The Road to Praha

Nothin' like a poorly made Bob Hope reference...

And briefly, here's some pictures to tide you over.


Nymphenburg castle in Munich. Very vast, very picturesque.


I believe this was the town hall in munich, but correct me if i'm wrong. as you can see, Munich and Germany in general was very crowded and busy due to the world cup.

so on with the story!

Our luck with SERVAS ran out when we got to Prague. not one host could take us, but we found our way through trial and error to a hostel. By trial and error, i mean pull your hair out kind of frustration. Prague was swamped with tourists, had one of the most confusing tram systems that i have ever encountered- or at least, a horrible map of the routes- and i came close to throwing my guide book (that housed these crappy maps) in the Vltava river on several occasions. the problem is that there are so many side streets, alcoves, and squares that it's a labyrinth- with the occasional vortex that transports you to unmappable regions. at that, its a maze filled with stinky, sweaty people who stop in front of you every three seconds to take pictures.

but at long last, we found a place to crash for the night, and the weight was literally taken off my shoulders as i shoved my large backpack into a cubby by my bunk bed. We stayed at Apple Hostel, which was a welcome refuge, but felt more like an orphanage than anything else. "breakfast" was included in the price of our beds, and so the next morning we found an odd buffet of corn flakes, sugar cubes, some orange liquid, condensed milk, and some jelly like substance in a bowl waiting for us in the makeshift kitchen. we gnawed on what we found, and watched as a parade of young people walked by with their own assortment of food. one boy was very ingenuitive and, when they ran out of bowls, put his cornflakes, milk and sugar cube into a tall glass. interesting, to say the least. to add to the depressing atmosphere, when steph asked the receptionist about the laundromat, he looked at her with dead eyes and said, "it's broken." after a long drag on his cigarette, he continued dejectedly with "everything's broken." steph was left to wonder if he meant his spirit as well.

so after the joys of Apple, we found ourselves at Hostel Týn, which was much better, and cheerier at that. We were in a dorm room with five beds, and it was interesting to see who came and went, and what stories they had to share.

The city, despite the tourists, was beautiful. The buildings and scenery was gorgeous, and just walking around made me happy. Sure, we got lost too many times to count, but as our Italian roommate put it, being lost in Prague is not a bad thing at all. you never know what you'll stumble across. One interesting side trip was the Kafka museum. Since Prague couldn't shut up about how Kafka lived and worked there, we finally gave in and went to this interesting, yet over-dramatic, tourist trap.

i went back and forth on what to do after Prague- to return with steph to munich and then to on to Bremen, or to continue on to Plzen. I finally decided to go ahead and go to Plzen, despite some trepidation of going into the unknown. I'm ridiculous- i intended for this trip to be an adventure, and yet i was scared of going out on my own. getting onto the train and leaving steph behind was hard, and i was preparing to sulk all the way to Plzen when someone asked me, "to je volno?" "what?" i asked. he repeated his question and i felt incredibly stupid- i know the phrase, but had gotten so used to everyone speaking english in prague that it took me a minute to register that he was asking if the seat across from me was free. "yeah- ano." i replied. switching to english, he asked where i was from, and thus began a conversation that lasted the duration of my trip to Plzen. it made me feel better in that self help sort of way-- "hey, i can make friends with strangers- i'm not a social pariah! huzzah!"

At the train station, i had some down time for planning, and also time to have some surreal experiences. first of all was when i finally gave in and went to the pay toilet, or WC. i was used to paying for public restrooms in germany, but when i payed my 6 Kč and was given two sheets of toilet paper, i didn't know what to think. As i wiped the shocked expression off my face (with some effort), i observed the bathroom attendent go back to carefully folding sheets of toilet paper and added to my list of worst possible jobs ever.

The Hlavní Nadráži- pardon my spelling- or main train station of Plzen was thoroughly depressing. My guidebook had said that stations in Plzen were works of art within themselves, and i considered selling its pages at the door of the WC. Not until later, when i walked out of the station, did i see it in all its glory. quite beautiful on the outside, but dingy and poorly maintained on the inside.

As i waited for seven o' clock to roll around (the time when my hosts would be home) on a wooden bench, i attempted to quell my jealousy of steph for returning home. I love traveling, and its been an amazing experience,but its stressful as hell when you're going from place to place, only stopping to stay for two days or so in each city. People make it look easy, but in my experience, there's always that nagging worry of orienting yourself and finding a place to sleep in each city. Of course, i'm high strung by nature, but it tends to be a common sentiment among backpackers. when ken told me that some people even lose hair due to the stress of traveling, i was incredulous. it's a vacation, right? yes and no. but no matter what, its certainly exciting. And maybe i'll get used to the hustle of this lifestlye; then again, maybe not. :P

Marie and her son, Honza, age 14, picked me up from the train station, and i was happy to leave. Marie walked very quickly, but would stop at random intervals to collect the correct english phrase. It reminds me of the novel Everything is Illuminated, when the Ukrainian translator picks up the main character at the station, apologizing with the phrase, "i am sorry, but my english is not so premium, yes?" but marie is extremely eager to learn english. she reminds me of Molly in that she loves nature, harmony, and balance in her life. when we began to swim in the pond by her house, she reassured me with the phrase, "is not dirty- very natural, yes?"

They settled me into a room upstairs and were very interested to hear about my travels. of course, things were stunted because we had a language barrier, so i had to speak slowly and sometimes clarify by translating it badly into czech. Marie stuffed me full of food, told me to call her Maruška (my introduction to the habit of czechs to give everything tons of nicknames), and introduced me to their small menagerie of animals. There was Bára, a dachound (sp) mix that was reminescent of the dog from when the grinch stole christmas, Miles, a big black dog always in search of love and food, and two lazy cats that were extremely sweet and friendly, seeking out laps and scratches behind the ears.

