It’s Like GREEN…and Then Mountains!

07. April 2011

Last weekend I finally made “the pilgrimage.” Ever since I started learning German, I’ve been inoculated with photos of Bavaria and castles, especially Neuschwanstein. So although it’s definitely the American cliché, when a fellow ETA mentioned she’d be going to Neuschwanstein and needed a travel buddy, I was in!

 

German countryside from train

After eight hours in three different trains (regional, to save money, and also why it took so long), I arrived in Munich and set right to work being a tourist. I did a self-guided city-center tour, visiting three churches, including one that looked like Rococo threw up on it. Seriously, I don’t think it gets more intense than the Asamkirche. Can you say phantasmagoric? Between the stunning stark three dimensional visual impression of black marble, laced with white curls, the gilding and the ornamentation that is so impossibly intricate, I think the décor’s extent is actually unfathomable. Another church, the Theatinerkirche, was chalky white stucco and covered over with floral elements – also white – in high relief, relying on the contrast of the shadows on its surface for visual impact. I have yet to visit a city that matches Munich for such a truly out of this world church viewing experience.

Then I moseyed my way past the royal palace, and an obelisk to where else but the museum? For three thrilling hours I allowed my senses to be enchanted by the sights, sounds and smells of art, including among other noteworthy specimens (I like to think of art having a life of its own. Museums breathe life into me by the bucketful and sometimes it amazes me that the sturdy walls of these metaphorical fortresses are capable of playing host to those lively, rattling art souls.), Overbeck’s “Italia and Germania”, Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” and some real stunners by Klimt to remind me of the frenetic energy smoothed into soothing color and patterns I find so hypnotizing in his works, just in case I had forgotten.

That evening April arrived and we went in search of dinner and strolled through the lighted cobblestone streets in peaceful preparation for the excitement that was to come on the following day when we took the eight hour Neuschwanstein tour.



Beautiful Alps!



“Oh my gosh!...It’s like GREEN…and then mountains!” proclaimed the Michiganesque Valley Girl behind us on the train, her words rolling off her tongue blithely as our train rolled through the staunchly green and blue panorama of hills and sky that suggested the opening scenes from “The Sound of Music” to my ready imagination. The views from the rest of the day were no less visually stimulating as I entered the magical world of Neuschwanstein, left unfinished by the “Fairytale King” Ludwig II of Bavaria’s mysterious death. “Es ist ein Märchen” (It’s a fairytale), just like Frau Doktor T, my Russian teacher, told me it would be. From the bridge you can see the stony white turrets reflecting brightly against the green valley and plains near


Neuschwanstein!



the town of Füßen below. Inside the few (relatively speaking, since there are about a hundred rooms) rooms Ludwig II managed to fully decorate and furnish, the intensity of the detail, the richness of the colors and the dedication to bringing all things Wagner to life is unbelievable. It’s a shame that Ludwig II never had the chance to really live there or finish this one of the many projects to which he was so dedicated. I would also be curious to know what was really going on in the mind of a man who dedicated so much time and money to building such extravagant castles. All in all, it was a perfect day; the perfect escape, as perhaps Ludwig once thought of it too. Thanks, April, for being an awesome travel buddy and making the trip happen!

Sunday morning found me museuming again. Several of the museums are €1 on Sundays and special exhibitions are reduced as well, so I got into the visiting exhibit (with a Vermeer!! – “Woman Holding a Balance”) and the permanent collection of the Alte Pinakothek for €4. It just doesn’t get better than spending the morning wandering among Reubens, Rembrandt and Rosalba. Rosalba Carriera was a pastel portrait artist was able to do the near impossible and make a decent living as an artist as a woman during this the 18th century. Looking at her work you can see why. Not only are her pieces incredibly accurately personalized, but all the details of clothing and accessories are so painstakingly lifelike that it’s all you can do not to touch them just to see if they aren’t somehow real. Plus the depths of the pastels seem to breathe life into the subjects’ features. I feel like seeing all these works live is putting the 3rd dimension into my Art History education. I can only imagine the ultimate learning experience: Lecture IN the museum. Sublime.



Hohenschwangau and Schwannsee



Along the train ride home, the announcements gradually morphed from Southern dialect back to the relatively accentless German I am accustomed to. But I smiled as I left Hof – on my way southward two days before, my fellow passengers and I had glanced at each other in surprise as an intelligible, but distinctly different German blared forth for the announcements. That was the first of many times during the trip that I thought to myself, “Dorothy, you’re not in ‘Kansas’ anymore.” Today I was ready for it, but I’ll admit that as magical as my time in Southern German ‘Oz’ was, I’m still never disappointed to return to Sachsen-Anhalt – the place in Germany that I now truly feel at home.

