Learning.

Some park in Prague, Foot of the Royal Way: le 21 avril 2005, jeudi: 17:15

So today's been one of those learning days. As it's been three years since I've truly traveled and visited a place on my own, I've had to relearn how to do it. It's truly not so much being alone, as it is having to organize and make my own decisions. When it comes to traveling, I like to see everything and whatever. So having to figure out what I want to see has been difficult. Typically I just follow along with what everyone else wants to do, as I said, I just want to see it all and so I just follow along. Now I have to choose myself and it's hard! Part of it depends on the fact that I only have so much time here, and I can't just spread my visits out to when I feel more comfortable. I mean, I'm not really living here, like in Metz or Toulouse, even Paris in a fashion. So I decided to take the City Walks tour- the Insider Tour and see what they could tell me an show me. It was ok, I really enjoyed having some more history, but it wasn't really much more than I'd already read. Later tonight I'm going to a concert of Dvorak. A bit pricy, but should be worth it and besides, I'm in Prague-- il faut!!

There's these Italian boys sitting on the grass nearby, singing all sorts of songs! They're about lycée- so a little like my troisièmes. I miss my kids!


Sitting in the Municipal Hall, waiting for the Dvorak concert: Prague, 20:15

Reviewing my photos a few minutes ago reminds me that in the photo of me with the Charles Bridge in the background, you can't see my fabou green polo shirt- and my undying faith that polos never go out of style!

I think I could want to live here for a few months. Except for all the Anglos, who might eventually drive me nuts!

I'm a Country Girl
In room, Miss Sophie's: 23:00 Prague, le 21 avril 2005, jeudi

So this morning I missed the walking tour and thus ended up back at the hostel feeling a bit lost, not knowing what to do. So I borrowed the french girl's guide to read up in english. That helped to ground me. Then I went out to get my ticket to the Dvorak concert. I ended up watching the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square at noon and then got lost on the way from the Municipal Hall to the Weneslaus Square to meet the walking tour. But I was only a few minutes late and so caught them. After the tour I came back to the Old town to get a falafel for dinner and come back to the hostel to rest for a bit. The concert was lovely! The Municipal Hall is an Art nouveau building with influences from the Czech School of Art Nouveau. And the music was nice. Not amazing but fitting to listen to Dvorak in prague. I forget the first piece, but the cello soloist was ok as a player, but dreadful as a performer- he acted exhausted all the time, except like he was overembellishing it. The second piece was Dvorak's "The New World Symphony"- one of those reasons I love Prague is the connection between in and Iowa on account of Dvorak's living in bitty Springville Iowa in 1892-1893 (that should be correct...). And the New World Symphony sounds likes the melodies of the Iowan countryside- the animals, the wind blowing through the fields, and even the people somehow. I wish my parents could have been there.

There are two Australian girls in tonight at the room- their friend is sort of MIA though. Her flight came into Brno and then she didn't have money or transport I guess, so she started to walk into Brno and that's the last they've heard as her phone died.

(Below are the photos from my first day in Prague.)