Of course. This place has become my home in the last few months. And while I miss the US a lot nowadays, it's hard to stay homesick when you've got such a beautiful country around. And Prague's a city that changes every time I go there. It's like the stairs in Harry Potter.
It's quite beautiful at night, especially the Mala Strana and Charles Bridge areas. And the castle. And Old Town Square. And even the hidden places. Really, the city just has a great charm.
Shortly after returning, I ended up wandering in Prague. It's such a lovely city. A few things had changed since I last went there. Specifically, they put this up in front of the Rudolfinum:
Also, they took the beer ad down from behind Charles IV.
I'm sad to see the Pilsner ad go, but I did find it to be an extremely random place for that.
Also, I found another random spot that amazes me with its historical context. Franz Kafka, famous writer of The Metamorphosis, The Trial, and tons of other stories and novels is a Prague native (which is quite common knowledge and he's unavoidable in the city). He considered himself an Austrian Jew, because this was before Czechoslovakia. What I hadn't realized was that he hung out with another Austrian Jew that taught in Prague for a year:
Also, I found another random spot that amazes me with its historical context. Franz Kafka, famous writer of The Metamorphosis, The Trial, and tons of other stories and novels is a Prague native (which is quite common knowledge and he's unavoidable in the city). He considered himself an Austrian Jew, because this was before Czechoslovakia. What I hadn't realized was that he hung out with another Austrian Jew that taught in Prague for a year:
You know, Einstein.
So, since I hadn't read any Kafka ever, I bought his complete stories. I've read a few since then, and they were quite good. Especially The Metamorphosis.
So, since I hadn't read any Kafka ever, I bought his complete stories. I've read a few since then, and they were quite good. Especially The Metamorphosis.
I also went to his museum, which is just as much about Prague as it is about him. It's wonderful, and it's one of the things I recommend to do in the city if you ever get a chance. It gives you a real sense of what's going on in his head.
But yeah, Prague's as great as ever. And school's up and running for me. I'm working on my semester project, which should be fun and challenging.
So over the weekend I ventured out of the Czech Republic to Bratislava, Slovakia. While the Czech Republic and Slovakia were once Czechoslovakia, they've been separate for almost twenty years (1993). Bratislava, the young capital, has not been treated kindly in movies (Hostel, Eurotrip). This is a shame, because it was a very nice city.
But yeah, Prague's as great as ever. And school's up and running for me. I'm working on my semester project, which should be fun and challenging.
So over the weekend I ventured out of the Czech Republic to Bratislava, Slovakia. While the Czech Republic and Slovakia were once Czechoslovakia, they've been separate for almost twenty years (1993). Bratislava, the young capital, has not been treated kindly in movies (Hostel, Eurotrip). This is a shame, because it was a very nice city.
The weather was like that the entire time, but it wasn't unbearable. They recently adopted the euro, but things weren't as expensive as other euro countries. I stayed for two nights, enjoying the random quirkiness of the city. It's very understated, kind of quaint.
One of the first spots I went to was the Bratislava Castle, near the Danube river. I've been to two other cities on the Danube (Vienna and Budapest), and it's interesting to see what kinds of places pop up on this long river. The castle itself is under renovation until 2011, but the grounds around it were free to explore, and it's got the best view of the city.
Yes, that's a UFO.
Yes, that's a UFO.
After that, I walked to the bus stop and went 10 km outside of the city, to the Devin Castle. This place was quite excellent.
It dates back to Roman times, was built up to prevent Turkish invasion, went through a few families (including the notorious Bathory family), and was eventually destroyed by Napoleon. Now, it's a beautiful ruin of a castle. It's very different from most castles, at least for me.
It dates back to Roman times, was built up to prevent Turkish invasion, went through a few families (including the notorious Bathory family), and was eventually destroyed by Napoleon. Now, it's a beautiful ruin of a castle. It's very different from most castles, at least for me.
This was an old Christian church that dates back to the 400s at the castle. I know it's not much, but it was kind of cool.
Yeah, it was pretty empty.
Yeah, it was pretty empty.
The castle grounds were empty, and the north tower (which has a museum) was closed for renovations (go figure), but for 1.30 euro (plus .70 euro to get there) , it's still a good deal. Plus, there's the view of the Danube and Morava rivers meeting.
It's kind of hard to see, but there are two rivers there.
Also, I got an Aussie to take this picture for me:
(I won't even say what I'm thinking)
So yeah, I wandered back to Bratislava and went looking for statues.
I found some. And then I found some more.
Yes, Bratislava's full of great (and random) statues and monuments. This isn't even close to all of them, but these were my favorites. And a lot of them were just there without explanation.
The city's quirkiness and calm state made it a nice little getaway city. It's very close to Vienna, and it's not far from Prague or Budapest, but it's a distinctive place. I'd go back in a heartbeat.
Also, I feel that I should give a shout out to two things back in WV that are completely unrelated to me other than that I know the people involved. My friend Eric does an online comic called Rantin' & Raven that's very cool. You should check it out at http://rantingraven-guero.tk. Also, my friend Angelo has put together a zine in Huntington called Monster Clutter (http://www.monsterclutter.com) that covers just about everything under the sun. And it involves monsters, so that's always a plus.
Until next time, Ciao.
It's kind of hard to see, but there are two rivers there.
Also, I got an Aussie to take this picture for me:
(I won't even say what I'm thinking)
So yeah, I wandered back to Bratislava and went looking for statues.
I found some. And then I found some more.
Yes, Bratislava's full of great (and random) statues and monuments. This isn't even close to all of them, but these were my favorites. And a lot of them were just there without explanation.
The city's quirkiness and calm state made it a nice little getaway city. It's very close to Vienna, and it's not far from Prague or Budapest, but it's a distinctive place. I'd go back in a heartbeat.
Also, I feel that I should give a shout out to two things back in WV that are completely unrelated to me other than that I know the people involved. My friend Eric does an online comic called Rantin' & Raven that's very cool. You should check it out at http://rantingraven-guero.tk. Also, my friend Angelo has put together a zine in Huntington called Monster Clutter (http://www.monsterclutter.com) that covers just about everything under the sun. And it involves monsters, so that's always a plus.
Until next time, Ciao.
