The Nocturnalist

Farewell Prague!

The nighttime view of Prague from Letna Park

As one of the final goodbye's some of my roommates and I decided to go to Letna park to look at the gorgeous Prague night skyline yesterday night.The Vltava river makes the city shine through it's reflection and the cool rainy night was a fresh way to say goodbye before heading to 100 degree weather in Texas. After being here for a month I had taken for granted how beautiful and different it was from home and I feel like these last few days I have been trying to appreciate everything a little bit more. Especially the views, as everywhere you turn here you see breathtaking sites. Prague is truly a beautiful city, and the springtime weather here made it that much more enjoyable. With this experience I not only learned how to be a better photographer, but also a better journalist, and I have made lasting friendships. It is always hard to say goodbye but overall I am happy that I was lucky enough to have this experience of learning and encountering a new place. I definitely want to come to Europe again, and would someday like to visit Prague again.

Weekend Miser

Medieval Castle Adventure: Karlstein

A man gets into character at the castle

At this point of the trip I thought I would be tired of castles after going to several and hearing about even more, however I still wanted to visit the Karlstein Castle after hearing how beautiful it was from my other classmates. Me and my roommates also wanted to get out of Prague since we have been here for nearly a month, and have seen pretty much all there is to see here (although it never gets old). Karlstein is a town about 45 minutes away from Prague and is easily accessible by train. We bought our tickets for 60 crowns each roundtrip, about 3 dollars, and took the 1 pm tram. Upon arriving we were sadly greeted with cold weather and rain, but that didn't ruin the day trip. The castle was really big and from far away it looked like something out of a storybook. We toured the inside and learned about Charles IV, the second king of Bohemia, who is an important historical figure of Prague. He made Prague an imperial capital and many places are named after him such as Charles University and Charles Bridge. The castle was very medieval and less decorated than the castles we had been to before. The town itself was very touristy and there were many souvenir shops along the way, and some unique little shops. It was a cute little town to complement the huge beautiful castle.

A shop sells cute colorful items

Morning Glory

One More Cup of Coffee

A cup of coffee beans inside of a coffee shop

Reading the course materials for this class I saw that Czechs regularly drink tea or coffee for breakfast, but when I came here, besides being disappointed with Czech cuisine, I was disappointed with it’s coffee. Back home, I’m used to drinking a big black cup of coffee every morning, and without it I’m just not the same person in the morning. So when I first went to a coffee shop here I was little upset that there was no such thing as “regular” coffee, only espresso, lattes and mochas were on the menu. Closer in the center of the city there are a few Starbucks, which seems like the only place where I can get an American coffee, but near my apartment there is a place called Café Fresh, and the people who work there don’t speak English so I wouldn’t even know how to order a black coffee. I’ve gotten accustomed to their foamy lattes just because there’s nothing I can do about it. I miss being able to grab a coffee on the go and one of the things I am excited about when I go home is being able to have my coffee. I think the Czech Republic is more into their beer than their coffee, and here bars and pubs are more of the Czech style.

Angels in the Architecture

Cubism for Lunch

Figuring out what to order

Prague is full of neat restaurants, cafes, and bars that each have something unique about them like The Iron Curtain, a bar full of paraphernalia from the Communist area, or the Grand Orient Café, which is a café inside a revolutionary cubist building and where I had lunch. Traditionally when I think of cubism I think of Picasso and his choppy paintings, but the cubist movement in the Czech Republic is a little different. Realizing the importance of cubism, Czech artists tried to recreate the components of this art movement in their own way through architecture, sculpture, and painting. The Grand Orient Café is located in the building named House of the Black Madonna, which was built in 1911 by Josef Gocar. Originally a Baroque building occupied this area and the rebuilding of it created a controversy because of its important location near Old Town. The building however does not conflict with the surrounding buildings due to the fact that the language of the building is Baroque architecture in Cubist form, which shows the ‘contextualization’ of Cubist architecture. The Grand Café Orient’s design, located on the first floor, is the only surviving Cubist interior in the world. It was renovated in 2005 according to original plans and today is one the prettiest cafes I have been to. I felt like I was in another era in here and with the 1920s music I felt like I was in a living museum. The food and coffee were very tasty and not at all pricey, and I would recommend it to all who visit Prague.

