Some photos

A quick recap of what I've been doing:
-Finished Czech Intensive, my professor was benevolent and awarded me an A-, something I definitely didn't deserve considering I was half-dead every class, but she liked me, what can I say, I'm a charming young man.
-Started classes (sort of). My Kafka to Kundera literature class was cancelled first week, so I had to read The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera) and The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka) for class today, which to my lack of luck, we didn't even discuss. At least I fnished both books, definitely recommend the former for anyone willing to get their mind tied into a knot. Last week, I started Literature of Central European Coffee Houses, which seems alright so far. My professor is a bit uneasy, but she's really intelligent and is making us read really good stuff. We read so far, "The World of Security" and "Eros Matitunus" by Stefan Zweig, the first essay was really depressing and strangely relevant. I have to go to a museum sometime this week to see an exhibition of a famous Czech architect, oh, what hard work I have sometimes...
My "mitteleuropa" class about Central European history is good too. My professor basically just lectured, with a heavy Franco-German accent, about the history of Poland, Hungary, and Czech Bohemia in about 2 hours, I have to give her credit. I know more about Central-Eastern Euro history now than I did in all of high school.

I also booked a trip to Amsterdam the weekend of April 17-21 (ahem), it's purely coincidental I'm going that weekend, it just so happens that the flight was cheap...

So I made a list of places I plan to travel to:
-Cracow, Poland
-Berlin, Germany
-Bratislava, Slovakia (no, they don't gouge out your eyes or torture you in the hostels...)
-Vienna, Austria (ha, I didn't realize it's called Wien in German/Czech, so I kept glossing over it to try to find "Vienna)
-Munich/Dresden, Germany
-Budapest, Hungary
-Brno, Český Krumlov, Czech Republic ( I think I prefer to just say Czech or Czech Republic, since calling it "the" Czech Republic sort of demotes the nation to a common noun, instead of calling it an actual place with history, not to mention Czech language doesn't utilize the word "the" often anyway...)

some target destinations are:
-Sofia, Bulgaria
-Belgrade, Serbia
-Sarajevo, Bosnia
-Besançon, France (to visit Colleen hopefully!)
-Croatia
-Greece
-Oslo/Bergen, Norway (actually I REALLY want to go here, but it's expensive to travel to/live, oh to see the Norwegian fjords...)

Anyway, so I don't really have many plans yet, but I really need to get booking soon. I think I'm also going to try couchsurfing.com to see if I could stay with people for free, which is both economical and spontaneous.

I also decided to post some pictures.
The pictures are some repeats, we had a few days of rare sunshine, which by the way makes the city look beautiful as opposed to the daily routine of clouds and rain.
The first picture is a view from my window when it snowed one morning. The pictures include the Charles Bridge, Josefov (The Jewish Quarter, or at least what remains of some of the oldest synagogues in the area), several streets and alley ways I thought looked interesting, a view of Hradčanská, where the Prague Castle is (thats the name of the metro stop to get off at the castle), in Malá Strana, near where I live. The area with people waiting is Malostranská, an important stop for trams and the metro. I think it's actually featured in a few Czech movies, and of course, the ubiquitous trams of Prague, the insides of which I'll snatch some photos of later (I dont want to look creepy taking pictures of the tram during rush hour when it's packed with exhausted commuters, tired students, and cranky old people). I ride the tram to that stop virtually every day, so I thought it would be relevant. The flag sculpture is (I'm assuming by looking at the dates) either a World War II memorial or a dedication to the First Czechoslovak Republic (which makes less sense since the First Republic began earlier following the end of the First World War).

A day in the life

Not really much has happened this week. The plague has been going around, almost everyone I know is or was sick (including myself), so I decided not to really go out. I am, however, almost done with czech intensive. It's a really hard to language to learn, and if I actually put the time into it, I could probably learn more. At least I know how to order a beer, dám si pivo, prosím?

