Praha--finished the entry but with no time to practice piano before sicily
I finally arrived in Prague at around midnight and was met my Dana and her dad. They took me back (I enjoyed the Czech billboards and lights that go red, yellow, green) and her mother served me dinner of breaded pork and mashed potatoes. All I really wanted was to go to bed, but the food (particularly the perfectly smooth and buttery potatoes) was quite good. I was served so much and had to force to finish it, but wanted to be polite.
Dana normally lives on her own, but stayed with her parents in a shared bunk with me. The next morning there was quite a spread for breakfast, and I felt bad for them going out of there way. With umbrellas in hand (no vu compra), Dana and I set off for the metro. I bought a full day pass, which at first I though wouldn’t pay off, but it did by the end of the day. She took me around the city. First Wenceslas square (of X-mas song fame) and the location of most political
happenings in Prague including all the protests against communism. A man named Jan (the local male name equivalent for John) once set himself on fire there in protest. All the building around were very interesting and I know Dad would have had a blast. I confess I was never stuck by the absolute beauty of the city, maybe because of the rain. I feel bad about that. We then saw several opera houses, one of which premiered Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Professional music is everywhere here (not so many street musicians)-every church and concert hall advertises a concert for that night-lost of black light theater and don Giovanni too. I can’t imagine that the quality could be that good as it is produced in such mass, but I wonder if it is easier to make a living as musician in this city. We were going to go to a Czech “folk” concert, but she said it was took text base and that I wouldn’t enjoy it. I think I disagree, but oh well. It is interesting that “the magic flute” is translated into the local language, but nozze di Figaro isn’t. Perhaps because it was originally written in the colloquial language as a singspiel.
Then to the old town square. Saw the clock tower, Tyn church (which she says you can’t go in...Not sure I believe her) and the Hus memorial. We did go in a different church that was big and on the corner of the square-I am sure it has an important name. Also saw the museum of cubism-with an appropriately shaped building. There seems to be a lot of little museums of art and history around, which I like. Didn’t have time for the Dali one, but I didn’t rate it priority either. La Reina Sofia waits fro me in Madrid.
We then went to the Jewish Quarter, but as it was the beginning of Passover, everything was closed. We did wander and saw the cemetery and the outside of synagogs. Saw some sort of movie being filmed as well. We then continued to another theater and to Charles Bridge, passing a giant working metronome where the statue of Stalin used to be. We came across a funny man with an accent explaining how the Czech people were after him and were going to kill him and did we know of a safe church? He didn’t realize until later that Dana was Czech. Not sure if he was scamming us or just delusional. We had lunch at a pizzeria of all places…but at least it was cheep, especially with the ISIC discount. First time I have had the opportunity to use mine, but she had one and that covered both of us-haha. The pizza was actually really good, a mix between American and Italian styles. I really liked it (dare I say…better)-probably because of all the butter and garlic.
We passed by a lovely park, stopped in and encountered peacocks on the other side. Beautiful. There was a lot of walking all day and my ankle started to bother me (Dana walks quite fast…which was fine by me to see more sites, she also always gets off metro stops without really saying when they are…but I do see her leaving in time and it becomes obvious) and I was cold and wet from the rain. They had neat little covers for their back packs to keep them from getting wet. Smart (although I would probably never actually to use one if I had it). We went back across the river to meet up with her ex-boy friend, now friend, near yet another theater. I enjoyed having him to change up the group dynamic. I had met him at UR when he visited Dana in the fall (he was studying in NYC). We went on a small island in the river and then up a funicular to a park. Too rainy for the Eifel tower model, but we did go into a house of mirrors that would have been good had they been clean and had smaller boarders. Then down the hill we went, passing the American and Italian Embassies to get to a small café for tea. Both he and she use cloth Kleenexes that I though long ago we proven unsanitary. Maybe I am wrong and they have a method. It is cute and quite to see though.
We left Peter, for that is his name, and returned home for dinner. Some sort of lasagna/casserole, but beyond that description I am not sure. It was surly good though. Cucumber soupish thing as a side dish. I learned that in Czech you actually change you last name for gender, number and possessive agreement (and there is debate if it is proper to do so when talking about foreign names). Interesting Dana’s frustration about not knowing someone’s gender by his or her last name.
