Morning Glories

6.27.2019

It is the morning of the last class day in Prague, and though I am feeling somber, sad for such an experience to come to an end, the city continues on like normal around me. People are still bustling to and fro, hanging out their windows or settled into doorways for their first smoke of the day, flying down the escalator stairs to catch the metro, stepping into coffee shops, and waiting in line at their preferred bakeries for their morning breakfasts, fresh kolaches and loaves of bread filling the air with a delicious aroma. The city isn’t stopping even though I wish I could slow these final moments down, to savor the sights and smells of the city I have resided in for the past month, and which has been the location of many firsts, such as the first time travelling outside of the United States and the first time I ever took pictures on a camera that wasn’t a phone. Though I long for time to stop, the sound of the city just crescendos, growing from the quiet of the birds chirping in the early hours of dawn to the noises of the bustle of mid morning life in the capital of the Czech Republic. People go about their day, the locals run errands and head to work and the tourists gather in the hot spots to capture pictures and cluster at restaurant patios to try all the local delicacies and beer. It is a good way to end this program however, one last chance to experience the city at its truest, and tell myself I want to see this again someday.

Small Wonder

6.26.2019

Children here in Prague seem to almost absorb the atmosphere, drawing from a city which is such a wonderland and finding everything here magical. Within the streets of Prague all who walk on the cobblestone paths seem to sense the specialness of this city, but children here take it to another level, everything is exciting and an adventure. This is, for certain, the nature of children, but here in Prague it seems to be even more magical, or perhaps just drastically more different that what is common in America, untainted by the caution exhibited in everyday life there. Here, children still safely play in the streets (and even more interesting, in the midst of massive political protests.) In Prague, the children of tourists and locals alike are filled with adventure. They dare to play with the wild animals, pet the dogs that look as though they belong in the woods, run along the metro as it rumbles by, and taste all the oddities of a different cultures cuisine. Prague, and perhaps all of the Czech Republic, seems to be remarkably safe, there have been instances where I have seen strollers just waiting, with the mother several yards away, comfortable with leaving her child outside of her immediate reach. Prague has remarkable crime statistics, with crime only really amounting to pick pocketing, and parents are very carefree, without having to worry for evil around every corner, they and their children can enjoy the magical city of Prague.

Morning Glories

6.25.2019

Long after the city has awoken and the sun filled the sky, the cafes of Prague begin laying out their outdoor furniture and inside, brewing their first pot of coffee of the morning. Cafes here open much later than in the States, around 8 in the morning. This is quite appalling as an American, but perhaps is evidence of how much slower and enjoyable a pace the Czechs take towards certain things. However, once the short hand on the clock has passed the hour, locals flock to these little ornate shops. They also do something quite different here, in that instead of grabbing a coffee and rushing out the door to work or another pressing appointment, people in Prague tend to chose to savor their liquid caffeine and typical accompanying pastry. Outside of the tourist traps of Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square, where Starbucks and chain fast food restaurants are in abundance, the locals that come to these cafes in the quieter areas of town come for much more pleasurable reasons than their pressing need for a caffeine fix. These locals come to enjoy the experience, to meet up with friends and loved ones, enjoy their food and their drink, and savor their lazy mornings, with the sun climbing the sky and the hour of no importance.

Small Wonder

6.24.2019

(fully intending to redo this post as soon as I take a better photo)

The relationship between dogs and humans here in Prague blows my mind. This amazement is not just towards the massive amounts of love for dogs that the Czechs have, though they have a lot. For example, in Prague in particular there are typically more dogs than there are children, with one in four locals owning a four legged furry friend. It goes beyond their numbers, but the relationship the two have. For weeks I wondered what the Czechs did different, able to walk down the street with their dog walking ahead of them, no leash tethering the two together, just complete trust in the canine on the humans part, and the dogs unending love and obedience to its master. I have long wondered how they trained their pets here, and what was different than the training in the states, and today, in the early morning hours, that question was finally answered. The only people out at this hour were pet owners, walking their dogs and teaching them to follow, heel, and come when they’re called. I suppose this is a dedication that the Czech people have that most Americans don’t, too lazy to bother with such an intense training regimen, the Czechs have mastered this.

Morning Glories

6.23.2019

Prague is eerily quiet in the early morning, the whole city still grasped tight by the heavy hand of sleep. For a city with remarkable nightlife, bars and clubs open till the early hours of the morning, as well as a cafe culture that makes it difficult to not stumble across a coffee shop every few meters, the streets are pretty desolate in the morning. By the time the sun rises at around five in the morning, the night owls are long gone or barely hanging on to consciousness as they wait for the first tram of the morning to return them to their beds, and the cafes and coffee shops are still shuttered closed, most not opening until eight in the morning when the rest of the city wakes. This is incredibly surprising to me, as the everyday lives of locals here doesn’t seem to start much before the time these coffee shops open. The streets at six in the morning are only filled with the sounds of the birds, and the few people walking about are walking their dogs before a long day, or waiting for the tram to take them to wherever they need to be. 

