Category: ‘Backpacking ’05’
We can pick up at my being dropped off by David and Margarrette. They leave me at the tram stop that I originally got off at when I arrived in Prague. About two seconds after saying goodbye to them, it finally hits me that I have no way to get into the building. Again, no phone, no key, and at 6 in the morning, they are all sure to be sound asleep. So, I went for a walk. I tried to find anything open besides sketchy looking strip clubs and all night gamblling bars… something told me I didn’t want to be hanging out with the kind of people that were that at 6 in the morning. So, I walked for a good hour, just in widening circles, until I finally passed a hotel that was setting up for breakfast. As chance would have it, it was open to the public for a mere 150 crowns, which is equivalent to about 6 dollars. All you can eat, sausage, eggs, granola, coffee…. you get the idea, I was a happy guy. I ate at least 4 breakfasts and then, filled with meat and caffeine, I headed back to Jaimie’s, figuring that there HAD to be a way in. So, I go back. I circle the building. I try to check out if there’s anywhere around back to hop a fence or a maintenance entrance or something but, of course not. So, as I’m rounding the corner back, a Czech Jahova’s witness hands me a booklet on how Jesus could help reduce the stress in my life. I figure I might as well camp out at Jaimie’s doorstep and contemplate being saved. I was asleep on the sidewalk inside of ten minutes. I woke up, strangely enough, when someone staying in the B&B opened the door and asked me, the strange american sleeping on the street, if I knew where the breakfast room was. I said no, but could he please hold the door. And, to my astonishment, he did, he let me into his building. So, after about 15 minutes of knocking on the door to room 22, a very groggy, hungover Chris comes to the door in his boxers and just laughs in amazement at the fact that I had made it home. I woke up Jaimie while I was trying to go to bed, and she denied me pillows or blankets for being an idiot. So, I slept in my clothes, using my bag as a pillow for three glorious hours. Then it was time to see the town.
We did the sights, Prague is amazingly beautiful, it’s more like what I imagine Paris to be like than anything I would have expected in Eastern Europe. Cobblestone streets curve around enormous Cathedrals dating back to who-knows-when, red roofs, aging stucco facades, street performers and artists and craftsmen. It was quaint and calm, and the weather was fantastic and we walked so far that when we got to the top of the hill on the other side of the city, we could barely see the radio tower which is by Jaimie’s place. I won’t bore anyone with all of the historical sites we passed, but by day’s end my mind was blown. I certainly had no idea that Prague was home to half of the destinations in which we found ourselves.
But, like any day for me, the highlight was going out to dinner. We found a traditional Czech resturaunt listed in one of the guides we were using and headed out past the national museum, a little out of the way from the tourist crowd and sat down to checkered table clothes and czech covers of american music playing. The owner was the only visible staff in the resturaunt and se he took all of our orders. The entire time we were there, since we didn’t speak Czech, he had to assist. He kept suggesting meat and beer for me (which I was very pleased about) but he would try to give Jaimie red wine and tiny meals. It went on like this, through each course, drinks, our entrees, even dessert. I think, by the end of our whole sloppy language ordeal he had become intrigued by the two americans in his resturaunt. And, as just about everyone else was leaving, he decided to try to talk to us. He knew about four english words, and Jaimie and I cumulatively could say, “good”, “thank you”, “beer, please” and “I don’t speak Czech”. So, you can imagine how this conversation went. Eventually, he decided to get his cell phone and call a friend who had lived in the US. Jaimie got the phone and we all began to have a conversation through our unseen friend. The owner was very interested in what we were doing in Prague, how we liked his resturaunt, and what we thought of the country. So, much so that he invited his friend to come down, closed up the resturaunt and invited Jaimie and I over to a larger table where we joined him, another man (We think a friend from a past job) and eventually, the english speaking friend. We were given, free cigarettes, free shots, free espresso, and until the friend arrived, we were communicating by writing and drawing on a pad of paper, pictionary style.
It was a great night. Our translator finally arrived, and cleared up a few misunderstandings, he also took it upon himself to tell us that his friend is loveable, but crazy. We already knew that, but as long as he kept us laughing and full of free coffee, I was fine. We stayed until after midnight, laughing and talking and signing and drawing before heading home. And, as we left, we were told that his resturaunt is always open for the two of us. My record stands, not a day in europe without making a friend.
