No Redos

Though Prague is a European capital, its identity is still very much divided between its Central European Hapsburg history, the decades of communist rule (“the Bolshevik times”) and of course, constantly resurfacing elements of Czech nationalism and Czech language culture.  As a result, many of Prague’s museums and tourist texture is oriented around these eras and much of the most vibrant arts and cultural scene is fairly inaccessible behind the language barrier.  Two places that I would recommend that are the tip of this iceberg is DOX Gallery, an international contemporary art museum similar to the New Museum back home, and the Meet Factory, which, as an old industrial building on Prague’s outskirts that plays host to concerts and alternative theater productions, is like a little slice of the Brooklyn waterfront.  Bear in mind that, except for restaurants and supermarkets, most shops close at 6, and restuarants that aren't chains are shuttered on the weekends!

At the outset, don’t expect the same amount of warmth of Mediterranean-adjacent cultures or the joie de vivre of Parisians from these Central Europeans, but once we got to know some Czechs on a day-to-day basis, like staff and professors, they warmed up, were a lot of fun.  Even the fairly prominent guest speakers in my Reporting the Arts, who we would only meet for one day, were quite warm and casual as they spoke about their photography, architecture, documentary filmmaking, etc. As the Czech Republic is such a small country (and Prague is such a tight-knit community for a certain strata of intelligentsia and artists), they were very forgiving of our unfamiliarity with their work and milieu.  So befriend some Czech people – this might be easier if studying Czech, or teaching English to native speakers, which is also a volunteer option here.
Also, as you may have seen from my previous post, there are a few soccer fields new our dorm (which, for a number of reasons is widely acknowledged to be the best option), and I highly encourage next semester’s students to go and utilize it – sometimes, a few neighborhood Czech teenagers join us.

Lastly, general travel advice that I should have been following better:
As I’m sure most of you students based in Europe already know, traveling here is tremendously pricey.  Beyond the unfavorable exchange rates (fortunately we’re not yet on the Euro here in the Czech Republic!), there are often little fees and charges that arise when trying to buy train tickets, plane tickets, or book hostels. Eating out frequently also adds up – though it’s cheap enough here, a good weeks-worth of groceries doesn’t cost much more than two meals out. That said, I would quite often convince myself not to buy touristy souvenirs like these smart retro Victorian-Nouveau postcards to send from Budapest or a tote bag for my mom from The British Library emblazoned with the phrase “The Riot Act Has Been Read,” making good on that warning she always gave me as a kid.  I’m not sure when I’ll get my next chance to get either of these things and I regret it slightly: all I have to show for a many of my travels is a lot of photos, some ticket-stubs and quite a few postcards. As great as memories can be, a few tangible reminders aren't bad either.

[On the topic of the just-under-the-surface charming Czech attitude, here's a picture I took of our neighborhood's boar going out for his afternoon walk. I can't explain it either.]