king of the castle

This is from my other blog, but it details what we did last Sunday!

View of the Karstejn castle from the butts (or busts) of mannequins

Forty short minutes away from Prague lies Karlstejn - home to King Charles' castle. There's not much else in Karlstejn, but the views alone are worth the 60 CZK it cost to get there.  It's a 2-mile walk uphill to the castle with gift shops and zmrzlina all along the way. I'm not sure what exactly you are supposed to do if you live in Karlstejn and need to buy something other than a Czech sweatshirt, but I guess the Karlstejnians have figured it out. The town is very quaint and if you could imagine what a traditional Czech town might look like, this hits the nail on the head. Windy roads, small cars, gardens, fences, clothes lines and gnomes in windows are all included in the uphill climb. If you get lucky, like we did, you even get to hear the small Czech children donning traditional garb singing in the streets. I'm not sure what they were singing about, but holding hands, pigtails and spinning around in a circle were all part of the gig -- also worth the 3 bucks, if you ask me. 

When you finally reach the top of the hill, you feel like you've run a marathon. Luckily, there's a spot to stop and get beer about half way up the most brutal part of the climb. After you reach the top, you can pay various amounts of money to see various parts of the castle. They have some English tours and student discounts make it pretty affordable. Be wary of the English tours because the tour guides have semi-programmed the tour into their vocabulary, so their English isn't that good if you actually have a question. If you're not really into history, going into the castle won't do much for you. A majority of the inside was redone during Restoration in the 19th century. All the 'art' on the walls is pieces of the actual 14th century castle, so that's pretty neat. You also get to see replicas of some crowns - they pretty much look like replicas, though slightly more glamorous than a crown you might have worn in a 2nd grade school play. 

For me, the main draw was the awe-inspiring view you get when the tour is over. The basic tour spits you out in the castle's courtyard. The courtyard is worth exploring. If you go up and stand on something you can see the whole land, and you pretty much feel like King Charles, minus the crown. You guessed it, also worth the CZK you pay. 

When exiting the castle, there's a little nature trail that takes you around the other side of the mountain. It's scenic, you get to walk next to a stream, and I'm pretty sure it's shorter. If motivated, which you will be, have a Hansel and Gretel moment and skip down the trail and frolic in the stream. You wind back through town and then back to the train station. It's a pretty hefty walk there and back so make sure you've worn comfortable shoes. 

I snapped this particular photo mainly because I love mannequins. I have a technicolored mannequin named Janice at home -- and she's awesome. She would be proud I took this photo. It seemed appropriate because the juxtaposition was so rare - a mannequin and a 14th century castle. It's not everyday you see such a sight. Not to mention that being in a city that's so painfully touristy, every other second someone is snapping a picture of someone else in front of an iconic landmark. I felt the mannequins should also have photos to show mom and dad too- maybe even send a postcard. After having been here a week, I can safely say I'm surprised by nothing the Czechs do, so this should be expected. 

biking 'round prague.

This is becoming slightly outdated and I apologize. Having to do a blog for school and this one is proving to be really time consuming. And the one for school doesnt really say much about anything other than the photo. 

Well anyways, so we took a bike tour of the city last Friday and it proved to be a pretty hair-raising experience. Led by my professor, we went motor scooter and small vehicle dodging all over the cobblestoned city. 

Thankfully it proved to be pretty uneventful for me despite my Murphy's Law for bicycling. I only almost hit just ONE person and my chain came off. It was pretty chilly that morning, so it was actually a lovely ride. Prague is pretty flat, so unlike Texas, we weren't riding uphill both ways. 

We saw a lot of architecture, but it pretty much all blurs together for me at this point! 

So here were the highlights:

Sculpture by David Cerny

 These black babies sit/crawl on a spot outside one of the modern art museums. They are giant and have faces that are a combination between a barcode and a punched in cartoon character face. 

Here's a closeup - not my picture

They also crawl up this russian radio tower. - also not my picture

Cerny is the creator of the Meet Factory, the place I'm doing my photo documentary on, so it's pretty nifty that his popular and controversial work is all over the city.

 Here's another one of his pieces we stopped by. The two men pee in a pool that's the shape of the Czech Republic.

David Cerny sculpture

On a more peaceful note, we stopped by to see the Lennon Wall. It gets painted and repainted every day by various "artists" around the city. Generally speaking, its a peaceful protest wall with Beatles' quotes.

Lennon Wall

And last but not least, we pedaled over a bridge to get to the Lennon Wall, that was covered in padlocks. It's tradition for sweethearts to lock their love to the bridge and throw away the key. It's not just here, apparently it's starting on the Brooklyn bridge and other places in the US too, but I'd say it's more popular here. Overall, PDA is more popular here!

Padlocks of Love

Late Insert: I dont know how I could have forgotten this, but Friday night I went to a Czech drag show. Men in women's clothes in Czech. What more could you ask for?!

I spent all of last Saturday spending time with Joshua, the artist that lives at the Meet Factory that I'm doing my documentary on. We're getting along quite swell, so I'm excited about the project!

marching to the beat of gypsy feet

Trekking from Wincelas Square to Old Town Square with the gypsies today proved to be a remarkable feat.  Previously, my view of gypsies stemmed from my grandmother’s warning that their fake babydolls would guilt me into giving them money and then they’d pick my pockets in return for my kindness.  Needless to say, it was kind of skewed.

Unlike the fake-babydoll-carrying-swaddling-clothes gypsies of Italy, the Romani gypsy parade was a fantastical celebration of gypsy culture in Prague. Decked to the nines in makeup, bells, bangles and flowy clothing of all sorts, the gypsies twirled and whirled their way through town. Supported by family, friends, photographers and fanny-packed bystanders, gypsies young and old strutted their stuff down the cobblestone streets. Representing all ethnicities, from Indian to Hispanic, the gypsies marched in support of their homelands.

Never before have I feared being trampled, but kneeling down trying to capture a photo of gypsy feet can really change a person's mind on those types of things. Elbowing and wedging my way to the front of the crowds, I felt similarly to that 'N Sync concert I went to in middle school. It's interesting how some points in your life connect to vastly different experiences you've had. 

Because the parade was moving so swiftly, it was almost as if the crowd was doing a tango with the each gypsy tribe, circling and dispersing, constantly in flux. Winding around corners, down the narrow streets, the parade hustled and bustled with colorful life.  For some of the younger girls, it seemed as though this were their big ballet recital, posing and twirling all lipsticked and smiley. 

I was thoroughly impressed by the dedication of each tribe to their performance. I took this picture because I wanted to capture both the landmark of Prague and the contrast of the colorful gypsy. In addition, I wanted to illustrate the movement and chaos that ensued during the parade. I think this photo depicts the parade to a tee. 

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.

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.