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Published: March 24th 2007
I'm FINALLY getting to this long-overdue entry about my trip to Czech Republic last weekend! It's been a crazy week, and I figure I should get this posted before I leave for Greece today.
Day 1 - Travel to Prague/Plzen My first solo international flight took off last Wednesday (Mar. 14) afternoon. It was kind of lonely since I spent the whole day waiting around for my bus and then the flight, but everything was worth it when the plane touched down in Prague at 5:45 p.m. My cousin Becky and her husband Ben live in Plzen ("Pil-sen"), which is about an hour from Prague, and Ben was there to meet me at the airport with the groundskeeper and car. It's been ages since I've seen family!! My cousins live above the ELS mission school where they teach; it's a one-year call for them. Becky teaches 2nd grade and Ben works with the vicars. It seems like quite the adventure for them to spend their very first year of marriage in a foreign country... I give them credit!
Becky prepared a nice dinner once we got home, and we sat down to chicken in an apple-y sauce
served with Krokety ("crow-ket-ee"), a Czech food that is basically fried little potato balls, to talk and catch up. I heard more about their experiences over there, including their extensive travels. We also talked a bit about what I would be doing during my stay.
Day 2 - Climb the tallest steeple in the country... eat at the biggest restaurant... and see my first castle! Today I felt my foreign-ness for the first time since coming to Europe, practically -- Czech is a truly incomprehensible language, written and spoken! My cousins have been taking lessons, but say they haven't gotten very far and can get by with speaking German. The money also takes some getting used to, since 1 Crown (Kc) equals about $0.05.
After Becky's first class (they have pretty light, spread-out schedules) she took me across the street to the streetcar stop and we took the tram to the town center. She showed me some places of interest, such as the square the the famous brewery; bought us train tickets for the afternoon; and tried to get into the Sky Cafe (a coffee place on the 16th floor with a great view) but it was
all reserved.
The next 45 minutes or so were all on my own! Becky went back to school and I took the tram to the town center. It was a little scary to be on my own, but that's something I really adjusted to over these 5 days. I walked around, taking pictures and earning strange glances from strangers, and got into St. Bartholomews cathedral. The dim light in the front entrance, which was separated from the main sanctuary by gates, didn't offer much in the way of exploration, but I will always LOVE cathedrals and the feelings of peace and awe that go with them.
There was a group from the States there, so I chatted for a few minutes. On my way back around the square, one guy from the group ran up and asked if I'd gone up in the steeple -- which, of course, I hadn't. So I went back and paid a mere 30 Kc. to take on the steep and ever-narrower staircases to the very top of the steeple. Besides discovering that I am really out of shape, I enjoyed the climb and the rewarding view at the top immensely. It's the
tallest steeple in the country, and offers an outstanding view of Plzen. The city is much bigger than I realized! I got some great pictures, even hanging my camera upside down over the ledge, and hurried back to catch the tram.
A soup-and-sandwich lunch was followed by a nice chat with Ben, and then I headed downstairs to see Becky teach her afternoon English class. The kids were SO cute, and there's something about hearing children babble away in a different language that makes them seem super-smart and all the more cuter. I sat at a desk with a little girl named Alishka (sp?) and heard all about her artwork in shy English. Becky even had her class stand up and greet me by name in unison. Very cute, but I can see what a challenge it must be for her to control a class of Czech children.
Our afternoon plan was to take a train to see Karlstejn ("Karl-shtine") Castle, but the pastor's wife suddenly had arranged for Becky and another teacher, Noel, to have subs so Noel could actually drive us there. We lost out on the train tickets, but it was nice to have the
car. Though we ended up getting lost, a random guy at a gas station lead us where we needed to go -- I guess it helps to travel with just women! The drive to the castle was very pretty in the lovely weather, and we had an equally comfortable 20-minute walk up the hill to the castle. It was so picturesque! Just like a fairy-tale to see the castle way up on the hill. We couldn't go in because it was closed, but got some nice pictures at the top. I bought a postcard at one of the plethora of tourist shops on the way back down to the car.
