Of Dirty, Smelly Pants and Hostels

I forgot to put my predeparture post online, it's two posts down from this one. Czech it out. Sorry.

Newtown Prague - Newtown Prague was founded in 1326 about 100 meters from Old Town Prague. Old Town Prague was founded a hundred years or so earlier. There is just so much history in Europe, you know? yes.

I am going to get trapped tourist style in Prague Castle today. There the Second Defenestration of Prague occurred in the 15th century that set off the 30 years war. In the end, the Catholics won. Good thing too because their cathedrals are so shiny.

The 17th I woke up at 4am and wandered the city fearless of feeling like a super-tourist. I am working on getting over the fact that I do not and more or less will not speak a word of any native tongue during my travels for the next month. Hopefully broken Russian will be in higher demand down South. Walking around the city before light was great. People said Dobrei Den to me, acknowledging my humanity and allowing me to feel above average once more. After watching the sunrise, the cursory early morning greeting is my favorite part of getting going really really early. I took photos of some famous landmarks that are strikingly beautiful and historic without crowds of people around. That was nice.

Finally I walked up a Hill on the West side of town and watched the sun rise. The pointy self-involved heavenly aspirations of Gothic architecture had never really done it for me. But seeing the towers lit by the first spears of rosy light gave me a new appreciation for them. Later that day I attended an organ, trumpet and vocal concert in one of the cathedrals. Hearing Mozart echo from the vaulted frescoes was just that... better than imagination and better than words. It was so peaceful and I was so exhausted from walking since before the sunrise that I actually couldn't keep from head bobbing. Embarrassing.

The next day I worked on stuff. Writing and reading as well as reading and writing. The night was enlightening. I met some strange Americans: strange in that they were so normal. So... predetermined in their world view and sort of typically not understanding of cultural differences. You don't run into that in hostels very often. It is really cool that they are here. I hope they loosen up a bit along the way. You meet more people like Tammy from England.

Tammy went right to school after high school. But everything she has done since has been unconventional and, I would argue, smart as hell. She used her student status to take out student loans. She bought a house with the money and with rent and a couple of years working paid the monthly charges easily. She sold the house and made enough money to spend the last two years basically travelling... everywhere. She has lived and worked for a few months in commonwealth countries but nothing quite stuck so she's been scratching pavement like a pro. She finagled her way into Canada despite heavy restrictions on work visas with similar ingenuity. She applied for a student visa. Said she needed to make sure she could work, so got a 3 month work visa through the easy to get student visa. Living proof that bureaucracies were meant to be broken. Immigration reform will never work.

Before bed I got pulled into interrogating a Slovenian about the Yugoslavia break up. I guess it was actually pretty violent and complicated. I learned a lot from her about the tragedy of the state that could never be a nation. I am set on visiting Sarajevo now.

I worry that Central Asian countries, similarly contrived, may eventually meet a similar fate in a moment of crisis. I am listening to a Czech cover of John Denver's Country Roads in the 85 degree internet cafe. It's really good.

The song. Not the Heat.

I'm booked for the late night train to Bupapest. 9 hours in a bed and a ride all for 40 bucks.

I will put some pictures up today if I can find a Wifi spot.