because it's almost as if I am re-translating the translation. Someone has already taken the Czech website and translated it into English and it is my job to correct the existing English; however, the problem is that some of the English is incomprehendable. I feel like by the time my 'translation' is through, the original meaning of the Czech will be twice removed. But, oh well, I guess there isn't really anything I can do about it since I can't read Czech.
So as I find myself lost amongst both English and Czech translations, I have also found myself lost amongst the labryinth-like city streets of Prague. Two weeks ago, my biggest fear was getting lost on a side street alone. While that fear still remains (don't worry, Mom), I have found a sort of peaceful angst when it comes to wandering the streets of Prague. Since I now know the general direction in which I should be heading, I love exploring and venturing off on my own. I feel like the only way to truly feel comfortable in a foreign place is to get lost and find your way.
Today on the third day of classes we went on our first field trip to a Kafka museum and we saw the building where Kafka was born. I could do this whole field trip thing...
Sunday, January 27, 2008
I love lazy Sundays. In Prague, the fact that literally everything is closed on Sundays gives me the perfect excuse to stay in bed, which is much needed after we attended the pub crawl last night. Monday is Rachel's birthday so we decided to celebrate it on Saturday night with the pub crawl. Isaac, the crawl leader, met us in front of the astronomical clock at 9:30 pm and from there we crawled to various pubs in Old Town [most of which we have already been too, so at least we know we're hitting the right spots].
Before the debaucherous events of the crawl, Johanna, Tessa, and I had such a wonderful day. First, we all went to purchase our train tickets for Berlin next weekend! I'm really excited that we are actually following through with plans... that is definitely something new to me. We are leaving at 6:25 am on Friday morning [brutal!] and then coming back to Praha on Sunday night. Luckily the superbowl doesn't start here until 2:30 in the morning so we'll be back in plenty of time.
After finding one really great vintage store, we have been a mission to seek out others. Yesterday we had great success. Not only was the store incredible, but we also befriended another owner. She is from California and has been living in Prague for a few years now. Every American or Australian that I've met so far has been so friendly. Honestly, being over the pond, I feel like I am actually learning more about Americans than about the Czechs themselves. I guess that isn't a bad thing, just not what I would have expected.
In an effort to try and do something cultural everyday, we decided to check out the Lennon Wall, which is right off of the Charles Bridge. It's actually in this amazing area that we had never seen: it's much quieter, and less touristy than Old Town Square.
It really is an amazing thing: the Lennon wall first started in the 1980s because students would write Beatle-inspired quotes on the wall as a means to non-violently rebel against the communist regime. Now, the wall is a representation of people's graffiti from all over the world. It's really neat to see how so many different people come to one small wall and continue to reflect the ideas of peace.
While walking to the tramvaj from the Lennon Wall, we found a beautiful park with tons of benches. I was so happy to see more than one measly tree in one concentrated area. As beautiful as the buildings are here, I do still miss being in the middle of the woods at Hamilton.
Before the debaucherous events of the crawl, Johanna, Tessa, and I had such a wonderful day. First, we all went to purchase our train tickets for Berlin next weekend! I'm really excited that we are actually following through with plans... that is definitely something new to me. We are leaving at 6:25 am on Friday morning [brutal!] and then coming back to Praha on Sunday night. Luckily the superbowl doesn't start here until 2:30 in the morning so we'll be back in plenty of time.
After finding one really great vintage store, we have been a mission to seek out others. Yesterday we had great success. Not only was the store incredible, but we also befriended another owner. She is from California and has been living in Prague for a few years now. Every American or Australian that I've met so far has been so friendly. Honestly, being over the pond, I feel like I am actually learning more about Americans than about the Czechs themselves. I guess that isn't a bad thing, just not what I would have expected.
In an effort to try and do something cultural everyday, we decided to check out the Lennon Wall, which is right off of the Charles Bridge. It's actually in this amazing area that we had never seen: it's much quieter, and less touristy than Old Town Square.
It really is an amazing thing: the Lennon wall first started in the 1980s because students would write Beatle-inspired quotes on the wall as a means to non-violently rebel against the communist regime. Now, the wall is a representation of people's graffiti from all over the world. It's really neat to see how so many different people come to one small wall and continue to reflect the ideas of peace.
