Class Trips in Prague

      This week was fairly uneventful for me and therefore blew by largely because I'm starting to create a routine of gym class eat sleep. The routine is making me feel more comfortable which is good, but bad because things are starting to speed up and feel normal. I realized this week that almost everything I've acclimatized to has had less to do with me being in a new country than living in a city. I realized I've never really lived in a city, and though I always thought of myself as a city girl, I've never really had the full city experience. I've never lived in an apartment, never had hordes of people always around me, never taken public transportation to everything, and never had so many options of things to do. I really love city life, it's so fast and exciting. The only thing I dislike about city life is all the tourists. I find myself grumbling and glaring at loud American students on the trams, and speeding past Asian tour groups snapping pictures on Wenceslas Square. After these daily occurrences I realize that I am also an American student, and feel pretty depressed about that fact. Each time I see a loud group of drunk Americans I vow to never stoop to that level, and try my hardest to be as local as I can. Along with my love of city life, I have also always considered myself to be crunchy granola (outdoorsy), so it worried me a bit that I would miss the more wild side of Colorado and Iowa life. However, most of the people I've met here seem to have a love of the outdoors too. The great thing about Prague is that it's so easy to get out of the city. A lot of Czechs enjoy both downhill and crosscountry skiing, and the number of people I've seen walking around with skis definitely outnumbers how many I see in the suburbs of Denver. I have started missing the mountains some, but I signed up for a Czech Table with Pavel to Karlstejn Castle where we'll get some good hiking in!
      On Thursday afternoon our history class was cancelled because our Professor had a conference he had to attend. He invited us to sit in on the portion of the conference he was involved in instead of going to class. I had no idea what the panel he was speaking on would be, but it sounded like the topic was about Czech history and the whole event took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building which would be fun to see. I sat down with a headset blaring patchy English translation into my ears. After a quick scan of the program I found that the event was a celebration of the Czech and Slovak split and relationship. There were three Czech speakers and two Slovak speakers who all spoke for about fifteen minutes each on their own experiences as politicians. The portion that I sat in on was about the European Union. Though most of what the speakers said went right over my head, I learned some overarching information about the two countries. For example, I found it interesting that the relationship between the Czech Republic and Slovakia has been largely friendly throughout history. I recently learned in my history class that the Czech Republic and Slovakia did not really ever share a history together before they joined into one state after WWI. While the Czech Republic was fairly industrialized and urbanized, Slovakia was still largely agricultural and rural. Therefore, after WWI the two came together in one unified country so that the Czech Republic could protect Slovakia from Hungary who had lost the Czechoslovakian territory after WWI. The panel members stated that the Czech Republic was let into the EU before Slovakia. I learned that even today the Czech Republic fought for Slovakia to be let into the EU and NATO. Though I felt ignorant and uninformed for much of the conference, there were some interesting snippets that I understood, and it was cool to see my professer moderate a conversation between politicians. I even got to meet the American Ambassador afterwards.
      On Friday morning my film class headed to Barrandov Studios. Barradov studios is the Hollywood of Eastern Europe according to my Czech Buddy. It is the biggest film studio in all of Central Europe, and one of the biggest studios in all of Europe. It has an interesting history too: Germany expanded the studios significantly during WWII to use it for propaganda, though they never actually filmed. We got a behind the scenes tour that the studio usually only gives to producers which was amazing! We saw a few different studios where sets were being built for different movies and shows. In one of the largest studio spaces a set for the Czech equivalent of American Idol was being built. We also ventured through the snow out to a huge set of a Roman town that was used to film the show Borgia. Some other famous flicks filmed at Barradov include Narnia, Brothers Grimm, Amadeus, Les Mis (the original), Bourne, and Casino Royale (and all the Czech films I watched at home with you Mom and Dad!). I left the studio with a deep desire to watch some of the movies and shows that were filmed at Barrandov and a need to seriously rethink film school.

Here I am in the set of a Roman City for Borgia:

                                           Here I am in the room of Renaissance Costumes:

      On Sunday I went to my first Czech Table. The Czech Tables are organized by the Czech Buddies to visit places they like that we might not see otherwise. This particular one was organized by Roza who took Jeanette and I to a tea house on Wenceslas Square. I sipped on some delicious tea, ate some dried fruit, and had a great time getting to know Roza.
      By popular demand (from my parents) I'll end this post with some pictures of my apartment!

My desk and closet

My bed

The living room right outside my bedroom

Our kitchen

And just for kicks here's a picture of my 40 kc ($2) dinner at the Three Pigs down the way from my apartment:

Garlic Soup!

      Tomorrow I'm going to Lidice with the Central European Studies group. Hitler blamed this town for the assassination of the Reichsprotektor of Moravia and Bohemia, Heydrich. After arresting some 30,000 innocents, he turned his wrath on Lidice, killing all men over 16 on the spot and sending the rest of the population to concentration camps before razing the town. It should be an emotional day. To top it off I'm tagging along with the Jewish Studies for trip to Terezin on Sunday. Terezin was the concentration camp Goebbels and the Nazis used to make propaganda films illustrating how well the Jews were treated. The weekend will be emotionally draining, but an amazing experience that I'm excited to have. I'll blog all about the trips next week.

Na zdraví!

Patty

Běda, Bledý Nešťastný Rusalka

      I spent this weekend exploring Prague, though not in the way I imagined. Instead of following Rick Steves' advice I stuck with Eva for a more unconventional weekend of "sightseeing" (if you could call it that). On Thursday night Eva and I celebrated Valentines day by starting the night off at our most regular spot: The Globe. They had Valentines day specials so I bought myself some chocolate cake just to make sure I know I'm loved haha. After chatting with some of my program mates, Eva and I moved to a well known spot called Cross Club. We were excited to finally hear some good music only to find a terrible American punk band screaming into the microphone about beer and lost love... We decided to give them a chance even though the 20 other people around us were not exactly our type of crowd. When the band finished we really just couldn't stand it any longer and moved back to Chapeau Rouge where we've been before. Last time we went to Chapeau Rouge we were bothered by a group of 17 year old British kids who attempted to convince us they were 20. On top of that annoyance, the DJ played an extremely monotonous beat which got old after about two minutes. Eva and I decided to give it another chance since we're capable of having a good time anywhere there's dance floor. This time we were introduced to some 17 year old Norwegian and Danish guys who grabbed Eva's stomach and got uncomfortably close to my face... Might not go back again. Despite the overall strange night, we had a blast and headed home.