The Nocturnalist

6.22.2019

The neon effervescent glow of bar signs are not only in the tourist packed bars in downtown Prague, near Wenceslas and Old Town Square, but also in the quieter neighborhoods surrounding the city center. Here, bars are more cozy, the insides an intimate atmosphere more a blend of coffee shop and wine bar than the cacophony of strobe lights and voices yelling over each other in the clubs downtown. Interestingly enough, both scenes are full of a mixture of people, there are as many out of towners at the small neighborhood haunts than there are in the tourist districts. The most important difference here is that the clubs, while crowded, are full of strangers desperately wanting to know each other, but the small local bars are places where friendships are easily made. It is an interesting contrast with Czech social culture, as at first glimpse the people from here can appear standoffish, reserved, and cold. Perhaps it is a testament to the large drinking culture here, but in these local bars, with a Pilzner or three under their belts, they warm up quite quickly, eager to talk to each other and the random fly on the wall, these barflies contradict typical assumptions about Europeans, and are welcoming in their conversation and drink. Perhaps this is the truest taste of Prague drinking culture, not in the megaclubs, but in the local bars, with noise curfews in order to respect the neighbors, late night beer food, and with a few beers, a good conversation and a couple more drinks.

Architecturally Speaking

6.21.2019

The Czech Republic is littered with a medley of architectural styles. Sleek towering skyscrapers are practically non-existent beyond “the dancer” that sits provocatively by the rivers edge, but most newer buildings boast exteriors of cubism, and the majority, much older, are art nouveau, baroque, and the oldest, are gothic. These gothic structures are notable because of how they tower above the rest, and are usually places of cultural importance, such as churches.Prague is not the only city where buildings in the Gothic architectural styles are, their towering steeples also touch the heavens in other cities, such as in Kutna Horá. The historical church there is magnificent, it’s walls, doorways, and stained glass windows miniaturizing everything within it. It’s windows in itself are a work of art, each different from the last and telling a different biblical take. They are a cacophony of perfectly blended colors and paint visitors and worshipers inside with a heavenly glow, spreading the otherworldly, and holy, atmosphere throughout. This is a theme that is through the country, but particularly in this town, which has preserved its romantic charm much more than others, untainted by many tourists crowding the streets. The town of Kutna Horá, and it’s architecture, is a preserved haven of bohemian charm and standing in the grand cathedral there is proof of that.

The Nocturnalist

6.20.2019

Eccentricity is abundant here in the capital city of the Czech Republic. Once the sun sets, the city neither sleeps nor does it stop. Certain parts close up shop for the evening, including most restaurants and most kitchens, but the night brings out a different animal. Once night settles, the partygoers, barflies, tourists and locals hanging on to the dim glow of sunset use the fading light to continue exploring the city. Prague is a very scenic place, with gorgeous architecture towering overhead, delicious food wafting from restaurant patios and laughter and cheering from pedestrians, those walking through the cobblestone streets and those clustered around various performers, artist booths, and shops.

The nightlife here is not restricted to bars and the club scene, though it is certainly an impressive scene, with around four nightclubs toting an impressive five floors of DJ’s, bars, and dance floors. Entertainment can be found at the theaters, concert halls, and spontaneously. Prague is an incredibly vibrant city, and there is something to capture the eye around every corner, particularly in the old historic town center, where performers stay out late at night, far past the time the sun has set below the horizon, and put on a show for all to see.

A Thousand Words

6.19.2019

The history of the town and fortresses of the Czech town of Terezin are haunting. The town eventually grew to become a thriving city center in the 1900’s before the war, but the fortresses, particularly the small one, was always a prison and place of darkness, disease, and solitude. Once World War Two finally began, the town went through a metamorphosis. Residents who had lived there their whole lives were forced to leave, their homes invaded with flocks of soldiers and Czech Jews began to be held prisoner there. The town would become one of the most “efficient” concentration camps in the Nazi empire, holding more than 150,000 Jews as prisoners while convincing the Red Cross of the humanity of the camps conditions. There were no gas chambers at Terezin, it served as more of a labor camp and transit stop than a death camp, though it caused a remarkable amount of harm for many people. Even though there was no outright attempt at extermination there, it is estimated that up to 30,000 Jews died there, maybe more, because of the deplorable conditions of the camp. Food could be scarce at times on the grounds, and living conditions were cramped, the winter’s freezing cold, and lice and other disease carrying vermin ran abundant. Walking through the remaining buildings, most of them dilapidated and boarded up, is a haunting experience because of Terezins history. Yet, every year, thousands gather to remember those that were lost too early. It has been over half a decade, and the people of this tiny Czech town are still honoring their memory.

A Thousand Words

6.18.2019

One of the last lone survivors of the Terezin Concentration Camp, located in the farmlands north of Prague, speaks with remarkable honesty about her past. Her memories of youth are somber, as a young woman being forced to work and live in miserable conditions under the rule of anti-semetic Germans after the Czech Republic was taken over and all Jews in the region relocated to the Terezin compound. Her name is Doris, and she is now 92, having been relocated to the camp when she was just shy of sixteen, and she stayed there for four years, coming to think of the place that was meant to be a prison as the only home she ever knew. Her story is shared by many here, though she is lucky that she was sent to Terezin and not a death camp like Auschwitz. Terezin enclosed Jews from the whole occupied region, not just The Czech Republic, but also the people of Germany, Poland, Hungary, and more.

The country was greatly affected by the War, and by the mass amounts of relocation, the camps that were built, the desperate conditions, and hunger. But it was also affected much deeper than the immediate. Families are now forever altered, fathers killed in the gas chambers, siblings estranged or unknowing of each others existence, and for some, not even knowing their heritage, their ancestors having fled and lived in secret. The damage of these times is a wound that is still not healed, it has repercussions that effect the generations after Doris’s, but it is a remarkable step that when she tells her story, there is a certain tinge of forgiveness in her words, a willingness to live and not hold any ill will.