After checking my email (another perk to staying with a family), we decided to go to a club for the night. I had nothing nice to wear, but let my hair down and made the best of the sweaters I had. The first one we tried allowed women in free and we soon learned why. We were basically the only women there and the only other were not as well dressed as we were and stood much higher.
We tried a different one that had five stories. Neat place. Dana bought me a beer. The Czech beers are supposed to be the best in the world and it is even consumed more here than in Germany. I tried it and just couldn’t do it. Perhaps I should have given it a better go for culture’s sake, but yikes. Barley even had 1/8th of it. We dance for quite some time and I waffled between having a wonderful time and wanting to go to sleep from exhaustion (not to mention wanting a full day of tourism the next day). I found no decent dance partner, but tried sever. Did find a pleasant British guy who was there with his buddies after having just returned from Iraq. At first I was wary of him, but he really was quite nice. At this point it was better to have my hair tied up, especially late when some guy pulled it to see if the curl would spring it back. Yes…even at that late hour my hair has some life left in it. I fond the guys there quite forward and were good for a slap at some points, but also very quick to back off if told to do so. The result was a fun night of dancing without too much worry about unwanted advances. I don’t think I fully realized this until we were leave through. Just as well because it is at that point it probably would have gotten crazier. I felt like a bit of a party poor when I said we should go. Torn between wanting her to have fun too (as well as me living it up) and tourism the next day, I called it a night around 1:30. Metro was closed so we took a tram and a bus home with a small walk, only to find she had forgotten her keys in the house (for a while she was afraid she had lost them at the club-luckily later she found them). To make matters more difficult her parents are very heavy sleepers and it took a long time at the buzzer and several stones to the window to finally rouse them.
The next morning there was a cake for breakfast-a creamy cheese cake (ish) with apricots and the Czech equivalent to Savoradri. It took a long time to get out of the house, but I guess the big breakfast cut out the time needed fro lunch. We made our way to Prague castle. A quick moving line to get into the church. Very large and beautiful with stain glass of many small pieces and one by Mucha. Another that was beautiful purple. Can you imagine singing in such a place? *winks* We also went up the south tower for a good view. It is funny how some stairs seem to go up for ever and others pass so quickly, having nothing to do with the number of steps. We were constricted for time, but decided to go ahead and get a ticket for the interior of several rooms of the castle. The crown jewels were being displayed to the public (once every five years or so), but the line was huge so we didn’t go. We did see a museum on the history of the castle and Wenceslas’s armor. There was another church to see and then the touristy Golden Lane (with Kafka’s house and torture tower). Didn’t see much of great interest and I wonder if I missed something, but rick Steves agrees it is underwhelming. We did stop in to the toy museum (after I just couldn’t let it go) with an impressive collection of antique toys and Barbies. Even saw one or two things that I had owned once. Had we gone at a pace with itinerary in mind, we would have been fine for the rest of the day, but as it was we kept rushing, then changing plans then lollygagging then changing plans and rushing. Mostly because Dana wanted to meet up with friend latter, which was fine, but we could have been better organized.
She was to meet her friends at 17:00, but that got changed. So I went to the Mucha museum while she got food. Beautiful and quite enjoyable I had fun there. A woman came up to me while I was watching a video on Mucha and pointed the security cameras, saying something in Czech/English. I am not sure what activities she was referencing. We were right by the Museum of communism, but Dana seemed insistent that I eat and that we walk some distance to do so. Mean time it was a beautiful day, but the sun was setting on my opportunity to see the Old town square without the rain. I would have gladly forgone the Italianish dinner (spicy zucchini), for a quicker snack and the chance to see more sights. Meantime she had rescheduled to meet her friends at 19:30 beck near where we had come from. So I said that I would go to the commy museum (at around 19:15) and that she would meet them and come back for me in an hour to tell me where they ended up.