      On Friday night we were determined to do better for ourselves. We started out at The Meet Factory which was founded by David Černý as a club and an art gallery. The space was amazing and we fit in with the people perfectly. We listened to a bit of live music before a DJ took the stage and played the best music we've heard in Prague so far. We stayed for quite a while before heading towards home to stop at a bar where one of the Czech buddies works as a bartender. The ground floor was a hip little cafe while the lower level was a bar and club. Another decent DJ played music while we hung out and danced. We finally decided to head home after the first really fantastic night here.

Look how cool this place is!

      Last night I went to the National Theater to see Rusalka, a Czech opera by Dvořak. There are two versions showing in Prague currently. The more traditional version is playing in the National Opera while we saw a more modern interpretation.

This is a picture my friend took of the ceiling and chandelier in the theater:

      In act 1 Rusalka, the daughter of a water goblin named Vodnik, falls in love with a human prince who hunts near the lake where they live. She begs an evil witch to make her human so she can know human love. The witch agrees, but only after taking Rusalka's voice and warning her that if her love betrays her they will both be cursed. In Act 2 the human prince laments over Rusalka's silence and cold embrace. The evil witch, disguised as a foreign princess, takes advantage of his cold feet and wins the prince over. As soon as the prince changes his loyalties, Rusalka is cursed and sent back to her watery home. In the final act, Rusalka's sisters, angry that she spurned them for human love, condemn her to a life spent bringing men to their watery graves. The witch attempts to convince Rusalka to kill her former lover, though she chooses her sad fate over the knife the witch offers. Finally, the prince comes to the lake searching for his love. Rusalka warns him he will die if she embraces him. Despite this the prince chooses death in Rusalka's arms over life without her. The opera ends when Rusalka sings that the embrace does not change her cursed fate as a demon of the water.
      The set was one of my favorite parts of the opera. It was fairly minimalistic and used mainly sheer sheets and light to convey the underwater scenes. The sheets went up and down to suggest dropping underwater and emerging from the lake. In addition, teal lights revealed silhouettes behind the sheets which was astoundingly beautiful. I also enjoyed the motifs referring to the sins of humanity. During the prince's betrayal his party guests drank, seduced, and grabbed at each other suggesting that humans have no loyalty and feel no true love. I would love to go back, perhaps to see a more traditional opera that I could compare to the style of Rusalka. It shouldn't be too difficult to see another opera because the National Theater offers students 50 crown tickets thirty minutes before the show. Where else will I ever have the chance to see such a beautiful performance for only $2.50?!

Here's a picture of the wedding party scene:

And one of the underwater scenes:

     Next weekend I promise to see the touristy side of Prague. I've decided to save the Castle Quarter for when it gets warmer since I've seen most of the sights besides the garden. I've already seen Old Town and most of New Town since I walk around there almost everyday for class, though there are a few museums I'd love to check out before I leave. I think I'll tackle those spots on a week where I haven't spent too much already so I won't feel bad splurging on a few museums. Český Krumlov ran my weekly amount of money pretty dry. Next week I'll try to see the Little Quarter, which is the area I've explored the least. Wish me luck on my second Czech exam tomorrow! Just verb conjugations and descriptive words.

P.S. The title of this entry means "Alas, pale unhappy Rusalka." It was one of Vodnik's lines that was repeated throughout the opera. =)

Český Krumlov

      This past weekend our entire program headed to Český Krumlov. It's a small town in the South of the Czech Republic and was truly beautiful. Our hotel was really cute. I roomed with Maddie in a little room that had all wooden furniture.

      We unpacked and headed out to do some exploring before walking up to the Castle to meet the group for a tour of the castle museum. The museum had some interesting artifacts, but unfortunately the castle was closed for the winter so we couldn't see the main attraction. We settled down with some coffee to hear a lecture on the history of the town which was really fascinating. Just before WWII Český Krumlov, along with the other Czech towns close to the border, was given to Germany as a part of the allied appeasement policy. Much like Prague, Český Krumlov was left undamaged during the war. Later on during communism, the town and castle were protected and declared historical sites. Unfortunately, during communism protection meant that the town was only left alone, and the entire town broke down and became overgrown. Eventually, people began moving back into the houses. The center became home to three Roma families, who were not used to living in and taking care of houses. Many of the Roma stayed in one house until it was completely run down before moving on to a different house. Needless to say, the entire town was in complete disrepair soon enough. After communism, Český Krumlov gained a mayor who realized the potential the little town had. Despite the poor state of almost everything, the buildings were still original and one of the best representations of Medieval architecture in the world. The mayor gave some of the larger buildings away to bigger buyers but only with rules set in place about what the buildings would become. With the money brought in by these buildings, the other buildings were given to the Roma population to start businesses and tourist attractions. Today the town is a beautiful spot right out of a fairy tale.

      After the lecture, I stopped in at a toyshop next to our hotel. I ended up buying my first souvenir: a hand made set of wooden blocks that make a castle. I'm excited to set it up on my desk back in Grinnell. 

      The whole group went to a brewery for dinner and some beer. A Roma band played great music, and as soon as I finished my delicious meal I rallied a group of friends to start dancing. We all had a blast dancing and singing along with words we didn't understand. our programs directors even joined in on the dancing! We moved to a little bar called the Van Gogh Bar. The bartender was Brazilian and chatted with the four of us until the rest of our huge group showed up. The whole night was full of fun and I made a few new friends. Here's a picture of Marketa (my Czech Buddy), Nate (an American buddy heh), and me at the bar.

