Pilsen and Pilsner Urquell

Friday was another day trip, a bit more uplifting this time. We traveled by bus to Pilsen, a small and beautiful town with a lot of history; it has also recently been named the European capital of culture in 2015 (I don't really understand what that means, but it seemed to deserve the title). It was also a GORGEOUS day-- I was able to wear a skirt!

Our first stop was the Great Synagogue, which is the third largest synagogue in the world! The Nazi HQ was located in the next building so it was not demolished during their occupation of Pilsen. Instead, they used it as a warehouse of some kind. This information is all from my tour guide, who also told us that there are currently three Jews living in Pilsen who, together with "sympathizers", make up a community of about ten people. According to the Wikipedia page, however, there are a little over seventy Jews in a town of a few hundred thousand.

What is apparently used now by the Pilsen Jewish community is a small synagogue which is older than the original and located a few blocks away. There is also a memorial for the Pilsen Jews who died in the Holocaust: a rock garden with the names of all the missing.

From the synagogues we moved on to the town square, an enormous space empty except for the Cathedral, some sculptures and benches, and a random jumping castle.

St Bartholomew's Cathedral is one of the hallmark attractions of Pilsen. We climbed up the tower to a platform just above the clock. I just read that the spire is highest in the Czech Republic. There was a beautiful view from up there and we spent a long time taking photos of the town. It also helped us to get a better grasp on the geography of the town; useful during our two hour free time for lunch and personal tours.

We were also able to step into the Cathedral itself. Quite lovely (but typical):

On the lunch break I was lucky enough to join up with some girls after my own heart. They said they were craving a hamburger! I had barely thought of one in a week but it just may be my favorite food. Luckily we came across a steakhouse on a manmade pond, complete with koi fish.

This thing may have been one of the best burger's I've had in awhile. They put some tzatziki on there. Fantastic. 

We then wandered around the square for a bit, grabbing a cappuccino before heading back to meet up with the rest of the group. The presentation was quite quaint:

We then returned to the square to meet up with the rest of our group. We were on our way to the Pilsen museum and a tour of the Pilsner Urquell brewery (for which our tour guide suspiciously works)! That will be a separate post because there is just too much information to share now.

All in all it was, though, a lovely day at Pilsen. I would not hesitate to return.

Lidice Day Trip and Birthday Evening

What a lovely day! It started in the beginning, when I entered the breakfast room and was greeted with a "Happy Birthday!" that rippled throughout the room. I did feel strange, but instead of reflecting as usual upon the passing of another year I thought of my present situation. After a bit of pensiveness early in the day I became convinced that I am the luckiest girl in the world. Being in Prague on my birthday and having the opportunity to live here for a few months is more than I could ever ask for. All day at random moments (aside from when we were in Lidice) I simply declared my happiness. I could not stop smiling. The magic of this place is somehow contagious and I feel now as though I actually understand part of it.

 I went on a day trip today with people from my program and from the other program with which we are taking classes. We visited a historical Orthodox church called Karel Boromejsky Church, made famous for the gunfight that took place between Czech resistance fighters and SS troops. The fighters were taking refuge in the church because they were on the lam, two of the party having ambushed and assassinated the Nazi Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, Reinhard Heydrich. The consequence of the attack on Heydrich came in the subsequent destruction of the town of Lidice, which we visited later in the day.

18 June 1942 was the date of the battle in the church. A priest was kind enough to give us a ten or fifteen minute talk on the history of the Church, which was followed by a film in the downstairs part of the Church. They've created a museum at street level, seen in the photo below:

Between the lecture and the film I was able to get the whole story (and then some). Beres, the head of the Czech government in exile in the UK, trained a group of Czech insurgents assassinate Heydrich. They got a bit of help from the British in terms of armaments and training, it seems. Two soldiers named Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík were chosen to carry out the mission and were trained as paratroopers. They attacked Heydrich on his way to work--laden with hubris, the man traveled to work in an uncovered Mercedes as though he were fearless.


At the arranged moment, the intended assassin revealed himself. Unfortunately, his gun jammed and he stood helplessly gaping feet away from his target. Heydrich made his driver stop and tried to shoot Gabčík, but Kubiš threw the bomb he had been hiding in a briefcase. He escaped and Heydrich died in the hospital.


A manhunt followed which ended in the death of Kubiš and other soldiers hiding in the Church as well as the suicide of seven soldiers hiding in the cellar (also a crypt where former monks corpses lay). It was before this crypt we watched the documentary (complete with dramatic re-enactions); then we were allowed to tour the crypt and memorial of these Czech soldiers.

