Facts of Life

Parks and Recreation

Sunshine seeps through the trees at Letná Park

Walking through a hilly wooded area to get to Letná Park is no picnic, but the views once you reach the top are spectacular. Letná Park is a large park built on a plateau next to the Vltava river and it has commanding views of Old Town Prague. Letná Park was also home to the largest statue of Stalin at one point, but it was torn down in 1962. Part of me was jealous that people living here got to enjoy the beautiful scenery of nature while at the same time having the amazing panorama of Prague all the time. The weather has been seemingly perfect the past few days with sunshine and highs of 80s, and there is no better way to spend these days than strolling through one of the many parks Prague has to offer. Many people here think so as well. Couples were canoodling, kids were riding their tricycles, groups of friends were laughing and drinking, while other people were practicing sports such as skateboarding (there is a makeshift skateboard park made out of granite benches), martial arts, or some form of cricket, and of course I saw about 50 dogs being walked while I was here. I really love the parks that Prague has to offer because they are enormous, never-ending and have gorgeous gardens. The natural relief from the city causes people to relax and makes it easy to enjoy summer days, I know I did.

Around Here

The Distant Past

Communism Memorial, Sculpter Olbram Zoubek

On a cloudy day on my way to the funicular (an inclined cliff railway in which ascending and descending cars counterbalance each other) I came across statues that were eerie and seemingly melting. The statues are on an inclined concrete path and with every statue parts are “disappeared” more and more until on the very last statue all you can see is a foot. This is a memorial to victims of communism and it represents different stages of human destruction. It was installed in 2002 and on the placard it states, “The memorial to the victims of communism is dedicated to all victims. Not only those who were jailed or executed but also those whose lives were ruined by totalitarian despotism.” This spooky reminder of communism brings to light darker times in the Czech Republic. After WWII the Communist Party seized power and 95% of privately owned business became public. The economy went straight down and basic human rights were taken away. The 1960s were a period of change within the communist party, but every dissident was silenced to the point that one student from Charles University lit himself on fire at Wenceslas Square.

Not until 1989 after the Velvet Revolution did Czechoslovakia break from communism. Shortly after, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Czechs today do not like to reminisce on the days of Communism, and I can imagine the bad feelings the people who are old enough to remember feel whenever they see these spooky statues. I read George Orwell's 1984 in high school and these statues bring the feelings of creepiness and futility that I felt when I was reading the book about people being controlled in every aspect of their life. Today there are happier times, but the past must never be forgotten.

Communism Memorial, Prague

Angels in the Architecture

The Dancing House

Nationale Nederlanden Building

I walked up in anticipation to see this beautiful building I have been wanting to see for months now, and experiencing it in real life did not compare to the many pictures I had seen. This majestic building is unique to a city where most buildings were built before the 19th century. The building is called the Dancing House and it is located in Prague near New Town. Although most of Prague’s architecture is neo-classical style and many other older styles, the building I wanted most to see is one built in modern times. The architect who built it is the famous (and sometimes infamous) Frank Gehry, who also built the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. The Dancing House is an office building, with a French restaurant on the roof. It serves as a landmark here in Prague and overlooks the Vltava River. The building that was located here before was bombed in 1945. The Dutch bank ING agreed to build an office building here and wanted a world-renowned architect to design it. Frank Gehry agreed and built the non-traditional building in a decontructivist style. The building resembles a couple dancing and is also known as Fred and Ginger. The Dancing House not only represents the values of Frank Gehry which are being original and making beauty out of chaotic forms, but it represents how he wanted to create a building that would in a way both stick out but seem natural to the surroundings. The scale stays true to the other buildings while showing modernity through its design. The rhythm of the building represents the transition that make the building be so unique yet flow with the rest of the Prague architecture.