I really wanted to see the clock tower ring, so I ended up rushing through the commy museum, which looked fascinating (particularly the video depicting the desistance) in order to make it to the square by 20:00. It was neat and I was glad to have seen it. If I hadn’t snuck away to see the clock strike, I never would have. It is a famous thing to do in Prague, but my tour guide didn’t think it was worth it and didn’t pick up on my disagreeing hints. So I saw it…cool…nothing spectacular, but would have been really sorry to miss it. (Later we almost saw it, but she wasn’t too worried about making it happen.
So then I rushed back to our meeting spot, only to wait around debating if I should pop back into the museum. She finally came with new shoes in hand, but saying that her friend never showed. Oh well. So it goes.
After insisting that I wouldn’t enjoy the Czech folk music, she took me a tea house, which was really wonderful. We arrive only shortly before it closed so we were a bit rushed, but it was a neat place. She says there are several around Prague and I must see if I can find some in Richmond. Or just make my own tea room.
We strolled to the Old Town square at night. Wandered away from the clock tower just long enough to miss the turn of the hour. Then we returned home. Once again there was a wonderful dinner 9I feel ad that she never called her parents to say were going to be late). Some sort of meat with WONDEFUL dumplings, that unfortunately they server wit yummy gravy that masks the pure carb rush. Again, a lot of food and the desire to go to bed to prep for a 6:20 flight the next morning. I really meant to start a conversation with Dana’s dad about living in communism, but forgot. Peccato!
Btw…I didn’t shower this whole weekend and it seemed neither did they. There were clothes and things hanging in the shower (in the same room with the ink and laundry machine), but I was provided with a large towel that seemed it was for showering. I do know that the “need” to shower everyday is stereotypically American. Also, the toilet was in a room by itself with walls reminiscent of an airplane. Funny. Dana tells me the two buttons for flushing vary the amount of water depending on the need-an EU standardization.
Much of the weekend was a struggle between wanting to be a good and easy guest and getting what I want out of Prague. But there is such a huge benefit to having a personal touch to the city and real local food (even if it means missing the more stereotypical local food. We spend so much time trying to get an “authentic” experience when we travel. Remember that authentic generally means work everyday and crashing on the couch with no sightseeing at all-so for this very reason sightseeing with a local has its ups and downs. Do we really want a typical day or just to experience something truly different from out own? I am trying to live life the rick steves way and feel guilty for not thoroughly enjoying it. Maybe I needed to think of it differently. I did have a wonderful time and it was great to see Dana. And it was REALLY nice to be lead around, not having to worry about logistics and loggings! She also paid for me in KC’s and I paid her back in Euros (I think I messed up math and overpaid by 10€--oh well, I almost gave her even more wanting to be nice). She also taught me some check words. Phonetically: ahoy (a casual hello) and yetkuyay (thank you), the later of which I used with her mother, but only afterwards realized how wrong I was pronouncing it. Now I wished I had saved the words for please, formal hello, and excuse me for later use.
Dana’s dad (I would say Mr. Silhava, but that is the unmarried female version of their last night and I don’t really know how he would be called), said that I should be at the airport an hour before and I suggested perhaps a little more time for an international, Monday morning flight. 1.5 hours was plenty of time, but also not excessive and I am ok with waiting rather than missing a flight. I do feel bad that they drove me though.
Dana’s mom gave me apples, a banana and chips to take with me. So sweet. It is funny how she mothered the whole time (also for having her daughter home) and how even though she didn’t speak English there is that common mothering language (warm enough? Enough food? Be safe. Don’t stay out too late). I left some cookies, nuts, and chocolate for them with a thank you note. Wine would have been perfect, except for the 3 oz (100 ml) rule on planes. I should have gotten a picture of the four of us together.
At the airport I saw two IES guys who had also spent the weekend in Prague-so funny. They seemed to enjoy the castle more than I had (what could they have seen) and had eaten lots of goulash (which Dana said wasn’t really Czech so I didn’t get that experience-also no waffles, bracelet pastries and grilled cheese). The guys were slightly tipsy I think.
Though the flight home was a bit cloudy, I did get to see a bit of the Alps.
I hope this writ up wasn’t too negative. I really did have a good time!
I decided not to show Dana the blog and make up a reason why not.