Forget the ACE/JMZ/NQRW/123/456...

The metro system in Prague is almost too easy. Three lines-- red, yellow, green-- and two directions for each one. It's laid out in a triangle formation, with each line snaking away from Prague 1 (the center of the city), over the Vltava River and out into the city's various neighborhoods. Transferring within the metro stations is easily done, as following the colored signs could be accomplished by a 5-year-old. Once above ground, you can walk to your destination or hop a tram and speed up the journey. The trams are a bit trickier, but I'm sure that'll get easier soon enough... plus, it's all a matter of knowing the schedule and timing your plans right. Time underground is well-managed, with clocks counting down the minutes until the next train rolls through. And the trains... oh the trains! Metro cars are treated with great respect-- no food or mess allowed, bright lighting, and everything electric (you even have to press a button on the door to get off or on at your stop). And then there are the platforms. Again, immaculate. Besides spotless floors, the walls along the tunnel are decorated with these neat concave circle things, using different color families (I'm quite partial to the blues).



Another neat transportation-type thing is this elevator I rode in the Lucerna building in Wenceslas Square. A little backstory: Wenceslas Square is a big shopping and social center in Prague 1, and the Lucerna building is a buidling that houses everything from offices to cafes to shops and a famous theater-- Cinema Lucerna is the oldest cinema that's still in use in all of Europe! Lucerna was built and owned by Vaclav Havel's grandfather (Vaclav is the former president of the country), and drew a higher class clientele back in the day. These days it's evened out, and you can find one of the cafes crowded with local students chatting it up over an expansive menu of coffee, tea, and even Latin American hot chocolate (it's literally like drinking a cup of a melted chocolate bar). Anyway, on the way up to the offices of the Music on Film Film on Music documentary festival (my internship, check it out www.moffom.org), I was faced with these old-school elevators, of which only a few remain in the city--take a gander below. In a nutshell, there are two shafts next to each other and a continual stream of cars circulates, one side goes up, the other down. Two key points here: the cars DO NOT stop and there are no doors. You actually have to hop on and off without hesitation, and hope it works out. It was one of the most exciting and awe-inspiring sights/experiences yet, and I'm not sure I'll ever be so satisfied with an elevator again.

Don't Trust the Sunshine.

So on Sunday we trekked to the wondrous castle high atop a hill overlooking the city. En route to Tram 22 (aka the Pickpocket Express), the weirdest weather fell upon us... at first a drizzle amidst sparkling sunshine, and then fierce winds and a hail-ish mixture as we boarded the tram. I had eyed my umbrella before walking out the door, but decided against toting along since the sun had been beaming all morning. And thus I realized you can't trust the weather, in New England OR in Prague. Luckily, the inclement weather subsided, leaving us with a frigidly sunny day.



The castle grounds tour was led by the same guide that showed us around Old Town. She's a peppy lady and very mom-like, always asking if we're too cold to go on. Cold we were, but we trooped through it. My ballet flats were a less-than-genius idea for the event, even with leg warmers tucked into them, and retrospectively I don't know how I overlooked my diesel Uggs when getting dressed. Anyway, the architecture was stunning. People remark about how Prague is so beautifully preserved (note the fact that it was one of few cities not bombed in WWII), but besides the obvious, what's even more impressive is that people were able to build these cathedrals and castles without the modern technology we have today. We learned that wooden scaffolding, buttresses, and strict scheduling were some of the elements that allowed for the labor to pay off.

While we walked through one of the squares we picked up some hot mulled wine-- definitely a little different, and seeing as to how I'm not such a wine fan, it wasn't the most delicious beverage. BUT the tongue burn and warmed throat was nothing to argue with when I could barely feel my face.


We stopped for some dinner on the way home, and on this I have to comment. First of all, the amount of restaurants in Prague is so great that I'm sure you can sit down and be the only patron for the entirety of your meal. What does this mean? Why, speedy service and a calming ambience. This particular joint was down a small alley and offered the most delectable dish I've had since touching down in the Czech Republic. Potatoes, onions, mushrooms and bacon prepared to a stewy consistency. Coupled with an amazing batch of freshly baked baguettes, it was to die for.

