a whirlwind tour of prague

Last weekend I went to Prague, which I was really excited about because I didn't think I would have the chance to go. Most of my friends here who were interested in going had either already gone on weekends that I couldn't or had given up hope of going. So when I found out that Elaine, Lauren and Julia would be in town, I jumped on the opportunity, and even though I only was there from Saturday night to Monday evening I was really glad to be able to go because it was an awesome city.

Prague is interesting because it's the only country I've been to so far that isn't on the pound or the Euro. They use the crown, which felt like monopoly money. There are 18 crowns to every 1 US dollar, so 100 crowns is only slightly over 5 bucks. This was nice because everything was really cheap (an entire pizza for 90 crowns...don't mind if I do!), but it was also confusing to look in my wallet and have the smallest bill be a 100. Also, all of the people whose faces are on the Czech bills are really creepy...just a side note.

I landed in Prague Saturday night around 11. I took a shuttle from the airport to Julia's apartment, which is MASSIVE, and ate pad thai for dinner while getting ready to go out. Not exactly Czech quisine, but very delicious. We started pregaming and drank this Czech liquor called Becharovka, which tastes like cinnamon and makes like an apple pie shot when chased with apple juice. When we finally headed out, it was to a club called Karlovy Lazny, which is 5 stories of mad-ave-esque clubness. It was completely crowded and since they can smoke indoors the air was thick with a combination of sweat and smoke. By the time we left, it was because I literally thought I was going to pass out if I didn't get some real air soon. I had read in a book that Czech men are prone to making sexual advances even though sexual harassment is technically illegal. This was no understatement, as I literally felt like every other guy in the club was hitting on one of us. Oh Europeans...

After the club we decided it was time to get some drunk food. We went to a stand in Wenceslas Square that served Smazeny Syr (fried cheese sandwiches...imagine a mozzarella stick patty) and hot dogs. Elaine and I split both, and they were really delicious. I even tried grilled onions on my hot dog: further proof that I am becoming a more adventurous eater.

The next day we slept in since we didn't get home til after 5am. Once we got moving, we headed into Old Town Square where they had a big market set up with a lot of Easter things. One Czech tradition for easter is for the boys to walk around with sticks that have ribbons tied to them and hit women they think are attractive (speaking of sexual harassment...). They also have all these really pretty decorated wooden eggs for sale. We all got food at the market, I got this cinnamon roll type thing and so did Lauren, while Julia got a crepe and Elaine got this dough with ketchup and cheese on it, which presumably was supposed to be pizza-esque. We stopped briefly at the astrological clock, which is a clock unique to Prague that tells the time, the date,  the astrological sign, and the name (apparently in the Czech Republic you have a birthday and then you have a name day, and all names in the country must be ones that are written on this clock..even today).

 We then headed into the Jewish quarter, where we saw a bunch of different synagogues and went into the Spanish synagogue. It was set up on the outside almost like a mosque, and on the inside it was really beautiful and intricate, very different from synagogues I'm used to in the states, and a nice break from all of the churches that are scattered across Europe. Even though we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, I was able to sneak a few...it was just too beautiful to resist. We also saw the Old/New synagogue, which is the oldest synagogue in Europe and second oldest in the world, and the Jewish cemetery which was really cool because they wouldn't give the Jews any more space for a cemetery so the bodies (and tombstones) are essentially piled one on top of the next. I learned on my tour the next day that the reason that the Jewish quarter is so well-preserved in spite of Nazi occupation of Prague from 1938-1945 is that Hitler saw it as a well-functioning Jewish area and didn't destroy it because he wanted future generations to be able to come back and see the remnants of this extinct Jewish population. Really a terrifying thought, but at least Hitler was wrong and now these Jewish artifacts are still around.

After the Jewish quarter we walked towards the river to see Gehry's dancing buildings. Like a lot of architecture in Prague, these were really beautiful and very unique. We only stopped there for a few minutes before finding the nearest metro train and heading out of the main loop to Dox, which is the Prague Center for Contemporary Art.

