sci-fi disco with a jewish twist

monday i was given tickets to the opening night of GOLEM13 at NARODNI TRIDA (the national theatre). it was described as a play but i would venture to say it was closer to an opera. there were very, very few speaking parts. first, a quick history lesson, be kind, i am not jewish and am just learning but... back in the day, i mean "way, way back in the day" RABI LOEW created GOLEM. golem was a "super-human" man made of clay. it is said that rabi loew brought him to life with help of KABBALAH, the mystical aspect of the jewish faith. he was created to protect the jewish people from the persecution that tormented them. he is said to have been put to sleep and only one who truly knows the kabbalah can awaken him, he is "sleeping" here in prague at the oldest synagogue.

let's start with the theatre. FUCKING BEAUTIFUL!! my pictures do it NO justice. it was dark and very hard to get a good shot. everything had gold on it. there were magnificent statues, paintings, you name it, it was opulence at its best. i didn't care if the play sucked, just sitting surrounded by such beauty was enough.

the play started off very slow, and VERY religious, which i normally don't mind but it was like being at a mass listening to a priest who has done the same mass over and over, the voices almost put me to sleep. however, the orchestra was MAGNIFICENT. the beginning was seemed like a history lesson. it showed how the jewish people were tormented by their neighbors and begged God for protection. the rabi loew then created Golem to protect them. he was to obey his "master" the rabi at all times. he was not given the power of speech because it is said that if this were to happen he would turn on the rabi and destroy them all. perfect example of what power can do to a person.

the second act was where it got interesting. i felt as if i were i dropped into the novel 1984 by ORWELL, it was futuristic but not; complicated yet simple; and grandiose with a hint of sparseness. and then... the sci-fi disco happened. it was INSANE. if BJORK ever wrote an opera i could see it being something like this. the moral of this story ladies and gentlemen, don't leave the theatre early, you may just miss the best part. i was throughly happy when i left.

rain, rain, more rain

hi all. i hope this post finds you well. this week flew by! it was marked by a ridiculous amount of rain. i miss the sun. i spent most of my time indoors of some sort, whether it be reading or walking around in museums. i did go to the oldest brewery in prague.
U FLECKU BREWERY brews one kind of beer and they only sell it at the brewery. it is YUM!! a dark beer but not heavy, it has a very distinctive chocolate & coffee taste and smells just like roasted chestnuts and cinnamon. mmm...christmas. it is the real thing!! it is not pastuerized, and they have used the same process since the 16th century, just in bigger vats!

i have some catching up to do, so bear with me. i hope to make you laugh. along with some choice quotes, i have a portly englishman in a bright pink wig and fairy wings, the most beautiful spa you can imagination, some insider info on BECHEROVKA, among many more :-) stay tuned.

lazy sunday filled with peace ;-)

today was the first day i was not on my own. one of my flat-mates, brittney joined me on one of my wandering trips. mostly that is what it was. we had lunch at BEAS VEGETARIAN INDIAN, and then proceeded to walk toward the river in search of the next hidden gem. i promised you random oddities, well ladies and gentlemen, i have delivered. we have a sweet boxer puppy playing in the old town square as his french papa watched the clock, a demure yet mischievous graffiti girl, a baby holding a rocket launcher made from a flashlight, and how can i forget, a hot trannie mess!

the best part of the day was seeing the LENNON WALL. the lennon wall was created as a memorial to john lennon and his peace keeping after his murder in 1980. being a communist state this didn't go over so well, the wall was painted white by the secret police. it is said to have been painted over 100's of times. each time it was white washed local youth would create a different and more splendid graffitti masterpiece. all you beatles fans out there if you ever come to prague, grab a marker, paintbrush and paint, whatever, so that you can leave your own mark on this tangible piece of history. i will be going back, this is one of those places you can go a hundred times and see something new.

after the 'lennon wall' brittney and i headed off for pizza and a beer. czechs love their pizza and it is very traditional. very thin, little sauce, little cheese, light organic ingredients. mmm, mmm, good. i had 'many peppers' and brittney had 'proscuitto and artichoke', both had just simple olive oil for sauce.

on the way home we stopped at a pub off the beaten path for a beer. i am so lovin' prague's dive bars!! the jukebox seemlessly switched from czech pop to folk and then over to rhianna! umm-brella, brella, brella! ;-) the bartender was a very kind and patient woman as i speak very little czech and she no english. we figured it out and everybody was happy. we also made the aquaintence of a very nice isreali genteleman whom we had an in-depth, worldwide focused, conversation on gay rights. he is a gay man from isreal trying to get into politcis theere. good luck to him.
got home around 12:30am, slid into my pjs, and ready for the week ahead.
good nite and be well :-)

art. art. art. need i say more? mucha, dali, kafka, chocolate; you name it i probably saw some form of it today :-) like most other days i woke up, got ready, packed my bag and headed out to amble the streets of prague, but on this day i stumbled upon a very exciting exhibition and an even cooler community event.

