Prague: The Fairy Tale City

Prague is one of those cities that everyone raves about – its beauty, its history, its charm. So I decided I had to go. When my recruiter told me I shouldn’t book a flight to Moscow until I received confirmation on my visa processing, I figured instead of book a last minute (and probably more expensive) flight to Moscow, I’d book an early cheap flight to Prague, then a last minute flight to Moscow from there. After saying goodbye to everyone in Wisconsin, Minnesota, then Colorado, I took off for Prague via two layovers (cheap ticket) in Chicago and London. I finally arrived in Prague a day and a half later, jet lagged and sleep deprived. I checked into the hostel after lugging my suitcase (a big change from always traveling light) up the freakishly slanted metro escalator steps (I was seriously concerned for my trip back down the escalator with my suitcase in three days time due to the odd design that made everyone look like they were going to tumble straight down any second) and down the cobblestone streets of Prague. Once I dumped my stuff, took a shower, and had some time to compose myself, I took off on a little walking tour of Prague for orientation.

Old Town Square

Prague looks like a fairy tale city. It is one of the best preserved medieval towns in Europe, with a variety of architecture and charm that makes every street pleasant to walk down. The Old Town Square was my favorite place to hang out and watch tourists, but I fell in love with the Charles Bridge and its view of Prague Castle early the next morning, when I got up at 6 am to beat the crowds and see the sun rise over the Charles Bridge. 

Charles Bridge, Prague. 

I love the idea of “waking up with the city,” as Paul Theroux described it in one of his travel books, when just a few people are out starting their day, the streets are quiet, and everything glows in the early morning light. That morning (the day before I only managed to walk around for a few hours then passed out at the hostel early) I got myself fantastically lost two times, took lots of pictures, and enjoyed every new twist and turn down the streets to see what view I would come upon next. I actually never really oriented myself very well in Prague after three days, as the streets are pretty windy and tended to set me off in the complete opposite direction than where I thought I was going. But, as always, that’s the best way to learn, and I was rewarded with new discoveries each time I got lost.

View of Prague Castle

                I didn’t do much in Prague besides walk and take pictures, but I did cough up entry fees to both the Prague Museum of Communism and Prague Castle. The Communism Museum outlined the history of communism in Prague, between the end of World War II and the advent of the collapse of the Soviet Union. The story is typical among most communist outlines: collectivization didn’t work, children were indoctrinated in their textbooks, and everyone was essentially brainwashed to ‘serve the state.’ Footage of live protests and riots in some of Prague’s main gathering areas, including Old Town Square and Wencelsclas Square put the events into better perspective for me. Czechoslovakia was famous for the “Velvet Revolution,” which alludes to the smooth transition from communism to a republic, followed by the splitting of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.

St. Vitus' Cathedral

                The next day I took my history lesson back to the medieval period, where I learned more about Prague Castle, situated on top of a hill above the Vlatava River, and its Bohemian kings. I arrived right at opening time, and was so glad for my timing especially when I returned to the entrance two hours later and found it swarming with tour groups. I enjoyed the old cathedral, the original castle, constructed in the 9^th century, and the castle grounds with relative peace and quiet. I learned that the founder of Prague castle was the grandfather of Wenceslas, of the Christmas Carol “Good King Wenceslas.” Though Wenceslas was revered as a saint and the “eternal protector of the Bohemian lands,” he was never actually a king. I guess “Good Duke Wenceslas” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. After touring the castle complex I hung out in the castle gardens for a while and took in the views of the city from the heights of the eastward facing castle – I bet Wenceslas saw many a beautiful sunrise in his day.

View from Prague Castle

Beef Goulash

                Prague offered many advertisements for ‘authentic’ and ‘traditional’ foods, to make the tourists happier, but as always, I was traveling on a budget and therefore only indulged in one ‘Czech’ meal, at a restaurant from a recommendation book at the hostel written by local Prague residents. I chose the menu of the day in Czech, as there was no English translation for the specials, only the full priced meals, and was treated to a hearty plate of goulash (basically beef stew), bread dumplings, shredded horseradish (interesting…), and some veggies. It was delicious, and 1/3 cheaper than the more touristy restaurant next door advertising the same dish. Win. Other Czech speciatlies that I noticed on menu boards seemed to be roasted duck, garlic soup, and a type of sausage that looked like a giant hot dog on a baguette.

