Prague-ably will return

20/5/11

Nurnberg, Germany


Just checking out Prague with my good friend apple, who recently disappeared


I spent 5 days in the memorable city of Prague, or just outside of it. Because the house was 20 km north, I had the exciting and wholly pleasant experience of taking public transportation in the form of buses and trains to reach the Old Town. Unlike its American counterpart, which should not even be called "transportation" but rather "headache-inducing impossibility," public transportation here runs constantly and is always bustling with traffic. People still drive cars in the cities, but the bulk of travel occurs via public transportation here. This may be because of high gasoline prices and the relatively expensive nature of cars for Czech people that cause them to not even own one but to use buses for all their long-distance travel. In addition, most Czech people that I saw on the bus were either commuting, which is a great use for this form of transportation, or were running their daily errands and could be seen lugging bags full of groceries or the like.

The National Museum at night, shortly after an opera at the nearby Opera House


These latter people were mostly women who seem to have a routine down for how to get around the city. What I saw on the bus and metro system was local people living out their daily lives without using cars. What a concept.

The main reason I went to Prague was because I had a friend there whom I had met in high school. He was one of those foreign exchange kids, and I took him under my wing and showed him how the cool American guys did things (they usually hung out on the weekends near the 7-11, so it was no problem to spy on them from a distance). Jan let me stay in the house of his grandparents, who have been dead for 15 years now. I wouldn't have thought the house were haunted if it weren't for all the dirty ghost magazines scattered about. At least they didn't bother me and probably even enjoyed what I cooked up. Unfortunately, my friend had very little spare time because I had caught him smack in the middle of exams period for the Charles University math program. Thus, I found myself quite alone for much of that time, so I tried my hardest to come up with ways to get me out of that lonely, silent house.

Stone soup. Actually, beef, mushroom, onion, potato, carrot, leek, garlic, asparagus, and, later, cream soup.


Getting to Prague each day was quite fun, for I got to peek inside an average Czech life. Indeed, it was the equivalent of stepping into 100 different cars and riding with Americans as they commuted to work or ran errands. Alright, so the best part actually wasn't bouncing to and fro on the bumpy Czech roads in a large bus, hearing a language being spoken that I couldn't hope to understand. No, the city itself was far better (hard to believe, I know). I checked out some of the main sights, including two cool churches (St. Nicolas Church, a pristine example of the Baroque style, and St. Vitus Cathedral, an imposing Gothic structure located in the grounds of the castle). There were a number of small museums, such as one of Franz Kafka; another of a rich Czech family that boasted a collection of, well, everything, from


A view from the top of (perhaps) the tallest tower in Prague, situated in the heart of the Old Town's enormous square



famous autographs to a bunch of weapons to rare manuscripts to a dead cockroach in the corner (might have been oriental or something); and a third was a Salvador Dali gallery, with rare photos of photos. I went to none of these but would have if the timing had been right, or if I had someone else with me.
As I left Prague, I brought with me an appreciation for Czech food, friendliness, and increasing standard of living. Before the Czechs adopt the Euro, their currency will continue to increase in value as the country gains prosperity. It's a fine place, occupying a wonderful and tranquil countryside. But for now, I must look ahead to Germany and the treasures that await there!