      The next day we saw the old Castle Theater which is the oldest theater in all of Europe. We explored the city for a while longer before heading back to Prague. The trip was absolutely amazing. The town has a fascinating history and is so picturesque. I hope I can return sometime to see the interior of the castle.

      This week will be filled with classes, but this weekend I plan to finally explore Prague to the fullest extent (with the help of Rick Steves of course). Tomorrow I'm going back to the Globe for an anti-valentines day party which should be a blast. I'm also going to a comic opera on Saturday (Kathy, I know you'll want to hear all about that one).

      Oh and Český Krumlov had no shortage of beautiful doors!

The Daily Life

      I successfully got through my first week of classes! I'm sure you all want to know everything about all my classes since most of you cannot get enough of school, so I'll tell you all about them =D. But first I'll show you a picture of a couple new friends to draw you in:

      In the middle is Tyler, my pal from Czech class. We found a fun spot called the Motor Cafe which has vintage furniture and motorcycles inside. We spent the majority of Wednesday doing work over coffee and ham and cheese sandwiches, which I'm sure will become a routine. The girl is Eva, my newfound Grinnell buddy. I have no clue how we never met at Grinnell since we were clearly meant to be friends. We have the same strange sense of humor and though I'm pretty sure everyone else thinks we are the least funny people ever, we're pretty dang hilarious. Here's another picture to convince you I do more than go to class despite the rest of this blog:

      These lovely ladies are my roommates (minus Sommer) about to try our first taste of Becherovka. On the left is Jeanette, the other Grinnellian whom I room with. I can tell we'll hang out a lot when we get back to Iowa next year. Next is Eva whom I've already mentioned. On my other side is Maddie who goes to American University and lives upstairs. She's a great sightseeing buddy and I'm pretty sure we'll stick together on all our travelling adventures. Finally, on the far right is Alyssa who lives in the other room with Sommer. She's really fun, smart, and a great roommate.

Ok now to the more intellectual stuff.

      My first class is Czech, which you all know about already. Jiri is still a great teacher and person, nothing new there. The class still doesn't really feel like a class at all. Actually none of my classes really feel like classes here, more like occasional lectures informing us about this beautiful place we now call home. Maybe that will begin to change as the work piles up but hopefully not. Czech class feels more like an opportunity to learn the language we hear everyday than a required class. The first quiz was a breeze (easy A woohoo!). Hopefully it continues to be easy but helpful in developing my elementary Czech. I've definitely gotten better; I feel confident ordering food and saying how much money I want to leave in Czech. Unfortunately I don't think I've completed a single conversation in Czech despite my efforts. Most of the time the waiter or waitress has figured out we're American from the start, and despite my efforts to order in Czech (Dam si Gulas a vodu prosim), they respond in English to my disappointment.  More recently I've succeeded in my attempts to appear Czech, though my ruse is ruined with a final question like, "for here or to go" or, "what size" to which I bow my head in shame and respond in English. Regardless, I'm determined to learn more Czech and succeed!
      My first actually new class was Resistance and Dissent from Nazism to Communism. Our professor is exactly what you would imagine for a dissent course: she has bright orange hair and showed us a music video of her band. The readings look amazing, covering everything from graffiti to rave culture. Even more exciting are the field trips we have planned. We're going to some sort of resistance themed concert, a film festival called One World, and a trip to see some graffiti in person. For our final assignment we have two options. The first choice is to write paper on a person or movement of our choice, which would be great if it wasn't overshadowed by the awesomeness of choice two: a creative project. We're allowed to create some piece of dissent art instead of writing a paper? I mean hellooooo! Is that even a choice? Maybe I'll try my hand at graffiti... We started discussing large dissent movements in the Czech Republic beginning with Jan Hus who was the Czech equivalent of Martin Luther. We also learned a bit about the assassination of Heydrich (the Nazi leader in the Czech Republic) which was carried out by three Czech paratroopers. Hitler responded by arresting 13,000 people before laying the blame on the town of Lidice (which I'll be visiting in March). Lidice faced the wrath of the Nazis: all men over 16 were killed immediately and the children and women were sent to concentration camps where most of them met the same fate. Our professor asked us if we thought it was worth it to sacrifice all the people of Lidice to kill one Nazi leader. Though it's an interesting question, it's not one I feel I am equipped to answer, at least for now. I know next to nothing about Heydrich's atrocities and even less about the town of Lidice. Honestly I'm not that interested in hearing what a bunch of American students think about a morally ambiguous Czech event seeing as none of us can possibly have a valid opinion supported by evidence. I would have rather heard some Czech opinions or learned some of the facts about the event first. Fortunately what our prof lacks in prompting discussion she makes up for in sheer awesomeness, and as long as the readings are interesting, I'm all in. (That was a long explanation, I better make the rest shorter).
      My next class was Prague, Vienna, and Budapest: An Intellectual History. Our professor for this class is pretty interesting. He speaks very slowly and pauses a lot, but has some great things to say. He has a very strange sense of humor (it might just be a Czech sense of humor) which I find funny albeit though everyone else seems to find only inappropriate. I'm the only one who actually laughed when he sarcastically talked about the Austrians as victims while a picture of Austrian women waving Nazi flags and looking very thrilled was projected behind him... maybe I'm a bad person, but I think I heard some nervous chuckles from the back of the classroom, so at least it's not just me. I'm fully aware that not every Austrian was as thrilled to have Hitler in their country as the women in the picture were, and I figure my professor is also aware of that fact. Anyway, the readings in this class range from city planning to philosophy and politics. Should be very interesting. Our prof informed us that the class should be fairly easy, and the tests are all in multiple choice... what? I'm excited to read Metamorphosis by Kafka this week. (See much shorter)
      Next up was our mandatory Cultural and Political History of East Central Europe. This class brings me right back to my IB European History class. Our professor is the typical history type, older white man with a good mustache. He's also extremely intelligent, needing no notes for his lectures. Knowing that he has all this stuff simply stored in his head keeps me totally engaged. It's also very cool learning about 20th century European history with more emphasis on countries like Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. I don't think we mentioned those countries more than a few times in my former European history classes; they were simply roped in with the Eastern forces. I'm trying to soak up all the information I can and I can't help but wish my memory was more sponge-like.
      Finally I got to my Czech Film class. After already sitting through two hour and a half lectures I was a bit worried about sitting through another three hour class. My worries were quickly put to rest as the class started. Our prof is a very hip young Czech woman with a short cut and plenty of energy. We watched two short films (one is called Tripe and Onions, czech it out (hehe get it?)) which were both really fun to pick apart and discuss. We are assigned one Czech film a week, so I'll tell you all about those when the time comes.

