And by Tomorrow...

I meant Friday around midnight, apparently. Sorry about the delay in posting! I have been tired and a little stressed out. Our occasional observer/trainer told us that the third week was the stressful one and he wasn't actually kidding, at all. Lessons have been tough and with the transport strike, it's been a week of unknowns and all kinds of calamity. I still love it and Prague is still beautiful, perhaps more so due to its love and embrace of democracy for all its idealism. No matter what you may have thought of Prague before, it's seriously a place to visit. They have come so far and are so extremely proud of their advancements since the end of communism; it's a country where darkness lasted for a long time and after it all, the country rose up and seems to shout: "Look at me now! I finally made it!"Whenever I see the displays about it, I can't help but be overwhelmed.

Post-ramble: I'll now return to the regularly scheduling blog-about-everything-Prague with loads more pictures.

Last Sunday began with rain, so I proceeded to sleep in and then go out anyway. It quickly became, as Prague seems to become, beautifully sunny and quite hot. The blue skies surfaced and fluffy white clouds floated about while the stormy morning was soon forgotten. I chose to adventure today to Wenceslas Square, a place I had not yet been.

Protip: If you started singing the Christmas Carol -> (Good King Wenceslas last looked out on the feast of Stephan...), you are correct. He was not, however, ever king of Bohemia (what is now the Czech Republic) as his brother murdered him to become king instead. Duke Wenceslas was shortly after death canonized by the Church. *ahem* I hope you enjoy all my fun history digressions. ;)

Also affectionately known as "the horse," the statue of Wenceslas is a popular place to meet.

If it were me, I might use the National History Museum (a la the GIANT building in the background) as a point, but then, what do I know.

(Protip: The Metro stop is MUZEUM, hence why I didn't realize where the square was at first.)

Wenceslas Square is a huge rectangular strip that becomes pedestrian only about halfway down. It leads to winding roads of shops and restaurants. If you wander in one direction it dumps you about 20 minutes later in the Old Town Square and if you go off a bit you end up at the banks of the Vlatava River. On the other hand, if you go up the square...I don't know where you go...I think you'd end up near my school.

I chose, clearly, to wander down and weave through the tourist boutiques and do a little shopping. I stumbled up this market I'd been hoping to refind so I could uncover some much rumored deals. At this point it was still drizzling though Czechs and tourists alike were still out and about, shopping and walking and keeping faith that a summer storm is always short.

Awesome market in Praha 1! (Find it yourself, trust me.)

I spent a lot of time, and quite a few korunas here. The goods were nifty, some in the shops and others not, and at quite good prices. The stall vendors were very nice. Some spoke English and others spoke just Czech. I did a lot of *gesture* prosism (look at price and hand money) diki, nasledanou. (Translation: that please, thanks, goodbye). They seem to like my very bad Czech; it earned me some smiles at least. I try. :) I also think Czech sounds really, really cool.

I decided, after listening to my stomach grumble in protest at the sight of some huge Czech cherries, to go grab myself a beer and something to eat. I had my first Czech sausage (which became the following day, the first of two) and first Budweiser/Budvar (Original Budweiser from the Czech Republic). Anyone from Prague will tell you, truthfully, that the American Budweiser stole its name from the town in the Czech Republic because it sounded cool. The problem was as follows: that town totally had a brewery and made great beer and was just one upped by a bad American brewery. So, if you are in the US or Canada or sometimes the UK, they will call this Budweiser either Budvar or Czechvar to avoid confusion. (In case you didn't get the whole Czechs-like-their-beer bit, their's is a lot better).

The cute stand in Wenceslas Square I bought the klobasa and beer at. :)

I thought these were a touch sketchy...and then you smell it and then you go buy your sausage and shut up. Amazing.

As I was enjoying the sights and sounds of the busy square, I took a moment (read: went to the expensive but cool trolley cafe in the middle of the square so I could sit down) to relook at my guidebook and decide what to do with my shopped out life. This day turned out to an impromptu tour of some of Prague's remaining communist relics.

Behind me (the 1989) is the hard to find but moving marker of the Velvet Revolution.

There was a candle burning below for Freedom in Iran.

This marker indicates how far through Prague the student-led, democratic protest got before being shut down by the secret police. This marked the turning of tides for good in the Czech Republic and ushered in democracy at full throttle. It means a lot to the people here. Despite being a small monument, ever person I saw duck under the underpass to go by it (it had started to rain a titch again) looked at it with contemplation in their face; it was this movement that led these people to today. This year is especially moving as it marks the 20th Anniversary since the Fall of Communism in the former Eastern Bloc.

On a side note, maybe I should rename the blog Prague's History and Beer? I jest, I jest...but seriously...