the stumbled upon exhibition: while in OLD TOWN SQUARE watching the ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK strike on the hour, don't ask what hour because i have no idea. it is pretty cool when death comes out of the clock :-) i turned around and saw...DALI , yep, good 'ole sal! i went in, paid my fee and was pleasantly surprised that my chance meeting with one of the great artists was a "two-fer", DALI & MUCHA. i spent at least two hours looking through the dali exhibition alone, this was no small collection. there were photographs, lithographs, prints, paintings, plates, etc...and mom, i took a picture of almost every one so you could feel like you were there. it was breathtaking to see paintings that are so reproduced, i was awestruck. although i was moved more by the more obscure and less famous works, there were two in particular that brought tears to my eyes, i could feel the agony and despair. dark, i know, but its what i felt. the other did the opposite, there was this feeling of intense light and knowledge traveling through my being.

mucha on the other hand was interesting and i have so much respect for his perfection, but it lacked depth and change. it was very aestaticaly pleasing and beautifully meticulate. maybe if i would have seen that before dali i would have had a different opinion.

i left the museum and headed in search of food. earlier in the day i had visited ANAGRAM BOOKSHOP, a place for new books, but it had the feel of a used bookstore. it was there that i met a nice english gentelman who suggested a very good indian spot. well, after my expereince at dali i had totally forgotten where he said to go so i had to go back for directions.

one the way there i was lured into BAR & BOOKS, a quaint and pricey, scotch and whiskey bar. mmmm...whiskey and a my new book THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING by KUNDERA. my day was shaping up to be a perfect day. after my whiskey, i found the indian joint...BEAS VEGETARIAN INDIAN. yes, ma'mam, it was good. homemade lentils, curry and pappadam. it was here i met jakab and ondra. i commented on jakab's fresh and i mean 2hours fresh tattoo work, it was gorgeous, traditional japanese black and white shading with slight accents of color. i spent the next...well, i don't know how long, chatting and getting reccomendations of tattoo shops in prague as well as the hidden aspects of the city. it began to get chilly so i got both their facebooks and headed on my way, not really knowing my next stop.

on my search for a post box to send off my postcards i was met with throngs of people in front of the NATIONAL MUSEUM. it had totally slipped my mind that tonite was PRAGUE MUSEUM NIGHT http://www.prazskamuzejninoc.cz/index.php?&l=en this is where many of the museums and galleries all around prague are open, FREE to the public. there is a special bussing system and everything. if you are ever in prague when this happens, it is well worth it. it is a smidge crowded, but the beer and yummy morsels at many of the stations help. i saw many exhibits. one my favorites was an exhibit of guided mixed media...video, photograph, paintings, news clips, documentaries, strike posters, etc; chronicling the transformation of the czech republic from communism to the government of today. the other one that was really interesting was the POLICE MUSEUM.

after traipsing around the city until 1am looking at museums and galleries it was time to head home.

look out people with all this art i may be "cultured" ;-)

be well and good nite!

Yippppeee, i did it :-)

i figured out how to put pictures into the body of the blog. thank you for your patience! send me a comment if you would like for me to post them in a bigger format.

big hugs to all :-)

Friday 19th June

i spent most of my day listening to the rain pitter patter and occasionaly beat against the windows in the flat. i started and got caught up on my blog, and just relaxed.

i made an incredibly yummy lunch of salami (polican & paprikka), herb and crusted cheese, boiled egg, and bread. oh, and beer, i can't forget the beer. it was yummm! yes that is BUDVAR, made by budweiser. it is actually pretty good unlike its american counterpart.

once the rain stopped i got ready to meet machin's friend david for drinks. very cool guy! we decided to meander around until one of us got hungry. while on our adventure, we stumbled upon a music festival, UNITED ISLANDS OPEN AIR FESTIVAL.

http://www.unitedislands.cz/

like any other outdoor music festival there was lots of beer, quick food, in this case it was yummy looking sausages, drunk guys sleeping under trees, oh, let me re-phrase, passed the fuck out under trees, and TRDELNIK; which is a sweet czeck and slovak pastry. it's plain dough wrapped around a metal rod and then doused with butter and sugar and cooked over coals. the result was a flaky/crunchy outside and a lovely chewy interior with a slight almond, honey taste. mmm...mmmm...good. however, it is super sweet so i am glad to report that david and i shared. it was then off to beer, oooohh the nectar :-) oh how can i forget the guy with the button...the picture explains it all!

while at the festival we listened to MAD MANOUSH from Switzerland. they were pretty good, they had an interesting wow factor....what you might ask...? well, they incorporated an accordion, violin, stand up bass, amongst others. they are described as a crossover from gypsy jazz to pop-rock-punk, they were super upbeat. i think i will venture back saturday. from the festival we headed over to NOSTITZ. started off with 2 GAMBRINUS and then ordered the steak tartar. wow what a dish. fried bread with raw garlic cloves came out on the first plate. on the second, minced raw beef with a raw egg on top surrounded by white and red onions, paprika, and mustard which david mixed all the ingredients together into a paste. we rubbed the garlic on the bread then spread the tartar on top. mmmm....

after dinner we headed back to my flat and his metro stop for his 25+ minutes ride home. got home, made some tea, had a chat with my mom & jp, and then went back to mimilandia.