Deine,


Amazing Apfelstrudel

N*

Florence on the Elbe

 13. März 2011

Bright and early Wednesday morning, Michelle and I were on a train rocketing east at a furious pace while we still struggled in vain to maintain even a semi-conscious state after only a few hours sleep and a 4:30 A.M. wakeup call. But by the time we got to Dresden and checked into our hostel, we were ready to start exploring. We would spend the next few days discovering what a cultural treasure Dresden is.

After days on the go, it’s hard to be poetic, so a descriptive list of suggested sites and restaurants will have to do for now.



Der Zwinger back view

 1. The Zwinger – We didn’t actually go there on this trip, but I’ve been there previously. If art from the Middle Ages through the 18th c. or so is your thing, GO! There is a good selection of famous works by artists like Rafael, Titian, Rembrandt and Canaletto, and the way the large galleries are hung floor to ceiling as they would have been in art exhibitions through history is a worthwhile experience in itself.

 

Die Frauenkirche

 2. The Frauenkirche – The majority of Dresden was destroyed by Allied bombs in WWII, including the Frauenkirche (The Church of Our Lady). Since then the city has been restored incredibly accurately and historical monuments such as this one have been painstakingly reconstructed using original materials wherever possible. Today the Frauenkirche boasts a spectacular pastel and gold-leafed Rococo-style interior well up the three balconies and into the dome. The ascent up the dome itself is long and full of stairs, but you get an intimate understanding of the church’s construction as you are taken through the many subparts as you ascend the dome. The 360° panoramic view of the city isn’t bad either, but hold onto your hats! The wind at the top actually made walking a challenge.

View from Frauenkirche Dom

3. The Albertinum – This art museum was an excellent choice for Michelle and I because I hadn’t been there before and this is exactly the kind of art (late 1800s, 1900s and contemporary) that she enjoys the most. The top floor had German Realism, German and French Impressionism (including a fantastic Degas pastel piece and a famous Gauguin depicting two Tahitian women, which used to grace the wall of my dorm room). The middle floor was mix of stimulating Contemporary Art and storage display cases full to the seams with statues. The exhibits were set up as a ring, so starting and ending with sculpture was an interesting, but oddly satisfying bookend to the Contemporary section. On the ground floor was the Sculpture Hall. One of the Degas “Little Dancer” sculptures was there too – fantastic!

4. The Dresden Zoo – Yes, the zoo with animals. We were asked incredulously if that’s what we meant several times while trying to get directions at the hostel. Honestly I wouldn’t have thought to go to the zoo, but props to Michelle because it was a great idea! Even though it wasn’t super warm, we still got to see most of the animals including a snow leopard, a lynx, ring-tailed cats, red pandas and a sloth with a baby on its belly. Aside from the sloths and lynx, all these animals had fantastically fluffy tails. I don’t know why, but I am really a sucker for awesome tails…so cute! What a fun way to spend he afternoon, especially since the weather warmed up to the 50s this week.

  



Der Semperoper



 5. The Semperoper – The opera house is well worth the visit. Especially if you can get 10€ student tickets for the ninth row 30 minutes before the show! We went to see the Magic Flute (an opera that is actually in German and whose libretto I’ve studied intensively). Honestly, I wasn’t such a fan of the modern adaptation of the show, but the singing and orchestra themselves were unbelievable beyond words! We couldn’t believe we were sitting amongst ladies in elegant dresses and well-suited gentlemen in an ornate opera house with four stories of wall-ringing tiered seats extending far above the main floor to the Rococoesque ceiling. Sadly I made the mistake of bringing only jeans on the trip and I also wore my hiking boots that day. Thankfully, as at other German theatre events I’ve attended, people dress up only as much or as little as they feel like, so I really wasn’t too out of place.



Traditional "Blue Onion" Pattern


6. Meißen Porcelain Factory – We spent our third day on the trip in Meißen, a small but quaint town to the Northwest of Dresen. As the first ones to arrive at the porcelain factory, we got a private tour! There were four (live!) demonstration stations showing how porcelain is made, shaped and created, along with an audio explanation. I couldn’t believe how quickly the artists worked on the wheel or created parts, like individual flowers, out of thin air. I’d love to be skilled enough to do that kind of work. The museum of all the old porcelain patterns (all of which are still produced or still can be ordered today!) was interesting and full of beautiful artworks – utile and decorative – from the whole history of the production of porcelain. Meißen was the first location in Europe where someone figured out how to make white porcelain, which up until that point had only been available as an import from the Far East. It was fascinating how deeply the tradition rooted itself there and remains important today. I bought a small piece in the traditional blue onion pattern – handmade and hand painted in the factory. Can you believe it?



