threeplusfire | under the sun

Yesterday we had six hours of language instruction, in the morning and afternoon. Jiri brought his guitar to class and taught us three songs. One for drinking beer, one for drinking wine, and a love song. He has a romantic, lovely voice and now I understand why he is married. I wish he would sing to us every class.

Inbetween, I wandered the neighborhood of Filozoficka Fakulta, and discovered some interesting places. Inside an antique store, I found twenty or so illegal original Russian icons. I wanted one so much, even knowing they aren't supposed to be taken out of Russia.

Sadly trudging down the street, I found myself in a small antikavariat full of dusty books. I talked with the manager Jan, and told all about my career in Czech studies. He liked my Czech so much, that he sold me a beautiful book on Czech poster art from behind his counter. Also picked up some novels and old photographs, and a postcard from Lenningrad in the 1950s. All for less that $10!

Today I've been walking for hours and hours, up and down the hill and all around. Went to the Infant of Prague church and made friends with a loquacious priest who gave me a whole stack of prayer cards. Picked up a rosary for Father Elmer as well. Tomorrow I'm going to Mass there.

Walked down Uzjed, taking pictures of the streets and buildings. Crossed over the bridge near Narodini Divadlo, the National Theater. Ate lunch in Cafe Slavia and sat at the table where Havel often sits with his wife. Above is a picture of them, autographed by Havel. He signs his name with a little heart, and I find it somehow silly and endearing. Again, I spoke brilliantly intelligble Czech and impressed the waitress into giving me decent service. That you simply can not get if you are a foreigner there. I had potato soup, lemonade with fresh fruit, Sachertorte and Viennese coffee. It was such a nice lunch, watching the Vltava in the sunshine. I felt happy, happy like no other feeling.

Kept walking down past Tesco, across Vaclavske Namesti, down to the Municipal Building and to Celetna. Bought some Hrabal, and gifts for friends back home. Took pictures of the Jan Hus statue and the streets again. I like these pictures better than pictures of the same things on the postcards. I want to remember where I was walking.

The sun is so nice, I want to lay on Patrin hill again. Though I need to go home and shower so I can go to the theater tonight. Haven't decided what I want to see, but there is a lot of interesting stuff going on.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Here's a strange question for you--

What's the cost of living like over there as compared to here? I'm ever curious about such things :)

Cost of living is probably on average considerably lower than in America. I knwo it is certainly cheaper than my home in Texas. Food is quite cheap, apartment rents are not too bad depending on where one lives, public transportation in plentiful and cheap and most things are within a walk or a tram ride. If I made the same amount of money that enables me to live on the lower end of the scale in Austin, I could live extremely well in Prague.

Wow, really? I had thought it would be less than the American cost of living-- near everything is-- but that sounds pretty nice :) Do they have the universal sort of healthcare that places like England, Ireland and Canada have?

(Tell me to stop asking questions if these bother you :) )

I'm not sure about the healthcare system here. They may not have a system similar to Western Europe, since many older people here view such things as a throwback to the Communist policies. Still, I don't think it is very expensive. Pharmacies are prevelant anc inexpensive I've noticed. Though I haven't gone to a doctor here.

I tend to forget about Communism, scary as that might sound.

Thanks for the answers :)

Sure thing. :) Glad to put my small amount of knowledge to use.

Your lunch sounds lovely. All your posts are so lovely. I would love to try this "Viennese coffee" you speak of. is it a certain roast? or is it made a certain way? is it like viennese coffee here in america?

btw, and totally off the point- have you ever tried yoga? (i know, it's a tangent, i'm just currently obsessed :)

The viennese coffee here is excellent dark coffee topped with whipped cream. If there are any secrets to it, I don't know them yet. But I love to have it after dinner. Don't think I've ever had it in America.

Yoga? I've never tried but I would love to know more about it. it sounds really fabulous.

Ah! whipcream :) that is the secret to many a good thing :) i keep a can of the real deal in my fridge at all times, i used to have illusions that it made my household slightly more "erotic." Nowadays i just figure it tastes really good on most anything and can really jazz up a dessert FAST!

Yoga means "union." it's meant to return your body to easefullness, peacefulness and usefulness. i think the ideal time for it is when you are a student. i think UT offers it for free , rec classes anyhow.. .or at least it's really cheap. it's so helpful in quieting the mind, and it also really helps make you more productive for daily life.

after a week (i take it every day cause it's a summer coarse) i feel like my sleep has improved, my mood has improved and my stress has gone WAY down. i never dread waking up for it :)

look into it , if it's convienient. otherwise wait, cause it will always be there as an option :)

More than any other entry so far this last one makes me jealous of the experience you're having over there. I may just have to save up enough to live on for a year and fly over there. :)

under the sun

no subject

Re:

Re:

Re:

Re:

Re:

no subject

Re:

no subject

More than any other entry so far...