Prague

6/11
Gaaahh. Today is NOT my day- I feel totally disoriented. Yesterday, I *specifically* asked the driver what time we were leaving the hotel- he said 4:30. I said, “So I should be downstairs and ready to go at 4:30am?” He said yes. I set my alarm for 4am (it’s actually about 10 min. ahead, too) but at 3:30, the phone rang and the desk clerk said “Ma’am, your driver’s here”. I thought, “Oh, crap!!” and proceeded to get ready as fast as I could. Thank goodness I’d packed everything before I went to bed and just needed to bathe and throw clothes on. I rushed out of the room, making sure I had everything, then looked at the clock and realized it was an hour earlier than I had written down. I double checked the note I’d written to myself *right* after the conversation about departure yesterday, and sure enough, it said 4:30. So I apologized to the driver for making him wait half an hour, but told him I remembered him saying that 4:30 was the departure time. He sort of shrugged and said “You have to be at the airport exactly two hours before your flight. But it’s ok- we’re not late”. >_< I just really hate feeling rushed and unprepared like this- this is exactly how things get left behind accidentally. And of course, when we arrived at the airport in *plenty of time*, there were only about 10 people there and they weren’t even checking people in yet. So we *totally* could have left at 4:30 and been just fine.

Panicked over the time a couple more times during the day, due to not updating my phone and computer each time I landed, but I ended up getting where I needed to go, so I guess it all worked out. Crashed on the plane from Tbilisi to Riga, then had a muffin and some coffee in the Riga airport and talked to a nice guy from Australia who now lives in Oxford and had gone to Tallinn on business. I seem to meet so many well-traveled people!!

Pretty uneventful flight to Warsaw. Got off the plane, collected my baggage.... and decided to take the rest of the day off. Last Thursday had been a holiday, so everyone in the office had taken that Friday off, but I had worked. So I decided to use some leave time and instead of going back to town, I got on a Czech Airlines flight to Prague. Besides, there was something happening in Prague that night that I really wanted to do. ;)

Had a snack, walked around a bit, then got on a tiny commuter plane and flew to Prague. Kind of warm flight, air conditioners weren’t working, but we got there just fine. I collected my bag again, got a map and some transit advice from the tourist counter, picked up water and an iced Americano, and waited for the Airport Express. The only other time I’ve flown here, we ended up taking a taxi to town, which was about 700 CzK. This bus took you right from the airport to Hlavni Nadrazi in about 30 min, for only 50 CzK. Much better deal. I bought a 24-hour transit pass then took the metro to the stop I *thought* I was supposed to go to. After about 20 minutes of wandering around, I realized I wasn’t where I needed to be, so a nice hotel concierge called me a taxi which took me to the Hotel Sunflower. Delightful little hotel in Praha 2, close to the trams but away from the busy noise of the city center. The owner, Lukas, was an adorable man with a very pleasant personality- we had a great little chat about pretty much everything. He checked me in and took my luggage upstairs. I dumped everything off, did a little grooming , changed clothes (almost 20 hours of traveling kind of feels gross after a while!), then took a taxi out to the O2 Arena.

See, the main reason I had really wanted to be in Prague tonight was to see Bob Dylan. He had, of course, toured the US many times, but I’d missed all those concerts somehow. I really wanted to see him at least once, so I decided to seize the moment and see him tonight. Besides, his tour this year included mainly Japan, Europe (not Warsaw), and one lone US date in Seattle. And honestly, I thought Prague would be a perfect city for a Dylan concert- artsy, intellectual, cultural, fun, and a place that makes me really happy in general.

Taxi dropped me off at the arena, I bought a ticket (12th row on the floor!) and found my seat just in time for the concert. It was awesome! Just a plain black backdrop, nothing fancy, instruments, musicians. Dylan wore a black suit with a bright green shirt and a wide-brimmed white hat. He had a lot of energy and really moved the concert. He played a mixture of his older songs and newer material, played the keyboard and guitar and harmonica, walked around and sang, really seemed youthful and like an old coot at the same time. His voice was deeper, of course, more gravelly and hoarse, but on certain songs, you could really hear elements of his younger folk days. It really felt like he’s moved in a more blues direction- his music has a really driving, edgy spirit to it, and he just dug into the songs with abandon. The band was really great, complimented his singing and style, and they worked well together. The audience was really into it, the arena’s acoustics were great, and the concert was just fantastic overall. Even though I’d been up and traveling for almost 24 hours straight, it was all worth it. I just wish my mom could have been there- Dylan’s her favorite singer and she would have really enjoyed the concert.