Side note to Mom: Only one of the films we watched is on the list (Loves of a Blonde), but I might sign up to present on that one, we'll see! I'll let you know which other ones are worth watching as I go.

      Overall I really enjoy my classes, though they are definitely different from any other classes I've taken. It's mostly very strange to have class for so long. Three hours is a very long time to sit in one room, regardless of how interesting the information is. It's also strange only having class once a week. The once a week schedule also means we will only meet about 13 times in total. I guess I'll get used to it. Mostly classes just feel like something I'm doing on the side while I enjoy my time in Prague. I think that's how we're supposed to feel, but it is extremely strange. The reading is also pretty weird, largely due to how spread out our classes are. My general day consists of getting up, going to the gym, eating lunch, heading to a class or two, coming home to dinner, and going to bed. I spend some freer afternoons at cafes doing reading. We have Fridays off for the most part so those days are spent doing readings almost all day. Our first free weekend is next week, and I'm planning on doing all the Prague sightseeing Rick Steves suggests. After that I'll spend the free weekends doing short trips outside of Prague. So far I've planned a trip to see a couple castles, and a trip to a student town called Olomouc. A few people are planning bigger trips to places like Copenhagen and Turkey, but I think I'll pass. I figure my big trip was Berlin and it turns out I don't have a bottomless bank account. I'm still open to the idea of doing a slightly bigger trip at the end of the semester to somewhere in Slovakia or Slovenia. We'll see I suppose.
      I guess I should mention the gym that I've joined. It's small, but fully stocked with all the machines and weights I need. I started my weightlifting schedule on Wednesday which was pretty amusing. The weight area is full of tattooed men and soccer player types, so I should fit right in (with the soccer player types that is). The only other women who seem to do any weight lifting are strange wrestler types who stick to the barbells and occasionally wrestle with each other... it's pretty strange and awkward. I'm also the only one who seems to wear appropriate exercise attire (or the American standard of exercise attire I suppose). I'm the only woman who wears shorts, and no one else wears running shoes either. The closest shoes people seem to have are indoor soccer shoes, but most people wear other types like sketchers or wrestling shoes. I even saw a man on the treadmill in crocs once. I don't think any of the other women at the gym sweat either. A few of them get a solid glisten going on at the treadmills occasionally, but I feel a bit isolated as I'm actually sweating bullets while I work out. I figure it means I'm actually an athlete, so I don't mind too much. I got some strange looks squatting free weights too. I took the rack over from a thoroughly tattooed man and piled on about the same number of weights, so I guess the strange looks were justified. I'll just keep wearing soccer shirts so they know I mean business. =)

      Last night Jeanette, Eva, and I met up with a Grinnell alumni of 2010 named Zac. He took us out to a hooka bar called the Big Lebowski which was a really fun hole in the wall type place with an equally fun bartender. He was just in the area doing some work and contacted us. It's so cool that you can really find Grinnellians everywhere, and the conversation runs freely and easily. Gotta love Grinnell.

      We're leaving for Cesky Krumlov tomorrow so I'll spend my night packing and finishing up some work. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post again after the trip.

Mám ráda Praha

      Alas our intensive Czech classes have come to an end. We learned how to order food, count to 10,000, get and give directions, and conjugate some words. It's fun to speak and practice Czech with each other and with Czech people. We went to lunch on the last day of class to order Czech and practice our numbers when asking for change. We have our first quiz on Monday which will hopefully go well. We also learned one of the cases called the accusative. It is used for direct objects and changes only feminine noun endings. Generally I think I like cases much more than tenses. I'm much better at recognizing what role a noun plays in a sentence than trying to decide which kind of past tense to use (completed or not completed action... what? Aren't they both just like in the past or whatever?... okay maybe I'm not that bad). I'm sure the cases will become more complicated as we go. We talk about alcohol much more in class than is normal, like learning to order beer: dám si pivo (I'll have a beer), saying I like white wine: líbí se mi bílé vino, or just learning how to say different alcohol types (becherovka etc.). It doesn't seem weird at the time but looking back on it is pretty funny. If I'd ever used sangria in an example for spanish class I would have gotten a disapproving look. A few of my friends and I have been trying to make a sound that doesn't exist in English but seems to be in at least half of Czech words. It's supposed to sound like a rolled r and a j at the same time but we can't seem to mix the two. After laughing at our attempts, Jiří advised us to have a few beers before we try it again. He also keeps telling us different alcohols to try.

      Along with our first quiz, I start regular classes on Monday! I have Czech again, but I'm really excited for my Resistance and Dissent class. It focuses on resistance art movements like punk and graffiti from Nazism to Communism. I might just die of happiness in that class. Our schedule is much different than I'm used to at Grinnell. We have some of our classes only once a week for three hours and others twice a week for an hour and a half. I'm hoping the three hour classes will be ridiculously interesting haha. The classes are also spread throughout the day more; on Tuesdays I have a class in the morning from 9:30 to 11:00, then another from 1:30 to 3:00 and one more from 4:00 to 7:00. It will be pretty strange having class for so long and ending so late at night, but I suppose I'll get used to it. Fridays are generally free which will be a nice break.

