Prague was the beautiful old city full of magnificent architecture that you would expect. I toured the castle, which came to life for me much more easily having read Ken Follet's novels about 13th century life in cathedrals/castles. The cathedral there is both the oldest and newest in Prague. It was started in the 900s and was not finished until the early 1900s. I also toured the city where the guide spouted all sorts of fun facts at top speed. The two things I remember: Hugo Boss and BMW employed slave labor by the Jews during WWII, and Hugo Boss designed the nazi uniform. Ironically enough, there is a giant Hugo Boss store in the middle of the Jewish quarter (among stores like Gucci, Prada, and the other really expensive brands I don't even bother to know). The other thing is that the Czech people have a fascinating, tragic history that leaves many without a solid sense of country identity. For example, my tour guide's mother in law has lived in 9 different countries during her 90 some years of life. She has never moved! Wow! Talk about disruption!
In Prague I had my first official couch surfing experience (couch surfing being a network of people who offer couches in their home for travelers coming through to see life with a local). It was a mediocre start. Now, I am a shy person, but I learned through my somewhat emotionally difficult semester abroad that you need to push past that shyness to truly see, learn and enjoy another culture. However, one shy person can only carry a conversation so far. I tried starting many conversations with my host, but I could only ever manage short answers. She was always smiling, but she never drew out her answer or tried to carry the conversation further. True english was not her first language, I sympathize with her in her possible discomfort, but I could only do so much. In the end I was in bed by 9:00 both nights.
My struggles were not limited to conversation with my host. I was also defeated by her Ikea shower. It was electronic, controlled by a touch screen and a number of confusing dials. It took about 5 minutes to even turn the shower on, but I managed. Very quickly it started to get hot. As it continued to get hotter by the minute I lathered up with shampoo and body wash. By the time I was ready to rinse I could barely get under the water. I figured out how to switch the language to English, but there was still no clear way to turn down the temperature. In the end I splashed enough soap off of my body to exit the shower, but could not stand to scald my scalp. Scorched and defeated I rinsed my head in the sink. Damn you Ikea!
And finally, Prague defeated me financially. I carefully calculated how much money to take out at the ATM to buy a beer and a bus ticket to Vienna. But alas, my math skills have gone down hill since the 8th grade and it turns out I carefully miscalculated by about 20 cents. It was not a huge loss, I just had to use my credit card instead of cash, but the Czech Republic is not on the Euro, so now I had essentially $25 that would have to be spent in the next hour. There could be worse dilemmas, but still, an austerity travel plan is not forgiving to these little mishaps. In the end I bought a bunch of groceries so my spending was not frivolous. Now I just have to carry all this extra weight from place to place. I am happily in Vienna and back on the Euro...for a few days.
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