Eine Mietzekatze!



7. The rest of Meißen – We took a walk into downtown Meißen, where the friendly lady in the tourist office gave us suggestions on where to go. The Frauenkirche there has a set of porcelain bells (everything here is centered around porcelain, even today), which we were lucky enough to visit at the right time to hear. I really should start taking my voice recorder with my when I travel! Then we climbed up the stairs which wrapped along the side of the hill. At the top we visited the church as well as the castle where the porcelain was originally produced. The inside was lavishly painted; I can’t imagine actually living somewhere like that!



"Spicy Cauliflower Curry"



Those are the main sightseeing attractions I can recommend, so now let’s talk about food! It’s pretty exciting

to visit a new city and actually have recommendations to give. One day we ate lunch at “Cafe áha” – a little place over a Free Trade Shop (also worth a visit, but don’t be surprised if your wallet ends up significantly lighter afterwards) that offers many organic and vegetarian options. The food was excellent. I had “Spicy Cauliflower Curry”. You could also order half-portions. I did. We visited “Leonardo”  for dinner. They are a bit more off the beaten path in a restaurant area often frequented by locals. They feature a small fixed menu, but most of the main dishes change daily and can be read from a chalkboard. Michelle and I shared a “Topf” (best translation: foods baked together in a cast-iron pan in the oven…could be casserole-ish) of scalloped potatoes with tomatoes, mushrooms and basil and then splurged and each got apple strudel with ice cream for dessert. Yum. The other two nights we went to a fantastic little Italian place  in the square where the Frauenkirche is. I ate there with my former German host Mom, so I already knew it would be good. I can definitely recommend the “Spinach and Gorgonzola Pizza”, but I’m pretty sure you can’t really go wrong there. We definitely enjoyed a variety of good food available in Dresden for a decent price!



Meißner Fummel

 And while we're on the topic of food...I forgot to mention the Meißen specialty...Meißner Fummel!  Fummel are made from increidbly thin noodle dough and they are like a dough balloon once baked.  They were invented because the couriers carrying the porcelain from Meißen were breaking their cargo far too often, as they were indulging in Meißner wine.  In order to test if they were careful enough, they were required to transport the Fummel with them and present them whole at the destination.  Of course, we had to try one.  It was chewier than I expected...kind of like a sweet, tough cracker, but it tasted good.  And of course, it was full of air, haha.

Through really old glass...

Overall I highly recommend Dresden as a short trip destination. It certainly lives up to the name it was christened with in its heyday – “Florence on the Elbe”. The city itself is beautiful, there’s lots to do, many places are easily walkable (we ended up walked about 26 miles in the day we were there…not because we had to, but because we like to walk…a lot) and if that’s not so your thing, the public transportation appeared well-connected, and overall the city seemed very safe. And of course, I was lucky enough to have the BEST travel buddy!

Deine,

N*

London Lights

8. November 2010

Our tour guide told us that 11-16 million people are in London on any given day. I never thought that such a big and bustling city could still have a certain charm, or that I would like it so well. After a 14-hour bus ride complete with a ferry trip from Calais to Dover, we arrived in London. I was still really tired, but 48 hours is not such a long time, and there was no way I was wasting more time sleeping than I had to.

The group set right out to sightsee, and I can’t believe how much we did manage in the time we were there: Trafalgar Square, Westminster/the changing of the guard, St. Paul’s, the Globe Theatre… One of our events was a presentation in the Globe, and it was all about what plays and attending a play was like in Shakespeare’s time. Id’ studied a lot of it in my English classses before, but the actor who led our presentation was super cynical, and it was interesting to watching how the students reacted to the information and his attitude.

I also visited three museums: The British Tate, The Tate Modern and the National Gallery. Many of the museums in London are free, which was really convenient because it allowed me to at least take a look inside, even if I didn’t have a lot of time. The British Tate has a lot of Turner and Pre-Raphaelite art, which I enjoy, but they’re currently redoing some of their exhibits, so some of the works I most wanted to see weren’t on display. (Excuse to go back?)

