After endless weeks of rain and cool weather, it is finally summer here. In fact, it got up to 85 degrees the other day and the beer gardens have been filled to the brim.
(I have managed to visit four separate beer gardens across the city last week... Best one? Must say it's a tie between Bezrucovy Sady - more of a family crowd, smaller, often live music - and Letna - one of the best views of the city and the river and perched on the edge of a massive park. Also nice are Vysehrad, with a rivaling view, and unfortunately the one within spitting distance of my apartment is coming in last.)
But I assure you beer gardens are more than just drinking, lest you think my time in Prague is hazy blur. It's people watching, getting to know co-workers, playing Sincerity (for rules, see the book Prague - you know, the one about Budapest? Never read it, but they lay out this really fun game in the first few pages that's all about picking one true statement out of a few lies and grilling your teammates.)
The heat wave also gave me an opportunity to go swimming in a reservoir on the outskirts of the city. Interestingly enough, I discovered there was a nudist section to the swimming area. And I mean nudist - not just women undoing their bathing tops. Naked-as-a-jaybird nudist. Although it seemed entirely normal to everyone else, it was certainly a shock at first, as you just don't get the nudist element at most American swimmin' holes.
Yesterday, the heat wave ended with a massive thunderstorm and hail the size of BB pellets. All work at the Prague Post ceased, as reporters became children pegging each other with the solid ice balls. The lawn was white with the ice, the gutters filled and the air was finally cool.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Monday, May 23, 2005
it's the final countdown
So I am down to my last three weeks at the Prague Post and in Prague. About two weeks ago, I was really anxious, homesick, ready to call it a day in the Czech Republic. But as with anything, as the time nears to get ready to leave, I am feeling more settled and comfortable.
Right as I was aching for home and friends and English and familiar spaces, I began to make friends at work, go out more and generally feel more at home in Prague. I guess that's always how it happens. It takes a couple months to find your stride, and in this case, a couple months is all I have and now I am uprooting again. I am not sad about leaving the Post, as the reporting and writing experience there has not been just what I expected, but I am beginning to really enjoy some of the people I work with, and feel nostalgic for my neighborhood, the city, even hearing the language buzz around my head all day....
I have made a list of things I want to do before I leave, and besides visit the beer garden and take absinthe shots (I assure you there is more to Prague that drinks), I have a few things I have either seen and need to do again or that I just haven't made it to yet. So far, I have listed and knocked off the Dancing Building (Tancini Dum), designed by Frank Ghery and intended to look something like the moving figures of Fred Estaire and Ginger Rogers. It's one of those buildings that people either love or hate, and for me, I loved it - I thought the curved glass and steel strangely complement the rigid, ornate neighboring buildings.
Also on the list were Petrin hill, which I wandered to last week and climbed the nearly 300 stairs of the mini Eiffel Tower at the top of the hill for some of the most breathtaking views of Prague. I've crossed it off the list, but intend to return.
I also kind of want to go to a puppet show (apparently Prague is the epicenter of European puppetry... whatever that means...), maybe a show and Obecni Dum and the Jewish cemetery (I know, I am embarrassed I have been here so long and still have not gone.) It's going to be a busy few weeks.
Right as I was aching for home and friends and English and familiar spaces, I began to make friends at work, go out more and generally feel more at home in Prague. I guess that's always how it happens. It takes a couple months to find your stride, and in this case, a couple months is all I have and now I am uprooting again. I am not sad about leaving the Post, as the reporting and writing experience there has not been just what I expected, but I am beginning to really enjoy some of the people I work with, and feel nostalgic for my neighborhood, the city, even hearing the language buzz around my head all day....
I have made a list of things I want to do before I leave, and besides visit the beer garden and take absinthe shots (I assure you there is more to Prague that drinks), I have a few things I have either seen and need to do again or that I just haven't made it to yet. So far, I have listed and knocked off the Dancing Building (Tancini Dum), designed by Frank Ghery and intended to look something like the moving figures of Fred Estaire and Ginger Rogers. It's one of those buildings that people either love or hate, and for me, I loved it - I thought the curved glass and steel strangely complement the rigid, ornate neighboring buildings.
Also on the list were Petrin hill, which I wandered to last week and climbed the nearly 300 stairs of the mini Eiffel Tower at the top of the hill for some of the most breathtaking views of Prague. I've crossed it off the list, but intend to return.
