Trip to Prague

Monday, June 6, 2011

This morning Peter Perina took us on a tour of Cesky Krumlov’s castle – a private tour, since the castle’s interior is closed to sightseers on Mondays. Every wall was covered with tapestries, every floor covered in bear rugs (the bears in the moat get recycled, it’s all very Circle of Life), and even the servant’s quarters were nicer than any dorm room I’d ever seen. The most impressive piece might have been a golden carriage made to deliver an important message abroad; the carriage apparently drove about two kilometres slowly through a populated area before being dismantled and sent back to Cesky Krumlov to be used as a bed (they took the wheels off first). After class, a bunch of us went to a contemporary dance show at a theatre near the Pension Gardena — it was a real trip to see what last week’s baroque opera helped sire in the space of a few hundred years.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

This morning’s lecture was on Comenius’ The Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart — Comenius is an important guy here, he’s on the money and everything. We also finished watching Amadeus, which I enjoyed thoroughly despite having already seen it twice. After class, my roommate and I went jewelry shopping for the opera: Cesky Krumlov does a thriving trade in Bohemian garnet, amber, and a local green stone called moldavite (apparently formed as a result of a meteor crash). There’s literally a jewelry store on every corner. I was able to do some damage control and limit myself to a pair of studs ... for now. After dinner (schnitzel and the best potatoes I’ve ever had) a few of us sat out in the Pension Gardena’s garden, talking and — after a glass of wine – jumping on the handy trampoline. We leave for Prague tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

We left the Pension Gardena bright and early this morning by bus and arrived in Prague before noon. After dropping off our bags, a few of us spent the afternoon shopping in Wenceslas Square to find outfits for the evening’s opera. We got back to our hostel (the girls have a 12-bed dorm of their own, very Little Orphan Annie) with just enough time for hair and makeup, then it was off to the opera house (the same location where Mozart’s Don Giovanni premiered years ago, I’m told). The theatre was beautiful inside, golden rococo angels and bows everywhere. After Le Nozze di Figaro (a bit of a marathon at three hours, but worth it) Peter Perina took us out for a late dinner — we didn’t get back until nearly midnight. Instant unconsciousness when my head hit the pillow, 11 roommates notwithstanding.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

This morning Professor Kow took us on the “King’s Walk”, the route over the Charles Bridge by which royalty travelled to Prague’s castle. The Charles Bridge is lined with street artists on one side, jewelry-makers on the other — I made sure to grab a souvenir. The castle was beautiful, but the best part was St. Vitus’ Cathedral — stained glass in every window depicting beautifully detailed Biblical scenes. After lunch at an open-air restaurant, a few of us explored Prague’s museums and marionette shops, and then once night fell, set bravely forth to check out the nightlife.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Our last day in Prague! A classmate and I grabbed a cheap lunch at Subway (old habits die hard), then trekked to the Communism Museum. Their enormous gift shop was something as a concession to capitalism, but do I confess to buying a T-shirt with a snarling Matryoshka doll on it, because, I mean, really, how cool is that? We paused in the Old Square to watch the famous astronomical clock chime the hour (a big clockwork to-do with the ominous specter of Death rattling his hourglass and so on), then took in a marionette show before going to meet the bus home.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Today’s lecture was on the correspondence between Rene Decartes (the “I think, therefore I am” guy) and his friend/student Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia. Professor Kow was kind enough to move the class to the late afternoon, since everyone’s still exhausted from taking Prague by storm. It’s nice to be back in the Pension Gardena … as I said in a postcard home, Prague is another world, but Cesky Krumlov is another time. I’m laying low today — our first paper is due on Monday, so it’s nose-to-the-grindstone time.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Stayed in today writing my paper on manners and social niceties in the baroque period — it only had to be 1,000 words, so it wasn’t really that bad, especially since Professor Kow was on call almost all day for students having last-minute breakdowns. I did take a short walk through town in the evening and caught myself thinking that it was freezing because I had to pull on a cardigan. Am I getting spoiled or what?