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

Monday in Prague

So after getting some info about things I'd seen during my power-tour on Sunday, me and Stu went out to see some of the stuff I hadn't seen... which wasn't that much.
Apparently, I had walked basically the entire (central) city the day before - oops! (haha)

Things I saw on Sunday:

• Charles Bridge
• Mala Strana district (Prague 1)
• Kampa Island park
• Old Town Square/Astrological Tower
• Palladium shopping mall
• Wencaslas Square
• random island (not that island, that island, as Stu said)
• National Theatre
• Most Legii bridge (or "most legit" if you prefer)

Getting back to Monday-
We decided to go to the Prague Castle, since it was one of the few things I didn't see; and also because one of Stu's classes went there on a field trip, so she had lots of historical and fun facts to share.
On our way up the hill, we stopped by the John Lennon wall. Originally, young Czechs would go to express themselves and pay homage to the singer/songwriter during the Communist Era; each night the wall would be painted over, but they would go back and graffiti it every day. Now, it is a constantly changing work of public art. Although it is less about Lennon and more focused on general peace and love, you can still spot some song quotes and portraits of the man himself.

practicing my eastern european smile

Prague Castle is literally at the top of a very high hill that overlooks the whole city. While walking uphill through the streets to get to it, we stopped for a warm trdelník, a traditional Czech sweet treat. It was all shades of fall flavors, like cinnamon and nutmeg; and you hold the warm cylinder with your thumb in the middle so your whole hand warms up too!

the dough is baked on hot, rolling cylinders

some trdelník and starbucks!

As the streets flattened out and we approached the top, a huge view of Prague welcomed us.

The castle is actually a very confusing conglomeration of buildings and squares, which together makes up the "castle." Although there are many cathedrals, basilicas, and churches in Prague, it is actually one of the most Atheist nations in the world (you know, Communism and all that "no religion allowed" stuff, yeah it had an effect). Prague and its history are filled with religious figures and monuments, since it was part of the Holy Roman Empire, but now it's all in the past. All of these have a much more obvious presence here, rather than in the States, which is strange considering how many more people practice religion there!

TBM, the first president of the czech republic after world war one

castle square

musicians playing outside the Castle Square

the changing of the guard

st. vitus cathedral

flying buttresses! 

 toy museum near

prague is also famous for inspiring lots of classical music

czech people really do not like germans, especially after world war two. this sign used to have both czech and german on it, but after the war, they scratched out the german.

After passing through the important sights of Prague Castle, we went down to some tiered gardens. It's definitely fall in Prague! The leaves were changing colours, and there was a nice, crisp breeze - something that hasn't quite happened in Aix yet. From the gardens, we still had a great view over the rooftops of the city.

a "miniature" museum (sound interesting, dad? it's full of "little" things)

Looking across, we saw the hill that the Funicular goes up. We saw a small building flying an American flag - so we decided to go check it out! We crossed towards to the other hill and tried to find it. Unfortunately, we did not... but we did get to see the mini "Eiffel Tower" of Prague! It was designed by the same architect and is geographically taller than the actual Tour Eiffel in Paris since it stands on this huge hill.

a pumpkin!

We ended up just taking a nice nature walk through the Petrin Hill park (the largest green area in Prague)... and through a bit o' mud - adventuring!

Then we walked back through Mala Strana and ended up back on the Charles Bridge in time for a beautiful sunset.

prague castle

mala strana

charles bridge

We met up with a friend of Stu's from middle school who was traveling with some buddies from her study abroad program in Paris. The five of us got dinner, where I had traditional Czech goulash for the first time! It is basically beef stew on a plate with heavy potato-bread-dumpling things. I also had the Czech beer, Pilsner Urquell, which is kinda their equivalent of Bud Light or something (but definitely not light!) since it is everywhere... and evokes some sort of national pride.

We went back to Stu's apartment to hang out with her housemates, and then we all went to bed - and I slept so well!

 old town hall at night

view over the vitava river

xxo, S