And another thing about eating establishments... you're allowed to bring dogs in with you! Dogs are ridiculously well-behaved here, to the point that most people walk them sans leash. At that restaurant, and a few other casual cafes I've eaten in, there have been dogs lying under owners' chairs, patiently and silently awaiting for the meal to end and the walk to begin. Amazing.

That night (Sunday), our dorm hosted one of Prague's most popular jazz bands in our basement. It was packed with kids from all three dorms, and the sweet sound of a good band and impressive female singer swirled about.

Free apple juice, among other beverages, was served, and the night was a relaxing hit. The band, Badfinger, further cemented my interest in jazz... I think I can confidently say I like the genre.

Clutching your Clutch...

We've been warned by everyone from tour guides to RA's to parents and professors... the gypsies (aka Roma) in Prague are notorious for their pickpocketing craft. We've been holding onto bags and eyeing suspicious characters, eager to witness a theft firsthand, but even standing at the Astronomical clock at noon (crowds like heaven for a slick dude/ette) proved fruitless. They must be THAT good.

Meanwhile, the storm of all European history rocked Prague a couple nights ago. The winds were out of control, dust and debris flying in any unprotected eyes (I was a mess) and then possibly the most intense rain storm I have ever witnessed. Needless to say, Thursday was deemed a "recovery" night, but the weather's been agreeable since. Still, we have our travel insurance just in case we need to get airlifted out of here. Wouldn't that make for a good entry....

Yesterday was the last day of intensive survival Czech class, so to celebrate, our great teacher brought a bottle of chilled Becherovka liqour to class.

Besides spilling it all over my desk (I swore I hadn't snuck some before class) it was... kinda gross. Could it have been the fact that we were taking swigs at 11 AM? Probably. But anyway, something like that had to be documented (visual aid above). After that, we went to lunch at a nice restaurant by Wenceslas Square with our teacher and a colonel of the US army who works at the embassy here. The most useful tip we learned from them was that the daily specials, written only in Czech, are geared towards the locals who might not want to drop the equivalent of $20 on lunch. Jason and I got meals and drinks, tax and tip included, for $10. That's what I'm talking about... and now that we can decode Czech food words, you can bet we'll be making that move a lot.

We went to the opera last night, which was a first for me. Culture abounds in Praha, and unlike my time in New York I actually plan on taking full advantage of it. We saw Carmen at the Statni Opera House and it was enlightening. You see, the only subtitles were in Czech and the actual script was in French, so I was reduced to appreciating the voices, sets, costumes, and orchestra, all of which were great by my standards. I managed to sneak a picture during one of the acts, so you can enjoy that here:

We're venturing into Old Town tonight to check out an American expat-owned club... more on that later.

Ciao!

So I Was Thinking...

...as I scrolled through my pictures and saw all the random people that are in them. Like, people who are just aimlessly walking through the background of the shot and BOOM they're on your iPhoto. I know it's possibly the least original thought, but it's worth thinking about how many random pictures you've been in. And to think of how bad you must look mid-stride/sneeze/laugh/etc. [note: see the randoms standing in front of the Astronomical Clock. All I wanted was a clear shot.]

Dobry den!

(that means "hello," or literally, "good day")

So Prague is pretty much the best city to study in. Not only is it cheap, but the language is amazing. Obviously it's not the easiest thing to learn, what with the limited vowel usage, but it's also really fun once you get the hang of it. This week we've been taking survival Czech language courses and I've got food ordering and basic conversational phrases pretty much down. Not to mention the million random words we've learned like: kamarad (friend) and parek (hotdog). One of my favorite things Czechs do is add -ka to the end of nouns when talking about a female item, like kamaradKA. It just sounds soooo.... I don't quite know, but basically I like it A LOT.

