grave-dancing with the ghosts of prague's past.

Tuesday turned out to be a pretty cool day. It was our first day of class, and I wasn't looking forward to it. During our time here, we're taking mostly photo stuff, but also some tidbits on Czech history. Our history professor, a young and enthusiastic guy, gave us a fast forward lecture on what the Czechs have been through and where they are now.

Recap: Czechs are simple. They like beer, dogs and fresh flowers, and everything about their lifestyle reflects that. They are a "hobbit nation" and don't mess with the kings. They pretty much mind their own and enjoy their days. They've been bombed twice - once took out half of city hall (a warning bomb by Hitler) and one took out a church ( on accident by the U.S. who then gave them money to rebuild it )

After class, we walked around the school area, got lunch at an Italian restaurant (veggie tortellini!) and then went back for a short photo lecture. Then, as a class, we went down to this gigantic historic cemetery.

Olsany Cemetery

We were given a couple hours to go exploring. There were acres and acres of graves dating back hundreds of years. I spent an hour and a half and got one row of one block covered. The cemetery was pretty creepy and overgrown. 

Headstone peeking through the shrubbery

Some were even empty -- don't ask where the bodies went, I couldn't tell you. 

I spent the hour or so tip-toeing around headstones and wedging my way between graves to get good pictures. Oddly enough, it wasn't really that creepy. It was more like a park, where people just happened to be buried, than a normal cemetery. Moms were walking their children in strollers and many people were just out for an afternoon stroll. It was interesting, definitely a different culture -- i think mainly because they have a lot more dead people here, or atleast older ones. 

We took the tram home and then went all the way out of town to visit the "Meet Factory" -- the place I'll be doing my photo documentary on. It's an artist commune that invites foreign artists into Czech culture to integrate styles and make Czech art more progressive. The factory is housed in an old Meat factory and was started by David Cerny, a famously controversial Czech installation artist. 

Here were the directions I was given: take the 12 tram about 20 minutes. hop off, when you see the giant poles that hold the electric wires, climb through them and cross all 8 of the railroad tracks -- walk up the hill and you're there....so that's what I did. 

Joshua, the artist I've been talking to, gave us a tour of the place. I'll be spending all day Saturday with him starting my documentary. The place is AWESOME and he was incredibly nice, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Brews and Rendezvous

Note: Starting today, I have to incorporate the academic part into my blog, so there'll be a bit more photo explanation. 

Around Here: Czech fashionisto running to catch the tram.

 Monday got off to a pretty rough start. My roommates and I went to get breakfast, and I got lost...again. I was taking pictures, I turned around, and they were gone. We were out exploring the area near our house, so it wasn't too far away from home. In the meantime, I did snap a couple cool shots of people doing stuff around the church 2 blocks away.

I hopped into a Czech bakery, knowing that delicious pastries and sandwiches awaited me. Overwhelmed with freshly baked aromas, I decided to ask for help. I spotted a man wearing a Key West shirt, immediately assuming he spoke English -- after all, he had been to Key West. BIG MISTAKE. I asked him if he spoke English, he said a little bit, but at that point, I was too committed to back back into my comfort zone. I told him politely that I wanted to know what he suggested ordering. He then proceeded to start yelling at me, telling me that there was no way he could know what I would want to eat, and so how could he possibly help me. I said pastry, he didnt understand. I said breakfast, he didnt understand. I said BREAK-FAST, he understood and told me to order anything I wanted. Helpful....not. Then he said something in Czech to the woman behind the counter, mostly likely mean, and walked out. I just pointed to something with cheese, paid for it and left. I was so upset I started welling up in the bakery, pathetic, I know. With all my rough encounters these first couple days, I've been feeling rather unstable!

Because all I managed to order was a snack, I stopped by this Italian restaurant for lunch. For 130 CZK   ($7.25), I got a HUGE plate of gnocchi with spinach and gorgonzola cheese -- it was delicious.

Then we had a brief meeting about our blogs, and went down to have orientation at the school, CET. CET is located near Old Town Square (the city center) and we live about 10 minutes away by tram. I'm beginning to learn the tram system, thankfully, I havent taken the wrong one again...yet.

After our orientation, we went to a brewery/monastery to have our welcome dinner. I ordered Grilled Vegetables and Goat Cheese -- completely heavenly, and totally picturesque.

The brewery was located at the top of "the hill", so you could see the whole city. It was completely breathtaking. We had a lovely meal and then walked down the hill through the castle at night.

Wish You Were Here: View of the City from the Brewery

As we walked down the hill, it was getting dark and I got another stunning view of Prague.

The Nocturnalist: View of City from on top of the hill near the Castle 

Angels in the Architecture: getting a sneak-peek of the Castle over some buildings. 

Sense of place: The illustrious cathedral of the Castle. This is just the doorway, you can see the scale. 

As we continued to walk down the hill from the castle, there was an overlook. I think Prague could give Paris a run for its money for the "City of Lights" title. 

