urbansuburban (a Gillefond adventure): Praha, Ceska republica

I am sitting in a hotel room in Prague, Czech Republic. My travel companion, Julie, left earlier today. My flight out is tomorrow. I'm stuffed on meat (of the loaf variety) and beer (Pilsner Urquell, unpastuerized), and very tired. Deciding that I've wandered these windy streets enough this week, and figuring it might not be too safe to just stroll in the dark alone, I figure now is a great time to upload all of these photos (without the editting aid of my macbook- these are the originals in their purest form) to the blog now. I also know the incredibly busy week that awaits me and Im guessing it will be November before I have this kind of time again. Plus there is lively (international) chatter below my window, a slight breeze, and Im not quite ready for sleep.

So yes, Im in Prague. I am fortunate to be here for work purposes. I presented two talks at a conference (Pan European Voice Congress- PEVOC). It's been a decade since I've been in Europe, so when Julie suggested I try to attend this meeting, I couldn't say no!

I arrived on a Tuesday, coming off of a crazy 4 days in NYC for my brother's amazing wedding (to an amazing woman- that event will be the subject of another post, of course). The Ambien I took on the plane didnt quite do the trick, so I was exhausted by the time we touched down in Prague. Julie and I took no time settling in and exploring, and I tried to get on Eastern Europe time quickly.
I didn't speak a word of Czech when I arrived, and now can only sort of say hello, please, thank you, and cheers! Lucky for me, many of the tourists are European- and many of those German- so I got to practice my neglected Deutsch skills by eavesdropping on conversations!

What follows below is the week in pictures.

30 minutes after arriving in Prague. Exhausted. First pilsner.

The City

Ugh crowds.

this sign is everywhere. And yes, I bought it in fridge-magnet form.

Apparently what Prague pedestrians look like.

food market near Wenceslas Square

Good King Wenceslas

Atomic clock. Goes off on the hour. People go crazy for it, but honestly not so exciting.

Our side of the Charles bridge - Mala Strana neighborhood

little canals run through the city.

We lunched here one day, and finally located some salad.

Czechs are very eco-friendly. Our hotel was no different. You have to put your key card in a box by the door of the room to activate your electricity. Prevents you from leaving the lights on when you leave. Genius!

a huge bin for each different type of waste- paper, glass, plastic, biological, and trash-trash (other).

our hotel

view from the room. Or room with a view.

We saw wedding parties being photographed at all time of day and night, every day of the week. This one was 7am. I dont understand it at all.

view from the bridge

another translation error? Is the man in the drawing walking with a cane or a gun?

doesnt look too safe

Walked through the old Jewish neighborhood and cemetary.

Apparently the US first lady likes this Jewish restaurant in Prague so much, she says so on the door!

In case you have Koruny to burn, you can buy your toddler some Dior at Baby Luxury.

something about if you put a lock on this gate you'll stay in love, or you'll return with your lover to Prague. Not exactly sure the symbolism.

David Cerny statue. 2 animatronic guys peeing the text of famous poems into a pool shaped like Czech Republic

the CR as a pee pool

Lennon wall- a big wall of graffiti originally started when Lennon was killed by pro-democracy dissidents as a protest. Has been white washed over and over, but just gets painted over again.

This is a chain souvenir store. They maybe should consider a different name.

This one is for my brother and his Russian cohort. Lots of Cafe-Bars in Praha, too kids!

We took a boat tour our first full day in town....

nothing to see here, just a line of big yellow penguins by the water.

view from boat tour

Charles bridge

Julie!!!!

Me. Yep, another pilsner. boat beer!

View of the Rudolfinum from boat tour. Where part of my conference was held.

boat + hotel = boatel. Try saying that in 7 languages. Our tour guide did.

I will be hier forever...

serious fishers.

Czech pride. Take that Russia.

boat tour selfie

We spent an entire day exploring the Mala Strana neighborhood (side of the river where our hotel was located), including the beautiful St. Nicholas church. I climbed the bell tower seen in the photos below.

St. Nicholas church bell tower

Square at St. Nicholas church

St. Nicholas church

creepy painted eyes.

I want to make a coffee book of bad translations

1820s grafitti. Vaclav 4 eva.

Can you tell where the fresco ends and the architechture begins?

Mozart wuz here. No really. He played that 250 pipe organ a few times.

Climbing up to the top of St. Nicholas church bell tower.

up up up up up up

urinal for the guards who used to spy on the American embassy from the windows of the church tower.

keep going up. Totally cool for someone who doesnt like heights or small spaces.

But the view was worth it!

near the dome

selfie!

view to the Charles bridge

rooftop pool!

More Mala Strana including the government land and buildings

gov't buildings

just painted facade

the guards look like wax figures.

more gov't.

view from Prague castle

Our side of the bridge by night

street vendors by night

view across the bridge to Stare Mesto neighborhood by night

Rudolfinum at night

Our hotel at night. You can stand outside of the restaurant and have a beer- they provide little ledges for your comfort!

Biznazz

my conference welcome bag. Hello PEVOC!

Front of the Rudolfinum. Yes, I was actually here to work. But I got to give one of my talks in this gorgeous building!

Czech music conservatory, where part of my meeting was held. I also got to give a talk here. The rooms werent air conditioned and it was quite warm- mid 70s. Not terrible outside, but in a 4th floor room crammed with people? back sweat. ew.

my morning commute

through a park to the conference around 830am

walking to work

inside the Rudolfinum, where they served our (too infrequent) coffee breaks.

715 am walk to work across the Charles bridge

Food

This is truly the land of meat, potatoes, and beer. Tonight I ordered a house green salad and got a bowl of lettuce with some vinegar and pepper on it! However, having traveled a lot to the Caribbean and central America the last 10 years, it was nice to be in a place where you can drink the water from the tap and eat fresh vegetables without fear of GI upset.

first night, first pivo.

This pastry is babalki! A family favorite. Its a sweetened poppyseed-honey mix served here on a pastry with powdered sugar. We typically eat it rolled into small balls. I was so excited and surprised when I bit into it and tasted Christmas eve!

cabbage, horseradish, and bacon

a traditional Czech pastry, the name translates to "turtleneck"- its a hollow pastry bread covered in some sort of almond paste with cinnamon and sugar. So good!

often times here beer is not stored in kegs, but in these large tanks. Because of this storage it doesnt have to be pastuerized. The resulting taste is amazingly fresh and smooth.