Praha - day one

First and foremost, it's cold here. Being a California denizen my entire life, and having most of my travels limited to the summertime, the majority of my exposure to this type of cold has been while strapped to a snowboard riding down the mountain. In that setting, I'm an expert at layering; in this one, I seem to think that one can navigate just fine in a coat, something like San Francisco on a cold day, right? So wrong! I should have learned my lesson after freezing my way through Japan last March, and while I am better prepared this time around (I do have gloves and a scarf) it's still pretty unpleasant to spend an extended time walking around outside, such as I did last night and all day today.

After several hours of decompressing yesterday I dragged myself out to explore and eat, serendipitously running into my colleague Jon who had just arrived. Since his friend was delayed flying in (bad weather across Europe) he came along. Prague seems to be packed with cute little trendy restaurants, live music, and bars. After a nice dinner at a bar with live jazz we just explored the city on foot, so I was able to (sort of) orient myself. I generally pride myself on my sense of direction but the streets here form nothing resembling a grid so I was pretty lost walking around. Unlike many of the European cities I saw last time I was here on business, where you can find a relatively small and contained "old city" with cute little cobblestone streets, surrounded by a much more modern space, Prague has a significantly larger area with this always charming quality.

Today was my one full day to see anything I wanted to see while I'm here, so I had a pretty packed day. Surprisingly my usual "itinerary girl" tendencies did not come out this time around - rather than knowing all there was to see and planning my entire day in advance, I literally figured it all out once I got here and crossed my fingers I'd get through most of what I wanted to see.

I started out at the National Gallery, which houses a collection of Czech as well as other European artists. I was entirely under whelmed by the building, sure I just went to the deYoung in San Francisco a few weeks ago, but this was so plain and dilapidated and boring, it felt like it could have just as easily been a hospital. Honestly I didn't get too far into the art work; I covered two and a half of the five floors. What I did see were perhaps the singular most disturbing set of images I've ever confronted in art each more revolting than the previous, thanks to an Austrian artist named Hermann Nitsch. I won't horrify you with a description, but if you have a sick and twisted interest in the macabre and perverse, ask me about it sometime. The images are now unfortunately indelible in my mind. Maybe that is what really cut my visit short.

From there I took the metro to Prague Castle, a complex chocked full of historical buildings which dates back to the ninth century. As my fingers, ears, and toes began to loose feeling, I wandered around and inside the impressive St. Vitus' Cathedral, which was completed in the 19th century a full century after construction first began. I also visited the Royal Palace, St. George's Bascilica, and my personal favorite, Golden Lane, a strip of tiny little homes that craftsmen used to inhabit. I could barely fit under the doorways, were people really that small back then?

The walk down from the castle took me through yet another set of quaint cobblestone streets, where I found my way to the highlight of my day - the Kafka Museum, which I had just discovered reading a little brochure over goulash for lunch. In case you don't know already, I adore Kafta, and after todays visit to his museum, I am an even bigger fan. Whereas at the National Gallery and Prague Castle I was feeling a bit anxious to get to the next activity to ensure I fit everything in, I found myself completely consumed in absorbing every detail of the museum - I literally read everything there was to read (that was in English of course). I just love the way he articulates himself, The Trial and The Castle especially are two of my favorite books (Metamorphosis was a little much for me, at least upon the first reading). What else can I say I just love him.

By now the sun is starting to set, and I walk across the Charles Bridge (named after King Charles IV who pretty much put the city on the map during his reign), the first bridge built to cross the Vltava River which runs through Prague. Totally touristy, lined with vendors, but still retains a lot of charm with the myriad statues lining each side. A short walk from there brought me back to the Old Town Square, where there is very famous clock not to be missed. It was nearing 5pm so I figured I'd stick around for whatever it was that it does - which turned out to be about 30 seconds of activity, literally - two little windows opened, a set of maybe 3 ft. tall figurines rotated their way through the opening, and that was it. Good thing I only rerouted for about 10 minutes to see that one.

Prague is of course known for its Jewish quarter, which is where I headed next. I was really hoping to get into the Jewish cemetery (where Kafka is buried) but it is unfortunately part of the Jewish Museum, which closed at 5pm. That was a real bummer, because I was definitely looking forward to going to the museum as well. Instead I just walked around, and got a peak from a tiny window along a stone wall. I am hoping to get lucky and find an hour to squeeze it in over the next two and a half days I'm here.

That's it! Just been back at the Hotel Yasmin (more on that later) thawing out. Off to meet up with coworkers downstairs to plan out tomorrow's meetings.