Wednesday, January 25, 2012

falling in love too much.

i have a problem. i love too many places. i love paris, i love lille, i love bruges, i love bordeaux, and now? now i love prague, too. i went for just a quick weekend trip with my closest girlfriend here and we had such an amazing time. i took my first low-cost flight through easy jet (and yes, it was so easy) and made my way to eastern europe.

i had a few signs of lust before i realized it was love. first, the sunset. i only saw it for a few minutes before getting to the metro, but it's been quite some time since i've seen something so beautiful. second, how clean and quiet the metro was. no homeless people begging for money, no smell of bodily functions, just the hush of people moving around. third, the single file lines on the escalator. it's incredible. people actually ride the escalators in one line on the far right so people in a hurry can pass on the left.

i was still lusting on the metro listening to the language. we got off and walked through wenceslas square. the national museum is at one end and in front of it sits a statue of saint wenceslas. the first post-communist president (vรกclav havel) passed away around christmas time and so there was a memorial there for him. candles and flowers were everywhere--it was lovely.

i was lusting some more over an espresso learning some basic phrases to (hopefully) help us get by for the weekend. our host was very patient, which is terribly important when 'learning' a language that literally sounds nothing like the two that you already know.

the first signs of love came soon after. we saw the astrological clock in the old town square then walked toward old charles bridge. i could just feel the charm, the city was oozing with it..even in the dark. i'm a sucker for charm, so i could pretty much tell i was doomed from that point on. then we had dinner. we ate at an incredible restaurant. the food, in a word, was scrumptious. and the beer? amazing. i had a sauerkraut and bratwurst soup followed by a budweiser goulash. don't let the name budweiser fool you, the czech budweiser has nothing in common with the american budweiser (thankfully). we had more beer for dessert and called it a night.

the next morning was when it was all over. it had snowed over night. my first snow in europe. there is such a calm that comes over a place when it snows. luli and i made our way to the prague castle. we missed the walking tour we wanted to take that morning so we decided to tackle the castle ourselves and go on the second walking tour offered later that day. the castle was amazing. the view was beautiful and st vitus' cathedral was breathtaking.

it was snowing while we walked back to the old town square for our tour. beautiful, gentle falling snow. the tour was perfect. we learned so much about the city. we walked all over the place, saw amazing things, and met amazing people. it was pouring snow when the tour ended so we decided it was a great time to sit down and have a beer. best place to do it? at a monastery. my monk-brewed beer was fantastic.

we decided to keep up with our new friends and all go on a bar crawl together that night. it was so fun. we played flip cup, jenga, reenacted famous sculptures, and had the most amazing night. i don't know if any of my nights compare since moving here.

i decided there is no such thing as too much love, so i'm in love..again (and i don't hate it.)

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