The last day and a half in Prague was nice, but uneventful. I slept most of the next day, still recouping from the three hours the previous night (and finally being given a pillow and blanket, there was no waking me) I spent most of the rest of the day, reading in a park. That night Jaimie and I went out for a great dinner and then I took her to the spot that David and Margarrette had taken me, only this time for sunset. It was just as beautiful. Shortly after, we managed to find a beer garden in the park and sat outside on wooden picnic tables drinking beer with all of the locals, listenning to music and watching all of the dogs play.
I left Prague the next morning. Waking with Jaimie, Chris and Bob and packing as they left for work. On their way out their door, I was given direction to the train station…. walk until you hit a highway, turn left and walk until you hit a train station. Brilliant.
So, I stuffed everything into my pack and headed off into the sun. It took about twenty minutes to find one of the largest and most confusing train stations I’d ever been in. But, I needed to get to Germany, so I did the sensible thing. I walked to each and every window saying “Leipzig?” Eventually someone gave me a total and a ticket.
My trip to Leipzig was rather enjoyable, four hours of rolling german hills and prestine countryside. There was a short time where I had to share my car with a man from LA, it figures that the only two people I’ve met on this trip that I haven’t liked are from the US.
I got to Leipzig around 4 or 5 and called Pam. Her phone was off and I got her voicemail. I left the following message… “Hey, I’m in Germany. And, your phone is turned off. And…. umm… you can’t call me back because I’m on a pay phone. Umm… yeah, ok. I’ll talk to you later.” Then, I called her sister’s phone, thinking she could text pam for me to tell her where I’ll be. I got Jen’s voicemail as well, she got a message similar to Pam’s, only this time I was laughing hysterically. Well, I ended up getting a hold of her, and I was rescued from the train station. Germany hasn’t been filled with crazy stories yet, Pam and I went out for a great Italian (amazingly enough, that’s all they eat around here) dinner, and then bought some wine and hung out with her friends.
Today, I spent the day, just walking around, taking pictures and attempting to do a little shopping for my self and for souvenirs, but as I am back to a western european country, I can’t afford a thing.
Tonight, WE DANCE! Apparently, the students of the University of Leipzig spent nine years excavating medieval caverns so that they could put in a three floor dance club and bar. I can’t wait. I have to live it up, because today is my last day to do it. Tomorrow, i’ll be on a train to frankfurt all day and then flying into london to sleep in the airport so I don’t miss my 9am flight (who schedules these things so early) back home. And, eh, I don’t really want to think about that. As much as I miss everyone that I hope is reading this… I don’t miss you THAT bad. I want to stay.
But, maybe, after everyone has read about what a completely crazy and amazing time I’ve had in just, what, eleven days so far, you’ll make your own ways over here. If I have my way, you’ll have a free place to stay… my place.
Yes, they really sell T-shirts that say that. I’m in Prague, I’ve been here since saturday. Right now, I’m actually wasting time until I leave. It’s about 10 and I have a train to Dresden at 11:18. After a 1 hour layover and a short trip to LEipzig, I should be arriving on Pam’s doorstep around 3. Though, she has no idea I’m coming today, she won’t be finished class by 3 and I have no idea what station I’m being dropped off at or where in Leipzig her school is. I can’t wait for this one. The saving grace here, is that, unlike Jaimie, Pam has a cell phone. So, in the event that I don’t magically get dropped off within eyesight of my friend, I can at least find a payphone and urge her to come to my rescue.