I can't really complain that much though. Although it's long hours and I'm usually exhausted during class, we have done some interesting things for free. We visited, as I mentioned earlier, the Narodní Galerie (National Gallery), an english bookstore (I also found another one called The Globe, which is an American/expat hangout, still cool though), the Narodní Muzeum (I'll let you guess what that means), where they had an exhibit about the birth of Czechoslovakia, and the First Republic. There was an interesting placard that read that the modern republic is only as old as the first one before it was dismantled by the Nazis in 1939 (or 38, I forgot). I dont think Czech people like British, Russians, or Germans very much. We also watched a documentary about Vaclav Havel, but we never finished it. It was interesting though, it sort of reminded me about how Barack Obama managed to get elected. They showed a few scenes with Bill Clinton playing his sax at the Reduta, a jazz club underneath a famous cafe, Café Louvre.

I found a few cool cafes that I'll probably frequent once my classes start. I'm kind of nerdy and cliché so I'll wake up early and do my homework and read there. I found a few places that offer free wi-fi (surprisingly there are a lot of free wi-fi spots around the city), like Café Indigo. I still have to get used to the coffee. It's relatively cheap in a lot of cafes to be able to order cappucino, lattes, espressos, or other types of coffees like Turkish and Viennese, but one thing I still haven't found is "American" coffee, like Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks (though there is a Starbucks or two, they're really expensive though, like most fast food here). A good substitute that I found back home in New Paltz is Americano, it has a similar consistency and flavor to "regular" coffee, but it's stronger and generally smaller, but you treat it similarly with milk and sugar. I also like Turkish coffee, which is really dark, groggy, and strong, and has dark grounds sitting at the bottom, not unlike the way Japanese tea is prepared.

So I realize now that living in and visiting a city are two different things. When you visit, you're more likely to get a catch a quick instance of what life is like there. You dont spend time walking around as much, or "wasting time" getting lost and finding new places, since you dont have as a much time. You're always on foot and really only get the chance to see the landmarks a lot of times, but living in a city is different. Riding the tram everyday to class, walking the same streets as commuters, and going to local places has a different feeling to it. Although I still feel like an outsider, I do feel a lot different from tourists, even the European ones who can claim it's more "their" city than mine. I noticed a lot of people have already adapted to the czech mannerisms, like keeping your voice down in public, trying to order in and speak in czech, and small things like staying to the right on the escalator to allow people to stream past you if they're in a hurry, giving up your seat on the tram or metro for an older person (this is common in the States I guess, but I notice it more here, its almost instictive to do it).

I'm also glad I chose to study in Prague because of the cost of living. I live pretty nice here, and the cost of living is relatively low compared to other European countries like in Scandanavia, Spain, or Western Europe. I realize that any place that posts a menu in English is probably a rip-off, even if the food is good. I heard from some people that in August the exchange rate was around 13Kc to the $, but now with the financial crisis, it's around 21Kc to the dollar. Still, it's cheap to be here, but I can imagine is much harder for locals, especially outside of Prague, who aren't as wealthy as Americans and tourists. A side note, but related, the Czech Republic holds the presidency for the European Union this year, it should be an interesting year, too bad I can't read czech newspapers.

Ok, so soon I'll post more pictures, I finally charged my camera again. The sun has also been out more so I'll be able to take some nice shots of Prague

Adam

It's surprising that I manage to figure this blog out here, since the website is in czech.

Speaking of which, I started my Czech Intensive class last Monday. I thought Spanish was hard...you have no idea. It's hard enough just to read, let alone pronounce the words. Then its all downhill from there. Although I have to say, I think that all laziness put aside, I could learn a good deal of czech while I'm here. Right now though, I really dont have the drive to do that. Besides, even if I could manage to learn a lot, I wouldn't even be able to understand the response. I ordered a hamburger with sauerkraut the other day as a street stand, and I ordered the number 2 (dvě), and realized when the woman responded to me in czech, that was a mistake.

