Last day in Prague

Friday-

All was well, another day saved when...
Wait, sorry, there I go quoting The Incredibles again. (Bonus points if you can finish that quote! Hint: capes.)

Anyhew, all was well, another day in Prague... when I had to leave! It seemed like I'd just arrived, but alas, time to go back to Aix.

To polish off my time in the Czech Republic, me and Stu went to the Museum of Communism which, if you ever go, is really hidden, but really worth it. It wasn't the type of museum where you would spend hours, which is good (especially sine we both had flights to catch that day!), but it was very informational!

casual. huge lenin statue replica (and stalin, farther back) welcomes you

 but stalin, too, had his own huge monument back in the day.

prague, until 1962

 more communist leaders' statue replicas

 what school was like in communist prague

 using athletes as propaganda; the entire czech hockey team, two time world champions, were sentenced to prison because they weren't trusted by the soviet government

 agriculture posters

 communist prague really did not like america...

 ...where wall street was the center of all evil...

 ...and capitalists look like bums next to ^^ "upstanding soviet citizens"

 socialist realism was a fake art form that tried to duplicate the impressionist movement; but even czech artists didn't criticized it saying they didn't understand what it was supposed to stand for

 "normalization" in the late '60s meant a return to strict communist rules

the youth revolts (as always)!

The museum was set up kinda like a "special exhibit" in a regular museum, with haphazardly placed artifacts and placards in five different languages, accompanied by big photographs, explaining the history of the Communist party in Czechoslovakia, its rise to power, and the fate of the Czech people under communist and Soviet rule. Stu had learned a lot of the history in her classes in Prague, but it was all new information to me! It was a good exercise to understanding how the people of individual nations had been affected by their status as Soviet states, rather than thinking of the Soviet Union as one entity.
I even got some postcards! (Read what they say)

Afterwards, we went to the Palladium mall, where they have a "running sushi" all-you-can-eat special. Basically, little sushi/ Asian dishes are on this two-level conveyor belt and when you see something that looks good coming your way, you just grab it! So much fun watching the food go by and discovering some weird dishes, too.

like, just look ^^ at that weird yellow jiggly cube!

We quickly ran some errands, including stopping by the ISA office to pick up a package that Stu's mom had sent - full of KitKats and DVDs, yay! Then we rushed back to the apartment, cleaned a bit, gathered our things, and hopped on the tram!

the tiny elevator going up to stu's apartment has lots of mirrors

 tram

Stu was going straight to the airport, but I hung out in Starbucks for a while, enjoying my last soy latte for a while and the free wifi, since my flight didn't leave for a few more hours. The Starbucks I kept going to in Prague has a huuuge basement seating area. I think more places in the U.S. need space like this!

also, this was a really yummy drink. i've never had elderflower before, but it's 100% goooood!

Finally, I navigated Prague transit again, got on my flight and, after a short layover in Paris (gosh, I love the Charles DeGaulle airport, even if it is really huge!), was back home in Aix! A nice, 45° evening greeted me and I went home, read my book some more, and fell asleep - bon nuit!

xxo, S