Prague and such

So. Prague. Everything about the city proved tricky- including getting there. Rachael explained to me how to get to the bus station, but upon arrival it seemed that there was no "Orange ways" bus company in existence. Luckily, through basic eaves-dropping I managed to find another group of people who were also trying to catch the same bus. They had an outside source of information and apparently the company departs not from the bus station, but the parking lot across from it. Phew... crisis averted. The drive was long but the bus was nice and comfy- and they served free coffee and hot chocolate! Plus we were actually driving on a highway as opposed to twisty mountain roads- also something I had not done since leaving home. As we travelled further north, snow fell intermittently outside. I crossed my fingers for nice weather once I got to the city.

The bus arrived around 1:30 and I had planned on walking from the station to the hostel- it didn't look too far on the map Rachael and I had studied. I also had directions which I had printed from the hostels website but they were entirely by methods of public transportation, which involved both the metro and the tram. Leaving the bus station I was immediately confused and decided to backtrack and use the hostel's directions. This got me across the river, from there I was determined to walk the rest of the way rather than hop on the tram. Once again, I ended up lost and tried asking several people for directions. No luck. Finally a little old lady at a tram stop motioned for me to get on the tram with her. Entirely through pointing and hand gestures, she directed me to get off 2 stops after her. Finally, I made it to the hostel- and thankfully it was amazing. I was meeting Kate Schaeffer and two of her friends she is studying abroad with in Spain. I knew Kate would not arrive until the evening, but one of her friends, Lauren, had was already there. The two of us ended up talking for awhile and decided to venture forth and explore. This once again proved difficult.

Actually, pretty much everything about navigating Prague seemed to work against us. In Budapest, I had Rachael to point me in the right direction, to explain the metro lines, to provide maps and tour books. Also, there was the Danube which ran north-south, dividing the city neatly into Buda and Pest. All of this was great for orienting yourself- it was almost impossible to get lost. In Prague this was not the case. There is also a river, the Vltava, but it makes several twists and turns, complicating things greatly. Lauren and I knew we needed to cross the river to get to Old Town. Unfortuntely we crossed the river in the wrong direction. As we walked we thought we were heading south- instead we were heading north. After correcting this error, we elected to get on the metro to ensure no further mix-ups. So, we finally arrived in the Old Town, but still there was nothing I could get a handle on in order to orient myself. The streets were winding, narrow, and a complete mish-mash. Lauren knew her way at least a little, so she led us to the main square. Unfortunately, the square isn't even actually a square- also irregular and very unhelpful as far as I was concerned. This "square" though did have an Easter Market of its own on offer to my great satisfaction.
We ultimately elected to take shelter from the cold (which we had been wondering in for almost 3 hours at this point) at a traditional Czech restaurant. Unfortunately, we chose one which was more or less a tourist trap offering only mediocre food. We were still pleased enough though, and afterwards visited a place which had live music- and had allowed the people next to us to bring their dog in to sit with them. We were dreading the trip back to the hostel because our dinner had made us drowsy and the weather had become frigid. But we finally ventured out to catch a tram that would get us home. Arriving back in our room, I was overjoyed to see Kate had gotten in safely. She and my brother have been friends for what seems like forever, and she has always been full of energy and spunk- definitely a person from home I was more than happy to be meeting up with. Michelle was her 2nd friend, who had also arrived with her. Kate had many good stories to share about her time thus far in Spain, and was equally curious about Bosnia. We had plenty to discuss as we got ready for bed- and even more when our 5th roommate arrived late. She turned out to be a Scottish woman wrapping up a trip to visit a friend who lived in the city. She offered a few recommendations of things to do/see as we all drifted off to sleep.

The next morning we pulled ourselves together very slowly and finally arrived back in the Old Town Square around 1. However, at this point a freak squall of snow flurries commenced and we needed to take shelter immediately. We found the Museum of Czech Cubism not too far off and it turned out to be a lovely little place. It was situated in the House of the Black Madonna which is itself an historical piece of Czech Cubist Architecture. Personally, I'm not so much a fan of Cubism, but the architecture had some appeal somehow. The collection in the museum itself included paintings, sculpture, pottery, and furniture. The in-depth explanations of each piece, written both in Czech and English, were both informative and grammatically sound. It was yet another reminder that I was no longer in the Balkans. (I kept having the urge to turn to someone and say, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto.") There were extensive biographies of all the artists involved in the movement and pieces of African art to offer examples of what Cubists had drawn inspiration from. Some of the pieces were great, but the furniture was downright disturbing. So harsh and angular- it looked like something that might grow teeth and come after me.

When we finished, the snow outside appeared to have subsided so we made our way down the river (a part of it that was straight) to see the Dancing Tower, a piece of really fascinating modern architecture. The weather was still holding up so we planned to go begin exploring the castle. En route though things took a nasty turn and we decided to run for cover in a cozy coffee shop. Once things cleared up we made our second attempt for the castle- which involved finding our way back to the river which proved tricky. We made it in the end, crossed the Charles Bridge, and found a tower/museum to visit. There were some good exhibits of historical artifacts and photographs, and from the top we had an excellent view.