Although my class is 5 hours long starting at 930, after a half hour commute on the trams/metro, and I'm dead tired from the night before, it's not that bad. It's kind of like Spanish, I always liked taking it, and learning it, but I just hated going to class. My professor took us to the Národní Galerie (National Gallery) halfway through class. So it's no MoMA, and definitely not a Met, but it bears a resemblane to the Guggheim, both in shape and size. The different being that yo dont walk upwards in a spiral, the main galleries are outside of the rotunda, and it was kind of dirty, smelled and felt damp. The museum actually had a lot of good art work, except the modern art was a little bizarre and ridiculous at times. The one gallery I wanted to see, an exhibiton of Pablo Picasso's engravings, I forgot to make a round to. I think by the 4th floor, I was "art-ed" out.

That night I went to this club called Cross Club. It's an alternative scene, so there were guys in dreadlocks and girls with pink hair walking around. It's in a sketchy neighborhood, but there are other expats and Americans there as well. The entire club is decorated with old, used, tram parts. The walls, ceiling, stage, bar, handrails, you name it, are all pieces of computers, engines, and other parts.
Leaving is a journey after midnight, since the regular trams stop running, and the metro stops running altogether. Instead, you have to wait in about half-hour intervals or more to get your tram, and then it takes a long route since there are less available. It also picks up a lot of really drunk people going home after a long night, so it's kind of funny being on the late night tram. One way or another, I've bumped into other people from my program somehow going home at 5AM. I've also met other Americans too, like a girl from Brooklyn who is teaching English in Prague. It's kind of relieving sometimes to find other expats, like when I was in Tesco (a large super-store like Walmart), I wasnt sure which label was for what item on a shelf so I tried asking a woman, who was actually from Ontario.

Friday night, I left with some of my suitemates to go to a pub called "The Pub." There are a few in Prague like it, another popular one called The Beer Factory. Basically you sit yourself down (as you do in almost every restaurant I've been in) and there are 4 taps fixed to your table. You fill the beer yourself, and a computer registers how much beer your table has accumulated.

Last night, a few of us wanted to take an adventure and try authentic czech cuisine, so we took the tram in the opposite direction of the Center (what you call the main part of the city), and got off at a random stop. We went into a small restaurant spotted with locals coming home from work. It was interesting trying to speak to people who didn't know a word of English, but we ended up successful, so it was worth it. Plus, when you go closer towards the city, the prices are more expensive and less authentic. Afterwards, I went with two of my friends to check out a band that as playing in a nearby "club." We found the area it was in, it looked like a college campus, but it was apartments. There were two soccer teams playing a match (circa 11PM...) on a court in between the buildings. Under the buildings, there were small dive bars and each were called Bar 1, 2, 3, ect. We went to 007, but the band we went to see had played earlier than we thought so we caught the tail end of the show. oh well. Afterwards, a few of us went to another bar behind the dorm, A Proč Ne, and had some Pilsner there.

So right now I dont have a lot of time to go out that much, since I have to wake up early, I cant really go out late, and everyone kind of dies a little bit after class since it's so long and overdrawn, everyone takes a "siesta." Once I overcome my laziness, I'll update with pictures.

Praha

This is my first blog entry from Praha!

My flight left around 6:30 PM from JFK, British Airways. It was a really nice flight, but it was strange since we only had a couple hours of sleep and then the sun rose when we got to Heathrow. I've never been on an international flight, so it was a cool experience. They served a lot of alcohol, which I thought was just a myth but apparently now. The dinner was alright, but everything else was good. The flight to Prague was only 2 hours which surprised me, I thought both flights would be longer. Sparta Praha, one of the national Czech soccer teams was on the flight as well. Heathrow is a really nice airport, very clean and technologically enhanced. Ruzyne, the Prague airport, was a little older and dirtier, but it's all good.