Julia took us there specifically to see Entropa (above), which is an installment done by David Cerny. Apparently, every country who has a president of the EU is asked to make a piece of artwork using artists from all over the EU that will eventually go to the EU headquarters. This piece is very controversial because Cerny only used his assistants, and the entire piece basically just exploited stereotypes of different EU countries, like a giant Dracula for Romania, Italians jerking off with soccer balls, Belgium was a box of half eaten chocolates, Sweden was an Ikea box, etc. (in addition to the artist debacle, it was also extremely controversial because it depicted Bulgaria as Turkey's toilet). It was HUGE and really really cool, even though we have a feeling that some of the countries' representations were kind of an inside joke with Europeans and we didn't quite understand. Anyway, there's a real lot of information out there so if you care to learn more either google "entropa" or read about it on wikipedia. The museum also had this cool exhibit that featured a bunch of chess sets that had been made by famous artists on commission from the museum. There were about ten of them and they were all so different: one was a picnic, one featured figurines of classic good/evil pop culture figures, one had bugs frozen in amber, and one was a video display. This probably would've been REALLY cool if I had any inkling of how to play chess, but they were pretty awesome either way. It was an awesome museum because it was modern but not TOO modern...just the way i like it.

After Dox we got a really late lunch at this place called Cross Club, which is this amazingly decorated club that also serves food. Here is where we got the 90 Crown pizza, which was really delicious, before heading back towards the center of the city. We wandered about a bit before stopping to get drinks at Chapeau Rouge and another bar called U Sudu (which has wine on tap...brilliant!). After hanging out for a while we made it back to wenceslas square for "dinner" (aka more smazeny syr) before heading back to Julia's, since Elaine and Lauren had to leave her apartment at 3am to catch their flight.

The next morning Julia had class and Elaine and Lauren were gone, so I took it upon myself to see everything that I had missed. I woke up earlier than expected and made my way over the Charles bridge to see the Lennon wall. This is a giant graffiti wall that started as a tribute to John Lennon and is now more of a tribute to Lennonesque ideals but either way I thought it was really cool. I'm a big fan of pretty graffiti and I thought it was neat to get the chance to see this in person. On the way back to Old Town Square, I also saw this tiny little bridge called the love lock bridge that has all sort of locks put on it by couples. It was really pretty and artsy and romantic, and I snapped a few pictures before I had to run because I was going to be late for my tour.

I decided to take this tour called New Prague, which is basically a chain of free tours offered in a bunch of cities that are 3-hour walking tours. I had never taken one before, but I figured it was a good way to get to see a lot of stuff, especially since I was alone and had no real sense of the city. It was really interesting and we got to see a lot of cool sites and architecture and the guide was interesting and informative. We stopped for lunch at Bohemia Bagels, and I had what was probably only my third bagel since arriving in Europe...weird, I know. The only thing that I wanted to see that we didn't get to was the Prague Castle, but that was a separate tour and there just wasn't enough time. I went back to where Julia had classes and said goodbye and thanked her for an amazing weekend before going back to her apartment with her roommate and heading to the airport.

I had been a little apprehensive going to Prague because everyone always talks it up so much and I thought there was no way it could live up to expectations, but it really did. Every building was unique and beautiful and there was lots of cool stuff to do and see in the city. Definitely gets the Alexa Rosenbloom travel stamp of approval (but go in the spring, when it's warmer..like I did).

Anyway, now I'm fully caught up on my blog!! I'm very excited because I've been so behind recently. I say that I'm caught up even though I've mentioned nothing about Tuesday-Thursday of this week because since getting back from Prague I've had an atrocious cough and have been in bed pretty much straight through (with the exception of half a day of work, an hour of class, a doctors appointment, and lunch today). I'm starting to feel better though, just in time to go to Brighton on a class trip tomorrow (home of Fatboy Slim and setting for Quadrophenia, the film...from what I can gather, about the equivalent of the Jersey Shore, except without nasty guidos and "guidettes"). I'll let you know how it goes.