nighttime suits prague

Thursday, I got to listen to a Czech holocaust survivor speak about his experience during and after the war. CERGE hosted him, and we were all invited in light of our upcoming trip to Krakow. It was very moving to hear his story; he spent time in the Jewish ghetto and  in Auschwitz, saw Joself Mengela (he only realized who it was later) send his father to the gas chambers, and at one point was forced to  walk with thousands of other prisoners for days through the snow with almost no clothing. He lost his whole family and his faith in God. After the war, he learned how to make shoes and worked in the Czech Republic at a Ba’ta shoe factory for many years. He learned English while on the assembly line using flashcards when his manager wasn’t looking. He had been given the option of moving to Australia or Canada after the war, but because no one could tell him what he would do when he got there—where he would work, where he could live—he decided against it. He married a non-Jewish Czech woman (he only half joked that it was because there were no Jewish women his age left in Prague after the war) and has kids and grandkids. For years, he spoke about his experiences to no one, and it was only relatively recently that he opened up about the horrors he witnessed and survived during the holocaust.

Following the lecture, I went out for Thai food (again!) with the apartment, Rhee-Soo, and Greg. It was wonderful, as usual Then, we got gelato (YUM) and wandered around the Old Town Prague for a while. Prague is beautiful all the time, but it's especially breathtaking at night. The castle was lit up, and when we walked across the Charles Bridge lights from surrounding buildings reflected off of the water. When it gets warm out, I feel like wandering around Prague at all hours of the day is going to become the norm. 

Saturday, I went to Vysehrad, the oldest castle in Prague (founded in the 10^th century), with Rhee-Soo and Kyra. It was pretty chilly outside, but it was fun to get out and explore. The church at Vysehrad was stunning inside. It was built in traditional gothic style, but the oldest parts of the church were founded in like 1071 or something. It’s only been open to the public since the early 90s. No pictures, because cameras weren’t allowed and the lady at the door looked scary enough that I wasn’t about to take my chances. I’ll probably have more to write about Vysehrad later when we go there in a few weeks with Pavel on WTCD. Suffice to say that it offered beautiful views, had a nifty cemetery with lots of famous people, and there is now a very awesome playground built on the castle grounds. Totally wished I was like 7 years old.

After visiting Vysehrad we went to Rembrant Café off of Old Town Square and had some delicious hot chocolate. Hot chocolate here is actually like molten pudding. Czechs take their hot chocolate very seriously. It was delicious.  That night, we had a couple people over and celebrated Jeannie’s 6 month anniversary in Prague! I can’t imagine at this point in my trip, what it feels like to spend so much time in another country. Makes my 6 weeks seem like nothing.

Sunday, was sort of a lazy day. I wrote about 10 thousand postcards (which I have yet to mail) and watched Amadeus. Amadeus is 3 hours long. It is a very good movie. Probably a favorite. But wow, it’s dark. After watching it, all I really wanted to do was pop in Caddyshack, and I actually might have, but that would have made for almost 5 hours of movie-watching in one day, so I decided against it.

Monday, I had my internship at the Fulbright Office. I was up to my eyeballs in emails, which was exciting, and I got to proofread a document. I also get to start making a sort of “How-To” made for requesting and writing Fulbright recommendation letters. Feel free to slip me suggestions. I love having so many projects there!

After my internship, I went grocery shopping, ten headed to the Hollar building, where the international club office is, to pay the rest of my fee for the Budapest trip. I’m super excited about this trip for a few reasons:

1. Budapest is an old, historic city, and was one of my travel priorities at the start of the semester, so getting to go there with a group is perfect.
2. We are visiting a museum of terror.
3. We are also visiting a spa.
4. We’re going by bus. Not quite as awesome as a train, but a road trip, nevertheless!
5. The guy from the international club who is in charge of the trip is really nice and well organized, definitely qualities you want in someone who is taking you to a foreign country for 4 days.
6. I haven’t actually been out of the Czech Republic yet (although I suppose I’ll have been to Krakow when we leave for Budapest). Oh well. Still currently excited.

Today, one Czech class down, Regionalism and Global politics and Economics of the Czech Republic to go! Not sure what’s on the docket for tonight. Tomorrow is everyone’s favorite day. 

Actually. 

It's like favorite day X 2 tomorrow, because not only is it WTCD, it is ALSO St. Patrick's Day! There is a good chance that St. Patrick's day celebrations will coincide with WTC.