Save the Date: TBD

I would like to call my first week in Prague my “Week of Firsts.” Not to say I’ve done everything I possibly could do in Prague and am an absolute seasoned Prahan who can now seemingly navigate the city without a flaw, I’m just saying this week had firsts up the whazoo. I'm sure I'll experience many more firsts during the next four months but here are a few from my first week…

First visit to Prague Castle

Oop, and second and third. That’s right, I went to Prague Castle three times this week. Despite the weather being freezing and miserable each and every time, the beauty of the Prague Castle and the views from the hill were more than worth it (every time I went I would think, “Well, maybe this time it will be sunny and pleasant!” FALSE. It is cold here. Although I am a cold-weathered gal from ‘da nort’woods up der,’ Prague cold is different. It is damp and horrible. And that is how I justify my complaining).

St. Vitus Cathedral

An upside to visiting the Prague Castle three times this week, other than taking in the beauty of a 10^th century masterpiece of course, is that I had plenty of time to plan my wedding.

The blushing bride checking out the ceremony location.

I’d then have a cocktail hour at a vineyard located on the grounds.

A glass of wine and this view? Priceless.

And then the reception would be in the courtyard. 

Plenty of dancing space and the fountain would be spouting chocolate...

Done and done. My wedding is planned. I can already see my father reading this and saying, “Say Maarja, aren’t you forgetting something? As in a groom?” Right. That’s a minor detail at this point. Unfortunately, there are no Prague princes- believe me I asked. They banned all royal titles in 1918. So a Czech prince isn’t an option for me. Eh, I’ll figure it out later.

 First trip to a Czech grocery store

Like Walgreens or CVS in the states, there is an Albert on every corner in Prague. And many of them are in the metro stops- how convenient, right? They are probably the most popular grocery store and although there are many cute and inviting fruit stands, I need to take baby steps when it comes to buying food in a foreign language. So I’m sticking to Albert for now.

My Czech buddy graciously took me to Albert for the first time and thank goodness she did. If it hadn’t been for her I would have left the store with only carrots and raisins. They were the only two things I could pick out on my own without translation.

Food is not only labeled with names far beyond any recognition, they are also packaged differently and under different brands. It’s almost like a guessing game. But a cheap guessing game. My first trip was under 20 US dollars and in the states I probably would have paid $35.  So although I might not always know what food I’m buying, at least it is relatively inexpensive.

First trip to a Czech gym

I decided it was time to work off the rich beer and high fat ham and potatoes that the Czech seem to love so much. The gym is a block from my flat and surprisingly well equipped. I had sort of figured that, like the French, the Czech didn’t work out and were annoyingly naturally thin. But the gym was very similar to an American gym- Zumba included, as in nearly five sessions a day. Apparently the Czech love to Zumba, and so do I. We are a match made in heaven.

First trip to a Czech music bar

80’s and 90’s music played until 5am. Enough said.

First trip on a Czech metro

I have maybe spent more time on the metro than asleep during my first busy week. The metro is very clean, as well as efficient, but most of all it is quiet. Almost eerily quiet. Except of course when obnoxious Americans are riding. One of my teachers asked us the other day, “So why exactly does your culture insist on being so loud all the time?” It’s true. In general, the Czechs are very quiet and you can immediately tell a group of Americans even before you recognize the language. I have learned to blend in on the metro by sitting quietly, looking rather bored, and not smiling- ever.

Not your average NYC subway.

First Czech flat

I feel so posh using the word “flat.” I’m fully becoming an European and loving every minute of it.

My street. Notice how the cars are parked up on the sidewalk? I don't get it either.

Our flat is located on top of an Italian restaurant (dangerous, I know) and is not even a block from the nearest metro and tram stops. Across the street is also a huge shopping mall (dangerous as well, I know). Our building is 100 years old but our specific flat is nicely renovated with a brand new kitchen and bathroom- we even have a dishwasher!

The kitchen and dining area.

Hellooooooo bubble baths!