At the Tate Modern there was a piece, “The Unilever Series” by Ai Weiwei, in the large exhibition hall made up entirely of millions of hand-painted porcelain sunflower seeds. When it first opened, you were allowed to walk on/play in the seeds, but they stopped letting people because too much porcelain dust was getting tracked around the museum. It’s really a shame that you can’t do it anymore because I think the interactive nature of the exhibit and being able to turn the visible enormity of the work into a more tangible (literally) enormity would add an element of relatable empathy to the artists’ meaning for the piece. The main exhibition at the Tate Modern was also grand. I love the movement of Braque and Picasso’s works as they pushed artistic boundaries towards abstraction. There is something so poetic and oddly musical about the way some pieces of the subject are visibly discernible and how the subjects of the painting, when juxtaposed, create a visually stimulating, unsolvable, yet somehow coherent puzzle. And I saw works by Rineke Dijkstra live. I find that her photos really capture the subjects’ essences. They are stripped bare (sometimes literally), raw and in your face. I like art that brings true emotion (the way I see it anyways) right up to the surface, so that it’s undeniable and unavoidable. In short: Tate Modern is definitely worth a visit.

My favorite place, possibly of the whole trip, was the National Gallery. It’s ginormous, and there is some well-known work of art hanging almost everywhere you look. As I entered the gallery through the high-arching doorway, my pulse began to race, and I felt vaguely dizzy. So much art…so little time. I think I wandered around with my eyes glazed over in a state of catatonic art shock for about five minutes before I was able to pull myself together. I managed to view most of the art from the 1800s as well as the Impressionist collection. I also made a brief foray into the medieval art to view the “Arnolfini Wedding Portrait”! I hate “fame jumping” in galleries, but sometimes it can’t be helped.

Very impressive. Seeing all these works that I’ve studied over the past four years lends a whole new dimension to the lectures I’ve attended. Sure I’ve seen the slides, but there’s just no way to emulate the barely-visible, yet illuminating brush-stroked details and their heart-stopping delicacy, which unite themselves into a coherent, monumental piece of work. Mmmm, it makes me a little giddy just thinking about it. Someday I hope I will be able to help others see art in a way that moves them this tremendously.

I also met with two long-time friends – one from high school, who I’ve known forever, and one from Britain, who was one of my closest friends in middle school. We always said we’d see each other when I came to England one day, but I never thought it might actually happen. Both nights involved good food (I have yet to be disappointed by a restaurant in Europe), great company and strolling past the fantastic London lights. So far European cities are taking the cake for nighttime brilliance.

Sunday morning I suggested an early-morning walk in Hyde Park before we had to board the bus to head back to Germany. Since I was going out at 6 A.M., I was surprised when not only the teacher I was with joined me, but also two of the students on the trip. It was dark when we set out, and seeing the sky lighten as we strolled through the park was sublime. It was slightly nippy – you know, that funny not-quite-cold temperature, where your breath nearly freezes in the air before you? – but perfect. To top the morning off, I spent the whole ferry ride, rain and all, watching the white cliffs of Dover evaporate into the mist and the green countryside of Calais emerge across the channel. One of the students, Mark, also braved the rain outside with me, and we agreed it was the perfect ending to the England portion of our trip

The bus ride to Bremen took all day, but it felt faster. I finally finished Les Miserables, and I made significant progress on my knitting project. The students spent a lot of the trip playing add-a-line story games together. They all came from different cities in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and seeing how well they got on and laughed together made me smile. It’s really heartening to see that even in our technologically driven age, some young people are still able to use simply things like words, laughter and good company to pass the time.

We arrived in Bremen too late that night to see anything, but four of us – Mark, Lexi, Jean and I – agreed to stay a little longer the next morning. Mark had visited Bremen before, so he showed us some of the Old Town and Downtown areas. The central part of the city is very historic; it’s nice to look at, and I’m certain I’d like to learn something else about the town besides the Bremen Town Musicians connection. We did see the Bremen stacked animal statue, though.

The train ride home was rather eventful. Jean and I got to hang out with Mark and Lexi longer than we expected. The four of us took the same train. Mark and Lexi were supposed to switch trains in Hannover, while Jean and I were to ride the whole way to Magdeburg, where she lives, and I would switch trains. We said goodbye to Mark and Lexi in Hannover, but ten minutes later, we were greeted by peals of laughter. They had failed to notice that the train they needed to take from Hannover was the one we were already on. Just wait, it gets better. By the time we got to their real stop, the train was running about ten minutes late. Mark and Lexi took their sweet time getting off the train, which shouldn’t have been a problem because we were scheduled to stop for several minutes. Well, because of the delay, the train didn’t stop for as long as it should’ve and Mark and Lexi were stuck on the train! Secretly, this is something I’ve always worried about having happen to me, so I was sympathetic, but it was also kind of funny (sorry, Mark!) The whole train car knew this was the second time they’d come back, too. Oops. Now watch something like that happen to me next time now. I’ve probably gone and jinxed myself.

