It
is officially COLD! It seems to have happened over-night, but the weather has
dropped and I have a lingering sense that snow will soon begin to fall. I can’t
wait! Dani told me that if I wake up to snow outside, I have permission to jump
on her bed and wake her so that we can run outside, play in the snow, and then
make hot chocolate. Nice to know that us two LA girls are still 6-year-olds on
Christmas at heart. Abby, who is from Hawaii, but goes to Colgate (in upstate
New York), is used to the snow and would rather sleep than be woken up by our
giddy selves upon the first snowfall, so we’ll just get her a hot cocoa to go
and reheat it when she wakes up, I guess…
Tuesday,
November 12
My
art history class studied art and architecture during the Communism period this
week, so it only seemed appropriate to visit the Museum of Communism with our
class. The museum had multiple displays about what different settings (e.g. a
shop, a home, etc.) looked like in the Communist era. A giant statue of Lenin
used to preside over Prague, but after his death, it was torn down and replaced
by a metronome installation. I posted a photo of the metronome a few weeks ago,
but I’ll post it again so that you can see what the space used to look like
compared to what it looks like now.
The metronome (left) has now replaced the Lenin statue (right)
Two
of my friends and I decided to make a beautiful fall-inspired dish for dinner
tonight. Ask anyone who has known me since childhood, and they will attest to
the fact that I LOVE beets. Call me weird or crazy, but they are delicious,
packed with anti-oxidants and just a perfect addition to almost any dish (beets
+ goat cheese + any candied/toasted nut=PERFECTION), so for the sake of all of
our mutual love of beets and root vegetables in general, we made a root
vegetable hash and salad. I don’t ordinarily post food pictures, but this one
turned out particularly beautifully, so I thought I’d share.
After
dinner, James, Dani and I decided to venture up the Prague Castle. We’d heard
that it’s even more beautiful at night than it is during the day, so we decided
to make the trek up there, because it would only get colder. We were the only
visitors because it was so late, and being at the castle, with the beautifully
lit St. Vitus’ Cathedral as our source of light, was spectacular. We lay down
at the base of the cathedral and just stared up at the portals with their
intricately carved ornamentation and the stars. I concluded that Gothic
cathedrals look like melted candles, especially at night.
I felt so small in comparison to the massive cathedral
Wednesday,
November 13
The
topic of our walking tour class this week was “Art Nouveau” so we travelled
around the city looking at some of the better-known buildings in this style. We
also looked at some more contemporary buildings that aren’t in the art nouveau
style; most notably, the Church of St. Wenceslas. It is so plain, and has such
clean lines; I thought it resembled a communist type of building (although they
would have never built a church), the scientology center, or the Mormon Church
on Santa Monica Boulevard. We somehow were allowed to climb onto the first
floor roof and look out over all of Prague 10. We figured it was safe because
our professor took us up there, but when we stepped on the copper roof, he
warned us to not step on the ridges because they’re fragile, so we were all
happy to leave the roof and return to solid, more stable ground.
Theater of Vinohrady built in the Art Nouveau style
The outside of the church
(Image courtesy of Google)
My professor, Jaroslav, pointing out Prague while also warning us about the "fragile" ridges of the roof.
Thursday,
November 14
Because
art nouveau was on our minds, DJ and I decided to head to the Municipal House
in Namesti Republiky (Republic Square) to check out a wonderful art nouveau
exhibit that was going on. It was a wonderful exhibit because it really gave us
a sense of how art nouveau, not only represented a fine arts movement, but also
defined the culture of this particular era. Art nouveau was reflected in all
aspects of life, including architecture, fine arts, interior design (including
everything from tables and chairs to utensils), fashion, and social gatherings.
I particularly loved the fashion of the time.
The
Municipal House is one of the most iconic art nouveau buildings in Prague. I’m
lucky to be able to say that it is nearly around the corner from me!
In
the afternoon, my flatmates and I decided to have a “roomie date day” and
ventured to a park in Prague 2 that housed a wonderful winery that I’ve wanted
to try. The restaurant is called Altan and is essentially a giant bungalow that
overlooks a beautiful vineyard and all of Prague 10. It was in the 30s, so our
plans to sit outside and admire the views were a bit ambitious and after a few
minutes, we shimmied inside and enjoyed the rest of our wine. We came across a
fun park on our walk home, so we, of course, stopped in a played, then we
headed home to our warm apartment.
Dani and Abby loved the playground
Abby and I
View from the winery
We obviously took a selfie while enjoying our wine. At this point, we were freezing
Friday,
November 15
It’s
hard to believe this, but this weekend is my last official weekend in Prague.
After this weekend, I’ll be travelling every weekend until my program ends, so
I’m making an extra effort to get all of my Prague exploring in before time
runs out! Today, I organized a “day trip” in Prague. The idea seemed silly
because everyday is essentially a day trip here, but there have been some
places that I’ve been meaning to go and I just haven’t gone yet, so I figured
that today would be the perfect day to do it.
We
started with brunch at a swanky restaurant called Café Savoy:
The
meal was incredible and the ambiance of the place just made it even better.
Then
headed to a cool neighborhood called Žižkov to see the lesser-known and visited
“New Jewish Cemetery.” We found Emil Kafka’s grave (not to be confused with
Franz Kafka, the writer). Emil Kafka was one of the leaders of the JRC (Jewish
Religious Congregation) in Prague during WWII and The Holocaust. The JRC was
the main Jewish organization representing the population during the persecution
and Kafka made it his goal to salvage what could be saved of the Jewish
population. I have learned a lot about him in my classes here, so seeing his
grave was very cool. I thought this cemetery was particularly beautiful because
of all of the grass and foliage that was growing on and around the graves. It
seemed very symbolic of the circle of life. It was very humbling and spiritual
to walk through the cemetery and observe the symbiotic relationship between the
earth and those who have died.
After
the cemetery, we walked around the neighborhood, stumbled upon an incredible
outdoor farmer’s market, and looked in some great antique and thrift shops. It was
so fun to take a day to explore an awesome area of Prague.
Saturday,
November 16
I
had the amazing opportunity to meet a distant cousin of mine today. He’s my
third cousin on my mom’s side of the family (we share the same great great
grandparents). He’s studying medicine in Prague and we were able to connect
through one of our other cousins. Reconnecting with a family member on the
other side of the world is remarkable, and I loved seeing a part of his life in
Prague. He showed me his flat and introduced me to some of his friends and we
had the chance to get to know each other and talk about our families, growing
up, etc. He lives in a beautiful area of Prague, and upon arriving at his flat,
his flat mate took me up the roof where we stood and looked out at the entire
city. It was magnificent.
Czeching
out,
Grace