I know I’ve lapsed a few days in my posting schedule, but internet access was a bit trickier while I was here. This is the first time I was staying somewhere other than a hostel, and the B&B I was crashing in didn’t offer any pay-as-you-go internet. Though there was a cafe on the ground floor that did, it was never available before 5pm and by that time I was binging on sausage and pivo(beer). But, in my hour of down time, I can try to re-cap:
I left Scotland saturday morning. I stayed in friday night to be sure to be up at 6 so I could pack and get to the airport by my 9am flight. So, I set my single beep Ipod alarm to 6am and wake to find that I am missing my journal, having left it in an internet cafe up the street the night before. The cafe will certainly not open before the 7:30 bus i have to catch to get to the airport by my checkin time. So, I mourn the loss of 12 months of private ramblings and continue packing. I finish, I check out of my hostel, I start walking toward the bus, and then realize that all of the information for my flight and the directions to finding Jaimie was scribbled in my little moleskine. So, I trucked it back to the hostel to use their internet, tracked down all of my flight info, recopied jaimies directions and left with a wallet full of business cards which I had used as a paper subsitute.
I made my flights, both of them. Easy Jet IS fantastic, cheap and I got the exit aisle each time, which meant I had six glorious feet of unused space directly in fornt of my and not one, but two windows to be glued to for my short flights.
I arrived in the czech republic around 4:30 and pulled out the first business card which told me the buses I would need to take in order to make it to zizkav ( the area of prague jaimie is staying in). I follow these directions and make it to the Lipanska exit, which should leave me right at jaimie’s door. It was at this point that I turned to the second business card to read the directions of how to find Jaimie. They told me to look for Cafe Lavazza, which is on the ground level of her building. Try to get into the building, her room is 22. The owner of the B&B is away on holiday, Jaimie has no cell phone, the room has no phone, there is no way of buzzing room 22 from the ground floor and Jaimie wasn’t sure what time I was getting in. AFter reading the directions I had copied down twice but never really absorbed, I began to laugh. Right in the middle of the square, almost dropping my bags, I laughed my head off at the fact that these were the directions I had flown across europe to follow. Once the laughter stopped I realized I needed to find Cafe Lavazza and just sit tight and wait for Jaimie to have a coffe craving. In a short matter of time, I foun the miniscule sign for this most sought after coffee shop and I planted myself behind a hot czech espresso. Jaimie found me and was then scolded because of her ridiculous directions.
Once we fouind eachother, we headed back to her room, I met the roomies and we went for dinner, I was introduced to czech cuisine, which consists mainly of huge peices of pork, garlic covered potatoes and enormous beers. After about half an hour I wondered if I didn’t have a small amount of czech blood, as every plate and glass within my reach was bone dry.
Full and happy, we decided to find a bar. Apparently, Jaimie lives in the czech equivalent of fishtown/northern liberties. Which meant tiny, chic-wanna-be bars that offer 60 cent beers, good music, and an atmosphere that no one over the age of 25 would dare step foot in. It was great. I walked in to find Elvis Costello blaring on the jukebox, small curved couches for seating, and beer glasses that it took to hands to carry. And, after a few rounds and a few horus of mery banter, it was here that I had my firs (and only) taste of Absinthe. Large glowing green shots, topped off with flaming sugar… it was a 140 proof goodness the whole way down.
Now full of pork, at least five different varieties of czech beer and enough Absinthe to make me wonder when Nicole Kidman was going to walk in and profess her love to me, I demanded we find a place to dance. Chris, Jaimie’s british room mate, (who love for being a 32 year old from manchester who has seen every band I wasn’t alive for and agreed that The Smiths are, in fact, the greatest band in the world) came through with a club that promised 4 bars and dancing until 4. Upon arrival we realized that each of the four bars was about as big as my kitchen in fishtown, but there was music, and regardless of their size, there were, in fact, four bars. So, I of course wasted no time ordering up my old stand-by vodka tonic and planted myself in the middle of the dance floor. And, unlike any of the people in the bars I had been in this week, these people finally knew what it was to shake your money maker.
