belated EVERYTHING post
It feels like I am going to title all my entries “belated ____ post.” This is a sad fact of life and we will all have to learn to live with it.
So! It’s been a month (!!) since I’ve been here. The end of the second week heralded the end of Intensive Czech class and the beginning of… everything else. We’ve been attending regular classes for three weeks now, and some classes I enjoy more than others, admittedly. But even the bad things aren’t so bad, and who am I to complain when I am in PRAGUE of all places. So yes.
Now comes the perilous task of documenting the past month. I don’t think I have the energy, willpower, or concentration to do it all in one go, and it’s not like I am cruel enough to subject any of you to what would certainly be an impenetrable wall of text, so I’ll break it up into weeks.
05 – 11 Sept:
05 Sept (Josefov & Pražký Hrad)
We started off looking for the Old New Synagogue (Staronová synagoga) in Josefov, the old Jewish quarter. It’s an area with a long history, but most of it has been rebuilt and overlapped with more modern buildings, so it’s difficult to imagine how it was originally. We didn’t stay long in the area after finding out that the Old Jewish Cemetery was closed for the day (Saturday, duh), but we definitely plan to go back another time, probably with our History class. I’ll be sure to give Josefov the post it deserves, because it really is an amazing, amazing place.
Then we walked to Jan Palach Square, which is right next to the bank of the Vltava River. Jan Palach was a Czech student who immolated himself in protest against the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia. You can find memorials to him all over Prague. This year is the forty year anniversary of his death, and the twenty year anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in Prague. It’s a very auspicious year, to say the least.
Jan Palach square is located in front of the Rudolfinium, which is an auditorium that houses an art gallery and Dvorak Hall, one of the oldest concert halls in Europe. The Rudolfinium is the seat of the Czech Philharmonic and we are most definitely going to catch a concert there soon.
From there we crossed the Mánes Bridge into Malá Strana (Lesser Town). We wandered into the gardens of Wallenstein Palace (seat of the Czech senate!) without really knowing what it was, but there were statues, fountains, an artificial stalactite wall, an aviary, and lots and lots of green. Also, peacocks. Several of them.
We made our way to Prague Castle (Pražský hrad) next, though we didn’t get to see much of it other than the vineyard and St. Vitus Cathedral (which is nothing to be coughed at). The cathedral is largest in the Czech Republic and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. Within are the tombs of several kings and saints of Bohemia and also the coronation jewels (locked behind a small door with seven locks, the keys to which are entrusted to seven different people). It’s immense immense immense and very, very Gothic.
06 Sept (Prague Metronome, Letna Park, Deer Moat, Petřin Tower and Hill)
One of the program participants, Andrew, decided to lead us “off the beaten path” that day. He wasn’t kidding.
We met in front of the other apartment in Křižikova and walked along the river and then up a bunch of stairs to the Prague Metronome, which overlooks the river and the very center of the city. It literally is a giant metronome, in constant motion, and the most interesting thing about it is that it stands on the very spot where a massive granite Stalin monument used to be. The Stalin monument was demolished in 1962, and I guess Praguers thought this was a good replacement, symbolizing the break away from communism and change for the future. Sublime.
The square immediately behind the Metronome is a popular spot for skateboarders. Graffiti abounds and if you look up, you can see shoes hanging from the electric wires. Behind that was Letna Park, filled with grass and trees and cranky rollerbladers. Since the park is so elevated and located right on the bank of the river, there is no shortage of amazing, postcard-worthy views.
From Letna Park, we walked to the area below Prague Castle, specifically the Deer Moat (jelení příkop). It used to be part of the castle’s northern defenses, but now it really just looks like an enchanted forest (with pavement, yes). There did use to be deers here, but the French army shot them all during their occupation of Prague in 1741-42. Apparently, there is also a legend of a werewolf residing in the moat, from the time of Emperor Rudolf II…
Next! Petřin Hill. This is really where we veered “off the beaten path.” It was a nice walk from the Moat to the foot of the hill. We passed a charming little square where everyone stopped to buy some overpriced beverages in preparation for the hike ahead. We continue, going at a leisurely pace, enjoying the view, until we come to a fork in the road. “Hmm,” says Andrew, our fearless leader. “I think I know which way we’re going to go.” And then he plunges into the wilderness. We follow. By the way, I was wearing Converse shoes. Traction? Practicality? What’s that?
Oh, and trail? What trail? I see rocks for footing and roots for grabbing onto, so let’s scrabble up this vertical incline with no regard for our personal safety! So we do. And it was glorious.
When we make it to flat ground again, we are right in front of the Hunger Wall (hladová zeď), which was built in the 14th century during the reign of Charles IV. It was a strategic construction, intended for defense, but after the famine of 1361, the building of it also provided much needed employment, and it was thus known as the Hunger Wall.
Then we take a nice stroll over to the Petřin Tower, the “Czech Eiffel Tower.” It’s smaller, but there is a definite, blatant resemblance. We didn’t climb it, but I’ll go back some day to check out the panorama view from the top.
Now, the journey back. Our little adventure had been without incident so far. Sure, Andrew took a little tumble and broke his camera and got grass stains on his white shirt, but he’s practically indestructible and was also kind of asking for it anyway. We’re making our way down the hill on foot, and we’re nearing the end, and no one’s fallen/died/broken anything, and we can finally see civilization again, all that’s left before us is one last slope. But oh, it was a formidable slope, a worthy final opponent. What happened next, while unfortunate and devastating, was one of the best things I have ever witnessed in my life.
I told Genta, my fellow Hunter student and roommate, to go ahead of me; this way I could keep an eye on her. Entirely honorable intentions. So she starts walking down, taking careful, measured steps, and it looks like she’s doing well, no problem at all. But as we watch, she picks up her pace, still taking tiny little steps but faster, and then she starts speeding down the hill, and suddenly–inexplicably–she drops her bag and she keeps going. At this point, Dawoon and I are staring in disbelief and confusion, and I have no idea what she’s doing, I think maybe she’s gunning for it. But why did she drop her bag?
So she’s flying down the hill with these tiny baby steps, arms bent at the elbow and hands raised to shoulder height, her bag laying abandoned in the grass, and all that was missing was a finish line for her to run through, but less than ten feet from the end, a tragic twist of fate, and she falls flat on her back.
(Site of Genta’s demise)
I would be lying if I said my initial reaction was not to double over with laughter. Because I did. I would also be lying if I said I was not laughing the whole way down to her. Because I was. And the biggest lie would be if I said that I didn’t regret not recording the whole thing. Because I really, really wish I had. For the memories.
10 Sept (boat cruise)
USAC took us on a cruise on the Vltava River, complete with dinner and beer.
As we were waiting for the boat to arrive, five of the boys decided to jump off a bridge into the river. They asked Jan, our program coordinator, and he said, “I feel it’s all right…” So they did. I was left with the glamorous task of gathering their discarded pants and shirts and shoes and bookbags and bringing them back down. As the boys were climbing out of the water, we see the police cruising down the river in their own boat. They asked for identification and I guess those five brave souls now have records in Prague.
We met our professors on the boat, and after dinner, Jan took some of the students swimming. The cruise went on into the early evening, so we got to see the city all lit up from the river. At one point we passed another boat, whose passengers started yelling/singing to us, “WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS.” Indeed you are.
We passed under the Charles Bridge and when we finally docked, it was getting dark out. A quick walk past the Rudolfinium, down the winding side streets of Staré Město and we were home at Anežská.
g said,
February 15, 2010 at 00:30
hay.