It's been a busy week. Don't judge my messiness.

The living room.

First (and last) week of intensive Czech

I think I have made large strides towards fluency during my 20 hours of intensive Czech this week- meaning I can now successfully tell you my name, where I’m from, what I do, and little bits and pieces of my family. That’s all you need, right? Oh, and I know how to order beer. Velké pivo, prosím- A big beer, please. I’m sure my mother would be proud. Or if anything, at least my big brother would be.

Here are a few other essential phrases:

Nerozumím český.- I don’t understand Czech

Na zdraví!-  Cheers!

Both necessary phrases. But I cling to Nerozumím český like no one’s business. It is my life support.

Tomorrow, we finally start classes and I have a quiz in Czech so I better get to studying. I don’t think my teacher would be pleased if I wrote Nerozumím český for every answer…

Čau!

Maarja

Vítejte v Praze!

So I made it. After months of anticipation, days of packing, and hours of traveling, I made it. I’m in Prague -in one piece even! But more importantly with both my checked bags. I realized as I was going through security once again with an impractically-packed carry-on that if my checked baggage was lost or delayed for any reason, I would have an assortment of shoes to choose from but no clothes, no tooth brush, no underwear. Man, am I good or what?

Also, now that I have seen the cobblestone streets of Prague, I’m quite happy I left my rollerblades home.

But let me say it one more time- I’M IN PRAGUE! It’s beautiful and amazing and gorgeous and did I mention beautiful? Every piece of architecture here would be considered a historic landmark in the states. Even the shabbiest looking establishments that house one of the gazillion Thai massage joints or pizza pubs here in Prague would be beautiful by American standards. Despite barely seeing the sun since I arrived, Prague is still the most beautiful city I have seen. I can’t imagine what it will look like come spring time- luckily I’ll be able to compare. 

A typical cobblestone street in Prague.

Looking continually around me at the architecture and sights, I have sort of forgotten to look at street names or get my directional bearings. Thankfully, my program has organized a  “Czech buddy” for all the student flats. They live with us as well as take classes with us. My buddy, Danka, has so far led, and I have diligently followed.

It was really quite a good system. At least it was until they let us off the leash yesterday and sent us on a eight hour scavenger hunt across the city- sans Czech buddies. We showed up to orientation at 10am and they promptly put us in 12 groups of six students, handed us a list of things we needed to locate or document, and gave us an address for us all to meet up at for dinner at 6pm. We were turned loose for the first time since we arrived and the sheer chaos that ensued quickly turned into an adventure.

 Here are a few pictures from the hunt:

The Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square. On the hour every hour terrifying wooden figurines of the 12 Apostles dance in front of the two windows at the top of the clock.

We climbed to the top of the clock tower for a 360 degree view of Prague- orange shingles as far as the eye could see!

Old Town Square- back in the day half of the square was a chicken market, and the other half you may ask? An execution podium. Obviously.

Charles Bridge with the Prague Castle in the background.

Look, sunshine does exist in Prague!

My scavenger hunt-ing group on Charles Bridge.

I kind-of-sort-of-maybe-a-little-bit-might-sometimes know where I am going now that I traversed high and low across the cobblestoned city. And to prove it, after the scavenger hunt I led a group of about 15 of us students to an American bar on the other side of the city to watch the Packers game. I did my research the night before and emailed bars asking whether they would be screening the game, just like any good Packer fan would do. GO PACK GO! 

Projected Packer game in Prague- no big deal. I met three fellow badgers and we bonded over everything Wisconsin including beer, cheese, and the cold.

While this weekend was an introduction to the city, history, and public transportation of Prague, today was my first introduction to the Czech language. We had our first of five days of intensive Czech and it was maybe one of the scarier and intimidating experiences of my life. I’m excited for the challenge of learning the language but intimidated by the Czech’s minimal use of vowels. It’s almost as if they're optional. Take a look at this example my teacher, Zdenka, gave to the class: 

Strč prst skrz krk.
Stick a finger through your throat.