Fast forward about 3 hours, several shots and at least twice as many vodka tonics, and I was announcing to Jaimie that I would see her in the morning, as I was leaving with my new Czech friends, David and Margarette ( pronounces marketta). Seeing nothing wrong with this and being utterly intrigued by the boy from tennessee, Jaimie said she’d see me later. So, off I go with my new friends to a bar that is open until 5am. We decide to walk instead of taking a taxi, and I got miles of good conversation out of that decision. David spoke english better than a good portion of my professors at temple, and Margarette, being slightly less fluent and much less confident in her english, spoke through David. We were walking long enough to discuss the differences we felt were apparent between being American and being Czech, I was also given a small glimpse into their personal histories. We made it to the bar, and spent the rest of the night, drinking and laughing, and talking. Over the course of the night, I discovered that Margarette was fighting with her boyfriend and decided that I was a candidate for a temporary substitute, she told David to tell me I am pretty, and not at all what she expects an American to look like, that is, not at all fat and ugly like she thought we all were. I was given a few small tokens of her esteem, including her scarf and one or two ice cubes which she felt would be passed easier with her teeth. Finding all of this hilarious, I told David to tell her that I also found her very pretty and just sat around and laughed to myself and smiled a lot and watched the two of them having a conversation I didn’t understand. David then proceeded to tease me, saying that european girls must be too fast for me. they must.
The night wrapped up with us leaving the bar at 5:30, walking directly into early morning. As we started walking David asked if I would like to watch the sun rise over prague from the best view in the city, of course I did, se we raced to the top peak of a nearby public park just in time to catch the second half of my first czech sunrise. He was right, it was beautiful. And, luckily, David had worked as a tour guide of Prague in his younger days, and took it upon himself to point out all of the important sights that were visible from that peak. And, around this time, Margarette felt a little bit braver in attempting to speak English and managed to come out with, ” It is here, that I am Czech” in an attempt to explain to me, that this is her place in the city, where she is filled with pride for her place in the world. I felt honored for having been made a part of this early morning ritual.
…..Part I of Brad’s Adventures in Prague have come to a close, but will be continued in a second installment. What will happen to our hero? Will he make it home? Will he decide to stay with his new friends? Or will he end up sleeping on the sidewalk in front of Jaimie’s building waiting for someone to open the door soe he can sneak in…. it’s a nail biter, I know. So, tune in next time!
I never would have guessed it, but Scotland has stolen my heart. I gave it the shortest timeslot in my travels and I am paying the price. I have barely slept since I got here yesterday, I’ve walked through as much of the city as my poor aching lower half could handle, I’ve met people, seen the sites, hit pubs and clubs, and I ate a sandwhich bigger than my head… and still I have not slated my hunger for this country. No matter where I turn in Edinburgh I stumble onto views that are each more beautiful than the last. I planned on going to galleries and hitting multiple sights today, but I ended up spending the majority of my day at Edinburgh castle. Visiting this structure was like a day trip to another city. I was uber-tourist extraordinare, toting my journal, travel guide, camera, back pack and audio-guide headset. I wandered through a castle that has been in existence since long before our country was even a concept.
I think that’s the thing about this country. I can’t explain why I love it so much without sounding like a travel brochure, but Edinburgh has an heir of magik(yes M-A-G-I-K) to it. Walking though the streets, I wouldn’t be shocked to spot a dragon perched atop one of the gothic spires, or see invaders cresting Arthur’s Seat. There is a timeless quality about it, not timeless as in eternal, but timeless in the sense that I feel like I’ve absorbed thousands of years of culture inside a day and a half. The city has history that predated the written word, and it exists parrallel to internet cafes and new media installations. It’s difficult to describe, but it’s like while the rest of the world has been erasing it’s history to replace it with the new, Edinburgh hasn’t let go of a thing, but has just rearranged and made space for the new, piling it ontop of the ancient. I feel like I’m stuck in an episode of Gargoyles, but I think finding a castle full of gargoyles that come alive at night on top the NYPD HQ would actually be a less jarring experience than visiting this city.
Also, I’m beginning to think that what little sense of boundary and propriety I’ve had before has been completely erased by this trip. Last night, I found myself heading out into the center of the city on foot at midnight in search of fun. This was really the first time I hadn’t had a friend with me. In London I had Jaimie, in Dublin I made friends on the boat and came to the hostile as a threesome. We spent the day together before heading out at night. In Edinburgh I met my room mate for about 30 seconds before heading out with him and then ditched him when he wasn’t that much fun to go make my own. I got balls I never knew I had. But, what actually amazes me is that going out into the city at night alone, I managed to make a friend. A lawyer ( i seem to befriend a lot of them in the UK) from brussels, this time, spending six months in scotland doing a comparative study of the legal systems. Not that I’m trying to worry anyone (mom, dad) that I’m being too brash and taking too many risks, ( I left a trail of bread crumbs from the hostile to the bar so I could find my way back ) but, the trip has given me a huge boost to my confidence. It’s the most alone I’ve ever been, even if it has only been for a few days, but the experience of arriving somewhere not knowing anyone, having no phone, no transportation, and no place to stay, is a surprisingly positive one. Also, I’ve had such a different experience of europe on my own than I had when I went with a group. The past week has been like watching what I want my life to be like. When I get home, I’m busting out the college guide and applying to every grad school in western europe.