And this is the inside of the Church

...this is the outside of the Church.

As stated earlier, the consequence of the assassination of Heydrich was the destruction of Lidice. In addition, over one thousand Czech citizens were executed and more than six thousand more were killed during interrogations. The Czech people were frightened into declaring their loyalty to Germany. We were shown old footage of Czechs gathering in Wenceslas Square and the Old Town Square, Heiling en masse, apparently immediately after the interrogations. Upon finding no trace of the assassins, Hitler ordered the demolition of the structures of Lidice, the assassination of the men in the village, the appropriation of suitable Aryan children for adoption into SS families, and the commitment to concentration camps of mostly all the women and children. 

Setting off from the Church we headed toward Lidice. Upon our arrival we headed straight toward the lunch that we had chosen earlier in the day. My tortellini was borderline gross-- I was anticipating an alfredo and was quite excited when it was set in front of me, but only pushed the pastas around once I forced down a few which were covered in a disturbing yogurt sauce. 

Aside from the happy realization that the beer was included in the flat price of the meal, the experience was redeemed when the ice cream came into which my friend Colette stuck a recycled candle that she had found in her purse. My table began singing and the rest of the group joined in upon hearing the popular refrain, but at the "happy birthday dear Kelly" it became clear that more than half of the students didn't know my name. It was funny and I was exceedingly pleased nonetheless.

There was a town that had been built on slightly higher ground after the destruction of the original Lidice and several memorials and monuments are built throughout a giant field of freshly mown grass. We walked through the memorial on the upper level which overlooked the former site of the town.

The view of the site from the museum level

I have a bunch of videos but I'm having trouble uploading them. I am not sure if they're in the wrong format and because I can't find any specs, I assume blogger videos use any format. The video won't load (though I've tried a few different formats). It's quite frustrating.

In any case, here are some photos from the memorials:

Memorial statue of the eighty-eight children from Lidice who were killed.

After the tour of Lidice's burial ground we walked through the museum which mostly served as a memorial to those victims of the destruction. 

It was pretty sad, but one unmentioned aspect of the tragedy remained unsaid by the tour guide. What I feel to be the most poignant part of the destruction of Lidice is that it is but a mere slice of the destruction inflicted by the Nazis. Though it is tragic on it's own, when viewed  in that vein it seems to gain greater importance.

We returned to the same building in which we ate that unsavory lunch for an appointment with one of the women who survived the destruction as a child. When we had been in the restaurant, I wasn't aware that it was attached to the event center in the town. We were quite lucky to be a part of Mrs. Skleniĉkova's presentation: she has written a book, “If I had been born a boy, I would have been shot...” which chronicled her life before, during, and after her experience in a concentration camp as a political prisoner. She read some bits of her book in Czech and one of the students read the English translation of each anecdote. There was also a representative from a local radio station with a flash recorder. The author was kind enough to join us downstairs so some of the students could get her autograph on their new copies of her memoir.

On a lighter note...

While we were returning to Prague I remembered that it was my birthday. I was happy to have a sobering experience that distracted me from my superficial egotism. Nonetheless, without any other thoughts to occupy me I gratefully watched the landscape pass my window.

When we got back the dorm I went for a walk to the cafe down the road. It's just past the tram stop which is about ¼ of the distance to the castle. It was nice to sit with a cappuccino and some postcards. I feel that I am struggling to keep up with what I'm writing, but I want to share everything. I assume my days will become slightly less exciting when the Czech intensive classes start on Monday.

I then joined some friends on a trip to an office in the metro station a few minutes' walk from a stop on the tram that runs by our place. The tram itself took awhile but I hadn't been that far down before. To go to school we get off the tram at one end of a bridge; our school is on the other side of the Charles. The 22 tram, which stops by our dorm, crosses the river farther down the river and goes past the national theater. After getting a 3-month public transportation pass (720K) I headed back to the tram stop.

 I popped into a gallery on the way. The sidewalk was filled with people drinking and smoking cigarettes with strangely almost no one inside. The exhibition was produced by a group of American artists; I involuntarily picked up the postcard advertisement, realizing it was a map of Manhattan. It was the first event of that kind I've witnessed thus far and I am eager to attend more of these openings. On the tram home we were scouting for dinner spots and after admiring a few places just across the river from the National Theater we resolved to return that way for my birthday dinner.

Upon returning to the dorm, it turned out that my roommate Brielle and friend Neil (who were coming to dinner as well) had made a cake for me! I can't explain how great that made me feel. It's silly but it sort of made my day feel complete.

