I had a moment

There’s always a moment, at least for me, while traveling, when it hits you. When you see something or hear something or eat some type of food, and suddenly, you realize; holy crap I’m across the ocean from my home and I’m in Prague. I’m in a different country. It hits you and all you can do is bask in that moment and smile at the world. But my moment didn’t come when I walked across the Charles Bridge for the first time, and it didn’t come while I sat and stared at Prague, sipping hot wine and eating a kebab. No, mine came while walking down an alley way and came across a sweaty slovak woman smoking a cigarette, standing outside of a pub with a sign that displayed the specials for that day, along with a sign advertising Pilsner Beer . I’m not sure why my moment came the way it did, and it was quite un-extraordinary, but when I saw her, it hit me and I smiled and continued to walk down the street.

Prague over the past week has consisted of me getting an A in my two week intensive Czech language course. No, I cannot speak fluently now, and the Czech people still give me a strange look, laugh, and then proceed to speak to me in English when I try to speak to them in their native tongue. At least I know the basics; bathroom, bread, beer, and thank you. And truly, what else would I need to know, I’ve got the bases covered.

In the past week I have also decided to take a “sick day” and frolick around Prague with my roommate, Alayna. My mother would be so proud. (I actually did come down with a runny nose and slight cough however.) Prague so far has been a wonderland of beautiful architecture, and every time I go out to walk around, the uneven streets/sidewalks claim my pride. I stumble and fall often because I have been too busy staring at the buildings. The locals seem to believe that I fit right in though, because every time I go out, someone will try to speak fluent Czech to me. Which usually results in me smiling, laughing nervously, nodding, and telling them Nemluvim Cesky- I don’t speak Czech.

I finally got time to explore. I walked around for about 3 hours, got lost (more times than I’ll admit) bought coffee, sat by the Vltava River, wrote in my journal, sipped hot wine, and truly experienced this city that never fails in taking my breath away. It never ceases to amaze me that many of the buildings I see, and walk around are older than the country I come from. Construction on the Charles Bridge began in 1357. Christopher Columbus wasn’t even a thought yet, people believed that the Earth was flat, and that the Earth sat in the middle of our galaxy. The history surrounding this city is almost too overwhelming for me to comprehend sometimes.

I have also ventured out of Prague to a town that is known for being a silver mining and coin town, Kutna Hora. As I’m sure you’ve seen on my Facebook (because I know you all sit on your computers and just wait for me to post pictures) we visited the famous Sedlec Ossuary, or Bone Church. To say that I was uncomfortable in there would be an understatement. The bones hung and used to decorate the church are the remains of monks. Dug up from the ground, cleaned, and then placed in intricate designs, a chandelier, a coat of arms, etc. the Sedlec Ossuary is one of the most surreal places I've been too.. I’m not sure if that’s a good enough adjective though.

Czech people are known for not being very friendly, a tad impersonal. They don’t smile at each other, avoid eye contact, don’t talk on subways or loudly. My southern, Texas, smile-at-everyone, upbringing is not adjusting to this very well. Nobody smiles at each other. Czech people walk, eyes forward dead face, and I have yet to have one stranger return my smile. It truly throws me off coming from a place where if you make eye contact with someone, you smile at them. It is not that the people themselves are mean or angry, they are actually quite kind (or at least from my encounters) it’s just their culture.

Prague is incredible, beautiful, confusing, overwhelming, covered in graffiti, awe-inspiring, magical, and truly everything I hoped it would be and more. I love this city, I love these people, I love this culture, I love the art. Everything about this city that I have found, I love. I am happy, I am loving life, and I am loving that I get to spend the next 4 months here.