On the subway into the city everyone faces forward, expressionless. Hannah and I chatter about where to get off. We feel too loud and too excited for the Czechs. The only people smiling on the train are a mother and her middle-aged daughter who touch up each other's faces with their fingers and spit, giggling. They, like everyone else we see, are bundled up in puffy parkas and scarves. Most women wear some type of synthetic leather or sequins and tight black heels of some sort. There are a disproportionate number of male mullets. It is my first time in Eastern Europe. It shouldn't surprise me that the fashion, the outward public appearance and the customs of sociability are different, but it does a little.
We get off the subway in the middle of Wenceslas Square and walk to our hostel, happy that the air is much milder than Berlin's that morning. The hostel turns out to be a really nice, kind of trendy place. If I were to visit Prague again, though, I would make sure to couchsurf or stay with friends or friends, for the local culture seems very hard to find. The central areas are milling with tourists, but the Czechs seem entirely removed from this world. We saw only a very picturesque surface of castles, pubs, mulled wine and people going somewhere. Though in contrast to Berlin there is something very interesting about a culture that doesn't pop out at you.
With the expert guidance of a Portland friend who used to live as a journalist in Prague, we explored the most beautiful parts of the city. He gave us precise directions to take the 22 tram, which conveniently ran right past our hostel, to the stop at the top of the Castle District. From here, many lanes run down the hill, either through the Strahov Monastery vineyard, a grand forest park, or the Prague Castle. Our first trip down was in the late afternoon. The clouds cleared, bathing the vineyard and all of the quaint rooftops of Prague in a pinkish light. We took far too many pictures. The paths led us down into the Malá Strana neighborhood and across the Charles Bridge, which is closed to cars and lined with impressive gothic statues. From each point of this walk, the views were incredible. The next evening we took the 22 tram later in the day, stopping at the top for a dinner at Maly Buddha, which is another key stop on our tour guide's walk. So good, so cheap, and such a lovely zen ambiance. I can still taste the mint-ginger tea and the deep-fried whole banana drizzled in honey that I had for dessert.
 |
| Walking down from Prague Castle on our last night. |
Prague Highlights:
THE WALK[s] and Maly Buddha, thanks again J.
The Kafka Museum: This was the first literary museum I have ever been too. Alongside the expected photos, manuscripts and life story, the museum presents in depth analyses of Kafka's life and works, focusing on handfuls of difficult issues and theoretical stances. The museum isn't for everyone (don't take your kids), but is ideal for any literature student or Kafkaphile. The exhibit has been created by passionate and dedicated scholars and even includes interpretative video installations that animate Kafka's sketches. After seeing the exhibit, it was difficult not to align the gray Prague surface that we had earlier noted with Kafka's closed, bureaucratic Prague of the early 1900s. I wonder what he would have to say about all of the tourists...
Radost FX: Vegan/Vegetarian/Club/Café/Restaurant/Potential Hub of Prague's gay scene. At the suggestion of our hostel, we went to Radost to find some veggie eats. No, traditional Czech cuisine doesn't quite cater to this.
 |
| The Charles Bridge; K at the K Museum. |
No comments:
Post a Comment