Our little group REALLY said goodbye in Magdeburg, which was sad because the trip was so unreal that actually realizing I was headed home was a harsh jolt back to reality. We want to meet again, though, so hopefully this won’t be the last time I’ll relate you stores about the adventures of the fantastic four. I’m sure they’ll be interesting.

Deine,
N*

P.S.  Remember me telling you about "Janchen"?...He was on this trip too...that story still makes me laugh.

In Good Company

20. Oktober 2010

Yesterday morning I met up with my good friend from high school, the Violin Man, in Old Town Square. We may not have too many opportunities to see each other again in the next few years, so it was really perfect how my Fall Vacation lined up with when he’d be in Prague. We decided to visit Vyšehrad Castle as some of the Violin Man’s classmates had said it was nice, and a couple of them were also planning to visit that day. Sure enough, when we got there, Logan and Chris were sitting up on a bench on the hill with all of their stuff, just chilling. They looked like they were waiting for a bus or something. The Violin Man introduced me to them and we all proceeded to make a rather haphazard tour of the grounds. We sought out Dvorak’s grave, peeped into the doors of the still-closed cathedral and enjoyed the vistas from various points throughout the grounds, including a few we found by accident when we were trying to find our way out.

After that The Violin Man and I went to the National Gallery in the Messepalast to view the 19th and 20th century art collection. We were there for about five hours straight and managed most of the museum in our marathon stretch. I could’ve lingered much longer in many places had there been time, but I got to see the French and International exhibits as well as lots of Czech Art, which I rather liked, so I really can’t complain. I’ll definitely be reading up on Kupka, Mucha and others in the near future. If you’re a Modern Art enthusiast, don’t overlook the Czechs! They’re worth more than a second look.

We were pretty hungry (read: ravenous) when the museum closed at six. It’s probably a good thing it closed then because otherwise I don’t think the Violin Man or I would’ve had the will to leave the art, no matter how famished we were. Earlier we had agreed to go my veggie restaurant and had mentioned to Chris where it was. After our chance meeting that morning, I wasn’t surprised when the Violin Man and I saw him standing outside the restaurant as we rounded the corner. Once again both the food and the company were excellent; Chris even wanted to go back the next day. It was nice to be able to show people an awesome place in a town where I don’t live and get commended for it – especially since the restaurant was vegetarian.

After dinner I was telling the Violin Man and Chris about my Pied Piper experience. They told me that apparently Prague has a gypsy problem, and they were convinced that I’d nearly been taken by gypsies. They thought it was a great story, and now that I’m not totally freaked out, I think so too. Finding the gypsies was kind of a running joke as we strolled through the streets. Chris took the Violin Man and I to the Lennon Wall, where people continuously paint/write quotes from and homages to John Lennon, and then to the lock gate, where people lock locks to the wrought iron bars – there are literally thousands of them. Then the Violin Man wanted to show me the “peeing statues” “if I was into it.” I’m not really sure “into it’ is really the right phrase, but I’m not going to turn down a piece of culture, no matter how strange, without a pretty good reason. Up the street from there a little ways, we found a book shop and perused the selection for about an hour. I could’ve bought several books (most of them about the Czech Republic), so I wrote down their titles for later. The book I started reading was a wrenching biography called Under a Cruel Star by Heda M. Kovály and was a Jewish woman’s story of her experiences in the Holocaust and later in Soviet-occupied Prague. It is definitely worth seeking out and finishing. The guys walked me to the metro station afterwards since it was getting late. It was nice to spend a day with travel buddies, and I just want to thank them for letting me be a part of yet another pleasant day in Prague!

Deine,
N*

The Pied Piper of Prague

17. Oktober 2010

I started my first trip to a foreign country other than Germany with a half an hour of sleep and an hour-earlier-than-anticipated start. Being the brilliant individual that I am, I booked my train ticket from Dessau instead of Roßlau. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but until yesterday (of course, the last day), the bridge between the two parts of the city has been under construction, so you have to take a bus. Naturally, that bus runs less often on Saturdays, resulting in said unforeseen early departure. It’s 4:15 A.M.; do you know where your passport is?


