Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Out with a bang.

The only "real" snowfall during my month in Prague

My last few days in the Czech Republic have come and gone. This morning, I boarded a British Airways flight in Prague bound for Auckland, via London, Bangkok and Sydney (not exactly direct). During my last week, we experienced a “real” snow in Prague – the first of the winter. About 8 inches fell, blanketing the town in white and silence. Despite the cold, it was fun to get outside early and take photos before the snow became dirty and began to melt away.



For my last weekend, Joel, Greg and I boarded a 3-hour train with a 10-pack of beer for the town of Olomouc (O-lo-moats) in northern Moravia. We stayed in the Poet’s Corner Hostel, which despite being a bit pricey (especially for the off season), was pretty nice.

One of Prague's names: The City of a Thousand Spires.

Olomouc is a college town with an established nightlife. On our first night, we drank some beer with a guy we met on the train at a bar called 9a. For those of you who don’t (rock) climb, “9a” is a term describing a level of difficulty for a given climbing route. This bar had a bouldering room in the back, complete with crash pads and climbing junkies. We stayed there all night.



On Saturday, we explored town and ate cheap Czech food (which I will not miss). For breakfast, I had fried dumplings with eggs and bacon fat, followed by fruit pancakes with chocolate and whipped cream. I couldn’t eat it all, and even so, I felt sick for the next day and a half. But, all that, along with coffee, cost just $5 US, including tip.



After being shut out at the local swimming pool (which left Greg VERY upset) because our swimming suits were too long – only Speedos allowed – we wandered through town seeing the cathedrals and museums, and even bullied some little kids to take their sleds. (Okay, it was only Greg, and he asked nicely.)

Greg in Charles Bridge Tower

It was a fitting end to an amazing month in Prague. Greg and Joel, thanks for everything – more than you’ll know. I look forward to this summer with great anticipation…



That’s it from Europe (for now)…next post’ll be from New Zealand.

Olomouc (pronounced: O-lo-moats)



The airplane bar - classy

What can I say? Shenanigans

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Disco Fever

Being abroad has allowed me many insights into international opinions regarding Americans. It’s true, there’s some negative sentiment toward the situation in Iraq, a general dislike/humor factor surrounding our President, and a stereotype that ALL Americans are fat. I’ve also learned that Americans have a “look.” Or that is to say, a stereotypical look. I’ve already heard it, “You’re American? Well, you don’t look American.”

Kostnice Ossuary: chandelier made from every bone in the human body
Okay, stop right there. I want to be clear - I’m not operating from an unlimited wardrobe. I have two pairs of pants (dark jeans and brown dress pants), three pairs of shoes (black, brown and running), and a selection of about 4 shirts you could call “nice (i.e. more than two buttons at the neck).” I have no ties, no suits, and no scarves. I’ve basically got enough to look presentable on about 8 different occasions when you consider switching shirts, pants and shoes around, before I begin to repeat myself. What I’m trying to say is that it’s not hard to look “not-American.”

Coat of Arms
Question: So where do Europeans learn that Americans can’t dress well?

Answer: The disco.

more bones
I visited my first European disco about two weeks ago. I was horrified when I walked in and saw that it was 80s and 90s night (very popular here). There’s not a lot of music I like from the 80s (certainly none you’d find at a disco), and most of my 90s music isn’t exactly “danceable,” either. So when I began to shake it out on the dance floor, I almost fell over upon witnessing the accompanying videos. Each video was like something you’d see on VH1, but worse. I can only guess these videos were the “international” cuts – complete with concert footage - showcasing the best in Def Leopard groupies and Whitney Houston wannabies. And what’s more, nearly ever single non-American person at the disco (as well as my friend Joel) knew every word to every song. Thus, a stereotype is born (and fulfilled).

Kutna Hora
However, a kind young Czech woman, apparently sensing my national embarrassment, took pity upon me and introduced me to her friends. Later, we exchanged information, er, she gave me her phone number (I with no phone), and we agreed to meet the following week. After dinner and drinks, we decided to take a day trip together, visiting the romantic ossuary (chapel made from human bones of plague vicitims – see pictures) and cathedral in Kutná Hora, a small town east of Prague. Her native Czech tongue proved useful as our trains that day were constantly late or even cancelled; the result of the previous nights’ violent storm which covered many tracks with fallen trees. Had I been alone that day, the chances of me even getting out of Prague would have been nearly nonexistent, let alone navigating outside of the city where nearly everyone speaks some English.

Český Krumlov
That was last week. This week has brought new trips with new complications, and potentially complicated an already established one. On Tuesday morning, I boarded a bus in Prague for Český Krumlov, a small town near the German-Austrian border. Normally, the trip takes 3 hours. On Tuesday, it took a bit longer because winter has finally arrived in Europe. As the snow began to fall, the bus began to slow. I was fortunate, however, because the weather didn’t get bad until we neared the town. Once in town, the snow dumped. I actually loved it – it’s been a long time since I’ve seen much of the stuff. The combination of being outside of Prague and being somewhere with snow and hills resulted in a quiet evening, perfect for being alone outside. Everything is muffled; muted. Nature rests. Snow grows on trees as the wind stops, animals huddle together for warmth, even the river seems to move silently. And I walked alone along the twisting cobblestone streets, snow falling, resting here and there in a pub – warmth, company – before continuing, no destination.