Back home, my cousins took me to out to eat Na Spilce ("Spill-seh") at the Pilsner Brewery, which is the largest restaurant in the country. I had Svickova ("Sveech-ko-va"), which is a typical Czech dish, on Becky's recommendation. It consists of cooked beef, drenched in a delcious creamy brown sauce, and served with bread dumplings (the dough is boiled, not baked, and is very moist) and cranberry sauce/lemon. I had the house beer to drink, Pilsner Urquell, and -- sorry to offend any beer-lovers -- couldn't stomach the taste.
Museum of the Ghetto in Terezin
This room printed all names of the Jewish children that came through Terezin who didn't survive WWII.So Ben got an extra beer. But dessert made up for that!! We all got something different, and I really liked every one. Becky's was a spicecake, Ben's was really sweet with crepes with raspberries, and I had coffee/vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate/raspberry syrup in the shape of a flower and served with whipped cream. And the entire meal was pretty cheap... I think I remember the tab being the equivalent of under $30, including tip.
Though Ben and Becky missed their "conversation club," which is when anyone can come practice their English, we went to the Bible study that followed. The rest of the evening was just chill... I talked to Becky for a long time and they both helped me plan out my adventure for tomorrow: a solo trip to a concentration camp!
Day 3 - Face the fate of Jews at Terezin... and the adventures of solo travel Tram, bus, run in front of a bus... catch a late bus, navigate the Prague metro, get off the bus at the wrong stop... accept the help of strangers, take two more trams -- that's how I got to Terezin ("Tear-a-zeen") and back today! Rather
exhausting, not to mention emotionally draining to face the effects of hate and death.
It started out fine, with an early bus to Prague after Ben got me to the bus station. I had to buy all my tickets on my buses today, which meant I had to speak a few words of Czech (or at least be able to say the place I was going) to the bus drivers. The very first bus was late, so I almost missed my connection and had to run across the station, duck under a guard rail, and run in front of the bus just as it was leaving! Very brave, I thought, and I think the driver took me to be crazy. I disembarked in the desolate town -- if you can even call it that, the whole town was turned into a Jewish ghetto during WWII and hasn't recovered -- of Terezin and had a day of exhibits, endless walking, cemeteries and sadness.
The "English-speaking" lady at the reception desk sold me an all-day student ticket (just 50 Kc.) and directed me to the first English film of the day... though it was in German. I stuck around and
watched a second film, a different, longer version but in English, to get an idea of the history and background of this place. Terezin had military barracks for years, keeping war prisoners there, but gained attention when it became a holding place for thousands of European Jews in WWII. Many died here, mostly from disease and maltreatment, but were usually transported to other death camps like Auschwitz to be killed. Terezin was also "fixed-up" for the international Red Cross at one point in the war, to make it look like the Jews were treated well in their own special city. I saw the actual propaganda video, which was heart-breaking when you think of the reality of their situation.
I wandered around the main museum afterwards, trying to soak in a little of the wealth of information and exhibits. Terezin is known for its collection of artwork -- especially children's artwork -- created during the war. One room is just covered in the names of the children that died during the war, at Terezin or after passing through it, which was horrible to see. 8,000 of the 10,500 children didn't live through the war. One photo got to me especially:
three little boys are walking, one glancing toward the camera, followed by a few more people, including a woman and baby. The caption just reads "on the way to the gas chamber" which was just heart-breaking.
The Magdeburg Barracks down the street housed more cultural displays, including the various arts that were created in Terezin, despite the hardship. The displays here were especially well-put together, though I got yelled at for taking a picture of a set-up of typical sleeping quarters. Next, I almost got lost walking down to the mortuary and funeral rooms, which were on the way out of town (though, the city is walled so I can't get too lost). There were just some simple displays here, and the mortuary had a display of the little paper boxes where individual human ashes were stored. At the end of the war, thousands of these were dumped in the river to hide the evidence of death. I also visited the crematorium, which was probably one of the creepiest rooms, for me, since it's just rows of furnaces. Next came the Jewish cemetery, which is well-laid out and peaceful -- despite the horde of tourists that got off a
bus just as I arrived! They stuck to the museum and entrance, however, so I still had the place to myself to reflect and take pictures.