Weekend Miser

The Bone Church

Tourists taking in the view of the Sedlec Ossuary

The first thing I saw walking up to Bone Church, or Sedlec Ossuary, was a graveyard right outside the church. I have never seen a graveyard right on the grounds of a church, but it tells the history of the Ossuary. In 1278, King Otakar II of Bohemia sent a Father to the Holy Land, and when he returned, he brought back dirt from Golgotha, the site attributed to the crucifixion of Jesus, and sprinkled it on the cemetery. It then became a popular burial spot in Central Europe. During the Black Death and the Hessian Wars, in the 14^th and 15^th centuries, thousands of people were buried here. A Gothic Church was built here in the 14^th century and its lower level, the ossuary, was used to stack bones to make room for new bodies being buried. In 1870, Frantisek Rint was hired to arrange these bones, and the result can be seen today inside the tiny ossuary. The bones are arranged artistically throughout the chapel, including a chandelier, which boasts having every single bone of the human body. Heaps of bones are stacked on every corner of the ossuary and they resemble tiny houses, other works include a coat of arms, and Rint’s signature made out of bones. It is estimated that the ossuary contains as many 40,000 to 70,000 bodies. It is truly a memorable place, although it is also tiny. Seeing that many number of bones stacked up and arranged in an artistic way was truly creepy and a little bizarre. Sedlec Ossuary is located in the suburb of Kutna Hora, Czech Republic and is an hour away from Prague by train. I recommend this trip to anyone traveling to Prague as it very memorable and affordable. Tickets roundtrip on the train for a group of six were only 107 crowns a piece ($6) and the entrance to the bone church was only 20 crowns for students (about a dollar!).

Small Wonder

Locks of Love

Two Classmates Photographing the Love Padlocks

After the rain had drizzled away near the end of Professor Darling’s Bike Adventure we came across this bridge built in the Malá Strana district of Prague, which is on the west side of the Vltava river near the Charles Bridge. This part of Prague is sometimes referred to as “Little Venice” as it features Baroque styles and narrow streets. Couples come here and place padlocks on the bridge in order to “lock their love” and then throw the key away in the river. These bridges are located all over the world and especially in Europe as a sweet testament to how cheesy couples can be. These love locks lie on a very small pedestrian bridge that crosses over to meet with the John Lennon Wall. This graffiti-ridden wall features Beatles quotes from their songs and paintings of the Beatles, as well as other youth statements of peace and love. The wall is painted nearly everyday and from one week to the next, it looks completely different. It is little jewels like this that make Prague a very interesting place. It has unique customs and a culture like no one else in the world. Historically, Czechs have valued their independence and peace for centuries, fighting wars to ensure that they have it. The art installments that they have, such as a wall full of graffiti, a peeing statue, and giant baby statues at the park, and their way of living, such as owning a cougar and walking it to a park or putting their dogs in strollers or in seats at a restaurant, are a testament to how free of a country the Czech Republic is.

Around Here

Dancing in the Street: Romani Festival

The sun was shining high and slowly people in gypsy costumes started to appear at Wenceslas Square early yesterday morning. People were getting their picture taken with the bands of gypsies, stilt walkers, and musicians, as people with badges directed them on where to stand and when to perform. It was the beginning of the World Roma Festival or Khamoro, which celebrates Romani culture and its music. This festival is held every spring in May and this parade is only a part of it. The parade was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the music and the dancers, and watching the stilt-walkers walk over people. From the troupe from India playing its brass instruments with its ever-smiling dancer in bright red and green colors, to the flute, accordion, and saxophone-playing band, to many other different groups of belly dancers, there was much to see and hear. Horses and a carriage, carrying a gypsy Romani singer, led this parade from Wenceslas Square to Old Town Square (which is located in downtown Prague). The music livened up the streets as people stopped what they were doing to see this colorful ensemble go by and either enjoy it or take pictures. I loved the atmosphere that was created of cheer and life. Everyone was enjoying the entertainment and having fun, and the backdrop of Prague’s beautiful buildings created a scene that can only be described as one of the best moments of my life.

Around Here

Marionettes

Walking down a corridor on a cobblestone path towards Old Town Square, slowly more and more people holding up umbrellas start to be seen. Crowds of tourists flock to these tour guides, who use umbrellas or other long objects as a beacon. The tour guides show them the wonders of Prague, from the Astronomical Clock to the Charles Bridge. Old Town Square is a historical place in the Old Town quarter of Prague that features many architectural styles from gothic cathedrals to baroque churches. Tourists visit the Square in herds and at every hour gather underneath the Astronomical Clock, built in the 15^th century, making it the third oldest astronomical clock in the world, to hear it ring and watch a trumpet player come out and play a short song. Through every narrow street leading out of the Square, dozens of souvenir shops are open with overpriced items such as Russian dolls, key chains, and tacky shirts. One of the more authentic Czech items are the marionettes. There is a long history of marionettes in the Czech Republic dating back to the 18^th century, when Czech puppet making became an art form and puppetry was used to tell stories and entertain people. Today in Prague there are many puppet shops with puppets you wouldn’t expect to see, such as President Obama or Michael Jackson. Marionettes are truly a tradition of the Czech Republic, but if they are handmade and not produced on a mass scale, which is the case in many souvenir shops, it brings some of the authenticity back.