It’s peaceful while you’re there – it’s hell when you try to leave. Wednesday morning my bus was cancelled. Seems the 8 inches of snow was too much to handle. Catching another bus to the nearby “big town (České Budĕjovice),” I arrived just in time to buy a train ticket back to Prague. The roads were a mess, and the train offered solace against the cramped, wet, cranky masses. It also took about half the time.


The other issue in my life right now concerns leaving for New Zealand on Tuesday, 30 January. I booked my flight with British Airways, and apparently their flight attendants are a little upset about the company policy regarding sick leave. To demonstrate their unhappiness, they’ve planned an “industrial action,” i.e. a strike, to begin on 29 January, lasting 3 days. The BBC has quoted sources at British Airways as saying the strike would result in “complete chaos, possibly affecting hundreds of thousands of customers.” Niiccccccccceeeeeeee.


This evening BA is reporting progress in negotiations to settle differences, and the flight attendants have agreed to delay the beginning of their strike by one day. This does not help me. I need one more day… Update. Strike is a go. My flight is cancelled. I've managed to re-book with Quantas, my original carrier out of London. However, I'm now flying into Luton airport, which is a 1.5 hour bus ride from Heathrow. I guess it's better than nothing... I'd like to state that I do not recommend ever flying British Airways. They have been less than helpful.

Český Krumlov; day

Český Krumlov; night

Waiting at the train station; snow.

And of course, one of Prague

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Kava Kava Kava

Prague Castle from Vinohrady (that's where Greg, Joel and I live).

On Friday morning, Greg and I set out with the intention of photographing Prague in the rare January sunshine. None of the photos in this post were a result of our efforts. We had a bit of a problem, you'll see. We weren’t more than five minutes out of the apartment when we happened upon a bar/theater/coffee shop that Greg had passed but never entered. We decided to step inside and check it out. To our amazement, the first scene from The Godfather was playing on the big screen TV. I’m not sure which one of us took the next step, but there was no question that we weren’t going to be taking any photographs for the next three hours.

Vltava River and Vyšehrad (the prominent church left of the river) from St Vitus Cathedral.

Seeing as it was still before noon, we started with coffee. However, we quickly moved on to beer. As our consumption increased, so did our (over-) analysis of the movie. When the first film ended, we considered getting our check and actually taking some photos. Our bartender, also an avid fan of the films (or perhaps just sensing an opportunity to sell us more beer), moved quickly to begin the second film. After thinking about it for, oh, five seconds, we ordered more beer – we were in it for the long haul.

St Vitus Cathedral

At the end of the second film, we knew we had to leave. It was our job to buy the food for the night’s pizza party, which was starting in about 2 hours. The Godfather III would have to wait a couple more days.

St Vitus

I leave for New Zealand in two weeks. Before that happens, I’m hoping to get out of the city a couple more times to visit some of the breweries in the country, as well as to see more of Bohemia and Moravia. I’ve already visited Plzen, home of Pilsner-Urquell beer, and Karlstein, pictured in the previous blog entry. So little time…

Prague and Charles Bridge (upper right)

Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral, Vltava River.

St Vitus Cathedral from Charles Bridge.

Wenceslas Square. This is where we spent New Years Eve.

Wenceslas Square.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Along the mightly banks of the Vltava

Vltava, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle

I arrived in Prague for the first time on December 22 after a delayed flight from Amsterdam. Joel picked me up at the airport and we made it back to his apartment in time to leave again, catch the metro, and head to Wenceslas Square for cheap beer and sausage. One beer on the road turned into a couple more back at the apartment and “we” overslept the next morning, missing our 6:30 bus to Budapest. “We” swear “we” set our alarm. Either way, we were late; and the bus didn’t wait.

Bridges of the Vltava

We met Jessica - our on-time and (understandably) upset traveling partner - at the train station, arriving just before a train departed for Budapest. We bought three tickets and seven hours later, there we were.

More bridges of the Vltava

Budapest is a very beautiful city, Christmas is not the best time to visit. Many of the shops, restaurants, museums and government buildings close on Christmas Eve and remain so for a few days. We were able to visit the local baths (Budapest is known for its baths – remnants of the Turkish occupation way back when.) before they closed, but much of the remainder of our trip was spent walking, looking, and photographing. I enjoyed this, but a few more “inside” activities would have been nice (winter in Central Europe isn’t warm). Anyway, we celebrated Christmas together with a midnight mass at St. Stephens Cathedral, preceded by a traditional, spiced hot wine with our fellow hostel mates. The rest of the trip went well, and we returned to Prague four days later.

Kriebaum at Prague Castle

Arriving in Prague, I met the rest of my roommates. Joel and I had about a day before another friend of ours, Rob, arrived to visit. Rob’s timing was great because I hadn’t seen any of Prague. We spent a lot of time wandering around town, fighting the holiday crowds, and drinking beer. One of our goals was to not drink more than one beer at any one bar because Prague is known for its pubs. It would have been easy to spend all afternoon at many of the bars – most beer costs between $0.90 and $1.40 for half of a liter – so we tried to split time between drinking and being tourists. We often blurred that line, and I’ve instituted a voluntary detox program to last no longer than 4 days in the interest of my liver. We also tried a number of authentic Czech restaurants outside of popular tourist areas. We did not find English speaking servers, and more than once we had to point to something on the menu sight-unseen. However, the food was usually decent, and getting out the door with a few beers seldom cost more than $10.

Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge, Prague Castle

Prague

Me at the Tyn Church

Tyn Church

Rob at castle

Soviet-era housing - exciting!

Astronomical clock