Prague has an old world, spooky, and whimsical kind of feel to it that I hadn't experienced in Berlin or Leipzig. I loved the architecture that drew my mind to the history of the area, specifically the castle complex that didn't need to be updated in the newer styles of architecture once the Habsburgs moved to Vienna. I loved experiencing my art history knowledge in real time and being inside those spaces was magical in a way that I can't describe, and must simply be experienced to understand. Prague also felt less familiar than the German cities, and I think a large part of that is because it was in the eastern block, and has retained some of that feeling, but another contributor to that feeling of unfamiliarity might be that the Czech language is less similar to English than German is. I felt the cultural difference in a new way that I hadn't before, and I really enjoyed it because it made me consider a different way of life that I'd not experienced and could relate to less.
On one of the nights in Prague, a few friends (Henry, Parker, Lillian) and I decided to go to the "Magical Cave of Prague" where an artist created his studio filled wall to wall and ceiling to floor with fantasy paintings and decorated like a colorful creepy cave. We rode the tram up to the middle of the hill where the monastery and abbey live, and then trekked only moderately successfully up the snowy and icy hill into the orchard where the house was located. It was quite possibly the strangest space I've ever been in, made even more strange by the fact that there were glasses of pre-poured wine set out for the guests in the basement- and since we got there later in the evening, they had been emptied by visitors (a shocking fact!). The artist answered the door when we knocked, and for two euros we got to explore the space and see his art. It was pretty unnerving and I was glad to leave within the short twenty minutes we spent there. But on the way down, I slipped and slid and once smacked my head into a concrete staircase that we were slowly climbing down immediately after Lillian made a joke about me falling down. It felt like the creepy karma of the cave was following us down the hill. However weird, the experience was still hilarious and silly and fun in all kinds of wonderful ways, and I'm so glad we went to check it out.
While in Prague, my Aunt Erica happened to be working in the city at the same time - which was an incredible coincidence since we hardly get to see each other when we live in the same state. So we coordinated our schedules and got the chance to meet up while in the same city. We went to a restaurant Oblaca, which in Czech means "clouds". A suitable name for a fancy restaurant located in a TV tower. The food and wine were delicious, and seeing my aunt was the real treat of the evening, but the night was truly made better by the giant creepy sculpture babies crawling up the tower. The artist, David Cerny, is a Czech sculptor that has work all around the city, and all around the world, but these ones are about eleven feet long and happen to be crawling around the outside of a TV tower, which felt exactly like the kind of random, wacky, silly, and strange energy that made Prague feel like Prague.
The strangeness of the city only endeared me to it further. Of course, the musical experiences were incredible, but the feeling of the city and the history there is what made me feel truly connected and excited to be in the space. I can't wait to go back again as soon as I possibly can.
And now I present to you...a very small photo dump...small in context to all of the photos I took while in Prague...
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