Spring Break: Czech it out!

Good to see everyone’s still checking for new posts! I know what you’re thinking, “It’s been two weeks since she’s posted anything. Did she fall in a Venetian canal or lean too far over the cliffs of Capri?” Okay, maybe you’re not so concerned, but I promise I’ll do my best to make this post worth the suspense.

My spring break adventures started in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. I have to start by saying I have never felt more like an American tourist than I did in Prague. The Czech Republic is the first county I have ever been to where I’ve had absolutely no knowledge of the language—I mean zero! I could barely even say, “Hello.” Luckily, the Czech people seem to be much more forgiving than the Frenchies. Everyone I came into contact with spoke English and not a single person gave me the “Oh, just another stupid American” look (except maybe the guy working the front desk at our hostel, but I later realized that was just his everyday expression, and thus he was nicknamed the “hostel receptionist”— punny, right?).

Without any specific itinerary in mind, we (Rachel, Maria and I) set out to explore the city early Saturday morning and quickly learned that, although small, Prague is full of architectural treasures. I really don’t know how to do it justice! Every other building was painted in a different bright color: lemon greens, salmon pinks and pale yellows. Gothic churches were situated next to Romanesque churches, Islamic inspired synagogues and art nouveau era houses. One of the strangest buildings in the city (I mean that in a good way) is known as the Dancing Building or the Fred and Ginger Building because its impressive modern structure resembles two dancers.

The Dancing Building





This is one of the stalls that sold Trdelnik.
See them cooking the rolled pastries? Yum!

 We happened to arrive in Prague just as their Easter celebrations were gearing up. Throughout the city we stumbled upon numerous festive markets selling painted eggs, children’s toys, jewelry and other crafts. Trees were hung with bright streamers and ornaments and a series of musicians and other entertainers performed on a stage erected in the main historic square. My personal favorite part of these markets was the food stalls. I don’t think there’s any better way to experience the local cuisine than to try what the locals are cooking up for themselves: goulash and sausages, kebabs and some sort of delicious pastry whose name I can’t recall, but I think it’s like the Czech version of a funnel cake—so basically heaven! 



Interior of the Spanish Synagogue

 Day two was a little more structured. Rachel and I took a tour of the Jewish museum, which was spread out in six different synagogues. One of the most interesting things I discovered was the legend of the Golem. The basic storyline describes a rabbi who decides to summon a Golem in order to protect the Jewish community of Prague. Although there are various versions of the story, they usually end with the Golem becoming increasingly violent and turning on the rabbi who then forces the Golem to return from whence he came (‘whence’ just makes the story sound more epic, doesn’t it?). Anyway, much like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the Golem seems to have become a commercial figure in Prague society. You can now purchase your very own Golem action figure or send your grandma a postcard of Rabbi Loew and his golem. (I promise I took more than just the legend of the Golem away from the history of Prague’s Jewish Quarter. I just loved the irony of taking such a violent creature and turning him into a plushy.)
 


Prague's very own Ronald McDonald....
just a little scarier.

 

Statue of Kafka

We also went to a museum dedicated to Franz Kafka—Prague’s literary hero. It was one of the wackiest museums I have ever seen. I must admit I have never read anything of his before, and couldn’t have even named one of his books, but as I had expected the museum to present Kafka in a biographical manner—you know, “and here we have Kafka’s favorite pair of pants which he only wore well gardening in the springtime”—I figured that wouldn’t be an issue. No, this particular museum took a much more creative approach, concentrating mostly on his works with just a dash of biography for fun. Instead of simply presenting the subjects and themes of his works with panels and pictures, the museum transformed his novels into artistic installations. For example, imagine a very long hallway lined with floor to ceiling file cabinets. Bright fluorescent lights emanate from several half-opened drawers. I couldn’t tell you what book this particular installation corresponds to, but I guess you could say this museum really brought Kafka’s works to life!



The third and final day was fairly calm. Rachel left for Amsterdam and Maria and I were joined by three others who would later fly to Venice with us. Prague was truly an amazing experience, and if any of you ever get the chance to go I highly recommend it.

Still to come…Venice, Florence, Rome, Capri and the angriest Italian lady you’ve ever met!

"Oh! You mean Ba ʒe ma Fra kla!"

Salut tout le monde!

Wow, has it been a long time since my last post or what? I would apologize, but there's really not a whole lot that has happened. In any case, I'll give you a condensed version of the past two weeks:

• Went on a metro adventure and took touristy pictures of all the interesting stations
• Took a walking tour of the 2nd arrondissement (learned about the modernisation of Paris during the 19th century) 
• Watched my friend get pooped on by a pigeon (I'm pretty sure it was karma, as she had just blown off plans we had made not an hour earlier)
• Was chastised by my teacher for daydreaming in class (does trying to remember the date count as daydreaming?)
• Learned that Benjamin Franklin's name sounds much better when pronounced in French (according to my host brother anyway) Now do you get the title? It turns out no one here understands who Benjamin Franklin is when you pronounce his name in English.
• Got lost in the Louvre (not as in "The Louvre's so amazing I could get lost in here forever," but as in "You know, if a fire were to break out in here, we would die staring at the map on the wall.)

Palais Royal Metro

• Watched a film about France's desire to forget the Algerian War (though because it was a French film you wouldn't know that was the premise unless someone explained it to you- thank you M Bondurand)
• Discovered that no matter how many times my host brothers and sister greet me by kissing my cheeks, I will always wonder in that first instant when their face is flying towards mine what they are doing (handshake anyone? maybe a wave and a smile?)

Anyway, I think that pretty much sums up the past two weeks!

This Friday marks the beginning of spring break. I will be traveling around Europe for the next two weeks, starting in Prague and ending in the south of Italy. Today is the first day I've felt really excited about it, because I finally managed to get my group together last night and convince them we should probably finish booking hostels. I can't even begin to tell you how stressful planning this trip has been! I'm going with four other people, all of whom seem to think their mom is going to show up with train tickets and itinerary in hand. Thankfully, we now have places to stay at every leg of the trip, and a way to get to all those places. All that's left is to learn how to say "Hello" and "I'd like a sandwhich" in Czech. Anyone? No? That's okay, I'll let you know in two weeks!

À la prochaine fois!