It snowed lightly since I arrived, but it's cleared up. The weather is strange because it will be really cold during the day and feel comparatively warmer at night, maybe thats the beer.
I'm still trying to get used to the metric system.

Once we got closer to the city, driving up the winding, narrow streets it became more European. My dorm unfortunately is sort of an eyesore, its kind of bare and Communist-esque architecture. The Kolej, the dorm I live in, you're allowed to smoke on the first floor so the building, like many other buildings I've been in so far, reak of stale cigarettes.
I got into a suite with 10 other guys, some from Syracuse, Long Island, and even 2 guys from Vancouver.
There are people from all over here actually, like Boston, Miami, Omaha, Wyoming, Ohio, California.

My first day in Prague a few of us went to a pub to try out some Czech beer, Pilsner of course. I was excited to be honest since I've never really been anyhwere like Prague before, it sort of felt like going through Disney World or something, almost too real to be real, it seemed fake. The food is amazing here. I'm not much of a carnivore, and the the meals are really heavy. One night I ordered borsc and gulasc, thinking I needed and "appetizer" but really the borsc was enough. It's a soup dish with beats, beef and some other stuff I really forgot to be honest haha with sour cream in the middle. Gulasc is beef medallions with this really heavy gravy, bread dumplings which are amazing, and they put whipped cream. It's sort of like a stew, but not really, since you eat with with a fork and knife. Beer is extremely cheap of course about 10Kc for Staropramen, a very good beer, which is equivalent to $0.50. Now you can see why Europe has a lot of alcoholics.
There is beer almost everywhere. I dont see why Pilsner needs to advertise itself.

Our orientation for all the international programs was held the other day in a baroque cathedral, suitable considering about 70% of the country are atheists. What a difference from American universities. New Paltz puts up posters everywhere about drinking statistics and how bad drugs are for you, yet the vice-Dean was explicitly condoning drinking in his lecture. He actually said "you're in the wrong place if you dont drink." I haven't started classes yet, which I'm excited for. I dropped one class so I'll only be taking 4 now including my Czech intestive class, so I only have class 3 days a week, not complaining.

Transportation is cool here, but its lengthy and time consuming. I'm still getting used to it obviously, but the way it works is that there are trams above ground, the metro underground, and busses. All three intersect at some point throughout the city. The trams are old and creaky, but they get you places. They also try to run you over if you're crossing the street, like all other Czech drivers, they're terrible.
The metro on the other hand, is like NYC subway, but cleaner and nicer. The trains are slightly larger and the terminals just look cool. Mustek, one of the connecting terminals, is similar to Penn Station, but it has bakeries, clothing stores, and even things like body shops and grocery stores.

We had to go on mandatory trips, I chose to go to Plzn and Terezin. Plzn is where they brew Pilsner Urquell, so we visited a synagogue there first, one of the largest in the world. which was really exciting and cool. The architecture was neo-baroque and it was cooler for myself to be able to see a historical synagogue instead of a historical cathedral, which arguably matches them in architectural prestige. It was kind of sad though, they said the Jewish community in Plzn was down from about 2000 pre-Holocaust and Communist rule to only around 100 people today. They said Plzn was the only town liberated by Americans during WWII, so theres a monument thanking the US for liberation, and they have an annual liberation parade where people dress up as American soldiers haha.

Afterwards we toured the historical brewery where this woman showed us how they used to brew beer back in the day. We went to the modern brewery after that, which was awesome. They had one of the few beer vending machines in Czech Republic, which scans your passport to verify your age. We toured the cellars and went on a beer tasting, unpasteurized, unfiltered Pilsner. Delicious. I wasn't much of a beer drinker at home, but I haven't been without a beer since I've been here.

That's all I'm going to update for now. Theres a lot more I could talk about, but I could go on forever, when I see things that would be interesting to write about, I'll definitely add it. Right now, its overwhelming to try to put all these new things in a few paragraphs, but soon I'll figure out a way to do it.

Adam