Noticed // June 7, 2019

Following the Pilsner Brewery tour, my friends and I headed into the city center of Plzen̂. After a hardy lunch of street food, we noticed that some kind of festival or carnival seemed to be setting up for the day. A stage was being put up in front of the towering church that dominated the square. Local artists set up shop all over the square, selling goods ranging from puppets and toys to traditional Czech foods. While I have done some digging to discover what event was about to happen, the answer is still unclear. It could be one of two things: either the International Folklore Festival or the Historical Weekend. I think it’s interesting that there always small festivals like this around the city; this is similar to the way it is in Austin. Prague seems to be a place where, if you’re bored, it’s really your fault, just like it is in Austin. Fun and unique opportunities seem to be lying in wait around every corner of this city. This just makes me more excited to go out and adventure around the city each and every day. Even areas that I have frequented before could be completely transformed by some new event on any given day.

Around Here // June 6, 2019

I have never been a particularly adventurous eater. Most of my childhood and teenage years were filled with orders of chicken tenders and fries at every restaurant. While I have slowly been getting better at branching out in Austin, Prague has definitely forced me to make a leap into adventurous eating. Honestly, I surprised myself during the food tour we took today. I tried every single thing that was placed in front of me and enjoyed the vast majority of it, from weird-smelling cheese to alcoholic chocolate. No matter how much I try, though, I still cannot get myself to enjoy beer.
By far my favorite stop of the tour was a restaurant called Kantyna. They served a broad spread of different meats. My favorite was the pulled beef, though I think it would have been improved with some barbeque sauce. Maybe that’s just the Texan in me talking, though. One of the most unique parts of this restaurant was the butcher. Instead of buying pre-made food from the restaurant, you could pick fresh meat yourself and either have it packaged to take home or have it cooked in front of you in the restaurant. Like many other restaurants, they gave you a number that they would call out when your order was ready; however, the numbers at Kantyna were written on bones. It was such a unique touch to an already interesting and delicious restaurant.

Morning Glories // June 5, 2019

I realized yesterday that I felt I had explored quite a few new areas of Prague. However, as I was trying to find a place to get coffee around my apartment this morning, I discovered what should have been a fairly obvious oversight on my part: I had yet to truly explore the neighborhood in which I have lived for a little over a week. After some quick Googling, I found this café, La Boheme. Feeling confident due to the amazing ratings the café had received on Yelp, I decided to go check it out. When I walked in, I was greeted to the earthy aroma of coffee as well as what can only be described as an Instagram influencer’s dream. There were massive red and green velvet chairs everywhere, flowers on every table, large picturesque windows, and more. I was immediately drawn to this woman seated alone next to one of these windows. One of my favorite aspects of photography is being able to capture a unique moment in someone’s day; that exact moment is something that will never happen in precisely the same way ever again. I like wondering about what this woman’s life is like and what’s in store for her during the rest of the day when she is no longer the subject of my photo. Regardless, this quiet moment of solitude will be forever memorialized through the photos that I took today.

A Thousand Words // June 4, 2019

I have just finished our first week in Prague, and Old Town Square has already lost its shine for me. During my first week, the square was not crowded; school was not yet out and tourist season had yet to fully pick up. Now, however, it is so packed that you can barely see the ground in front of you. It has become much more of a tourist destination since I arrived, and I have started to avoid the area as much as I can. However, while I was waiting for a tour of the Jewish Quarter to begin, I found myself back at the square. Despite how packed it is, it’s a convenient location to pick up some food and exchange currency. As I was walking around on the outskirts of this square, I noticed this family feeding the local pigeons. The mother would hand seeds to each of the children and they would run off in opposite directions, tossing the seeds around and squealing with delight when the pigeons would flock to them. Eventually, it was apparent that the children were getting tired of running around, so the mother came to them. They stuck together and fed the pigeons before going off to their next location. Some days, it’s nice to slow down and notice these little moments of joy around us. It is definitely something I want to do more often.

Location Notation // June 3, 2019

The architecture of Prague Castle is unique. Through the years additions were created to the structure in the different styles of various ages. These stylistic variations range from the Renaissance to Baroque and appear to exist in side-by-side harmony. The gardens reflect this wide variety of styles from different periods as well. However, perhaps the most unique mixing of historical styles is found a short tram stop from the Prague Castle. The Wallenstein Palace Garden’s namesake, Albrecht Václav Eusebius of Wallenstein, was a deft commander in battle in the 15^thcentury. However, he was unusually ambitious for a man with his career, and he was murdered for his hubris in 1634 after being caught conspiring against the emperor. This garden boasts a diverse variety of sculptures . Live peacock peacefully parade between the visitors and the art. However one area of the garden was constructed to frighten rather than relax; a hermitage where, yes, hermits from around the city were welcome to come and reside with wild caged beasts the likes of lions, bears, wolves and birds of prey. While the hermits and the majority of these animals are long gone, a few owls and exotic birds still occupy the space.