The Nocturnalist

Waiting for the Tram

A woman waits for her tram

Two days ago there was a transportation strike in Prague that brought trams, subways and buses to a halt. A trade union was striking against reforms of pension, healthcare, welfare, and tax systems and about 2,000 people marched in protest through Prague. However a few trams and buses were still running, making it seem like there was really nothing to worry about other than over-crowded trams. This strike made me think about how important public transportation is in Prague, compared to the US. People in America love their cars and driving huge SUVs and Texas-size trucks is a common thing. It’s different here in Prague where everyone rides public transportation because it is so easy and convenient. I really wish that public transportation was more regularly used in the United States and that it was easier to use. For example having a train from Dallas to Austin to Houston seems like it would make people’s lives a lot easier and get rid of all the traffic. Not only is public transportation ecological but also, for me, I know driving is just not fun. There’s traffic and crazy drivers, and after a hectic day, riding a bus or a train is calming and worry-free. There are certain things that Europeans know more about than the United States and public transportation is one of them.

A subway, known as a metro in the Czech Republic, arriving to the station

Wish You Were Here

At The Zoo!

A little girl plays with the goats in the petting zoo

After an exhausting long walk (according to a sign 5 km or about 3 miles) through Stromovka Park, we arrived to Praha Zoo, which according to Forbes magazine is one of the best zoos in the world. And indeed it was one of the best zoos I have been to. I have been to the Dallas Zoo and the Ft. Worth Zoo and they both lack one thing that Prague Zoo has, which is a feeling of intimacy with animals and a more natural setting throughout the whole zoo. It might be because Prague already has great enormous parks here and because the Czech people know a thing or two about appreciating nature. The Prague Zoo was founded in 1931 and it's goal was to "advance the study of zoology, protect wildlife, and educate the public." I really like this zoo because I felt that the animals here were easier to see and you could even hang out with lemurs in their habitat. One of my favorite parts was seeing how much fun children were having here. There were playgrounds here and even a small swimming pool, where many children ran amuck naked, and not to mention children love animals. I would love to bring my nephew here. I also saw many dogs here naturally, since Czech love their dogs, and it was funny to see that dogs had an entrance fee of 20 crowns (about a dollar). I really love animals and I thought this zoo did a good job at making their animals happy and healthy. Not to mention it was a good deal for such a big zoo at only 100 crowns, which is about five dollars.

A tiger resting in it's cage

Facts of Life

Shops around the Corner

Two children playing outside of their parent's small grocery store

Although our neighborhood is considered a residential area, it hardly seems so with so many shops and small businesses open along our street. On almost every corner there are small shops with “potraviny” written on it, which stands for groceries in Czech. Most of these small shops are run by Vietnamese people and I was surprised to learn that besides Czechs, Vietnamese are the second largest population in the Czech Republic, and in 2009 it was estimated that there were more than 60,000 Vietnamese people residing here.

During the Communist period, the Czech Republic invited Vietnamese immigrants as guest workers, who would return to Vietnam with skills and training. After the fall of Communism however, most Vietnamese stayed in the Czech Republic. During the 1990s and 2000s, Vietnamese people continued to migrate to the Czech Republic. The small business sector is the key economic domain of first-generation Vietnamese people, which is evident by the number of small shops open on our street run by Vietnamese people. Second generation Vietnamese are known for high levels of educational attainment and outperforming their Czech classmates. I love having the little shops open on every corner because they are convenient and in my experience, have the freshest food, especially fruit. I have yet to see a store here that is as big as Wal-mart and even the chain supermarkets are pretty small. I wish that in the States shops were smaller like they are here and easier to get to, it seems that everything here is a short walk away as opposed to always having to drive like in Texas.