      I've been searching for a few good cafes where I can get my school work done. I know I don't do well working at home and the library is a bit far from everything. So far Maddie and I found two cute places about 10 minutes from our apartment and Eva, Jeanette, and I found one a bit further called the Globe. The Globe is especially cool because it doubles as an English book store and has some fun events. I'll probably spend most of my Sundays there drinking coffee and doing work. We're going back tomorrow to study for our quiz, have dinner, and watch a showing of a Czech film with English subtitles (Mom aren't you proud!). If we're feeling up to it we might even stay and watch the superbowl, though we have class the next morning and I'm not sure I fancy staying up until three the night before. Maddie and I also stumbled upon an outdoor food market where we grabbed some sausages and sauerkraut which we paired with some mustard and bread from our local grocery. It was such a delicious meal, we'll probably become regulars at that sausage man's cart.

      Earlier this week we also went on a tour of the Jewish quarter where we saw a few synagogues, museums, and my favorite: the Jewish cemetery. Because the Jewish community could not expand the cemetery, people began to be buried in layers. Because of this about five head stones lay above each grave, and as the earth settled, the stones leaned askew. The effect is astoundingly beautiful, peaceful, and a bit eerie.

      Last night we went to a 90s dance club which was really fun. Backstreet Boys music videos played on the huge screen while Czechs sang Brittany Spears with accents. I felt like I'd been teleported to some strange version of Grinnell's 90s Harris! I'm sure we'll be back. In the rest of my free time I've found a website to watch English TV and I'm onto my fifth book; I can't remember the last time I read for enjoyment this much. I'm joining a gym on Monday once my regular schedule starts. I think actually paying for a gym membership will motivate me to work out (fingers crossed). I'll also hopefully find a volunteer position teaching English, but I'm waiting on an opening (fingers crossed for that too).

      I really love Prague, which is actually the title of this blog: literally "I have a deep liking of Prague"). Jiři told us we should use the form "líbí se mi" (meaning I like) until we spend enough time here to form a deeper connection, allowing us to use "mám ráda" (meaning I like deeply), but I think my love for this city promotes me up to the deeper liking level. Who knew I would commit to anything so fast ;). There are only three things I miss about home:

1. Ice (as Rick Steves so cleverly put, "the last ice left Europe in the ice age." No one drinks anything cold.)

2. My bed (all the other students in my building got new ikea beds with new ikea bedspreads but apparently the program ran out of bed money leaving my roommate and I with 50s children's mattresses with no headboards and dingy old bedspreads).

3. A few select people (self explanatory).

      The ice thing hasn't been much of a problem seeing that everyone's drink of choice is beer. I've also solved the room temperature water problem by freezing my water bottle overnight and carrying it with me everywhere. The bed thing isn't so bad either, though it is a bit comical. I do miss some people from home but I'm quickly making friends here. I'm sure I'll be yearning to see old friends soon enough. Prague would be the most perfect place ever if I could ship my friends and family here.

      This upcoming weekend we're heading to Česky Krumlov and I plan to spend the weekend after that exploring Prague some more. I think I'll be able to see the entirety of the city in about four full days of sight seeing. After I've seen Prague I might do a bit of traveling. We don't have a lot of time off since most free time is taken up by traveling with our program. First is Česky Krumlov, which is this fairy tale little town close to Prague. We're going to Lidice on March 1st and Terezin on my birthday (the model concentration camp that the nazis used for propaganda to show the world how well the Jews were treated). We'll get the more typical concentration camp experience when we go to Auschwitz later in the semester. We're also going to Brno, Krakow, Vienna, and Budapest. If I have time/money/energy to travel on our four free weekends I might go back to Germany to see a smaller town, see some castles, and/or go to a small student town called Olomouc. We'll see.

      Tonight I'm going to grab a beer at a place called The Three Little Pigs down the street and turn in early so I can do some serious studying tomorrow... unless I get roped into a roller disco that's going on tonight. Who can say no to a roller disco?!

      I'll give another update at the end of the week about classes and another after our first trip. Until then na shledanou!

P.S. I stumbled upon this lovely door in the Jewish Quarter. I must say, Eva got more excited about this particular door than I did, and I was pretty damn excited.

-Patty, or as Jiří calls me, Pat

Na Zdraví Pastrami

      I've made it to Prague and it's everything I hoped for and more! I've been nothing but blown away by this city, and I know I've only skimmed the surface.
      Because the city was behind in industry when WWII began, it was largely passed over by bombs, and is therefore still well preserved unlike many other European cities I've been to. Every building is beautiful in a very different way, and the entire city is a hodge-podge of architectural styles. I've seen everything from Renaissance to Cubistic, Gothic to Modern, and even Communist style popping up behind every turn, I don't think I'll ever stop finding new views to fall in love with. I've also adopted a strange love of doors in the short time I've been here. Some of the doors I've seen are so intricate and ornate, while others are minimalistic and simple. Overall, I can't stop taking pictures of doors, and I think I might come home with an interesting new collection =).