Honza took Miles and i for a walk, and whenever he got stumped on the correct english word, he opened up his czech-english dictionary with a flourish. "my best friend," he joked. i told him that i understood some czech, but he shook his head. "you are first person that i can practice english with." still, i felt bad, and tried talking to him in czech, finding many pitfalls within my vocabulary. "do not feel bad- you only take for one year. i take english for six." i felt a little better, and we spent the rest of the evening making miles fetch sticks.

The next day, Honza took me into town with him on the bus, and while he was at school, i explored the town square, the cathedral, the shops, and the museum of pilsner beer. I also wanted to explore another museum which supposedly had beautiful frescoes depicting the matrydom of saint Barbara - i believe that was the name- but on mondays the museum closes early. so i'll save my morbid catholic expedition for another day.

I also encountered the wonders of czech textiles. i had had to rush out the door that morning with my hair still wet, so i was desperate for a hairband. i went into the first drogerie i saw and searched their cheesy array for a plain black hairband...i bought it, even though it was overpriced, only to find later that what i took to be some kind of silly ornamentation was in fact hot glue. hot glue. yeah. but other than that my day went well. I met Honza back at his school around 2, and he and a friend took me to lunch- lunch being at the school cafeteria. and before you could enter, you had to drop off your bags and shoes and walk around in stocking feet, whihc i found rather intriguing. That's one glaring difference between Europe and America- in every single house i've been in here, they have me take off my shoes at the door and offer me slippers or sandals. i'm guessing they do it to keep the floors clean, rather than to make me walk around looking like an idiot. only time will tell.

Afterwards, honza wanted coffee, and his friend wrinkled his nose. He didn't speak much english, but i gathered that he didn't like coffee. It was interesting to see a teenager drinking tea delicately at a cafe, and i was marveling at the cultural differences when Honza broke the spell by calling him gay. "I'm not gay!" he cried, only he elongated the A so that it sounded like "gaaahhy". so, yes, pretty much the same as american kids.

The next day Marie took me to see her horse on a nearby ranch. Much like Petra, she loved to go out to see the horse and relax. Only she rode bareback, as it was "more natural, you know? not like cowboy." Only, her horse was pretty lazy and had to baited with bread. i was given a quick refresher on the verb "to go." "Phoebe, jdeme! (we go)...Phoebeeeee jdeme!" Marie would sigh, give in, and say to me, "give her some bread."

I got to ride the horse back down the hill, and it made me wish i had my own lazy czech horse and countryside- it's so nice to be in nature, listening to birds and the body language of the horse. Little Bára, or Báruška, ran on ahead, snuffling in the grass and daintily avoiding mud puddles.

After a swim in the pond, Marie showed me how to make strawberry knedliky, or dumplings, and i helped her with dinner. It was an early night, as the next day i planned to take an early bus to Mariánské Lázně, one of the many spa towns within the Czech Republic.

When i stepped off the bus, i double checked the name of the stop. Yes...It says Marianke Lazne....but it looks like a hell hole, not a spa town. I considered waiting at the stop for the bus back-or death- whichever came first. The communist era buildings that were staring at me with soulless eyes encouraged the latter of the two, but after all,i was on an adventure, so i began my hike. I followed some people from the bus, then followed the trail of hotels and pensions before finally coming upon some signs. I used my stellar czech skillz to deduce that i needed to follow the signs marked "centrum," and continued my long walk. Soon i found myself removed from buildings and concrete and instead was on a path that wound through serene, rolling fields. I walked along a babbling brook, half expecting some forest elves to come traipsing out from behind the trees as it was all too surreal- the mist on the field, no people in sight, and complete silence except for the occasional bird. Already feeling healthier due to my brisk walk and the pine scented air, i started searching for a cafe as the cool air was nice, but making me desperately crave coffee. i had a large breakfast of fresh bread, juice, and coffee- which included packets of butter and nutella. Ah, nutella. we meet again.

The rest of the day was spent taking pictures and exploring the shops, though most of them catered to rich, old Germans in search of crystal in the shape of animals, lace doilies, and leather wallets. an odd assortment. i also visited the beautiful church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and the Colonade (sp). I returned to Plzen at about 6, and discovered a new trick for when people bother me at bus stations. Usually they just want money and are trying to give me some sob story, but i just look perplexed and say, "sorry, nemluvím ceský (i don't speak czech)." my horrible accent proves it to them, and they frown and go away. Also, i think the big stick i wave at them drives them off as well. I'll just have to test out different methods.

That night, i learned some fun czech phrases from Marie. One of them basically translates to "i toot on you", and another to, "shut up." i told her that it wasn't completely foreign to me- i told her about how my mother calls the children in her class little farts, and she found that hilarious. i've picked up a lot of fun things from them, and will certianly miss them. this morning was our sad goodbye, and once again i was loathe to leave, but one must move on, correct?

I arrived in Ceský Krumlov at about noon, and i couldn't be happier. It's like Prague without the immense amount of tourists and tourist traps. Food and lodging is very reasonable, if not downright cheap, and my hostel is awesome. It has a lot of personality, is clean, and my dorm room is composed of six beds and Australian roommates. I've already explored the castle and the infamous "bear moat" (just like it sounds- a moat with some surly bears in it)and can't wait to see more of the city which is very charming...i might just stay here awhile and see what happens. and of course, take lots of pictures for you all. :)