After a side trip to watch the Astronomical Clock's hourly show, I concluded another several hours of walking and headed home to cook some pasta with broccoli and some sort of sauce that was in Czech but was good, whatever it was. [Grocery shopping in a foreign country is often an adventure...]

I woke up Monday rested, ready to explore again, and discovering my ceiling was to be fixed. While the latter still, well, hasn't happened (because the roof workers cannot do their job, my poor landlady), I did manage to learn that the transport strike was cancelled at the last minute due to insufficient public notice and potential public inconvenience. That meant should I get tired after my 2 1/2 hour walk to the park (the time being so long given the fact that the guidebook gave bad directions and I was lost a lot), I could take the Metro home! :)

I have seen almost all of Prague and had left as my one desire to see Kampa Park. From the map, it appeared to be a cool island surrounded up the Vlatava on one side and a creek on the other. If you ever go to Prague, note that it's not really an island and is very shore connected (though there's a little bridge unless you go through a hostel's parking lot). The cool island I spent 45 minutes trying to get onto is, I believe, still part of Kampa, but is not what the writer meant and therefore I couldn't find the "little bridge." To get onto the awesome island park, walk on the left side of the big bridge crossing the Vlatava (if you are going from Nove Mesto to Mala Strana) and go down the stairs (the right side has no stairs = I got lost).

Why you should go to this island.

I pulled out the blanket, my lunch, and Call of the Wild. Sitting/laying down with this spectacular view, I relaxed for 2 blissful hours looking out at the nifty paddle boats and beautiful Charles Bridge. It was in these moments that I felt possessively at home, and proud, of this city. Laying in the park, I felt truly like I belonged in Prague and that, in some ways, I belonged to Prague.

Me, at the island park, overlooking the Charles Bridge.

On Tuesday, it was back to the grind of learning and enjoying it. Phonemes and tenses flitted about the room and we fought with them, trying our best to come out as linguistic masters. Wednesday brought stress as two of us were down to the lesson planning wire before our one on one interviews, where I was then stood up by a roughly 75 year old man. Who apparently had another student call in for him but who left a confusing message with no info as to who she was. I'm not sure why he picked someone who's English is quite poor to try to leave a message referencing the wrong way...but it's water under the bridge. At the last minute, I switched a different advanced student who had shown up with his beginner friend to try to get some English as lessons on Thursday (the actual transport strike) were cancelled. Good for me? He's less random than the old man and genuinely passionate about adding English to his growing collection of languages. Good for him? He gets to do the project twice (ie. 4 free one on one lessons instead of 2). Extra good for me? I GET TO TEACH HIM POETRY BECAUSE HE WANTS TO WRITE SONG LYRICS!! I will now calm down, though to be honest, I've been super excited since Wednesday about this and I will be excited until Tuesday when I get to teach him again. That followed by directly teaching a massive class of 8 beginners after not having seen the other two lessons due to the late one on one, made for a nervewracking lesson that actually went very well.

Thursday was the real transport strike and in attempt to not fall even more behind, Jeremy left us with a pile of work and lesson planning that meant work to do all day long. I spent the day fighting my computer so I could finish watching Miracle before checking my email/facebook/ESPN/Twitter so I could be assured of/excited about the BRUINS WINNING THE STANLEY CUP, taking two walks around Prague 2 and Vyserad (where I commandeered a park bench to do more work), meeting a crazy Californian Potraviny owner, eating fake but good Thai food at Yam Yam and meeting a table full of Scots, and staying up late doing more work. That made today, Friday (I'm ignoring the time right now), a day for a lot of review in class and more teaching. This post is long enough for me to leave today's mishaps, adventures, and (of course) after course dinner/omgweneedadrinkafterthis, until the next one.

I now will go to bed and hopefully survive class tomorrow. I love democracy, I do, but you went and made me have class on Satruday...

So with that, I bid you nasledanou and enjoy my final remark,

Fallon

(Vyserhad)

Franz Kafka once said, "Prague never lets you go...this dear little mother has sharp claws." I know what he means and to be honest, am happy to.

And Miles to Go Before I Sleep

Dobrý den!


If you are up on your poetry, or live in the state of New Hampshire, you'll know the title was a quote from Robert Frost. It's a beautiful poem, even if it gets stuck in my head from having countless friends who memorized it in class a few years before I moved there. If you don't know what I'm referring to, click here:
Frost Recitation

The sheer amount of walking I've been doing the past few days about ends the comparison to the Frost poem as it's been hovering around 70 here in Prague. Amidst the threat of rain and occasional shower and downpour, I've been surrounded by sunshine and the bluest skies I've seen in quite some time. It feels a bit like New England in the randomness of its weather. I think Prague's getting the rain out of her system now though, as a sudden storm formed and now rages against my clamped shut windows.