Not From These Parts // June 2, 2019

As I climbed the stairs up to the Vyšehrad Cemetery in the 85-degree heat, I started to wonder if it was really worth the trek. Between flights of stairs and the hills in between, I was sweaty, out of breath, and just plain exhausted. A little over halfway up, however, I was graced with a beautiful view of Prague. It was a fairly busy area and full of tons of tourists; people going up to and coming down from the cemetery were stopping to enjoy the view. Honestly, the view made the whole trip out there worth it. I could see the river, watch boats sail by, and see people kayaking. Beautiful apartment buildings lined the street and I could see some of the older Prague architecture in the distance. It was fun to just stand there and people-watch too. There was an artist there selling her small paintings of famous landmarks in Prague, and it was entertaining to see people’s faces light up as they realized the amazing view they had. The cemetery was nice too, but when I think back on this day, it will be the beautiful view of the city that I remember most.

Weekend Miser // June 1, 2019

My past few days were spent getting used to the city of Prague. However, now that I am a little more comfortable with doing things like utilizing public transportation, I have started exploring more. Even if I don’t go far, it’s easy to find something to do in this city. Most of my exploring has been in areas I frequent: the space around my apartment, Old Town Square, Wenceslas Square, etc. I’ve started to stray from my beaten path a bit and wander into stores along the street more often, seeing the city with less tunnel vision than I had previously. One of the stores I wandered into was this candy store. I enjoyed watching families with their small children filter in and out of the store. Parents would fill up to-go bags with treats that their children begged for, and soon I realized that I wanted to do the same. There were no prices listed anywhere, so I was nervous walking up to the counter with my bag of goodies. Honestly, I had no idea how much I had spent, and at the time it didn’t really matter. I was shocked when my total came out to be only about $10. I still haven’t fully gotten used to how much cheaper certain things are here; this is a perfect example of that. In Austin, the bag of candy I bought would have been upwards of $20 to $30. Not only was the store adorable, but it was also immensely affordable.

Small Wonder // May 3, 2019

To be honest, I was not sure what to expect while walking to the Roma parade today. The only things I knew about the Roma people were the gross stereotypes I had seen in the media; and even then, those are relatively few and far between in America. In the Czech Republic, the Roma people are a minority, only making up 2-3 percent of the population. They have been systematically discriminated against for years in this country, yet they still remain proud. Khamoro is the annual Roma festival, where Roma people in the Czech Republic gather to celebrate their culture. The culmination of this event is the parade, which I attended with my classmates. As the members of this community danced out of Wenceslas Square towards Old Town Square, I was struck by the beauty of the small details in everyone’s outfits. The attire definitely played a role in their culture; they used their dresses to emphasize their movements while dancing. In addition, the little beads and coins attached to their clothing chimed as they danced and swirled around. The photo above features one such outfit. I chose to focus on the smaller, finer details of the dress. While the outfit on its own was stunning, the way the small coins caught my eye in the light drew me to them. These small details make each outfit as unique as the person who is wearing

Around Here // May 30, 2019

Today, I was wandering around Old Town Square, I noticed a ton of street food vendors. Sisters Bakery became a quick favorite of mine, with their array of open-faced sandwiches. While these treats were initially created with the ease of consuming in mind, I’m not quite sure where they got that idea. While Sisters only has five different kinds of sandwiches, depending on the season, each one brings a unique flavor to the table. Upon ordering, the hostess takes your sandwiches and adds the finishing touches: a spritz of something from a fancy perfume bottle and a little bit of salt. Most of what the worker was doing was lost in translation, but the final product was so delicious I cannot truly bring myself to care.
My favorite, and what appears to be one of the most prolific, food in this country is probably Trdelník. There seems to be a store or a stall selling this pastry everywhere you go. It feels as if you could throw a stone in Old Town and have a relatively high chance of hitting one of the stores selling this food. They make this pastry by wrapping dough around a metal stick and baking it. It’s usually served topped with cinnamon and sugar, however, some of the stalls let you get a little more creative. My favorite version is filled with both chocolate and vanilla ice cream. While it was heavy, it was perfect for the intense sweet tooth that I always find myself stuck with. There were also versions filled with whipped cream and strawberries, and even some just full of Nutella. I cannot recommend this street food enough.

Architecturally Speaking // May 29, 2019

My first day in Prague has come and gone. It’s still hard to believe I’m here; it hasn’t fully sunken in that I’m going to be living here for a month. Coming on this trip has been a major goal of mine since before even getting into UT, and it’s surreal that I’m finally doing it. Like I am sure is true for everyone, my first day was a sleepy, jetlagged one. I woke up for my flight out of Austin at four AM and didn’t sleep on either one of my flights. This meant that by the time I got to Prague, I had been awake for over 26 hours. 

However, I was still blown away by Prague in those first few hours. During the optional orientation, I learned basics about getting around the city and explored the areas around my apartment. The very first thing that caught my eye was the architecture. In America, and especially in my growing Dallas suburb, there are next to no historical buildings, only cookie-cutter houses and strip malls. Even Austin’s historic buildings cannot compare to the architecture of Prague. On one of my walks, I saw a monument that was built after a plague ran through the city in the sixteenth century. I think it’s amazing that I can leave my apartment and walk down streets full of rich history from many centuries ago.