Morning sunrise

                I felt like I was getting my traveling legs (and sore traveling feet) back during my three days in Prague, and it was thrilling to be back in Europe after three years and reminded so much of the beauty I experienced three years before. To me, there’s really nothing to compare a beautiful Gothic cathedral to in the world, and I enjoyed running back through my Western civilization courses in my head to review architecture, empires, and dynasties so that I could put Prague’s history into a better perspective. I’ve never spent much time studying Central or Eastern Europe, so I’m hoping the next nine months in Russia will help round out my European history education. It was fun to hear familiar languages again, like French and Spanish, and to try to guess where people were from. My stopover in Prague was the perfect introduction to the next year I have to look forward to in Europe, and now that I’m finally on my way to Moscow, I’m very excited to get back to work, have a place to live for more than a month at a time, and meet some new people.

                My layover here in Stockholm is just about over, so that’s it for now. I’ll write more from Moscow – I’ve got a week of orientation coming up, then I imagine I’ll start teaching a week from Monday. Wish me luck, and enjoy your Labor Day weekend! 

A Room with a View

My room. My view. 

                I’d say this title (thanks E.M. Forster) is an apt description of the past two months of my summer in downtown Minneapolis. Though it has absolutely nothing to do with the book, which I actually haven’t even read, I’m prepared to argue that my summer lodging has provided a pretty sweet view, one that I appreciated every day and will miss very much.  I was staying in a condo that I lucked out in ‘renting’ for the summer, and the luxury of not only having a place to myself again but also being within walking distance of so many neat features of Minneapolis was so wonderful to experience for a few short weeks.

Go Twins!

                Honestly, I wasn’t at the condo all that much over the past two months, because I ended up traveling around the state and to Wisconsin just as much as I stayed put. But every time I came back and waltzed back into the condo and looked out the window, I took a minute to be grateful for the opportunity to live there. It was the perfect staging point to come back from nearly a year of traveling, have a place to myself, and get ready for my next overseas adventure. This past summer at home was a summer of reunions, with people from all stages of my life, who helped remind me how lucky I am to have such great friends and family. It was also a summer of first experiences, highlights of which include completing my first half marathon, my first brewery tour, my first state fair (sorry Minnesota, it was actually in Wisconsin, which means you have next year to impress me even more), my first time at the new Guthrie Theater, and, as every devout Minnesotan must experience, my first time at the new Target Field for a Twins game.

Training paid off!

                But in between all that fun stuff, I had my room with a view. Every morning for a month I would wake up with the sun and trot five blocks east of the condo to hit Mill Ruins Park, where I would either run or walk to train for my half marathon. It was the perfect way to start the day, with clear mornings, perfect temperatures (for the most part, depending on the humidity), and a great view of the sun rising over the Mississippi River. After working out, I’d come back to the condo and lounge around with coffee while eating my breakfast and doing some prep work for graduate school applications. After my ‘work’ was done for the morning, I’d usually spend the afternoons walking, going to a coffee shop, or running errands (aka getting lost) in various parts of the Cities, which only helped my sense of directions. I’ve got those interstates nailed down in my head now. In the evenings I’d sometimes see my friends who were living and working in nearby Uptown, or I’d find something to keep me busy. It was a perfect weekly routine, and I had just the right balance of time to myself and time with my friends to keep me happy and to keep the time passing quickly.

Visiting Target Field

Brewery tour in Milwaukee

                I also had some visitors at the condo – Allie came to visit for a few days, during which we toured essential parts of Minneapolis, such as Mill Ruins Park, Lake Calhoun, the Nicollet Mall, and Target Field. A couple of my long time Mankato friends also spent a night or two with me at the condo, which was a fun way to catch up and enjoy the Cities with them. And if I didn’t have people coming to visit or didn’t see my friends nearby, I made a few trips throughout the summer to do some visits and have some reunions. Between a week up at the cabin with my family, some time in Mankato, Rochester, Milwaukee, Green Bay, and even Big Lake to celebrate my cousin’s birthday, I was busy. It was a fun few weeks, but all good things had to come to an end, and before I knew it it was time for me to leave the state and make one final trip for some reunions: this time back to Colorado, to visit friends and family.