Mmk, so obviously not a sentence I will be using regularly, but really?! Vowels seem to be sparse and for a girl that has three “a”s in her first name, I have a hard time comprehending how these words make sense.

Yikes! But despite being absolutely intimidated by the language I’m very excited to tackle its difficulty- at least that is the pep talk I have been giving myself. And hopefully I’ll soon be able take a few steps away from the American tourist stereotype…hopefully.

All in all, I’m in awe of Prague. Perhaps some of the awe can be attributed to jetlag or sheer terror of the Czech language but I foresee these next four months to be incredible. I have already learned so much about myself and this beautiful city and it’s only been four days. What will the next four months bring? I’m not quite sure yet, but I can’t wait to find out!

I leave you with a tongue twister that my Czech teacher began the class with. I could have sworn she was speaking gibberish and really for all of us Czech-newbies know, she could have been…

Třistatřicetři stříbrných stříkaček stříkalo přez třistatřicet tři stříbrných střech.
Three hundred and thirty three silver fire-engines were spraying over three hundred and thirty three silver roofs.

How they do it, I don’t know.

Cheers and Na Shledanou,

Maarja

'blades vs. practicality

Packing stresses me out. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT I WANT TO WEAR/NEED TO WEAR FOR THE NEXT FOUR MONTHS OF MY LIFE?

I hate it. I also realized another one of my oddities as I was pondering packing. I feel bad leaving certain garments behind, as if I’m hurting their feelings by not choosing them to come along on my adventure. Crazy? Perhaps.

My mother told me today to pack things that are “practical.” God has blessed me with many gifts, but practicality is not one of them. I scoffed at my mom when she told me that- me practical? Absolutely not. I asked her if she expected me to wear white Nike’s, mom jeans, and ‘Merica tshirts the whole time…..

This conversation of practicality led me to my precious ‘blades (that is rollerblades to those of you who are unaware of the recent “Blade or Die” movement taking place across the country).

This past summer I recently took up ‘blading again after a near 10 year hiatus. I found them in the basement and they were two sizes too big- no big deal. I put on two pairs of wool socks and joyfully cruised the back roads of northern Wisconsin by myself. It was sheer bliss.

So I got to thinking- maybe I can bring my ‘blades to Prague!

My blades weigh a little over eight pounds (yes, I weighed them) - surprisingly the same weight of the newborn version of me. A sign? I think so.

Although they take up as much space as a wee babe (something I will not be taking to Prague), their weight is also equivalent to one toothbrush, seven pairs of undies, one rain coat and a pair of practical white Nike’s (things I should be taking to Prague). One would maybe consider all these things legitimate necessities and while ‘blades may be thought of as a “lesser” necessity (but a necessity nonetheless), they might just need to sit this adventure out. I’ll make it up to them when I come home.

Plus, there is snow in Prague. I couldn’t blade anyway. 

But don’t think I haven’t gone to great lengths for my ‘blades before. My family and I recently went on a vacation to San Diego where we rented a beach house on Mission Beach. I had miles of beach boardwalk at my fingertips! So I brought my ‘blades. Obviously.

My mom and I packed together so I could put my ‘blades in my carry-on (at this point I should probably clarify that at security checkpoint I was sure to refer to my ‘blades as rollerblades so as to avoid any miscommunication and an unwanted 3-day terrorist interrogation by TSA agents)

I had a little extra space in my carry-on so I decided to pack a few things along with my ‘blades, such as all of my underwear.

So there I am going through security at the airport, waiting in line holding my boots and frantically trying to delayer with all the other travelers with similar rolling carry-ons. Unbeknownst to the others with “practically” packed carry-ons, my suitcase held rollerblades and undies. That’s it.

Right, I get it. Practicality isn’t my thing. But now that I have come to terms with the fact that my ‘blades are staying in Wisconsin, I can move on to what shoes to bring…. Pray for me as I begin my packing journey. 

Maarja