Prague and Praha

Prague- There are two different cities here. Prague and Praha. Prague is the internationally known city where tourists come to see the famous St. Vitus Cathedral surrounded by a castle were hundreds crowd around to watch the ceremonial changing of the guards every noon. Praha is where the citizens of Prague live and work, unless they work in Prague.


One of the many bridges crossing the Vtava River in Prague.

Every major tourist destination has these split personalities. One is a facade of a town which we are told actually existed and functioned as a normal town several decades, or even centuries ago. This fraction of the city still provides a very important economic and cultural role for every resident involved, but never seems to fully reciprocate the feeling with the actual town, in this case Praha.


A park in Praha.

Praha is the Czech spelling of Prague. Like when an actual Parisian pronounces Paris, "Pari," unlike the American emphasis on the "s." Although, this does involves an entire different spelling of the name of the city. This alternate spelling is not solely and English affair. In German it is spelled "Prag."

This difference in spelling may merely be an issue of semantics, but it relates to a separation in the city as a whole. Two days ago, Ian and I set off to do some shopping across the north end of the Vtava River, outside of the tourist boarder of Prague, Praha. We scaled through local parks and side streets to find your typical busy city full of trolleys and pedestrians. Nothing more and nothing less than the financial district of San Francisco, minus the super tall buildings.


Nearly all buildings in Prague are about six stories tall. This buiding is across the courtyard behind our own building.

As said before, every tourist town as this. But Prague sets the bar for its separation of historic and function. Never have I seen such a dramatic drop in travelers when I cross a single road. The old Jewish Quarter in Prague is packed, shoulder to shoulder with tourists, guides and store owners, but none exists outside of the six square block section. When you leave Prague and enter Praha you literally feel like it's a different town.


An apartment building in Praha.

While on the train to Prague from Budapest, we met an older American couple who explained to us that around 60% of Prague's GDP comes from tourism. I'm not sure if this statistic is accurate, but it sure feels right when walking through the city. Budapest felt nothing like this. Budapest felt like a regular city which happened to have some land marks which some visitors might like to see. There were no neighborhoods devoted to tourism. Prague doesn't just have squares, or streets, but entire neighborhoods, 100% devoted to tourists.

It is very possible that this is only an initial reaction to a fact of a continent that has been around for much longer than the country I was raised in- that I am yet to grasp the understanding of how real tourist destinations righteously function.



I really do love Prague. It is small enough to walk anywhere a traveler may need or want to go. And living here would not be so bad- known of those damn tourists would get in your way. You live in Praha, while they are visiting Prague.

Prague Day 1: Trains, friends and trains

Copied from my journal
6/25 8:15 A.M. Central Europe Time Zone

Prague- It took about 10 hours, with no sleep for 36 hours, and we had a race against time to transfer train stations in Vienna, but we made it to Prague, or as the locals call it, Praha.


St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague


Walking through the gardens of Prague Castle with Anjali, a friend we made in Budapest.

With a 6 A.M. train out of Budapest, I deceided to not sleep the night before, in fear of sleeping through my alarm. Although I truely wish I could have slept that night, the groginess I felt all day yesterday was worth the security of knowing we should not miss our first train.

Unfortunatly, I felt terrible the following day of travel. Never was I able to sleep for more than on hour at a time on the train due to the uncomfortable seats, sudden joting of the cab, or pain of hunger in my stomach.

On top of this, we had a very close call of missing our train transfer in Vienna. We had a one hour "lay-over" in Vienna, but our arrival and departure stations were about 2 kilometers apart.

The debacle started when our first train (from Budapest to Vienna) arrived 15 minutes late in Vienna's Western station. No, there were no cowboys on horseback to great us. So now we had 45 minutes to get to the Vienna Southern Stations. 15 minutes later and we were off our platfrom, found the info booth to figure out how to get to the other station, bought the tickets for the tram to the other station, go back to the info booth to find out if the tickets we got were the right ones and finally made our way to the platform.

We had 30 minutes left to go (with a 20 minutes tram ride ot fit in there). While waiting at the tram station, we consulted a map to determine how many stops it should take us to get to the other train station. As we face the map with our backs to the tracks, our #18 tram comes... and goes. Note to self: all three travelers need not be consulting the map together at the same time.

Another 5 minutes, and again the #18 tram swings by. We jump on and hope for no more delays. The trams eventually goes underground which allows for faster stops and less time between them. This is when I realize that this may be the only chance we get to see Vienna on our trip. Now most of what I know about Vienna is underground.

We get to the Southern Station, still no cowboys, with only minutes to spare. We find our platfrom, get our tickets validated at the ticket window and rush to our platfrom. As we are placing our bags on the racks above our seats the horn begins to blow, signaling the departure. Made it.


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Our hostel in Praha looks nothing like a hostel. We each have seperate twin beads in a private room with loads of space. 12 foot tall ceilings are decorated as though this hostel used to be a very nice, chic, apartment. We even have a private balcony opening to a fantastic view of the river and across to the other side. The kitchen is very modern and living room feels too clean.