      The train ride from Berlin to Prague was really beautiful. It was much more mountainous than I expected which was cool to see. The first town we hit was Dresden which was gorgeous, maybe I'll go back sometime soon to really visit. We met up with the Vltava River, which eventually passes through Prague about halfway through the trip. As soon as we hit the river my eyes were permanently peeled to the window. The mountain towns lying right up against the river were picturesque and so peaceful. I would love to see the ride again during the summer when the trees are green and the sky is blue. Regardless, the snow and cold gave the small towns a special charm.
      I arrived at my apartment easily which lies within Praha 3, just a few tram stops from the center of New Town. The apartment is much larger than I expected. The kitchen is small but very Ikea-esque which I love. The living room is also large with a huge entertainment center but no entertainment to speak of hehe. There are two double rooms which are also quite expansive. My room has a balcony which will hopefully be nice when the weather is better in a few months. Though the kitchen, bathroom, and dining area are totally new, ikea-like, and updated, the rest of the rooms are much older. Our beds are extremely small, and pretty funny actually; they're really just glorified cushions on stilts. It doesn't really matter seeing as I can sleep anywhere (except airplanes as you might have noticed from the last post...). The apartment is quite lovely all things considered and pretty perfect for a four month stay.
      My roommates are great as well! The two girls in the other room are really nice, and strangely enough my roommate is from Grinnell! Jeanette and I know each other a bit because we're both close friends with Mark, but I had no idea she was coming to Prague. We don't know each other well at all, so it will be cool to make a new Grinnell friend. At first I was a bit bummed to be so close to another Grinnell student because part of the reason I was so excited for the program was to get some distance from Grinnell and meet new people. I quickly changed my mind, finding it extremely nice to have someone to relate to about Grinnell, home, and classes. You really don't realize how much we take for granted at Grinnell until you meet regular people hah. We also live with a Czech girl named Marquetta who has been great so far; she is so nice and fun! There is another apartment of girls upstairs in the same building. Another Grinnellian lives there (Eva) who I'm starting to think is pretty awesome. I've also become friends with a girl named Maddie who lives upstairs and goes to American University. We have all the same classes, and went sight seeing together on the second full day. Above that apartment is another group of six guys, one of whom is Czech. They're pretty hilarious and always up for fun; I can tell they will be a blast.
      On night one we went to a welcome dinner at the CET center and began getting to know one another. The CET center is one street off Wenceslas Square which is the center of New Town and where the Velvet Revolution occurred. The whole area was amazing right from the start, and my excitement grew immediately. There was an overwhelming number of film students at the dinner, but since then we haven't seen much of them; I think our programs are very separated. We tried to go out to a bar for some drinks after dinner but failed miserably at finding the place Pavel (the guys' Czech roommate) had told us about and quickly gave up since most people were were suffering from jet lag.
      After a good night of sleep we started orientation with a quick overview of the basic things we need to know to function while abroad, most of which I have already heard. Our director, Jiˆri, made a sassy comment about how we are the only group ever to have not gone out on the first night haha. I'm not sure if he was proud or ashamed. We got some groceries and went back to New Town for dinner. We quickly realized Wenceslas Square, which is beautiful and touristy during the day, transforms into a sketchy street at night. We finally found a place for dinner in a dungeon decorated with suits of armor and had some fun food. We walked around trying to find a bar, only to find ourselves failing again, though we did find multiple strip clubs. We were in a large group and Prague is one of the safest cities in the world so I never really got nervous. We even saw some women alone on the block and stopped worrying altogether until we realized they were prostitues (they were much more covered than any other prostitutes I've ever seen haha). We decided to head back towards our apartment and find the bar Pavel had told us about. We searched a few blocks and failed again, but finally found a sports bar which had good beer and a fine atmosphere. We were laughing that we are probably the only people in Prague who can't find a good bar, but still enjoyed ourselves, and vowed to plan better for the next night out.

      We had the next day off so Maddie and I took a stroll around Old Town following Rick Steves' advice. We saw the astronomical clock go off on the hour (quite amazing mechanics for the 14th century), looked into Tyn Church, saw an art exhibit called Post Velvet on modern Czech art, and saw a plethora of Medeval alter pieces at St. Agnes' Convent. We ended the day at Charles Bridge where we snapped some photos before our hands began to freeze, decided we had never seen any place more beautiful, and quickly got home. We grabbed dinner at Pizza Dali below our apartment which boasts Surrealist posters, 80s American pop music, great pizza, and the usual beer before meeting up with our entire building for a night out. We decided to celebrate Eva's 21st birthday and Pavel's 23rd by actually going out, letting Pavel lead the way to ensure success. We gave up trying to fit all 25 of us into one bar and split up, ending up at a really fun bar with a dance floor. We had a few beers and got to dancing. Eventually some drag queens joined the party which was a hoot. I'm pretty sure the other two Grinnellians and I were the only ones in our group that felt totally in our element, and was proud of my school =). We tried our first becherovka which was much sweeter than I anticipated. We decided it tastes just like Prague, and a bit like Christmas (interpret that as you will). I'll try to bring a bottle home to share my new drink of choice.

      The next day we had some more orientation and went on a scavenger hunt through town. We had a good time finding the random things on the list, and ended the day running up the hill to a monastery with a great brewery for dinner with the whole program. The beer was amazing and the food was equally good. A few others joined Maddie and I to bond a bit with the Czech buddies at a bar nearby after dinner. Our new Czech friends informed us why bar is great: they sell full liters of beer rather than the typical half liter. The beer came in what looked like a glass bucket with a handle, though I stuck to the usual half liter. Maddie and I stayed back with one of the guys in our building, Nate, to finish our beers and conversation and got directions for tram home. We left soon after and hopped on the train, only to find that the metro was closed because of some unknown emergency. We walked a mile or two back to Wenceslas Square to wait for the only tram we knew well because we had taken it the other night. We found out after half an hour of waiting that the 58 tram is only a night train, which means it only runs after midnight. We decided to go into McDonalds which was the only place open, where we got a burger and warmed up to wait for midnight. In another half hour we finally hopped on the tram getting home much later than we wanted, but laughed it off as a good story and fun bonding experience.
      Today we took a formal tour of the town which was cool, and started our intensive Czech class. We  have four hours a day of class for the rest of the week to get us started on the language. I really enjoy Czech and have found it to be surprisingly beautiful. My pronunciation is shockingly good, but the tricky part is yet to come. Apparently there are only three tenses in Czech (WHAT?) as opposed to Spanish which seemed to have endless conjugations. I initially thought the language would be a cinch when I learned this, but my hopes were dashed when my professor (also named Jiˆri) said there are seven cases. I don't even know what a case is. They don't exist in Spanish, English, or French. I think I'll be endlessly confused on that one, we'll find out later I suppose. Today we finished class by learning to count to ten. Turns out the word for four is absolutely impossible to pronounce. No really. It is spelled ˆctyˆri which is supposed to sound something like chtrji. The r sounds like a mixture between a rolled r and a jjj sound. Jiˆri 2 makes it sound so easy! I was trying to make the sound after class while waiting in the hall for our apartment to depart and Jiˆri 1 walked by and informed me that "It's not a rolled r!"... yeah yeah Jiˆri. He's so sassy, but that's what we love about him. We proceded to practice saying ˆctyˆri on the way home until we realized how funny a group of people saying the word four over and over on the metro would look.