Took the metro and tram back to the hotel, then just crashed. So nice to get a long night of sleep after a wonderful day!


6/12
Today has been just awesome so far! It’s Saturday, sunny and hot, summer, and I’m in Prague- what’s not to like? ^_^ Woke up after a good 8 hours of sleep, feeling totally rested. Packed up everything, had a nice bath (lovely feeling after so much traveling!) Chatted with the wonderful hotel owner for a bit, then had a delicious breakfast in an adorable basement nook. I just love the buildings here- so stylish, cozy, charismatic! Stored my luggage with the desk clerk, then set off to enjoy the day. Randomly got on the next tram that came along and decided to get off at a stop called Botanická zahrada. There, I discovered a fantastic botanical garden! Huge grounds, full of winding paths, beautiful flower, bushes and trees from all over the world. One section had sprinklers running, so I walked through a nice mist for a bit, then walked up the path, just enjoying this quiet morning outdoors. Just my type of day! Their special exhibit for this time of year was succulents and cacti. I absolutely love those, so I had a great time looking at everything. There were *so* many varieties from all over the world!! And so many types I’d never seen before, ones that looked more like delicate paper sculptures, metal scraps or small internal organs instead of plants. They had quite a few for sale, and I still have an empty pot at home, so I decided to pick up a couple. I’m usually terrible with plants, but these are two types I don’t seem to kill. I picked out a succulent with small, spiky leaves, and a tiny cactus with a white and purple bloom. I think they’ll enjoy the summer on my window sill!

Had a couple bottles of water, a crepe with fruit, and a cappuccino at Cafe Bottanica, relaxed a bit, then walked up the hill and got on the metro to Namesti Republiky. Walked through the mall a bit, ended up leaving with a new sewing project and some satin ribbon for my fancy purse and a few new books. After that, I boarded a tram heading toward Malostranska. Was daydreaming and didn’t get off at that stop, so instead, I ended up on the top of the hill at Prague Castle. I’d never been up there before, so it was a nice detour. Admired the view for a while, then walked down the hill through windy side streets, past yummy cafes and ice cream shops and souvenirs. Found a new pashmina (Prague has the greatest selection of colors!) then had some lunch at a cafe. Kept walking, resisting shopping, and came to a church where a guy handed me a flyer and announced that they were having a concert in an hour. I didn’t have to be on the train until 9:30, so I thought an hour of organ music sounded wonderful. I *love* that they promote music so much here- if people weren’t walking around telling you about these things, I might never have known about them. This is what happened last time, when I heard Mozart and Vivaldi in the Municipal House. I wish they’d do this more in Warsaw!

Exchanged a bit more money, then poked around a rare books store for a while. Looked at a tiny photo book of Warsaw that was printed before WWII, and the owner showed me an amazing book of Warsaw photos taken between 1945-1948. Really marvelous photos, very difficult item to find. I didn’t have enough money for a book *and* a concert, so I decided I’d have to return another day for the book.

Walked back up the hill to St. Kajetan’s Church, and listened to fabulous organ music for an hour. Marvelous selection of pieces from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras. Amazing acoustics! I felt happy, relaxed, at peace, at home. There’s just something about this city that brings out the best in my disposition- I really don’t know what it is. I felt much the same in Japan, though a bit differently. I think certain places in the world just have the right energy and they interact with my own personal energy in a harmonious way.

On the way out, I heard the ticket guy say “Sayonara!” to the girl ahead of me, so I asked if she was from Japan. She was, from Tokyo, and we chatted all the way down the hill. She asked me where I’d been in Japan, advised me to go to Nagano (most beautiful place!!), and told me my Japanese was very good. Talk about incentives to keep studying hard! I promised her I’d visit Nagano sometime and we chatted a bit about Prague until the tram came along. It’s so nice to randomly meet cool people!

Took the tram back to the hotel, collected my bags, then went to the train station. Had a snack, wandered around a bit, then got on the 9:32 train back to Warsaw. Such a fun, short visit to Prague!