  

Landscape from the train



The train ride was uneventful. I slept most of the way, even though I tried desperately to keep opening my eyes because the countryside between Dresden and Prague is heartrendingly picturesque. The only other thing of note during the trip there was that I couldn’t sit in MY reserved seat because a Czech man, who looked like Severus Snape from Harry Potter, kept waving his arms at me, said who knows what in Czech and absolutely refused to move even when I showed him the ticket. In the end I gave up because there were other seats, and frankly I was just too tired to put up a fight. I seem to have really bad luck with reserved seats. I’m strongly considering not getting them anymore, no matter how much the Germans swear by it.

When I arrived in Prague, I got cash, bought train tickets and found the metro with relative ease. Finding the hotel was a different story. My instructions were to exit the metro station, turn right and go up the hill. Well, it sounds simply enough, but it turns out that depending upon which way you exit the metro station, there are about three ways that could be correct. Guess who chose the wrong two first? After the second attempt, I tried asking for directions from a cute, little old lady. Unfortunately she only spoke Czech and also had no idea where the hotel was. She kept trying to tell me things in Czech and looked at me questioningly to see if somehow I understood. I didn’t. Finally she hailed a little old Czech man over. He also didn’t speak English, but once he had donned his glasses, it turned out he did know where the hotel was. He started trying to explain it to me slowly in Czech, but thankfully right at that moment, two middle-aged ladies, who spoke English AND knew where the hotel was walked by and took over. Once I found out where to go, I also found out that there isn’t really a great way to get there by foot. There are many paths, but none of them are direct, and several are dirt trails through a wooded area – pretty, but inconvenient when you’re carrying your luggage.


View of Charles Bridge and castle

After checking into the hotel, I went into the city to explore. As easy as I find the metro to navigate is how difficult I find the street directions here. I have a poor internal compass without mountains as a reference point, and in a city with winding ways like Prague, well, I spent a lot of time finding out exactly where I'd gotten myself. Oy with the poodles already! I managed to find myself from the Wenceslas Square (too many people and touristy/mall shops!) to the Charles Bridge. Wow. Prague is known for its bridges for a reason. The view over to Lesser Town and Prague Castle accentuated by the river and bridge is unforgettably classic. I strolled over the Charles Bridge and “window shopped” by the open air vendors selling handmade jewelry and artwork. I will certainly be doing some shopping there before I leave. As I finished crossing the bridge, it started to drizzle, so I opted to head to the museum I particularly wanted to visit.



National Gallery



By the time I reached the National Gallery in the Messe Palace – the location where 19th and 20th century

art is housed – there wasn’t a ton of time before closing (I got lost), but there was enough time for the “Monet to Warhol” exhibit visiting from the Albertina Museum in Austria. Fine by me. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit and then stopped by an Italin restaurant for pizza on my way back. I had the waiter teach me to order in Czech, but I forgot by the time I got home...I wanted to write it down too - oops.



Charles Bridge and castle by night

 Cue, the night gets a little more interesting. The Germans have continually reassured me that it’s safe to walk around at night ever since I’ve gotten to Europe, so I decided to take the metro to the Charles Bridge to view the magnificence of the night lights. All was well until I was about three fourths of the way across the bridge, when a girl about my age with a guitar on her back started talking to me in Czech. When I was unresponsive, she asked me if I spoke English. My first mistake was acknowledging that I did and my second was probably letting her keep talking at all. She wanted me to come to the end of the bridge with her for something that she wouldn’t or couldn’t tell me and gave me this green branch that had been in the flowers she’d sold. She was with a boy who’d also been playing guitar a few minutes before, and she said they were living on the streets, but doing this was better than doing something else. Whether by design or because she just couldn’t say what she wanted to in English, the whole conversation was very convoluted. Needless to say, I didn’t feel good about it. Why was she so insistent and why me in particular? Her ambiguity and the boy’s music all had a Pied Piper type feel, so I pretended to follow them and then I turned around and left the green branch on the bridge in case it was some sort of a gang sign (…yes, that’s where my mind went). Maybe her intentions were honest, and if they were I’m truly sorry for doubting her, but I can’t exactly afford blind trust alone in a country where I don’t speak the language. Honestly the whole thing creeped me out…there was just something “off” about it. In self-defense I learned that if your gut senses that, it’s usually right, so I went back to the hotel as quickly and unobtrusively as I could. I was worried about being followed then, so unfortunately my otherwise great day ended with a bit of a negative spin.

Deine,
N*