A couple nights ago we czech-ed out (haha, get it??) this bar/club called Cross Bar, that's right by our tram/subway stop. It's literally 5 minutes away and is ridiculous. I've never seen anything like it... at least 6 floors, lots of big rooms and even more small ones (like a foosball den), crazy lighting, car engines hanging above tables, and weird installation art at the front entrance. It was Tuesday and the place was definitely not empty. Even better, pretty much every kid in the program went to Mecca, this 3 floor club a block away from the dorm, last night. Now THAT was an experience. Completely packed and smokey (from cigarettes as well as a smoke machine). Czech kids tend to dance in lines kinda, like it's not one big mushed crowd of raving people. I don't know if they just respect personal space more than Americans, but I think it might have to do with needing enough space to pull out their crazy moves. Either way, it works for me. Amusingly, most of the kids who complained about having to go to a dance club beforehand ended up grooving and shaking the whole time. It's irresistible, especially when you see everyone letting loose... and no matter what, you can't be the worst dancer out there (you can thank crazy arm-waving kids for that).

Back to the smoke... it sucks. Smoking is a-ok everywhere, so it's hard not to come home from lunch or a club smelling like a dirty cig-toting mess. I guess that's just a concession you have to make when everything else is so good. Besides all this partying business, the food is fantastic. The hotdogs are out of this world. They serve them in a baguette, but they don't cut the side like regular old buns in the States. Ohhh nooo... they drill a hold down the middle of it and stuff the dog in there nice and cozy. And even better, if you get ketchup or mustard, they squirt that in first so there's an even coat of it in each bite. I've become somewhat of a parek (that's hotdog, remember?) snob, and refuse to eat at the stands I've deemed slacker-ish-- flimsy baguettes, measly hotdogs, etc. The best stand so far is by the federal building and a bunch of opera houses... a bit of walk from the class building, but well worth it.

Don't worry, I've been eating actual meals too. Potatoes (brambory) in most every dish, and of course lots of meat (maso). I tried some of my friend's goulash the other night and it was amazing. Too bad it has such an unappetizing name, otherwise I would've tried it earlier in life.

Enough about food and bars, I gotta go to an internship meeting and see if there's something I might wanna do. Na shledanou!

The First Post....

Welcome to my Prague blog! Nice rhyme, huh? I'm gonna try to keep up with this as best as possible and post pictures and all that. I've got around four months in this fine central European city, but I hear that people usually become completely distracted by its allure and forget all obligations. In that case, this won't be an obligation. Rather, it'll be something I'll probably appreciate later in life, so I'll think of that every time I get starry eyed. For now, here's what today was like:

We pretty much had a little orientation session with some survival info and took a "must know" tour, like bank/post office/NYU academic building etc. The breakfast they served was muffins and pastries, and the lunch was either cheese baguettes or chicken ones. The Czechs love their cheeses. I think there was a combo of at least three different ones in my sandwich. Some people were grossed out, but it's cool having something different in each bite.

We all got cell phones at Vodafone and learned that calls between people with same carriers are cheaper. A couple of my friends were smart and ordered sweet phones (motorola KRZRs) on eBay before they left and got sim cards here= smartest idea ever because now they have great phones while most of us have the cheapest/lamest ones. On the other hand, it is nice to have a tiny phone instead of the bulky-but-useful Sidekick. Speaking of which, I am definitely getting an Apple iPhone when I get home... go to the Apple website and watch the keynote speech by Steve Jobs (CEO), the device is out of control amazing.

We also went to Tesco, which is like Target with a supermarket. I got some towels and I'm going back for sheets tomorrow... I passed out (completely sober) with gum in my mouth and now it's stuck to the fitted sheet. You see, I was going to go out last night with a bunch of kids, but I reclined to rest my eyes and ended up falling into a deep slumber. Oh well, tonight will be the start of fun... we found a bar that plays Pats games so we're gonna roll over there and check it out. For now, I have to go catch a dorm meeting and shower. Ciao!