We dined at a place off the tram stop that seemed to be upper-scale Czech cuisine. It was not nearly as quaintly elegant as the cafe we patronized our first evening but it seemed slightly less touristy. Though they somehow ran out of all the red wine but this Czech wine, after it was open for a bit (or after I consumed it for a bit) it became to be quite good. I had roast duck wrapped in bacon, the others sampled local cuisine as well. Perhaps because we were Americans, but I'm not sure, they piled our plates high with the potatoes we had ordered. I don't often leave potatoes behind on my plate but I did last night.

Neil and I after dinner

We then walked into Old Town (across the bridge) in search of a bar I had read about online. We found it eventually--the streets are meandering and it's easy to get lost around here when one doesn't know their way around. We were all actually exasperated (despite the fact that we are all pretty even-tempered) when we ran right into it. It's a strange place that seems like a bit of a fire trap, but it was much easier to get out than the roundabout route on which we came in.

Niel and Brielle at the pub

The National Theater

Well, it was just about a perfect day.

only day three?

well, it's officially my birthday in prague. i had a lovely day today. rain threatened throughout but never came; a fog descended on the evening but deposited nothing but vapor on us which was fortunate for my suede boots. we met in the lobby in the morning after a nice breakfast in the dormitory cafeteria. there was plenty of fruit (although the apples were too soft), pastry, yogurt, bread, meats, and cheeses. quite a variety but all in small amounts appropriate to the size of our group. then we all walked to and boarded the tram to the university, which took us down past the castle and let us off right by a bridge spanning the Charles River. It is necessary to walk across the river but on the other side one is directly confronted with the main building of the University, flanked by the Rudolfinum.

that's the main building of the university

That's the Rudolfinum, with which our main building casually shares the square. It's beautiful-- we had orientation in the cafe.

I didn't intend to capture the Czech gyro-eating man mid-bite, but meant to show the Uni building from afar. The Rudolfinum is on the other side of the square.

After the orientation, at which we were introduced to the other students who are spending a semester abroad at our school, we were given the opportunity to explore the area. The building is about 4 minute walk to the Old Town Square, which is arguably the main tourist attraction. It seems to be the Times Square of the 15th century. I took a walk around the neighborhood with some friends from my group and then went to a bookstore by myself. I couldn't resist purchasing Kundera's Book of Laughter and Forgetting (which was quaintly wrapped up for me in lieu of a bag) before meeting up with some other friends. We walked around for a bit; I bought two shirts at Zara after realizing I had only packed five tee-shirts and feel a bit more secure now.

After exploring the extremely touristy area I sat down for a cappuccino near the square. We were almost against the wall of one of the hallmark buildings in Old Town Square, the Church of Our Lady before Týn. It was beautiful and overwhelming to be amongst so much seemingly-ancient history. 

Church of Our Lady before Týn

We met back up with half of our group to get our Charles University IDs, which means tomorrow I can finally get a transportation pass. The public transit system actually works on the honors system in Prague, and apparently the authorities mostly confront foreigners and ask for proof of purchase of a ticket. One can text a number with a certain code to pay for their ride, but it is much more economical and sensible to have a pass.

We treked in a roundabout way and discovered a cafe which turned out to be only a few minutes' walk from the main building. A few of us got lunch for the cheapest prices I've yet seen (because we were on the road less traveled)-- about 20K, or $1. It was also exceedingly decent-- for a few beers and a potato pancake I owed 100K ($5 for you English majors). 

We returned to the dorm to collect ourselves and I went for a drink later (we were pleasantly lost trying to find "the pub on the steps"-- see below) with a few of the friends that I've made, meeting up with some other people from the program for a beer at the cafe we were exposed to our first evening in town. That place turns out to be open until midnight (or 0000?), which is later than most of the cafes in our neighborhood. 

We climbed many sets of stairs without finding our pub. When we finally reached the alleyway leading to our intended destination, the entrance to the place was covered with a metal grate as well as a mattress, so that potential patrons would be sure not to enter.

The eventual destination was favorable and, elated on our walk home, we broke into a rendition of Queen's "Mama." Six of us really did sound like this, sans piano.

very happy in old town square

more on day two

Its one in the morning and I'm getting tired, fortunately. That means, I think, that I am not jet-lagged! Skipping a night of sleep makes all the difference it seems. Indeed, I must wake up early tomorrow for orientation so it is all working out.