The Nocturnalist: Well-lit Prague peeking over a castle wall. 

We continued to make the trek down "the hill" taking photos all along the way. 

The Nocturnalist: Group walk down the hill

Even though it was off to a rough start, it ended quite well. I'm really beginning to love the city, and the people are growing on me....slowly. We've learned a couple of Czech words -- Hello, Thank you, Excuse me, Do you speak English?...you know, the essentials. The Czechs really appreciate our feeble attempts to speak/butcher their language. 

If you'd like to practice Czech in your spare time, just clear your throat a couple times. You've probably said something really thought-provoking. 

Stay tuned, the summer's just begun. Dekuji! (DEH-Kwee) ie. thanks!

the end of the line.

We ventured to the Billa (grocery store) this morning to stock our pantry in case of emergencies, like last night. We got lots of delicious cheeses and breads, in addition to our cheap czech toiletries. I filled a basket and spent 400 CZK (like 22 dollars...sweet!). Then we came home and took a nap, since we're all still recovering from jetlag.

Around seven or so, we decided to go out to dinner for our first real meal. We went to a place called Pilsner something-er-other. It's still up-in-the-air if Pilsner sign just indicates that they serve it, or if thats the name...because theyre everywhere. And we, of course, drank a signature Pilsner - for .5 Liters it was 39 CZK ( about 2 dollars ...also sweet!) They had English menus but we still ordered our food hesitantly. I got gnocchi with salmon and cream sauce - basically what it sounds like with a few fish bones for flavor. My roommates for the "farmers special" which came with potato dumplings - sliced potato, potato pancakes - fried potato slices, bread - like an american dumpling, pork and cabbage - sweet sauerkraut. And then my other roommate got herb trout and french fries - lucky her, she got the whole fish...eyeball included.

Important things to know: All the Czech food appears to be very hearty -- Meat, potatoes, and gravy. Smoking is allowed inside. Beer is really, really cheap and dogs can ride the tram, and go inside restaurants.

After dinner we came back to the apartment for a bit, then headed out to go exploring. We took the tram down to where we thought the Old Town Square was, but it wasn't. We drank out of an awesome public water fountain, and then everyone decided to go back to the apartments. This is where it gets good.

Jules and I didn't want to go back, so we figured we'd explore for a bit more, then take the same tram back before midnight (when they close). So around 11:15 pm, we opted to get on the tram to ensure we made it back on time. So we headed down to the station, and hopped on...the wrong way. Realizing after a couple miles that we were heading away from the city, we figured - oh well theres still 30 minutes, surely it turns around and we'll still get to where we need to go - wrong. WRONG.

At what we thought might be the last stop, we peeked our heads out and the tram drivers waved the "cut-off" sign at us -- i.e. get off the tram. NOW. its closed.

The blue dot is where we live, the red dot is where we were.  On foot. 

So there Jules and I were, in literally, the middle of nowhere. There was a tram stop and thats it. It was the end of the line. We were completely panicked with nothing and no one in sight. We tried to devise a plan: Ok - we'll walk along the tracks and we'll get back to somewhere familiar...well that might have worked, except the tram takes its own overpass that i doubt it would be safe to walk on. second plan, text mom and get the address and our teachers phone number - maybe we can call a cab - oh wait - we dont know where we are or how to dial a czech phone number. Third plan, even though its after midnight, lets wait at this stop and hope a tram that passes, picks us up - oh my, there is a god and it did! - we got back to the city. not home, but atleast there were lights.

We looked at the tram map while riding it alone at 12:30 and picked a stop near the metro. The tram is a trolley car, the metro is a subway...from what I've gathered. There's also busses and taxis - Czechs are big on public transport. So we get off where the tram runs over the metro...too bad the tram is underground, and just because you can see it on a map, doesnt mean you can get on it. We walked around that area for a couple minutes and spotted a gas station that was open, asked the attendant if she spoke english - no, of course not. Then we saw a bar, the diviest of dives, with three helpful men.

This is how the conversation went:
- Do you speak English?
- leetle beet
- Metro?
- i said leetle beet
- (Czech words from other guy explaining that i meant the metro)
- oh, red blue or yellow?? A, B or C?
- um red?
- red blue or yellow?
- (other guy chimes in) - um tram 18?
- other guy 2 - 18, 24, 17, 6

As I'm sure you can see, the conversation was going places, just not back to our house. They were trying their very best to use their 'leetle beet' of english and we said thank you -- they actually said you're welcome once they figured out how to say it -- and headed back to gas station.

My guardian angel had my back and put a cab at the gas station! We showed him the address (thanks mom!) and you'll never believe it, he took us there! (and played Britney Spears on the ride) So for only 200 CZK (11 dollars) we made it home...safe and sound.

Now that I've mastered the door, we walked right in. Completely ready to kiss everything in our apartment and so grateful we made it home alive.