I also kind of want to go to a puppet show (apparently Prague is the epicenter of European puppetry... whatever that means...), maybe a show and Obecni Dum and the Jewish cemetery (I know, I am embarrassed I have been here so long and still have not gone.) It's going to be a busy few weeks.
me and the strange mannequin
Here I am with this very strange mannequin we found at the Vienna flea market. We were quite tempted to buy him and take him back to Prague - just to see the reaction we would get bringing him on the train with us.
four hour train ride for a flea market
... but it was the best flea market ever
A friend of mine from work, Fiona, and I went to Vienna this weekend. I expect it to be my last big trip out of Prague before I pack up and go home, and I had heard good things about Vienna (it's no Berlin, I hear, but worth the trip...)
And indeed it was worth the trip - only about a four hour train ride to get there Friday after work. Fiona and I share a love and a patience for flea markets, and we heard Vienna had a great one, so before any Parliament house, museum or city park, we set out for the flea market. We hit the bankomat and dove in Naschmarkt at about 10:30 Saturday morning and emerged a few hours and a doner-kabab-stomach-ache later sun burned to a crisp and pleased with our few finds, which oddly enough all followed the theme of telling time. I bought a small red clock that said "made in Czechoslovakia" on the face and surprisingly works (alarm and all, 3 euro), kicking off something of a desire to collect small retro clocks. Fiona also bought a retro clock, lime green, and an absolutely stunning antique Dolce and Gabana wrist watch that she seriously fell in love with and admired about every 20 mninutes for the rest of the trip.
The market stretched for blocks and after the garage sale/thrift store goods tables, there were endless rows of fresh fruit and vegetables, exotic spices, fish, ready made foods like hummus, stuffed tomatoes and falafel. That part of the market made me wish I lived in Vienna and went there each Saturday for groceries, wine, cheese and fresh foods. Delicious.
Vienna was neat. I didn't love love love it, as unlike Berlin, the city sleeps and it was hard to find much to do after the flea market and walking around the city center. But it was certainly a nice trip with nice company and unbelievable (finally) spring weather.
A friend of mine from work, Fiona, and I went to Vienna this weekend. I expect it to be my last big trip out of Prague before I pack up and go home, and I had heard good things about Vienna (it's no Berlin, I hear, but worth the trip...)
And indeed it was worth the trip - only about a four hour train ride to get there Friday after work. Fiona and I share a love and a patience for flea markets, and we heard Vienna had a great one, so before any Parliament house, museum or city park, we set out for the flea market. We hit the bankomat and dove in Naschmarkt at about 10:30 Saturday morning and emerged a few hours and a doner-kabab-stomach-ache later sun burned to a crisp and pleased with our few finds, which oddly enough all followed the theme of telling time. I bought a small red clock that said "made in Czechoslovakia" on the face and surprisingly works (alarm and all, 3 euro), kicking off something of a desire to collect small retro clocks. Fiona also bought a retro clock, lime green, and an absolutely stunning antique Dolce and Gabana wrist watch that she seriously fell in love with and admired about every 20 mninutes for the rest of the trip.
The market stretched for blocks and after the garage sale/thrift store goods tables, there were endless rows of fresh fruit and vegetables, exotic spices, fish, ready made foods like hummus, stuffed tomatoes and falafel. That part of the market made me wish I lived in Vienna and went there each Saturday for groceries, wine, cheese and fresh foods. Delicious.
Vienna was neat. I didn't love love love it, as unlike Berlin, the city sleeps and it was hard to find much to do after the flea market and walking around the city center. But it was certainly a nice trip with nice company and unbelievable (finally) spring weather.
Monday, May 16, 2005
you never have a camera when you need one
The Czech Republic won the hockey tournament last night, and although the last game against Canada was pretty good and the one against the States a few days before even had me screaming in my seat (for the CR, of course, being that I don't want to get beat up, and truly they played a better game), it was the post-win revelry that really takes it.
After watching the last period of the final game at a bar down the street, we walked outside expecting to see a few people in CR jerseys stumbling down the street, hollering and singing, as drunk Czechs tend to do. Instead, there were hundreds, all gathering on Wenceslas Square, shouting "Cesi" and hugging and swilling beer and loving life.
I have never seen anything like it. Picture an Alabama-Auburn football game where everyone is cheering for the same team (I know, hard to imagine, but try for the sake of solidarity - and you pick which team) that just won the most important game of the most important tournament for the first time in years. Now add tons of beer, matching T-shirts, flags and face paint; subtract the inevitable violence you'd have an Alabama game. And it was something like that. There certainly were police there, but they were more concerned with protecting the horse statue than getting the crowd to settle down.