While walking to the tramvaj from the Lennon Wall, we found a beautiful park with tons of benches. I was so happy to see more than one measly tree in one concentrated area. As beautiful as the buildings are here, I do still miss being in the middle of the woods at Hamilton.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Kutna Hora
This is probably going to be a boring post, but I just wanted to mention what we did today. It's 5:45 on Friday evening and we just got back from Kutna Hora- a medieval town- where we saw St. Barbara's Church which was absolutely beautiful:
The tour was a little longer than I would have liked. I wish we could just go to some of these places and explore on our own rather than have to follow a tour guide. We spent like 20 minutes in one tiny room-- I need to just go and look at everything at my own pace.
But after the church we went to lunch and then went to the Bone Church, the reason why I truly went to Kutna Hora today. I am really happy that I decided to bring out my camera for photo today. I can't wait to develop the pictures and see how they came out. I took some pictures, or I should say Danielle took some pictures, with a digital camera of the bone museum:
So overall, it was a good first day excursion-- I'm looking forward to going away for the weekends now though.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Favorite Word in Czech- Okurka
[[okurka: translation: cucumber]]
At Hamilton I always have such strong ambitions to attend guest speaker lectures and other cultural events that the school offers. I plan on going, get excited but then at the last minute I tend to get caught up, or usually too lazy to lazy to walk from the dark side to the Chapel. So, I have to say that I am pretty surprised, yet proud at how we have been forcing ourselves to go to any event that sparks interest. It's easy to just hang out, but I've felt so good after going someplace important every day here. The latest cultural event I've attended was last night's showing of the documentary "Fighter"- a movie about life in Central Europe for Jan Weiner, a Jewish man who successfully escaped Czechoslovakia during WWII. Jan Weiner actually came to the NYU center to present the film and later answer questions. The movie was so moving and had an even greater impact on the audience because he was there in person. The movie is about him retracing the steps of his escape-- and you literally see the places where his friends and family were killed and where he himself almost died. After watching this movie, things started to hit me. I am truly starting to understand the lost sense of identity that these people have incurred as a result of living under the communist regime.
Anyways, so after receiving an email about internship opportunities in Prague, I couldn't resist applying for the Prague Writer's Festival. I really didn't want an internship but this one just seemed so cool. After meeting with the head of the festival yesterday, it seems like it is going to be a really great experience, but a little more intense than anticipated. I am basically the editor of the website... I think. We'll see next week when the internship actually starts. But here is the website if you want to check it out: www.pwf.cz
Crazy update: I've been feeling a little lack of protein in my diet. So while out to a lovely romantic dinner tonight with Johanna, I made the bold move and ordered a chicken kebab. Not too bad... but of course I thought some of it was undercooked.
Tomorrow is our first day trip excursion compliments of NYU. We are heading to Kutna Hora at 8:30 in the morning. I cannot wait to go to the bone museum...
At Hamilton I always have such strong ambitions to attend guest speaker lectures and other cultural events that the school offers. I plan on going, get excited but then at the last minute I tend to get caught up, or usually too lazy to lazy to walk from the dark side to the Chapel. So, I have to say that I am pretty surprised, yet proud at how we have been forcing ourselves to go to any event that sparks interest. It's easy to just hang out, but I've felt so good after going someplace important every day here. The latest cultural event I've attended was last night's showing of the documentary "Fighter"- a movie about life in Central Europe for Jan Weiner, a Jewish man who successfully escaped Czechoslovakia during WWII. Jan Weiner actually came to the NYU center to present the film and later answer questions. The movie was so moving and had an even greater impact on the audience because he was there in person. The movie is about him retracing the steps of his escape-- and you literally see the places where his friends and family were killed and where he himself almost died. After watching this movie, things started to hit me. I am truly starting to understand the lost sense of identity that these people have incurred as a result of living under the communist regime.
Anyways, so after receiving an email about internship opportunities in Prague, I couldn't resist applying for the Prague Writer's Festival. I really didn't want an internship but this one just seemed so cool. After meeting with the head of the festival yesterday, it seems like it is going to be a really great experience, but a little more intense than anticipated. I am basically the editor of the website... I think. We'll see next week when the internship actually starts. But here is the website if you want to check it out: www.pwf.cz
Crazy update: I've been feeling a little lack of protein in my diet. So while out to a lovely romantic dinner tonight with Johanna, I made the bold move and ordered a chicken kebab. Not too bad... but of course I thought some of it was undercooked.
Tomorrow is our first day trip excursion compliments of NYU. We are heading to Kutna Hora at 8:30 in the morning. I cannot wait to go to the bone museum...
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