Dwayne and our private room's view

Large, empty, white walls surround every room and trendy blue spotted comforters cover each each bed. If the Loft Hostel in Budapest was the teen Eurotrip movie set, this is the Jason Bourne Aprtment in the Bourne Identity.


Streets of Prague

The downside of having a private room and much quieter common room is that the likelyhood of making friends here is much lower. But the amount and quality of sleep will improve a lot. Making friends in hostels increases the overall experience of a trip.


Chilling on the Danube


Walking with friends on the bridge of the Danube at sunset

Without the friends we made in Budapest, we never would have found the blues bands in a basement bar, stuffed our faces at Mongolian BBQ, or partied on the bank of the Danube River. Connections get you into and inform you about places you neevr would have seen otherwise had you stayed in a hotel.


Walking around Budapest with hostel mates

Budapest Day 3 and 4: budgeting, bands, and bars

Copied from my journal:
6/20 19hr (7 PM)
Budapest- Even though we have only been here for three days, I decided to do some math to figure out what my spending has been. So far, I have spent about $34/day - which is about $4 more than I was planning for food alone. About 40% of daily spending is on items other than food (metro tickets, bike rentals, and bath fees). So I am doing pretty well I think.


Louise, our Aussie roommate

But it seems I have two different exchange rates to work off of. Yahoo.com gave me a market rate of 153 Ft to one US dollar (confirmed with other local sources as well). This has been my day to day conversion running in my head (which is about as easy as explaining the US electoral college system). But when I withdrew 25,000 Ft from the airport ATM the day we arrived in Budapest, Wells Fargo claims that I withdrew the equivalent of $156 which equates to about 160 Ft to the Us Dollar. This lowers my spending to about $32/day. Kick Ass.

Today Ian, Dwayne and I biked through Margaret Island. It is a large Golden Gate Park-like island with fountains, old ruins and very nice views of the city.



Eventually we left the island and made it to the Buda s of the Danube River, where we barely escaped with our lives from the crazy Hungarian drives. Pedestrians and bikers have nearly no rights in this country. Even at cross walks, you have to wait until the 50 km/hr taxis clear out of the street before you even think to look to see if it is clear. Must rent scooter!

Not from journal, but added on the spot-
After our bike ride, we rested at home before heading our to watch our hostel's host (a Hungarian named Ferci) play in his band in a bar around the corner. We had some extra time to kill before the show started, so we got some food and beers (no law against open containers in public) and walked along the river at sunset.





The band and the bar were fantastic. The band has a blues style, in which Ferci plays lead guitar and sings!





When the band was done, we and our hostel mates (about 8 in total) moved on to the Roof Top Bar, which was literally on a rooftop.



Red lights saturated everything within 2 or 3 tables distance. Music was blasting from a DJ who played European mixes of American music I had never heard (i.e. Limp Biscuit on top of Red Hot Chili Peppers).



This bar in the skies seemed much higher than it actually was. Almost all the buildings here are 5-6 stories tall. Because of this, being on the roof, you can see very far because there are no other taller buildings in the way.


walking home


Dwayne dancing in the street

Tonight we are going to a music festival held in the museums throughout the city (an annual free event). Apparently one of them is a tribute to James Brown. All my life I have been waiting for Hungarian James Brown music!

Budapest - Bath houses and buffets

Dwayne starting his journal yesterday

An excerpt transcribed from my journal:
July 20, 6:20 AM
Budapest- Yesterday was great. Although, The only, but very large, down point was that Ian couldn't spend it with us. He used most of the day puking and sleeping. We aren't sure what it was from, but we hope it was a food-related illness and not a bug, that could be spread. He is fine now, and will be joining Dwayne and I for our activities for today.


Ian and Dwayne yesterday (Ian not sick yet)

Bedsides that, yesterday, like I said, was great. Dwayne and I joined up with Louise (Syndey, Australia), Matt (Texas), Josh (NY), and another Australian girl (Melbourne) for a simple, but long, fun-filled day. We started off with lunch at an all-you-can-eat Mongolian BBQ in Buda.


On our way to the restaurant

Drinks were also included, which we weren't sure was a blessing or a curse due to the lingering hung-over effects we were all still feeling. For this meal you would go to the buffet line and stock up on your choice of dozens of different types of raw meat (anything from chicken to horse or rabbit) and then a chef would cook your plate for you as you watched. The only bad part was the whole slice of lemon I accidentally ate. It took several glasses of sangria and water to wash out the sour taste in my mouth. I think the group appreciated this much more than I, as this lemon was cause for some very interesting facial expressions on my part.