At one point cars were inching along bumper to bumper up the street, and as they would stop for a moment, a crowd of guys would descend upon the car, drape the front windshield with a Czech flag, and begin shaking the bar back and forth to the point where I was truly expecting one to tump right over. Surely the drivers were mad, right? Nope, as the traffic inched up and flag was removed, the drivers were shouting and smiling and celebrating with everyone else.
So we stopped for a bit at the top of the square and watched the crowd celebrate. There really isn't anything like that in America - maybe in one city, but never the entire country coming together, drunkenly but amicably, to hail the national team. And yes, the screaming certainly got tiring as I was trying to sleep later, but it was really something to see an entire square jumping up and down and shouting in red, white and blue, flags waving, beer spraying, and people chanting for their country. Where is the camera when you need it?
After watching the last period of the final game at a bar down the street, we walked outside expecting to see a few people in CR jerseys stumbling down the street, hollering and singing, as drunk Czechs tend to do. Instead, there were hundreds, all gathering on Wenceslas Square, shouting "Cesi" and hugging and swilling beer and loving life.
I have never seen anything like it. Picture an Alabama-Auburn football game where everyone is cheering for the same team (I know, hard to imagine, but try for the sake of solidarity - and you pick which team) that just won the most important game of the most important tournament for the first time in years. Now add tons of beer, matching T-shirts, flags and face paint; subtract the inevitable violence you'd have an Alabama game. And it was something like that. There certainly were police there, but they were more concerned with protecting the horse statue than getting the crowd to settle down.
At one point cars were inching along bumper to bumper up the street, and as they would stop for a moment, a crowd of guys would descend upon the car, drape the front windshield with a Czech flag, and begin shaking the bar back and forth to the point where I was truly expecting one to tump right over. Surely the drivers were mad, right? Nope, as the traffic inched up and flag was removed, the drivers were shouting and smiling and celebrating with everyone else.
So we stopped for a bit at the top of the square and watched the crowd celebrate. There really isn't anything like that in America - maybe in one city, but never the entire country coming together, drunkenly but amicably, to hail the national team. And yes, the screaming certainly got tiring as I was trying to sleep later, but it was really something to see an entire square jumping up and down and shouting in red, white and blue, flags waving, beer spraying, and people chanting for their country. Where is the camera when you need it?
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
if only I spoke German...
... I might move to Berlin.
I don't think I expected to enjoy Berlin as much as I did. It's such a neat, huge city with cool looking people, colorful, interesting architecture, and a rich and visible history. Here are a few of the highlights:
- We arrive Friday afternoon after a five hour train ride, only to find the hotel we booked had some "computer problems" and had no room for us. They moved us down the street to the Holiday Inn, which we tried to pitch a fit about, but soon got over... after they assured us it was the same number of stars ... We are such snobs.
- We headed right over the Jewish Museum, opened in 2001, which we heard was unbelievable. And it was. The architecture was stunning, and I thought, really lent to the subject matter. And it was refreshingly not just a Holocaust memorial - it was an entire museum dedicated to the history and religion and customs, reminding us that there is more to being Jewish than remembering the Holocaust.
- We then went to a bar near our hotel, and upon a recommendation from the bartender, went to this club called Suite 22 or Annabelles or both (no one really seemed to be able to settle on a name). Dressed in T-shirts and Converse All Stars, we were very much out of place. It was an ultra-European posh dance club, complete with scantily clad (I am talking pasties here folks) dancers and men with more hair gel than imaginable. Thanks for the recommendation, Rodney. But we still danced and had fun and took silly pictures on the dance floor.
- The next morning, we tag along for a free walking tour of Berlin led by this ridiculous guy named Cal, who was absurdly long-winded and attention-starved but certainly knew his history. It was a neat way to see the sites - the new Holocaust memorial that just opened this week, the last remaining part of the Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Hitler's former bunker where now stands some fancy condos (that are allegedly constructed with the recycled concrete from the bunker), Museum Island... Clearly the four hour tour only touched the surface of such a disturbing and complicated history.
- After much-needed naps, we went to an equally cheesey bar with horrendously loud salsa remixes and mist generator machines. Riiight.... clearly we are getting the recommendations from the wrong folks. We moved on to a couple other bars we had heard good things about and promptly ran into the Pub Crawl - the extension of our day tour where the same folks we wandered around all day with were rallying at some five or so bars. Not a pleasant sight, considering we ran into them a good four hours into the crawl.
- The next morning, we were disappointed to find that all the shops in the entire city were closed. Sunday. Not a single store open. But it worked out fine, as we wandered around Mitte for the afternoon, a really funky neighborhood with hip cafes and shops. The day ended in Kreuzberg, an equally awesome neighborhood with good cheap restaurants (Amrit Indian restaurant ruled) and more relaxed, less pretentious bars. A little more our speed.