      Overall I love love love Prague. It's beautiful, history rich, small, and cheap as dirt. A beer costs anywhere from 20 to 40 kc for a half liter, which is the equivalent of 1 to 2 dollars... Water costs more, so you really have no choice but to drink beer. Every meal I've eaten has fallen between 90 and 200 kc which is about $4.50-$10. What?! But what you still don't know is that dinner includes beer. Yes, you can get a full sized meal and a half liter of beer for under $10. It's unreal. I also bought some groceries (spagetti, sauce, cheese, lunch meat, bread, granola, yogurt, hot cocoa, juice, and cheese spread) for 350 kc or $19. This city is going to make me the biggest cheapskate ever (fingers crossed). I'm really excited for my normal classes to start next week, and I'm even more excited for our trips. We're going to ˆCesk´y Krumlov, Lidice, Terezin, Kutná Hora, Vienna, Krakow, Budapest, and more all covered by our program. They also are paying for us to attend an opera and either a soccer game or a hockey game. I might have to put in some extra money so I can get to a hockey game in addition to soccer, too much fun to say no.

      I have to get up tomorrow for 9:00 Czech class, so I better head to bed. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be completely fluent. HAH.

Oh P.S. I forgot to mention the title of this post! On our first night I asked Marquetta how you say cheers in Czech so we could toast to a great semester with our first beers. She told us to say Na Zdraví which was immediately mistaken as Pazdravi and ultimately changed to Pastrami. Whenever we have a drink we all raise our glasses and cheer "Pastrami!" much to the amusement of our Czech friends. =)

The Fatherland

      I've decided that European countries can easily be compared to men despite the fact that most of them are referred to as women. Perhaps Germans call their country the Fatherland due to the easy man metaphor I noticed hah. Well this beautiful cold hard man named Berlin has some serious baggage. It's hidden right under the surface, though the city goes through the normal motions as though nothing has happened. Despite this effort the scars are clear: grey blocky buildings, broken remnants of a wall, shells of buildings torn and forgotten. The bandages are even clearer: new shiny architecture, clean smooth streets, spray paint, and memorials. Even the sites of remembrance hide the past. Terms like nazi, hitler, and war have become verboten, eerily missing from museums. I'm used to feeling so close to history when I visit Europe' it's what I love most about this beautiful complicated continent. In comparison, the USA seems like a wobbling toddler barely able to walk. I loved feeling the excitement and brutality in the colosseum of Rome. I was amazed at the sorrow I felt in Marie Antoinette's cell where she spent her last hours before losing her head, and was even more shocked when I felt the anger of the revolutionaries as I sauntered through her extravagant playground at Versailles. I felt the fear and tension in Anne Franks hiding place in Amsterdam. I was excited and a bit apprehensive to feel Berlin's history wash over and consume me but as I explored the city I couldn't felt the pain so clearly etched into the streets, walls, and faces. I got close once when I stumbled upon a picture of Hitler giving a speech in Lustgarten while meandering through the Topography of Terror. My eyes grew wide as I stared at Hitler's isolated figure standing on the spot where I had taken what I thought was a funny picture the day before. I shuddered at how I had laughed and literally frolicked through the grass laughing at Marx's quote about how revolution couldn't occur where people stayed off the grass. "What now Marx!" I thought... not so funny anymore. But I quickly pulled myself together and moved to the next picture. Though my numb feeling in Berlin could have been due to my fear of what I would find, I think it was largely due to the Berliners themselves. They try to move through their lives as if nothing has happened. Despite this facade, they keep their eyes pinned to their government, rarely smile, and speak only of the past in hushed tones; the pain is clear. They know history must never repeat itself and the entire city makes me feel likeI should tiptoe around. I've pledged to return in warmer days. I want to see the green of Tiergarten, sip a beer in a biergarten, and hopefully feel some warmth in Berlin.

