We've come a long way baby...(part 2)

TV tower and black babies crawling

Funny statue and Éilish the Irish cook People skating on Vltava, seen from Vyšehrad

Karel bridge at night

Antonín Dvořák's resting place, Vyšehrad cemetary

So after 14 hours (12 plus 2hrs at the Czech border where they checked the bus and us foreigners) I arrived in absolutely freezing but sunny Prague. Lucija was waiting for me for ages at a Communist bakery at the bus station.

On the way we'd driven past a humongous Pilsner Urquell beer factory in Plzn(Pilsen), and I was starving cos I had nothing with me on the bus to munch on but a bottle of whisky (which iI only drank a couple of sips) and a pack of peanuts, so me and Lucija headed straight to a restaurant ("Na Mlate") near her place for a hearty traditional meal and a jug of beer.

Here I first realized how unbelievably cheap it was to eat and drink (probably other things are cheap too but these are only things I did!) in Czech Republic. I had heard about it before but this was just unreal--if I was German living on the border I would only eat and drink in Czech Republic! I think our meal was 520 crowns (=18 euros) for 2 main dishes, salad, "grandma's potato with spinach" and 4 jugs of beer, and this was the most expensive meal I had there. Oops I'm starting to drool....

I couldn't have picked colder time to come to Praha. During the day it was about -10 centigrade. I felt sorry for Lucija because she was being such a good host and took me to all these places despite the risk of freezing her brain!

On the second day, while walking near The Municipal House we came across The House of the Black Madonna, the first cubist building in Prague where the little Cubist Museum is located, so we went in to escape from the cold--they had some wicked furnitures (more on this on the next entry dedicated to Cubism).

On the third day we took it easy and spent a good 3 hours playing a game of chess in "Dobre Trafika", a really cute cafe behind the cornershop where they sell tram/metro tickets.
Prague has so many nice cafes that make you feel at ease instantly--this one was like you just walked into somebody's living room! Old gentlemen read newspapers and chatted while a dog sat quietly underneath the table and two boys were smoking from a waterpipe, not to forget cute waitresses serving that delicious cake which I forgot the name.
.........and no I have not yet beaten Lucija in chess, although this time I came mighty close!

On my last day we walked around Vyšehrad and its cemetary, before seeing a couple of Chochol's cubist houses. There wasn't a cloud in the sky but the view from the top of the hill was a bit misty as you can see above. I loved the quietness there. It reminded me of Calton Hill in Edinburgh.
I must say for once I wasn't afraid of death if I were to rest in such a beautiful place..

Lucija lives with an Irish friend of hers called Neve and an American dude called Jesse. They were all saying that Czechs don't appreciate them trying to speak in Czech as much as in other countries, and that people are reserved so it makes hard for them to make good Czech friends.
I could sympathize with them a lot because that's the biggest problem when you live abroad--first the language barrier then overcoming the stereotype that people cast on you just because you look different. It's sometimes hard living on your own, away from your family in an environment where you feel like you're still a stranger. I realized we all have that little pain, as soon as we step outside of the home country and throw the "tourist" tag away.
But I'm sure that we'll all come out stronger and maturer. So I wish you all the best!!

I bought Joanna Newsom's The Milk-Eyed Mender and Ryuichi Sakamoto's piano instrumental CD called "/05" in Japan, and I had been listening to them on my iPod there and in Prague. I've brought the CDs to Prague as well, and Lucija and everyone really liked them. Now the music is associated in my head forever with the winter of '05-'06 and that's why I love music with all my heart--it's a bit like the smell--when a smell takes you straight back to your childhood.
I think Joanna Newsom's harp and Ryuichi Sakamoto's piano share the same crispness with the clear winter sky and chill, and my impression has strengthened after these two trips for sure...

I am about to pass out so I gotta stop here. Indeed we have come a long way from home. But as Jeremy Clarkson said to Ellen McArthur when she came on Top Gear to do her lap of "Star in a reasonably priced car", if all our anscestors had been satisfied living in a cave we would have never come this far. So let's take the bull by the horn and keep on walkin like some of our crazy anscestors did eh?

(Praha 23-27 January 2006)

We've come a long way baby....(part 1)

Yes I have been away for a while---since the last proper entry back in 2005, physically I have travelled to Japan and Prague. (Emotionally I am always travelling)

Other day I was chatting to a friend of mine who'd just gotten back from 3 weeks holiday in Indonesia. He said being back here was depressing. After coming back from Japan I felt the same kind of ennui. I guess anyone leaving the intense Southern-Sun behind to come back here would.
Here, or even worse was Edinburgh, the winter sun is often behind a thick cloud which gives the effect of the whole earth surrounded by frosted-glass, and when it comes out, it's merely a god's penlight--no warmth, not even shiney! (damn just writing this makes me yawn...)

Of course as people say "good things never lasts", after a good holiday comes the daily chore of constantly looking at the computer screen (especially when even I started using AutoCAD to do my projects!! granted, it does the job but it took a lot of joy away) and following somebody else's schedule. But the last two little trip of mine had genuine effects on me.

The second last time I was in Japan was when I was seriously depressed, so this time it was just great to be there and being able to communicate rather than being lost for words.
It was great to spend time together with my family, seeing my old friends and hugging my grandma--I think it's only since last year or so that we hug when I see her or say good-bye to her. I haven't yet told her I love her. Never in my life!! That's just the way of life in Japan tho. We never say "I love you" on the phone with parents or hug each other. That's how it's always been in Japan.
Apart from that I went to public bath or hotsprings almost every single day, ate very well and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.

And after being back for a couple of weeks in Holland and feelin the post-vacation ennui, I'd booked a bus ticket to Prague to go and see Lucija, a Croatian friend of mine.
(continues to the next entry)