Today our house mother Zuzana took us on a brief tour of the neighborhood. She really is lovely. All of the students are quite taken with her. She holds our hand when it needs to be held but only so we can go off by ourselves with confidence.  A Czech native, she summered (or perhaps at one point lived) in the Berkshires and is fluent in English language as well as culture. Zuzana led a meeting this morning, giving us a mixture of rules, advice, and warnings about life in the dorm and in the city. We took a walk down toward the castle. On the walk we passed some lovely buildings, walked down streets to which pictures do no justice. The rustle of the trees, the first crisp brown leaves rasping against the cobblestones along with the wind and smell of autumn (at a point past the decaying flowers of late summer but before people begin to use their fireplaces)... it was magical. Perhaps with those thoughts in mind these photos may convey something more than their image alone:

This is a view of the street down which we walked to reach the cafe last night. Close-ups can be found in the previous entry.

Mozart actually played the organ here. Near the monastery down the road from the Kolej (our dorm).

The Loreto, just around the corner from the Monastery.

Pretty strange back story about this place according to my guide book: it is "an important place of pilgrimage" because of the legend of the Casa of Loreto. The book elaborates on "the legend of the Santa Casa" : The original house, said to be where the Archangel Gabriel told Mary about the future birth of Jesus, is in the small Italian town of Loreto. It was believed that angels transported the house from Nazareth to Loreto in 1278 following threats by infidels. After the Protestants' defeat in 1620 [...] Catholics promoted the legend, and 50 replicas of the Loreto were built in Bohemia and Moravia. This, the grandest, became the most important in Bohemia". (Prague, Dorling Kindersley Travel Guides, 1994, 2000.)

This Church of the Capuchin Monastery was damaged by the Prussians in 1757. Zuzana told us that the cannonballs in the facade were originals, but this site tells me they were molded there in commemoration.

Then we walked down some cute streets with a lot of history that is EXTREMELY LOVELY as I attempted to convey before with my sensory description. They also have a lot of history and it seems some pretty important people have lived in them (including, again, Mozart).

Apparently a romantic hotel for a honeymoon despite the maintenance equipment in the front yard.

Creative graffiti

Then I went to the castle with another student on my trip. He is a history major, which was extremely helpful as we were exploring the complex. For example, when we were trying to figure out why there was Cyrillic written in the Cathedral, he was able to recall the exact year  of the Great Schism (1054 by the way).

I took too many photos and had too many thoughts to explain them beyond the photos themselves. It was fantastic though.

More pictures and some videos of Prague castle tomorrow. I am up too late, a usual!

reflections at the end of day 2: 7.9.10

Well, it turns out that only one of the people I was eyeing suspiciously in the airport was actually on my program. It's been a whirlwind since I arrived yesterday afternoon. I've met a lot of people but seen so much more. I think the sights are even more poignant because they are so new and unfamiliar.

When I arrived my roommate was already here. Soon after we met she left for lunch with some other people that she had met so I had time to unpack, to realize that I hadn't packed enough shirts but did bring enough sweaters, to set up my internet and reassure my parents and Basheer that I had arrived safely. Here is a welcoming photo of my room:

It looks like a typical dorm room, just in a Communist-style building. I didn't realize until now how sleepy I looked. With so little sleep I passed out easily around 11 pm-- ahem, I mean 23.00. We are six hours ahead of Eastern time. Despite the people complaining about the building, the neighborhood we are in is INCREDIBLE. We are all extremely lucky. Last night, after a quick trip to the mall (where I purchased a phone and some fruit from Tesco) with some people I ran into/met in my first few hours there, we went to the Mexican place across the street and grabbed a beer (about $3.50 for two draft Pilsner Urquells with tip!). We didn't try the food but our house mother warned us not to eat there. 

After that we met up with everyone else from my floor/the program. most of the people are either SUNY students or from Northeastern. Everyone seems nice and friendly so far. Our house mother took us to a cafe which was about a 7 minute walk from the dorm. Photos follow: 

here are some of the funky drawings that were on the menu at the cafe:

I had goulash. It was fantastic-- they put 4 big pieces of bread with it so though I was put off by the soupiness  of it at first the bread to soap it up was fantastic. The beef was perfect--stewlike and falling apart. And it was about $7, which was the best part.

Today we came close to oversleeping due to the fact that we had set our phones to 0500 am instead of 1700. But my suitemates and I made it to the meeting and the walk around our neighborhood. Apparently there is a way for people to call into our suite at no cost to us; one just needs to buy an international calling card. That number will be coming soon. Some photos from our walk around today will come later-- we're about to go out for the evening. Hope everyone's well; dobry vecer!