Random Moments

photos: Thursday 18th round 2

photos: Thursday 18th

Thursday 18th June

today was a guided tour of the castle. we walked from the bridge, up the hill, a very big hill might i add, to the top. it was the first warm day, 85f/29c. of course, when we have a huge trek ahead of us. but, it was worth it! on the way up i stopped for a bottle of water (voda) and a bueno bar, an explosion in your mouth. BUENO BARs are delicious hazelnut nougat filled chocolate morsels :-) the views as you go up are astounding. we saw the castle, buildings of the czech parliament, and where the president holds office. the photos following this post show these buildings with just a couple of the castle. on the way down we walked past the small vineyard on the castle grounds. i will be going back to have a glass there sometime this week. i promise to remember what it is exactly that i drink.

in the beginning of the bridge is the statue of CHARLES IV, the most important figure in czech history next to ST. WENCESLAS, you know, the christmas carol guy ;-)

after the walk down, i headed back to the TESCO. TESCO is the "supermarket" of prague. it is like a huge target! although, i prefer the small market by the flat, i knew the tesco would have what i needed for class.

i needed to pick up a few more groceries, so i began the scavenger hunt. because everything is in czech i had to go up and down every aisle and rely on the pictures on the products. it was pretty fun, although the sugar was hard to find. yogurt on the other hand, not so hard. czechs LOVE their yogurt. there are 3, count 'em, 3 full aisles of every kind of yogurt you can imagine. at least my digestion will be regulated and hopefully help with the constant bellyaches, yea for probiotics! i grabbed my veggies, some salami & cheese, MARESI which is the milk/creamer i use in the instant coffee, and these yummy chocolate dipped rice cakes and then went to the upper floor to get school supplies. total bill....about $13 dollars. it so freakin' cheap to grocery shop here.

OH!!! i totally forgot to tell you about the nutella aisle, that's right ladies and gentlemen, NUTELLA AISLE. along with lovin' their yogurt, czechs have a crazy sweet tooth! there is nutella, nutella knock offs, vanilla & nutella mixed, and don't even get me started on all of the candy down this aisle. so, anyone out there reading this that knows me at all, knows the first thing i bought on sunday at the store was nutella, peanut butter, and crackers. heaven, once again!

headed home, made some chicken fried rice for dinner and retreated into my room to do some homework, write in my journal, read my book, and go to mimilandia.

Photos: Cafe Louvre

I totally forgot... (weds. 17/6)

i totally forgot that on wednesday i ventured to the IKEA. yes folks, the IKEA. when i arrived on saturday to the flat the pillows that were here were, well, were smelly. all i had was my tiny pillow from home, my neck was not happy. after checking all the stores by my flat and not finding anything under $30, my ISA coordinator told me the metro to take to get to IKEA. it took about 25 minutes and voila! i was there. i was happy for the arrows on the floor as everything was in czech. 2 pillows, 2 candles, about $12. yea, me :-) my back and neck are much happier.

photos: Wednesday 17th june

Wednesday 17th June (day 6)

today was my first visit to PRAGUE CASTLE. it is the largest castle compound in all of europe. ST. VITUS CATHEDRAL is what you mostly see from the center of prague. the compound can be a little overwhelming. so much to see, details everywhere. i don't know how people do it all in one day. i went with my class and we had little time to really experience its idiosyncrasies. it was super packed with tourists. i plan to go back one morning around 6am, i should be able to have the place mostly to myself.

after visiting the castle i took myself to late lunch/early dinner at CAFE LOUVRE. can you say amazing?!?!?!?!

i sat on the patio in the wonderfully splendid sunshine, it was about 70 degrees F/21 degress C. ordered a glass of wine and relaxed. first came the bread. yes, people, i said bread. i have consigned myself to the fact that i WILL have a bellyache the entire time i am here. that's what chewable pepto is for, right? anyway, back to the wine and bread. it was braided bread baked with sea salt and fennel seeds, it was like a gourmet soft pretzel. mmmmm...

next came the salad, SOPSKY SALAT; chopped cucumbers, red bells, and tomatoes dressed with a light creamy, tangy dressing with shaved ricotta salat on top. another glass of wine, white this time, a little sweet for my taste but good none the less. i do not remember the names of the wines, i know i should have written it down, i was too excited, i promise to record next time ;-) main course...drum roll please... PECENE KRALICI FILETY; roasted rabbit filets with a traditional french sauce and basmati rice dressed with fresh chives. yea, totally amazing!!! check out the photos. i finished my spectacular meal with some hot chocolate. however, this was no ordinary hot chocolate. it was like melted milk chocolate infused with nutmeg, clove, and a touch of cinnamon. i know i keep saying it but, HEAVEN!!!

i walked home instead of taking the tram, i was too full to sit. arrived at the flat, did some homework, and fell asleep with my face in my book. woke up at 4:27am ready to start the adventure all over again on thursday.

last photos for day 5