For dinner- La Cantina, a Mexican place we had scoped out well ahead of time. It was amazing- we had chips, salsa, and amazing guac to start- for the main course I had enchiladas. I think we all stuffed ourselves to the point of discomfort- but we could not let any of it go to waste, it was so spicy and delicious. We returned to our hostel afterwards even though it was still early- but it was cold enough outside we were content to hang out in our room, talk, and enjoy one another's company.

On Wednesday, we managed to get going a little earlier. We made our way to the castle first thing, but another snow squall struck and we were forced to take shelter- in a Starbucks. Starbucks in Prague feels the same as Starbucks anywhere in the States. We sat, sipped our Caramel Macchiatos and listened to Phantom Planet. I recognize that this somewhat defeats the purpose of travel, just as eating Mexican did. But after being away from home for 5 months, I can't help but relish these things. The snow finally seemed to have let up, so we headed out- and up. The castle was situated high on a hill which we proceeded to climb. At the top of the hill we were just in time to see the 12 o'clock changing of the guard which is quite a big to-do. Lots of drumming and trumpeting, a procession, etc. From there we entered the castle and made a circuit within the walls- Lauren and Michelle waited to go inside the Cathedral while Kate and I decided to check out the Castle Art Gallery. We saw a few Rembrandts but were disappointed in our search for a Titian which the guidebook had promised. (I had become obsessed with Lauren's copy of Lonely Planet's Prague. I consulted it at least once every half hour.) We met with Lauren and Michelle outside long enough to say good-bye to Lauren who had to go catch her flight. Kate, Michelle, and I all went together from there to the Story of Prague Castle Museum which had a bunch of great exhibits but also happened to be freezing. One exhibit covered how the castle was heated throughout history- we expected some sort of physical experience or demonstration of warmth. Sadly we had no such luck.

From here we descended from the castle, back down to the river to return to the Easter Markets. This also entailed a lot of general exploring as the streets around the main square still completely mystified me with their unexpected twists and turns. We had selected a traditional restaurant for dinner (courtesy of Lonely Planet) which we also thought it might be a good idea to find ahead of time, based on the confusing nature of said streets. I was also deteremined to find an H&M at which to make a few purchases on my last day surrounded by the commercialization of the Western World. These various destinations allowed us to wander for awhile and just appreciate the city around us. At the Market we managed to catch a performance of a local dance school for young girls. It bore serious resemblence to pretty much any recital you might manage to catch in the States- more of the jazz/hip-hop variety than say tap or ballet. Kate was ready to jump up on stage with them I think- perhaps bust a move or 2.

When we went to dinner, finding the restaurant still proved slightly tricky even though we had already located it once before. We were lucky there were only three of us because apparently the place was popular- it is run by the premier Czech brewery, Pilsner Urquell. The guide book didn't let us down either- the food and atmosphere were equally great, and we spent a lovely 3 hours enjoying both. It was definitely a satisfying way to spend our last night.

As further evidence of how little I still understood about navigating Prague, I managed to have us get on a tram going in the wrong direction in attempting to get back to the hostel. We rode to the end, were kicked off into the cold for awhile while the #5 turned around and then allowed to re-board. I felt only slightly less stupid upon noticing 2 other travelers had made the exact same mistake. (Prague is confusing darnit!)

We were more than grateful to finally get back to the hostel, and spent awhile packing up for the next morning. I was going to be catching a flight from the airport at 10, and Kate and Michelle were getting a train to Vienna a little later. (Incidentally "Vienna" in Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian is "Beć", still trying to figure that one out...) Even though this would all require waking up fairly early, we spent a good amount of time talking before turning off the lights.

I was off quickly in the morning, and said goodbye to Kate before I left. My adventure to the airport was an interesting one which involved taking the tram to a major bus station, going under the highway and finding my way to a little outpost for the airport bus. In the process I managed to lose a glove, tip over a container of straws while buying coffee subsequently angering the sales woman, and get lost several times. Needless to say I was happy to finally arrive at the proper check-in desk.

My flights home were pure luxury- I was given 2 drinks and a sandwich on both. No one was sitting next to me, and I alternated between finishing up Atonement and browsing a copy of the Economist I had purchased. I was determined to enjoy the experience to the fullest since purchasing the ticket was a major splurge- for it and the rest of my "Easter Break" I dipped into some of my savings from the waitressing I did this summer. However arriving in Sarajevo at 2 in the afternoon on Sunday, rather than at 2 the next day (which is where a train or bus would've put me) was definitely worth it.

The weather was bright and sunny, making my "homecoming" feel quite festive and cheerful. Sarajevo seemed quaint and familiar after my time away. It was good to know I could communicate with people around me again- even if on a rudimentary level.

It is funny to think a place can feel so comfortable after being away for a week. I don't think I could've told you before then that I would be so happy to get back. But it was reassuring to feel so much fondness for the place right on sight.