- On Monday, we crammed an hour or so of shopping in and then hopped the train back to Prague. We did consider quitting our jobs and staying in Berlin for good, but that would probably have been a bad idea. Maybe I liked it because it stood in stark contrast to Prague. The people were nice and outgoing, the neighborhoods were endlessly awesome, the city felt new and modern and young.
I don't think I expected to enjoy Berlin as much as I did. It's such a neat, huge city with cool looking people, colorful, interesting architecture, and a rich and visible history. Here are a few of the highlights:
- We arrive Friday afternoon after a five hour train ride, only to find the hotel we booked had some "computer problems" and had no room for us. They moved us down the street to the Holiday Inn, which we tried to pitch a fit about, but soon got over... after they assured us it was the same number of stars ... We are such snobs.
- We headed right over the Jewish Museum, opened in 2001, which we heard was unbelievable. And it was. The architecture was stunning, and I thought, really lent to the subject matter. And it was refreshingly not just a Holocaust memorial - it was an entire museum dedicated to the history and religion and customs, reminding us that there is more to being Jewish than remembering the Holocaust.
- We then went to a bar near our hotel, and upon a recommendation from the bartender, went to this club called Suite 22 or Annabelles or both (no one really seemed to be able to settle on a name). Dressed in T-shirts and Converse All Stars, we were very much out of place. It was an ultra-European posh dance club, complete with scantily clad (I am talking pasties here folks) dancers and men with more hair gel than imaginable. Thanks for the recommendation, Rodney. But we still danced and had fun and took silly pictures on the dance floor.
- The next morning, we tag along for a free walking tour of Berlin led by this ridiculous guy named Cal, who was absurdly long-winded and attention-starved but certainly knew his history. It was a neat way to see the sites - the new Holocaust memorial that just opened this week, the last remaining part of the Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Hitler's former bunker where now stands some fancy condos (that are allegedly constructed with the recycled concrete from the bunker), Museum Island... Clearly the four hour tour only touched the surface of such a disturbing and complicated history.
- After much-needed naps, we went to an equally cheesey bar with horrendously loud salsa remixes and mist generator machines. Riiight.... clearly we are getting the recommendations from the wrong folks. We moved on to a couple other bars we had heard good things about and promptly ran into the Pub Crawl - the extension of our day tour where the same folks we wandered around all day with were rallying at some five or so bars. Not a pleasant sight, considering we ran into them a good four hours into the crawl.
- The next morning, we were disappointed to find that all the shops in the entire city were closed. Sunday. Not a single store open. But it worked out fine, as we wandered around Mitte for the afternoon, a really funky neighborhood with hip cafes and shops. The day ended in Kreuzberg, an equally awesome neighborhood with good cheap restaurants (Amrit Indian restaurant ruled) and more relaxed, less pretentious bars. A little more our speed.
- On Monday, we crammed an hour or so of shopping in and then hopped the train back to Prague. We did consider quitting our jobs and staying in Berlin for good, but that would probably have been a bad idea. Maybe I liked it because it stood in stark contrast to Prague. The people were nice and outgoing, the neighborhoods were endlessly awesome, the city felt new and modern and young.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
ice cream from cream and dream
Ashley's in town!
She got here last weekend and we have basically been having a blast, eating out at great spots, exploring bars, sightseeing, and clearly eating ice cream.
The highlights so far: taking a shot of Absinth (that's right, illegal in the States, rots your brain from prolonged use Absinth) with a Slovakian bartender at a bar up the street; dancing to 80s songs that were less popular in the States but that the crowd went crazy for here; lounging in the park near Petrin hill people watchin on May Day; discovering the best Rusty Nail cocktail in Europe at Hapu bar; Ashley meeting a random British guy named Guy while sitting in Old Town Square.....
And tomorrow we are heading to Berlin for the weekend!
She got here last weekend and we have basically been having a blast, eating out at great spots, exploring bars, sightseeing, and clearly eating ice cream.
The highlights so far: taking a shot of Absinth (that's right, illegal in the States, rots your brain from prolonged use Absinth) with a Slovakian bartender at a bar up the street; dancing to 80s songs that were less popular in the States but that the crowd went crazy for here; lounging in the park near Petrin hill people watchin on May Day; discovering the best Rusty Nail cocktail in Europe at Hapu bar; Ashley meeting a random British guy named Guy while sitting in Old Town Square.....
And tomorrow we are heading to Berlin for the weekend!
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