Reunited after a year.

                My last morning in my room with a view was…spent frantically running around after oversleeping by nearly an hour to catch the light rail to the airport. Not fun, and not a great way to say goodbye. I made it to the airport with “seven minutes to spare” for check-in (thank you check-in lady) and then collapsed into the seat on the plane bound for Denver, a large Caribou coffee in hand. I arrived in Denver and spent the day with Ceci, my travel buddy from Asia and South America, and we went to Boulder for the afternoon to meet up with Roxy, my serendipitous friend who led to me meeting Ceci in the first place. It was nearly a year ago that I bought her camera for her to provide her cash to get a Vietnamese visa so that she could go teach English in Ho Chi Minh City, where I met up with her and her friends Cecilia, Jen, and Andrei a few days later. From there, she stayed to teach and I traveled north with her friends, and I hadn’t seen her since. It was great to hear about her teaching experiences and life in Vietnam, and so strange to think a whole year had passed since that day we met at the border of Thailand and Cambodia.

Conquered the Incline

                The next day I was picked up by one of my best friends from elementary school, who was living in Colorado Springs and I had only seen for about three hours in the past three years. I spent the rest of the week in the Springs, keeping busy at her apartment while she was at work, then hiking with her when she got off. The second hike we did was the hardest hike in my life, topping Machu Picchu by a mile. It was called “the Incline,” and is favored by coaches and trainers at the nearby Olympic Training Center to throw their athletes at for training. Ouch. A mile of intense vertical incline at high altitudes did not agree with me well. I knew I wasn’t out of shape, as I had just finished a half marathon a couple weeks before, so I was astounded at how ill I felt due to the altitude and the sheer intensity of the climb. I applaud everyone who makes it up that thing, and decided if I lived in the Springs I would do it once a week (like Amanda does – I’m so impressed.) On top of hiking, we maximized our time together by going line dancing and cooking delicious meals, then had a fun night out in Denver when she had to return me to Ceci.

                The weekend was spent catching up with four of my fellow UWGB swimmers, all of whom have relocated to Colorado in the past two years, and none of whom I had seen since I left in May 2010. We had a fun night playing cards, catching up, and going out on the town with Ceci and Andrei, and it was fun to have my friends from different times in my life interact together and get along. My last full day in the state I spent with my cousins, whom I had barely seen since we moved from Colorado nearly twenty years ago. Our ‘brunch’ turned into an all day affair, and we didn’t part ways until late afternoon as we were having such a great time catching up and chatting. By the end of the week I was exhausted from all of the talking and emotions that accompanied seeing loved ones after such a long time. I was also thrilled, however, that in one trip I was able to see so many people, so I predict another visit to Denver isn’t too far off in my future.

                My last day in the States I spent zipping around Chicago in a sporty little red rental car. My excessively long layover between Denver and London proved to be extremely convenient in that it saved me a separate trip to Chicago over the summer to visit two grad schools there that I will be applying to. I was lucky enough to meet with a grad student at the Univeristy of Chicago and a history professor at the University of Illinios-Chicago, as well as tour the campuses and get a feel for what going to school there would be like. Both meetings were really helpful to me in terms of how to direct my applications, and I’m looking forward to applying to both schools to see if I might end up at one of them next year.

                Looking back on the summer, I realized just how busy everything was, but I also wouldn’t change a thing. The amount of people I was able to see and catch up with, to hear about their lives and update them on mine, was priceless, and I doubt I’ll ever be able to spend a summer like that again, nor will I probably ever get a room with a view like this. It was the perfect way to end my year of traveling (which, ironically enough, included even more traveling) and a great start to one final year abroad. This time around I have an end date for coming and I’m looking forward to being back in the States next year. But first, I have a fantastic opportunity to experience yet another new culture, lifestyle, language, and country that I can’t wait to get started in. I’ll be blogging from abroad as always, so check in every so often if you’re curious! Enjoy the rest of Labor Day weekend and have a great start to the fall everyone!