I headed back to town (on the way, some locals convinced me to take a picture of some muskrats down by the water... apparantly, this was exciting enough for them to pantomime at me frantically until I complied) and couldn't find my way to the Small Barracks until I stopped for directions. On the way, I stopped for some food at a dodgy-looking stand, since I had eaten Becky's packed lunch hours earlier and was rather tired and crabby at this point. Refreshed by my unidentifiable meat sandwhich and ice cream bar, I hurried to the Barracks for a few more pictures and more exhibits (by then, I really wasn't taking them in) of the fate of prisoners, not all of them Jewish.
I had to run back to get the bus home, which was half an hour late! Which meant I missed my connection in Prague and had to wait for a later bus once I got there. My time in between was spent traveling the metro to get between bus
stations -- which was actually pretty simple, and I like the Prague underground much better than London's, since it's cleaner and easier to navigate. Hung out at a mall and got some fried cheese (I didn't know what I was ordering, apparantly it's Czech and served with cranberry sauce) at McDonald's while I was waiting.
The bus was Student Agency, which meant free drinks and watching Friends on the TV! A nice break, but what happened next wasn't so nice: I got up to see where we were when we stopped, and the attendant convinced me this was my stop... even though I knew it wasn't. We were in Plzen, but not the bus station where I expected to be! I even showed her my ticket, but she practically pushed me off the bus before it roared away and I was left standing at a random place in Plzen.
Trying not to panic, I walked around to see if there was anything familiar, but of course there wasn't. I asked a lady how to get to the bus station, and though she spoke a little English, she kept trying to pass me off to this middle-aged couple, who
were happy to help but spoke only Czech. They got me on a No. 11 tram with them, which eventually got me to the bus station. Once there, I spent about 10 minutes trying to convince them I knew where I was, but they insisted on taking me on the No. 2 tram to personally see me home OK. It was very nice of them, and the lady even gave me a hug.
Such a relief to finally be home, 12 hours from when I started! I realized how much I appreciated company, not to mention a warm bed to go back to at night. I hope traveling aroujnd Europe this next month won't be this stressful...
Ben made me some macaroni and cheese -- great comfort food! -- and I went to bed early.
Day 4 - See Prague with my own personal tour guides My cousins took me on a day trip to Prague on Saturday, and though the weather wasn't as nice as it had been, I really enjoyed the beautiful city and great company.
Our train took about an hour to get to Prague, and from there we took the metro
(trouble getting enough change to buy tickets!) and trams around the city. Plus our own legs -- lots of walking today. They took me up to the cathedral/castle, and I toured St. Vitus Cathedral on my own since Becky and Ben had already been there. A very beautiful and ornate cathedral, but absolutely packed with tourists, which took away from its charm, for me. How I've been spoiled with the always-deserted Winchester cathedral! I couldn't find my cousins afterwards, so wandered around, saw some soldiers marching to change the guard or something, before Becky finally spotted me. I decided not to go in the castle, so bought postcards and we walked back down to the main town.
On the way to the Charles Bridge, we wandered into a random backyard garden, finding that there wasn't a way out the other end. But we did watch some peacocks for awhile, which was also a random surprise. The bridge is 700-some years old and is one of Prague's most famous attractions. There were tons of stands selling artwork of the city along the bridge, and I bought a nice print of the bridge to take home. Each of the statues along
the way has a history behind it, too, and Ben read from the Rick Stives guidebook along the way. There were even live music acts, including a group that featured a man playing the washboard!