I know that it's been quite some time since my last post, a week to be exact, but I have been busy and exhausted. With our long classes and giving lessons and trying to remember to cook dinner, it's sometimes a bit hard to think about what I could possibly write about, unless you would like to read an entire entry about TEFL teaching, which I doubt. Nevertheless, find something to write about I have as it's Tuesday and I have a whole weekend's wandering through the orange rooftop city to report back on and to make up for my silence, I've got loads of photos for you.

With a promise of sun and maybe a few clouds, my coursemates and I made the trek to the basis of Petrin Hill and gazing up at the giant slope before us, laboriously clambered to the top. It wasn't a very long hike, perhaps 30 or so minutes, but it was incredibly steep. The view, as my guidebook promised, was very, very worth it.

That's the view from the ground. Did I mention there was an Eiffel Tower to climb?

My one coursemate and I chose to encourage our legs for another climb and took the stairs up Prague's own miniature Eiffel Tower. It was built in 1908 for the Prague Jubilee Festival and, as far as we could tell, if the highest point in Prague, towering over even the immense spires of St. Vitus' South Tower. It was easy enough to get to the first observation deck but as we continued on to the top (after some time taking countless photographs), we felt vertigo in our bones from the dizzying view below and the sudden swaying of the tower in a breeze we had not felt before. Nevertheless, we made it and what a view of Prague.

Look, mum, still smiling despite the butterflies in the pit of my stomach!

Swarms and swarms of nervous butterflies.

Despite the vertigo, it was wonderfully worth it and the most beautiful views I have seen of the city. Right after we climbed down, we wandered off to the rose garden and hid a bit from a short and (thankfully) light summer drizzle. Roses of every color imaginable were blooming everywhere. We managed to catch it in almost full bloom and my coursemate and I could not stop taking photographs. The buds were open to the sun and just gleaming...

This photo doesn't even begin to do them justice. 

Imagine, if you can, hundreds and hundreds of roses all lined up in rows.

Despite being enthralled, we chose to head down the hill and give the rest of Mala Strana (lesser town, or old town) a stroll. The sun had come back with a vengeance and well, we couldn't get enough of the view and when in Prague...

We took a beer break and had our first Czech dark beers.

After cooling down and resting halfway down Petrin, we made our way back down the winding lanes and dirt paths until we found the bottom again. It began to rain again just in time for us to need our map, so we dodged in and out of overhangs and awnings to orient ourselves and try to stay a touch dry. We were three of almost everyone who took the same approach to the showers. It never got very bad and the lack of umbrellas told us it should be over soon, and it was. By the time the sun decided to pop back out, we had found our destination, tucked away as described, across from the French Embassy:

The John Lennon Peace Wall.

A living and daily transforming tribute to Lennon > Lenin and Love > Hate, this stunning wall is covered from top to bottom in everything from Beatles lyrics to names. First used while the Czech Republic was under communist rule, the John Lennon Peace Wall became a place for hope and protest. Despite its many attempts to cover it up and catch offenders, the Soviet Secret Police were never able to stop this wall from being repainted. A beautiful tribute to free speech in a country that truly embodies and deeply values the chance it now has to be democratic.

"You may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. 

I hope one day you'll join us, and the world will be as one"

We concluded our Saturday by further exploring of Mala Strana on a quest for a good, Czech pub. My guidebook offered a promising recommendation for a pub we could not pronounce. Luckily, the author gave great directions and the pub had its name painted in giant green letters on the side. Our meander was not concluded and our grumbling stomachs not sated by chicken schnitzel and fried cheese until we had first had a photo shoot in front of the US Embassy.

Protip: I still have no idea what that other building on the hill with the US flag was.

Fun Fact: This building was owned by an Austro-Hungarian Prince before being bought by the US government in 1925. Most embassies in Prague was old palaces and are in the "Castle District."

If you are ever in Mala Strana in Prague and are looking for a good, cheap place to get good, Czech food and ice cold Czech beer, definitely hit up Vsebaracnika Rychta. The atmosphere is calm and friendly. It's a definite place for families and friends. You will not have to eat for two days after coming here and you won't mind because it's delicious.

All right, so I absolutely have to go to sleep or I won't wake up in time for class tomorrow. Look forward to the adventures of Sunday - Wednesday tomorrow evening, including some reactions to my one-on-one lesson interview (ah!).

Please, please, please follow and/or at least comment so I know what you're all thinking/liking/disliking about the blog.

Until tomorrow, nasledanou!

Fallon