Wish You Were Here

Land of Beers

On a sunny afternoon, walking down the street in Prague I saw a blatant example of an important part of the culture here: beer. “Beer is cheaper than water there” or so Professor Dennis told us before we got to the Czech Republic. This has for the most part turned out to be true, especially in restaurants where most of the time your cheapest option is to get a beer. If there is one thing Czechs love more than their dogs (some people even go as far as to put their dog in a stroller) it’s their beer. Today the Czech Republic has the highest beer consumption per capita in the world. Beer is a historical part of this country, since breweries date back to the 12^th century. Some of their most famous breweries include Pilsner Urquell and Budweiser Budvar. Whether pale, amber or dark, when you come to Prague you have to drink the beer. Unlike in the United States, people here drink to enjoy their beer, not just simply to get drunk. This poster shows the different hats of the world created by the foam of the beer, and as you can see the Texas cowboy hat represents the United States. Czechs value their beer, and to them beer is universal.

Noticed: Visual Appreciation

Roaming the Cemetery

My classmates and I visited the Olšany Cemetery, which was built in the 17^th century during the Plague. This cemetery was very cool because of the historic background and I really appreciated its unkempt appearance. The small details such as crumbling cement, ivy growing on the headstones, and tilted headstones gave an ancient feel to it. I felt an inner peace here because it was very quiet and serene. Although about fifteen of my classmates were roaming around I did not seem to see a single person while I was walking, which made the experience more calm and I appreciated everything I saw just a little more. The giant trees created a canopy over the cemetery and every now and then the sun would shine through on the most perfect spot, like on a teal cross painted on a wall. I like cemeteries because you are celebrating a person’s life just by remembering them, by looking at their name. For all the names on the gravestones that I read I wonder about who they were and what they were like. Were they kind? Were they funny? Usually only famous or important people get remembered after they die, but at a cemetery every common folk is remembered. I could have spent a lot of time just walking around all over the cemetery and contemplating but we only stayed for an hour and this cemetery never seemed to end. It was a good experience and a beautiful place, even though it was just a cemetery.

The Nocturnalist: P.M. Night Wanderings

The Prague Castle

Yesterday night we had our welcome dinner at Strehov Brewery and then explored Old Town as we went to see the panoramic views of the city before heading down to the historic Prague Castle. We walked up and down hills, and it was very tiring but everything we saw made the trip worth it. I have never been to such a historic place considering the history dates back to the 9th century, and at night when everything was quiet because there were mainly no tourists on the street, I felt calmness being in such a preserved place. The night made the view much more spectacular as the light that shined on the castle made it look like gold and made the details of the castle stand out. In this picture I am looking at the castle from the point of view of a bike rack, which adds a shiny element to complement the lights at nighttime and although it doesn’t lead the eye to the castle, it makes a new way of seeing it from a further, fresh perspective. I need to start carrying a jacket around even in the daytime because although it gets nice and warm during the day, Prague gets suddenly very cold at night.

Morning Glory

My First Morning in Prague

Inside Kostel Svatého Antonína

My roommates and me walked around the neighborhood yesterday morning to get better acquainted with Prague and with our community. Being Catholic myself, I wanted to see the two-tower cathedral that is only a block away called Kostel Svatého Antonína, so we headed there first and enjoyed the garden and the inside architecture. I love to visit cathedrals whenever I travel because they always leave me speechless and reinforce my belief that there is something god-like out there. Afterwards, we got hungry and went to this little bakery across the street from the cathedral. No one there spoke any English so we had to point at what we wanted. They had delicious looking pastries, but I ate a sandwich instead. In Prague, sandwiches are only one-sliced as opposed to two like in the United States! The sandwich was slathered with mayo, ham and some lettuce. We went went next door to get some coffee (I can't live without my coffee), then we sat on a bench in a park and enjoyed our food. The weather was alternating between hot and cold, and several times I had to remove my jacket, only to put it back on. I don’t know if I will go back to this bakery however because I am pretty sure it made me sick, as I am now encountering food-poisoning symptoms, and I guess it's just going to leave a stigma. Besides that, it was a great walk on a sunny morning.