The group at the restaurant

We then took the bus back to City Park where we went to the Szechenyi Bath House. Budapest is world-known for it's bathhouses, and rightfully so. This was a huge outdoor/indoor bath, with beautiful sculptures, fountains and buildings. We slowly migrated from warm pools, to hot saunas, hot tubs, super cold pool, and even a real whirlpool. Our group spent about 2.5 hours there just resting in water.



Afterward, we walked the several miles back to the hostel taking side streets as the sun began to set.



Walking so far after relaxing in hot tubs may not have been such a smart idea. My muscles were screaming at me by the time we got back home around 9 PM. I went to bed at about 10:30 and slept until 6 AM, a full eight hours of sleep! Hazzah!

Up early in Budapest

As transcribed from my journal:

June 18, 5:33 AM local time
I woke up about a half hour ago and have not been able to sleep since. I suspect the sun rose at that point. I am amazed that it rises that early, but I assume it is due to our very Eastern position in the Central European Time Zone.


Walking to our plane in Dublin - click image for larger

Last night we arrived at The Loft Hostel in Budapest and had nearly no problems finding it. The street corner we arose from the Metro on was partially closed down due to construction, but eventually found our way through the beautiful old streets, with very little light.

The Loft Hostel, which will be our home for the next week, resides on the fourth floor (top floor) on what appears to be an apartment building. Our hostel takes up about 1/3 of the floor, featuring very high ceilings (nearly 20 feet high) and large wooden support beams crisscrossing everywhere- staying true to it's name.


Killing time in Dublin Airport - click image for larger


This is a very cool place to stay. Possibly too cool. Ian and I agreed that with all the different languages, posters, colors and murals all around us, this place feels like the set for some teenage coming-of-age Euro-trip movie.

*now it is beginning to rain very hard

Nearly everyone here is very nice. Everyone wants to tell you about their travels and hear about yours. The Loft's host even even cooked the entire hostel dinner last night (not a typical act we are told). He made some sort of Hungarian meat dish mixed with noodles and topped with sour cream and an incredibly good hot sauce.


Navigating the Budapest Metro while half asleep - click image for larger


Our room fits eight beds spaciously. When we arrived, there was two twin top bunks and one full size bottom bed. Ian offered me the full size bunk knowing how I don't fit well in most beds, but I would have been fine either way. Besides us, there are six other tenants in our room (and there are two other rooms of unknown capacity, but I believe both are smaller). Two of the six are Asian men who appear to be my age. Another two of the six is a man/woman couple from the U.S., Atlanta I believe. They leave this morning for Prague. In fact they are the only ones awake with me in the room as they are preparing to leave. Another one of the six is a Canadian guy named Adam from just outside Toronto. He seems to be younger than me, but also sounds like he has done much more traveling than I. Lastly, there is an Australian woman named Louise. I think she is traveling on here own, like Adam, the Canadian.

Ian and Dwayne appear to be sleeping very well. But as always it is impossible for me to fall back asleep after waking up.

Off to help the strong European economy.

Tomorrow I leave for my long awaited trip to Europe with two of my old high school buddies. Check back here for weekly updates of my travels. see you all soon!




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Spending time with friends

Margaritas on the beach in San Luis Obispo

Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f2 at 1/3200 of a sec.

A boy being patient at a college graduation party.

Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 400 ISO, f2 at 1/60 of a sec.

In the garden during another graduation party.

Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f2 at 1/160 of a sec.

Ian posed for me in the bathroom for this one.

Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f8 at 1/80 of a sec.

Vas and Danie

Last week some of my buddies from the Daily Illini, Vas and Danie, came up to see San Francisco, and enlisted me as their guide. Danie recently graduated from Columbia Journalism Grad School and just moved to the Bay Area to be closer to Vas, who works in San Jose as a journalist. So this was my chance to make icky cute photos of them seeing the city.


Nikon D3 with 50mm f1.4, 200 ISO, f2 at 1/8000 of a sec

We started off at a beach near my house. Danie quickly realized that the bay is cold as hell.


Nikon D3 with 50mm f1.4, 200 ISO, f4 at 1/6400 of a sec

Chinatown


Nikon D3 with 50mm f1.4, 200 ISO, f4 at 1/640 of a sec

I took them down to north beach and we stopped by City Lights Bookstore, a local favorite.


Nikon D3 with 50mm f1.4, 400 ISO, f2 at 1/50 of a sec

Near the end of the day we were on the hunt for a cable car. We jumped on one at Fisherman’s Warf, but only took it for two stops or so, so we wouldn’t have to walk as far back to our car.


Nikon D3 with 50mm f1.4, 1600 ISO, f1.4 at 1/50 of a sec

I posed the pair for a few shots while walking back down the hill to our car.


Nikon D3 with 50mm f1.4, 200 ISO, f4.5 at 1/125 of a sec

After dinner, we made it out to the Golden Gate Bridge. There was barely any light in the parking lot we went to, but thankfully there were some car headlights to work with.


Nikon D3 with 50mm f1.4, 3200 ISO, f2 at 1/80 of a sec

11 Days...