notice Justin
they live on the second floor
notice Justin
they live on the second floor
The famous Charles Bridge
Used to be the only way accross the Vltava river...took a tram to the river (tried to buy a tram ticket at a "taffika" the dude wouldn't sell me one...don't you hate tourists???" walked down to the next stop and a nice man who spoke a little english sold me a ticket...its just so important to say "dobry dien, prosim - tram ticket?" (good day, please - tram ticket) - how could i forget?
All the original statues on the bridge are in a museum somewhere - these duplicates are pretty cool - notice the hebrew letters next to Jesus - I guess a Jewish person destroyed a statue and had to replace it - the letters are his penance...
another statue - this dude got thrown to the lions...they looked full.
Prague Castle
I guess tourists here ask "where is the castle"? because it is so freaking BIG and you are IN it and don't understand that you are IN it...the spires are off to the right - walking up to it is like walking through history
These guys guard the entrance
Its like WWF but old school
St. Vitus Cathedral was amazing...opulent. jewels set in the walls
Old Prague Castle - I thought about all the people who had walked here...the ceiling is classic rennaisance architecture
the prison
This is one of many houses Kafka and his parents lived in - its in the "Golden Way" which is a wonderful little row of shops IN the castle (Havel took the picture).
I do everything backwards...I went up the down stairs and down the up stairs - these are the ups
Kayakers in the river Vltava
A canal - reminded me of Amsterdam
The schedule here is to wake up afternoons, work for a few hours, then go to your local pub and drink until about 4...no 6 am...the local pub here is the Blind Eye - opened by a Bloomington IN native (Noah) and his friend Matthew...this picture shows Havel getting wasted...Austin is in the background - he is Noah's brother - friend of Layla, and a wonderful guy - he made me food twice..thanks Austin
Layla, Michelle, Edam cheese
Me and Roliki (cheap bread) and liver paste
Quote of the day (after listening to "Little Pink Houses" amidst groans of dismay) - said from Austin to Layla "You have no sense of humor about music...you like Ratt for all the wrong reasons". Talk of Ferrets and Weasels roaming Prague - several people swear they have seen them crossing the street - maybe its true, maybe its the Beckerovka (medicinal liquor)
Saturday: Woke up and went to the Grocer - its called "Julias Meinhal" almost as bad as "Ingles" and bought a bunch of food to make dinner - got the checkout and the checkout lady kept my credit card...Layla didn't speak the right kind of Czech and the lady spoke no english...no one in the store spoke english...finally i got a receipt for it and watched them cut it up...turns out it had a fraud protection alert go out when I bought chocolate bars in London on my connecting flight in...apparently you are supposed to TELL your bank when you are leaving the country...it was surreal - but we stayed calm...mom sent me some money later in the week and i just paid her back - THANKS MOM! because of her i got my souveniers:)
Havel insisted I take his photo at the Lennon wall (popularized in communist era 70s - still going strong)
Sunday: woke up and went running - nobody runs here - it was warm and sunny and I just took my map - ended up being gone for 1.5 hours - Vitkov park is just behind Layla's place - the largest equestrian statue in the world is there on top of some communist mausoleum...it is creepy weird...found an old abandoned playground, but i turned around when i saw a giant foot print in the mud!
Layla, Colin and I went walking to old town. Saw the astronomical clock and got offered some hashish
You have to pay to pee here...so it smells really great!
while we were in old town square there was an "oyster opening" contest - last year the Czechs came in 13th out of 18 - pretty good for a landlocked country... I love the tiny walkways and flying buttresses
We went to Bohemian bagels and someone was nice to me and gave me 5 Kr. off my bottomless cup of real coffee - the first I had had in days - they mostly drink nescafe here...revolting. Here are some lovely easter decorations...they don't overdo it being a fairly atheistic city
We went into Teskos, insane department store, saw lots of Churchgoers with pussy willows - 4 tiny ladies in brown coats and hats in the park - this is called the "grotesquery" and is supposed to look like the inside of a cave on the outside...or something...
there were peacocks
I wore them out so we stayed home and watched "Snatch" and fell asleep early
Monday: Laylas first day of work! We took a tram to the funicular (a tram that goes up Petrin Hill) and it was closed. Cool sculpture.
I just walked all day - after trying to rent a bike - they were closed - it was sunny and beautiful so i bought some beer and hiked up Petrin Hill
I felt a little tipsy walking down, and pretended Odessa was there (everyone here has a dog and they are all cute and they shit and piss everywhere)
here are some flowers in a little garden i found on my way down the hill
Found the old Jewish Cemetary - they limited the space available for burials during WWII so they are buried 12 deep with 12 headstones crammed on the same plot.
Found Layla at work again (she is a decorator for club) and went home and made dinner. Back to the blind eye where we all flirted with Elliot.
here is a picture of a bike messenger to break up the monotony of my story...by the end of my journey I was drooling over any and all bikes
Tuesday: went running and found a cemetary the is 4 blocks long and 2 blocks wide. The mausoleums were crumbling and wonderful
Found Kafkas grave in the new Jewish cemetary
and a thank-you to the red army and others who dies liberating the city in WWII
Layla and Colin and I meet at the train station to go to Kutna Hora to see the bone church and miss the train. so we catch a different one which has a connecting train and then we miss the connecting train and then we finally get to Kutna Hora where I get to see a truly wonderful sign for sausages on the walk to the church
We ate salami, cheese, roliki and bread while we waited for the train - YUM...anyway - this is what the church looks like - they had to do something with the bones of all these monks who died in the plague...pretty creative
Pizza for dinner - wow did it taste good - very thin crust but yummy
Wednesday - last day! I have money today (THANKS MICHELLE!!!!) so I went running and then I went shopping. Colin and I were supposed to meet by the "big church with the clock" - not a good idea in this city - we both waited over an hour. but I found his tattoo shop and we made the tattoo happen - it is of an Avid Juicy Brake rotor (bike part)I LOVE it
We had fried cheese at Akropolis (and saw "dead guys" - fake mummies - through a peephole - everyone there was a douchbag
in this last photo everyone is fairly toasted by now...I like Euci's mullett and repoza's middle finger...again - i know i didn't spell that right. that is elliot with the red hair - he called me a minx and i liked it.
Here is my list of things to send my sister:
hot sauce (there is none)
muscle rub for colin's sore hands
one leg warmer that i accidentally packed
conditioner since i used hers all up
coffee
fabreze - essential for bar hopping since everyone smokes and the bars are like fumigatoriums (made that word up)
tylenol
List of useful Czech phrases:
Tivolay - "yeah"
Factyo - "Fuckin A"
Nasdravi - when you toast - look each person in the eye, set your glass down on the table, then drink - this can take a while...
poopek - belly button
ty jsi poko kanik - poopoo pants
tve zuby jsou tak zlute, ze nemuzu u verit ze to neni maslo: your teeth are so yellow i can't believe its not butter.