Things I learned today:
Fish come with bones and eyeballs.
Trams don't run in circles.
Program your address into your phone.
Bring your phone.
Stun guns make you feel really safe when you walk alone on railroad tracks in the middle of the night in a foreign country.
Stun guns don't make you feel really safe when you realize you're walking alone on railroad tracks in the middle of the night in a foreign country and if someone actually attacked you, your stun gun might seem like a girl-punch.
Not all taxi drivers are scary and rip you off.
Don't leave home without a map.
Learn a couple Czech words.

Side note - just like my Italian washing machine, the Czech washing machine also sounds like its going to take flight any minute.

czech-ing in.

Our apartment number.

Well kids, I made it Prague. After eight hours in an American plane, eight hours in a French airport, and 2 hours on a plush czech plane (with way more leg room and free sandwiches and wine..i might add), I finally arrived. When Rachel and I arrived at our sweet new pad (see video), we were super pumped. Its HUGE! It puts my Italian study abroad apartment to shame...and it even has an elevator.

We were starved after our long plane rides and decided to grab some czech grub. I tossed my wallet and my stun gun in my purse and headed out the door. Our program coordinator had had some trouble getting the door open so we decided to try to figure it out before we left. Bad move. We realized that we had no clue how,  and certainly not enough brute force to get it open. 

We assumed it was just user error, and since one of our other roommates was inside sleeping, we didnt panic. We tried for like 20 minutes with no luck. Then we decided to start ringing the doorbell. Keep in mind, there's a noise ordinance after 10pm that results in large fines and jail time. The doorbell sounds like the loudest, most annoying kitchen buzzer your grandmother ever had. Our roommate was as close to dead as you can sleep, (after the plane ride, who could blame her), so needless to say, the doorbell might as well have been whispering. Our next plan was to figure out where our teacher (or anyone else in our program) was staying...so, we go down to the mailboxes and locate three of our programs apartments. At 1am Czech time, we start knocking and ringing doorbells.  All of those people were also dead to the world. (Side note for aunt marty - as we're hiking up and down the stairs, i see a balcony in the stair well and think 'oh how cool!' so i walk out there a push the door open and a GIANT pigeon flew right at my head and TOUCHED me and i let out a rather loud shriek that echoed in the building...awesome) 

Finally, we hear someone come into the building so we went sprinting down the stairs to see a young guy entering his apartment. I said "excuse me, is there anyway you can help us get our door open? it's our first night and we're locked out," he said " hmm. mm. mm. SLAM" and then he was gone. Although most czechs speak english, we're going to assume he didn't, so that way i don't have to think he's the biggest jerk on the planet. With failed plans 1, 2, 3, and 4 under our belts we opted for plan  5 - hold down the doorbell indefinitely. -- FAIL. 6 -- start almost crying and bang on the door -- ALSO FAIL, and 7 -- make enough noise that echoes so that maybe the police are called and they can actually open the door...regardless of fine or jail time -- FAIL AGAIN. and then finally plan 8 -- young czech girl comes into our building after a night on the town and we ambush her and beg her to help us. After about 15 more minutes struggling, her strength and czech know-how opened the door. It was a pulling-pushing-holding-the-key-one-way-while-making-sure-you-unlocked-the-other-lock-and-not-break-the-key type umph that finally did the trick. Needless to say we didn't eat. Or leave the building.

When we came back in, we raided the cabinets and found one edible item - a split pea/black-eyed pea concoction with czech directions. Our first czech meal was probably the best we'll eat, partly because it was pretty good, mainly because it was the only thing to eat.

On a positive note, there's a bar around the corner, a grocery store not too far away, and an interesting couple that live across the street (but our windows our the same height)....so this is going to be a good summer. 

Tour of our House:

                              

Let the blogging begin.

After my Orlando flight getting delayed, flying to JFK with every single person who had previously been at Disney world, sprinting to my Paris flight and then sitting in the plane for an hour and a half before taking off, I finally made it to Paris.

Aerial View of the Beaches of Normandy

The difference between Europe and the U.S.

Bonjour Paris! (You can see the Eiffel Tower in the foggy distance if you squint)

I have an eight or so hour layover there before I fly to prague. One might think that thats plenty of time...until you've been to Charles de Gaulle. After I walked all over the airport at least five times, stopping at every single information desk and getting different directions, I've finally identified the gate that I think my flight will leave from. Because I'm so early, I can't check my bag yet, which means I got to carry it around on all those inter-airport journeys. In addition, you can't go into the bathroom with luggage, and you can't leave your luggage unattended. Meaning I couldn't go to the bathroom. I had big plans to brush my teeth/freshen up/etc, but was just continuously denied from the bathroom by a large metal pole.

Finally, I decided to venture into the handicap stall. I don't recommend that because apparently, it's not acceptable. The dirty French looks I got were more than memorable.

French Handicapped Bathroom

On a positive note, I think, many people have just started talking to me in French. I'm going to take that as a compliment and just think that it's because they think I'm french.

I had my first baguette of the summer, and it was delicious.

Currently, I'm looking forward To checking this bag, taking a nap and making it to Prague before the end of the world hits.