I have to first apologize for my long absence- my only excuse is that I’ve been having too good a time to stop and think about writing about what a good time I’ve been having. Long story(ies) short, Eric and I arrived in Prague after a month in Montreal to begin our next set of adventures, albeit in somewhat more conventional locations. We were greeted with a small surprise from our new university, Univerzita Karlova, who informed us that classes would be starting a week later than previously anticipated because, in the words of our International Office liaison “Under normal circumstances, classes would start on 28th September. However, because Monday 28th September is a public holiday in the Czech Republic, we cannot start classes that day, and our teaching departments are adopting various strategies to deal with this. Some are starting their classes on Tuesday 29th September (skipping the Monday classes in their first week), others are delaying the start of classes until Monday 5th October.” Can any of you imagine the department of Political Science at McGill deciding 2 weeks before the start of the semester that it wanted to start a week later than everyone else? HMB would laugh hysterically I’m sure. Lucky for us this meant 2 weeks to settle into Prague (i.e. find a place to live) and to travel a bit.
St. Vitus Cathedral
Mucha window in St. Vitus
First impressions of Prague were lovely. A city caught between Holy Roman pride and Slavic roots, Prague exhibits a unique blend of East and West that is evident everywhere, even in spite of the more recent layer of Soviet uniformity clinging persistently to the city walls. This isn’t my first time to the city, but there are still three new things that caught my eye this time around:
- The transit system Prague has three public transportation systems: the Metro, the tram system, and the bus system. All three seem to operate under an honor code of sorts. There are no turnstiles to the metro and no one checking tickets to get onto the bus or tram. You are supposed to buy tickets and have them stamped at machines located at the top of the escalators to the metro platforms, or inside the bus/tram cars, but since there’s no one around to make sure that the hundreds of people who just walk through have monthly passes, I can’t help wondering how many people never bother to buy tickets. I would consider this true “transportation of the people”, perhaps a remnant of Communist influence???
- The Vegas Factor There are casino’s EVERYWHERE. Even bars often have a couple of slot machines handy (I suppose to make up for the low price of beer). We’ve assumed that the “Nonstop” signs mean that they’re open 24/7, just in case you really feel like playing a hand of poker before work.
- Erotic City Prague’s most successfully commercialized sex shop, Erotic City appears with the frequency of Sean Turner’s name on a McGill bathroom wall. Between this, the casinos and the cheap beer, I’m beginning to believe my Polish father’s insistence that “the Czech’s don’t take ANYTHING seriously!”
The Seine at sunset
A familiar face; Peace pagoda
As nice as Prague is, we decided to take advantage of our extra week and go to Paris to visit Eric’s friend Jérémie and enjoy ourselves. It’s been 5 years since I was last in Paris and returning gave me the same sense of relief that I feel when I arrive back on Montréal island. It’s sort of like returning from some great foggy void to cool reality- I suppose it’s the same feeling New Yorkers have when returning to Manhattan. We had an incredible week of fine weather and relaxed wandering, and then to top it all off took a short weekend trip courtesy of Jérémie and his voiture to Rennes, Fougères, and Mont St Michel.
Jérémie
It’s all too beautiful to explain, so our experiences will have to speak through a few pictures, but suffice it to say we found ourselves wondering if we should not have gone to France for the semester instead.
Rennes: authentic Brittany
Fortress at Fougères
Mont St Michel from below
From above
We were reassured in our decision when we finally returned to Prague and settled into our flat to discover that we are literally 15 minutes from Wenceslas Square and just around the corner from the Prague Symphony Hall, but nonetheless there is something about Paris that is impossible to replicate anywhere else.
View from our bedroom window
As for now, school has finally started so we have a bit more structure in our lives, but this isn’t deterring us from planning future trips. Next on the agenda: Rome, Berlin, Krakow, and Budapest. Life is very, VERY good.
Home Sweet Prague
