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.