We also stopped at a bagel shop for DELICIOUS warm bagels in a number of varieties (I had one cheese and one garlic) for lunch. We sat in the corner and surreptitiously added meat and cheese from home to our bread. We tried to get our free ride up the hill to the Eiffel Tower of Prague, but it was closed that day.
We also visited the Old City Square, I think it's called, including more beautiful buildings and the astronomical clock. Seeing it strike the hour wasn't the huge deal the crowd of people seemed to believe it was! I couldn't believe how many people showed up for the 30-second display. Down there we also saw a monument to Luther and the Reformation.
Walking back, we saw the newer square in the city, which is more like London or New York, though the ornate National Museum is at one end. And that's where my tour ended! I'd seen everything there was
to see in the tourist end of Prague in one day, with my own personal tour guides, besides.
On the train ride home, I had my feet up on the seat across from me at the end of the trip. While I was dozing, a conductor came up and shoved the back of my shoulder, jolting me awake and I slammed my feet down. He started yelling at me in Czech, and apparantly I just stared at him and said "Huh?" cause I was half-asleep. Becky told him I didn't speak Czech, and while speaking German, got out that he was mad I didn't speak Czech and was going to charge me 100 Kc. for putting my feet up. Ridiculous! I paid the fine (OK, it was about $5) but wasn't happy about it.
Becky made dinner back home, including bread dumplings, and my favorite part was the mozzarella-and-tomato salad.
Day 5 - Attend church and fly home I got to sleep in before my first real church service since I've come to Europe. Granted, it was in Czech, but it was still meaningful! I got the English translation of what was important, and could recognize
what I was singing/saying in Czech as part of a familiar service. Ben even wrote the sermon a vicar gave that day. I loved hearing the little kindergartners since their English/Czech song, and the church was especially full of parents because of their singing. I guess most of the schoolchildren don't attend church unless they sing, since their parents send them to the school for the good reputation for English lessons, not religion. Many Czech people are atheist, an effect of the years of communism, which makes for a challenging mission field.
We had pancakes for lunch -- yum! -- which Ben made while I went to the grocery store with Becky. Since it was so cold outside, we skipped our tentative plans to do some more sightseeing and just hung out indoors, watching a German comedy and later a movie in Noel and Don's place with the other ELS teachers.
The end of the trip came up really quickly, since before I knew it, it was time to head to the bus station. My cousins kindly accompanied me to Prague, which was good, since our bus was late to leave and I barely caught the shuttle to
the airport. A quick goodbye, and then I was off to complete the final leg of my weekend journey. I'm glad I caught that shuttle instead of the one 20 minutes earlier, since the line to check-in was very long. Made it to my gate after checking my bag and had an uneventful flight, with the same sketchy snack that I had on the way over.
Back in London, I was worried that I wouldn't get my 10:40 p.m. bus in time (it was the last one to Winchester that night), since I didn't get off the plan until 10:25. This was justified, since the line through customs was ridiculously long! I had resigned myself to sleeping in the airport or catching a train by the time I got through the line, since I missed the bus, but it was somehow delayed (that never happens!) and I got on just in time. Walked through town and up to campus in the dead silence of midnight, and was very relieved to finally be home -- though the last 5 days were absolutely great!
Life since Czech This week has been pretty uneventful... I've just been busy packing and
editing my pictures from this weekend when I had time. I also went out several nights, since it's our last time seeing friends for a month.
I leave for Greece tonight!! It's an overnight flight to Athens, and the next time you hear from me will be from there. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I embark on these travels!
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Becky
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Beautiful Pictures!
Hey Em, It was so fun to relive your visit through the pictures and your kind description of the events that took place. I like how you emphasized the mozz. and tomato salad- which I will now translate for other readers: the meal I made flopped. I bought the pork from the wrong store or something... and it stank. Being the best guest ever, you didn't even complain. What a dear. Thanks so much for visiting! We miss you and your smiling face and your use of words like "dodgy". Have a great time in Greece! Don't let the stress of travel ruin anything- you'll have a great time, I'm sure! Love ya!