      Kathleen and I managed to see nearly everything despite my lateness. After 20 hours of travel getting to Heathrow I was ready to hop on one more quick flight and end my journey. As snow started falling my hopes for a quick journey fell and I spent about 24 more hours in London (I anticipated two). I had failed two sleep at all, finishing two books instead, but I managed to pull myself together, find some miraculously remaining energy, and head into Berlin. We walked around West Berlin, picked up our passes, saw the Wilhelm Memorial Church and walked around what we thought was the huge shopping center called KaDeWe. We tried to grab dinner only to find we knew no German and our waitress knew no English. We picked random items on the menu, crossed our fingers, and vowed to google some basic terms when we got back. Or waitress brought out fish, a sour cream sauce, and potatoes. The meal was delicious and we laughed our way through. When we got home we found out that we had eaten in a small shopping building, not KaDeWe, in no way famous, and not on our list of things to see. We worried the trip was destined to fail much like the first few days.
      After an amazing night of sleep we headed out for our first real day of sightseeing. We went to museum island starting with the Bode which held mostly coins and altarpieces. Despite my lack of interest in this art period I recognized one piece: Ven Der Weyden's Deposition. We headed to the Pergamon Museum to be amazed at the huge Pergamon Alter and found our amazement growing when we laid eyes on the stunning blue Ishtar Gate. We moved to the Neues Museum to see the bust of Nefertiti and endless rooms of other Egyptian artifacts. As our hunger grew we quickly went through the Old National Gallery which held some lesser known impressionist art by some of the greats. After grabbing some quick sandwiches and warming up with hot cocoa in a little cafe we took the tram up to the Berlin Wall Memorial. As it began to get dark and impossibly colder we hurried along the path skimming the information. The walk was cool though we would have liked to spend more time really appreciating the site. We got dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant called Lemongrass Scent and went home.
      The next day we rose early to make our appointment at the Reichstag. We waited in the cold for half an hour for the door to open so we could get inside and get warm. To our horror we remembered that the dome has an open top, but we braved the weather to appreciate the view and listen to all the information on the audio guide. As we left the Reichstag we worried the whole day would be totally ruined by the cold as our toes and fingers began to numb. We succumbed and went into Starbucks which had a great view of the Brandenburg gate (haha). As we quickly warmed up we laughed at the fact that we were in a Starbucks and planned warming breaks into the rest of the day. We took a quick tram to the New Synagogue which was only partially rebuilt after the Nazi regime burned it down and headed back to see the Memorial to Politicians who Opposed Hitler, Memorial to Victims of the Wall, and Hotel Adlon where Michael Jackson dangled Blanket off the balcony. Then we warmed in a cool bookstore called Berlin Story, looked up at Humboldt University, and walked into the Humboldt Library where we got kicked out while looking at the stained glass window depicting Lenin. The memorial to book burning was too foggy to see into, so we went into Hedwig Cathedral before looking at the Kathe Kollwitz statue in the Neue Watch. We paid our way into the History Museum excited to get a refresher on the history we both had learned in high school. After seeing all the amazing artifacts from every period of German History we quickly saw the Humboldt box which was weird but free, the Berlin Cathedral which was beautiful, and Marien church. We finished out the great day at a decent Italian place where I finally ordered a glass of white wine (my first technically legal drink!). Our feelings about the trip finally turned up after our first totally successful day.
      The next day we went to Checkpoint Charlie which had a kitschy fun museum. We walked down to the Jewish History Museum which had some amazing information about how rampant antisemitism has been in Europe and ended with an even more amazing installation called the void. The installation had a skinny room with tall ceiling, cold cement walls and the floor was covered in metal faces with their mouths open in a mixture of shock and pain that gave off a disturbing sound as you walked across them. We walked up to the Topography of Terror which had some cool pictures and focused on the perpetrators of WWII instead of the victims, making it unique. Then we skimmed through the Stasi museum, grabbed some humorous toasted cheese sandwiches and walked up to the German Cathedral which had a museum on the German government which was all in German so we breezed through. We headed to a huge chocolate shop called Fassbender and Rausch and after perusing throughout the chocolate options we went upstairs to the cafe for some for chocolate mouse with raspberry jelly and a dark hot cocoa with rum. Delicious! Fully satisfied, and quite a bit warmer we hopped on the tram once more to arrive at Potsdamer Platz where we walked through the Sony Center and admired the capitalism driven side of Berlin. We walked down to the German Resistance Memorial which was also all in German and totally empty. Despite our total loss regarding the German language, the building was still cool because an attempt to assassinate Hitler was planned inside before the planners were caught and shot in the courtyard. We quickly caught Gemalde Galerie to see some great art, some of which I recognized, before some funny music blared over the speaker to kick us out. Kathleen and I joked that if the music hadn't taken so long we could have seen a couple more rooms. It didn't matter much though, seeing as Rick Steves ended his tour after the rooms we did see so we didn't feel too bad. We headed home to grab some great pub food and amazing beer at a place called Hirsch where the bartender was really nice and chose some good beer for us since we clearly had no clue what to order.
      Our final day began at the East Side Gallery. Despite the cold we really enjoyed the full mile long stretch of the wall taking pictures the whole way. We then headed to the Holocaust Memorial which was my favorite site on the whole trip. The museum was really powerful and shared stories of Jewish people in Europe during the Holocaust along with the numbers of Jewish people murdered from each country. I felt that the museum was the only one we visited that really evoked emotion. The memorial fit right in with the mood with minimalism that made it easy to relate to: just what I like in a memorial. We grabbed lunch next door at a pub where I finally had curry wurst which was really amazing, probably my favorite meal though it was so cheap, along with a big glass of beer. We stopped at a second hand shop to buy some bier steins as souvenirs before heading to the Charlottenburg Palace which we didn't go inside at Rick Steve's recommendation, though we did snap pictures. We tried to get into the Berggruen Museum to see some works by Picasso only to find it under renovation. We skipped over to the Scharf-Gestern Collection which held some cool surrealist art along with a section of works by Goya, Daumier, and Toulouse-Lautrec. We took the tram one last time to see the Kathe Kollwitz Museum, and after much searching found it, only to be extremely disappointed that it too was under renovation. Even worse we found out the exhibit opened back up the day we were leaving, such a bummer. We lightened our mood at the Erotic Museum which was extremely entertaining and somewhat shocking but very fun. We found the real KaDeWe bringing our trip full circle and ate at a pasta place on the top floor. We came home to pack and plan transportation before heading to the bar downstairs called Red Rooster to celebrate a successful trip with some beers and cider.

      Honestly at first I felt disappointed with Berlin, largely due to long flight delays and the cold. I was excited to feel the history of the city only to find that everyone including myself was largely numb to it all. But as I got to know the city better I found the current atmosphere to also be an interesting moment in history. Overall, I've promised to come back in warmer times and came to appreciate Berlin. I think that the cold and closed off man that is Berlin is fascinating in every way, and though he is hard to love, I intend to give it my all. This city needs and deserves some love. For now I'm excited to get to Prague. I'm hoping my new smaller and less tumultuous (though not by much) home will be easier to wrap my arms and head around. I can't wait!

Until then, Auf Wiedersehen Berlin and Dobrý Den Prague!
-Patty