Oh yeah, back to the real world ( Try as I might, it won’t leave me alone) MOMA has received my application, I will be notified if I am one of the special people to be granted an interview. Artifact Pictures still wants to interview me even though I set one up and then left the country. My back up, Spring Board, (… i know i know..) is also interested in an interview. And, I forgot, but I should here from the Interaction Design Institute at Ivrea soon about interviewing for a summer program. I had all but forgotten about this until I read about the school in my rhizome update this week. Having just assumed I had very little chance of being selected for the program, I didn’t exactly plan for it. And, now that I think about it, if i got in, I wouldn’t be able to turn it down, but I’d also be totally out of money to pay for it. haha. oh no. well, I’ll worry about it if i get in. It’s the same thing with MOMA, I can’t imagine how I’d be able to get a place in NY for sept. if I got it. But these are problems I can only hope I’m faced with in the near future. They’re better than wondering how I’m going to support my extravagantly imagined lifestyle working part time at spring board media. So, if you have some spare time, cross your fingers that I’ll be flipping out trying to find a flight to Italy for July while simultaneously searching for apartments in the Village for September, instead of applying for multiple part-time jobs all over philly to compensate the Temple gig which still isn’t even definite, to support my current less-than-extravagant real life at home. Well, i need some Edinburgh air. Back to enjoying my unbelievably-extravagant-yet-oh-so-temporary vacation!
I’ll be in Prague by 4:30 tomorrow.
Well, who knew, besides Nicole, that Scotland is AMAZING!!! It’s absolutely beautiful here, the best weather I’ve had, amazingly friendly people, and the most unbeleivable city I’ve ever been in. There are mountains and volcanoes rising up from the middle of the city! Yesterday, I was very tired, so I just walked through the city aimlessly, stopped in a park and read, stopped in a cafe and just lingered for at least an hour and a half, people watching and talking to the owners and reading. I walked so far that I got completely lost and by the time I got back to my hostel I thought my feet would be bleeding through my shoes. I set out to look through all of the papers I picked up along the way to decide what to do that night, but of course, I fell asleep. Some time after that, my room mate came back, already pissed (drunk) and yelling at me for sleeping. ‘There’s Karoake to do!!’ So, in about ten minutes I was in a bar across the street with half of my hostile, drinking lage for £1 and signing up for karoake. As friendly as all of them were though, it’s was a little too college for me. I’m all about karaoke, but you can only take so many drunk scottish kids singing bon jovi and bryan adams. So, I bailed early, and found a bar that was playing electro-funk, punk, and glam rock. Much more my scene, though, sadly, it was a mere pub and closed at 11. So, I headed off deeper into the city in search of DJ with the skill to make me shake my ass until dawn. What, I found next was a small but nice bar, full of friendly people that all seemed to know eachother, but again, this was a pub and now closed at midnight. Frustrated, I finished my one drink and left. But, watched a stream of people going directly to a bar next store. So, I followed them.
I finally found the only place in Scotland where people knew how to dance. Two floors of people, packed in so tight, there was barely room to dance, but the DJ was spinning a hot set and the drinks were cheap and it’s 9 in the morning and I’m very tired and ready for bed. ha! I have to shower and be ready for a walking tour at ten, and then there are two art galleries with exhibits of interactive art (which is everywhere I’ve been in europe so far) that I want to see, and a camera obscura that’s something like 400 years old that I feel I need to see. Tonight: 2many DJ’s is performing up the street from my hostel. The question is not, how hot, it is how much hotter could it get. The answer? None. None more hot.