terminus: please leave the train.

If I die in Prague no one
will remember my name. Letters
will slip between cracked
cobblestones—a consonant here, a
vowel there. No street will take
my name, no statue, monument.
No one will rest small stones
upon my grave or set up
stands to sell memorabilia.

Last night, young Czechs
rolled joints on the beergarden
tables. Bits of grass caught
the wind, went hang-gliding. Rolled
down the hill. Took wrong
turns. Got lost beneath city
spires, fingers slim and squirming
pointing to heaven. Came
to rest among streetlamps and stone.

Today, when I die in Prague,
Charles Bridge will still be heaving,
cement seams bursting with tourists.
They will congregate to watch death
ring his golden bell, Astronomical
Clock chiming. They will not
notice my absence, but the river
Vltava will whisper Katie,
the rain will echo Budris.

what i will miss about prague

*beer for 35kc (about 68 cents)
*the spires of tyn church lit up at night, and visible from everywhere
*sharing dessert with angie (hot raspberries with ice cream, tiramisu, chocolate mousse)
*oversized bottled water
*coca-cola light
*the metro, devijcka to staromestska
*walking past lush in the little quarter and smelling the soaps
*wednesday nights at marquis desade
*conversations about writing, literature, and hollywood gossip
*wine and poetry readings at ypsilon theatre
*dining beside the vltava river
*rain on charles bridge
*admiring our old friend clive on the sin city posters
*tripping on cobblestone at least 5 times a day
*the castle view from our classroom
*vending machine coffee in tiny plastic cups
*windows with no screens (and no mosquitos!)
*walking into old town square at night
*the astronomical clock and its mob of onlookers
*taking out 2000kc at a time from the atm
*the ragtime band on charles bridge
*getting lost
*the spirit of prague

reminder of old rivalry

walking through old town square today i passed a group of about 20-30 student sitting on the ground, all clumped together, with a couple guitars and singing "blessed be the name". at first i was comforted and intrigued by the familiar song, started humming along and singing very softly under my breath. as i passed i noticed a few familiar tshirts with maroon writing. that's right folks, calvin college in the middle of prague. just can't get away from them.

We interrupt this travel-log to bring you: a song.

When Everything Seems Wrong
by Ari Hest

When you come back to your senses
Your heart overcomes your pride
I'll be here with an open mind
Here to break your fall from misery
You expect me to love just like you do
Even though you won't admit that
You sink your teeth into something
You figure it'll come biting back

But I am not made to tag along, no
When everything seems wrong
When everything seems wrong
And I still can breathe when you are gone, my love
When everything seems wrong
When everything seems wrong to you

I don't know if we'd be better off
Living our own separate lives
Talking every once or twice
Whenever we need each other
I can't picture another arm around you, love
Wonder how I would react
Would I scream and shout in anger?
Or would I maintain some tact?

Baby I am not made to tag along
When everything seems wrong
When everything seems wrong
Yeah and I still can breathe when you are gone
When everything
When everything
When everything seems wrong
Honey where do I belong?
When everything seems wrong to you

You know that you're my best friend
That kind of love will never run out
You know more about me then I know
Things I'd never dream of showing
But I can't change the way I'm feeling
And I'm not asking for miles of room
Just a little time to fill my tank up
Before I run on back to you

Baby I am not made to tag along, no
When everything seems wrong
When everything seems wrong
And I still can breathe when you are gone, my love
When everything
Everything
When everything seems wrong
Honey where do I belong?
When everything seems wrong to you

When you come back to your senses
Honey when will you come back to your senses?

Marquis DeSade

Last night we (Angie, Jillian, Catherine & myself) went to two bohemian hangouts behind Old Town Square: Chateau & Marquis DeSade. Both are expat bars, recommended by the locals themselves. A few of us actually went there Monday, checked out the scene. Very cool bars. We made a new friend, Jack Fan, a law student from Texas who is interning in Prague. He's only been here a few days. You'd never guess. He talked like he knew it all. (About the local bar scene, at least.) Anyway, Jillian got an email the next day from Jack Fan, letting us know about a rumor for Thursday night. We took a chance.

Even though Sin City came out months ago in the States (and kind of flopped as I recall) yesterday it opened in Prague. We've been seeing posters for it EVERYWHERE. All month. Chateau & Marquis were hosting the Sin City premier parties. And we were determined to meet some stars.

The shades were drawn on the Marquis windows, leaving only the door to see in, with its signs saying "Private part, invite only". We hesitated. Bad move. So we retreated to Chateau around the corner, where we spent the next two hours with Czech beer, big screen clips of Sin City, and people dressed in costume (all black, fake machine guns, red lipstick). The downstairs was closed off, guest list or ticket only. We watched old people and young people and not-so-attractive people go down and wondered--how come we can't get in?? We started giving Angie a pep talk, convincing her that we should go back to Marquis and she should flirt with the bouncer, giggle, bat her eyelashes, insist that our friend is inside waiting for us. A glass of white wine later, she was prepped.

So over the cobblestone in the rain, back to Marquis, no hesitation. We walked right in the door. And were stopped. We tried to tell the bouncer our friend invited us, he was waiting. The bouncer asked us to step outside so he could hear us (loud DJ). No sooner had we stepped out, than a man we recognized vaguely from earlier this week told the bouncer to let us in! He insisted we were his friends. (He didn't talk to us all evening, but whatever.)

And thus the story of how we got into the Sin City private premier party in Prague and did jello shots with Clive Owen.

Yeah right. That's our story anyway. The truth was, no stars. Unless you count the larger-than-life Bruce Willis banner hanging down the wall. Just a DJ, a fashion show on the bar, some good Czech beer, and our old friend Jack Fan. Not to mention a really fast and frightening taxi ride home. Many more amusing details, people, sights. But I'm still recovering from my lack of sleep, and that's all I can manage. Only one more week in Prague. The city is exhausting, completely wearing me out. And yet, I'm not sure I'll be ready to go home...

only 11 more days to live in this city where beer is cheaper than water....

i heart wien... and praha

after a far-too-short weekend in vienna, i'm back in prague. quote of the day, typed from me to morrison: "sometimes i think karen is a little crazy, that she loves vienna a little too much. but no, she was right all along." being in vienna felt so comfortable. everything was familiar, i still remembered how to get to all my favorite restaurants, churches, city sights, etc. and it felt natural to walk into a store and say "gruss gott," to bump into someone on the U4 metro and say "enschuldigung," to respond with "bitte" and "danke," and to say "auf wiedersehn" on the way out. (that's about the extent of my german, but it still felt good to use!) when the train last night pulled in, i felt like i loved prague just a little less than i had a few days prior.

there will always be a part of my heart in vienna. but today i'm back in prague, back in class, and back to loving this city too. not in the same way, and certainly less than i love vienna. but it sure is beautiful here. and thanks to a poetic writing assignment from class today, here's a little bit of why.

Things To Do Around Prague

Everywhere you go, look
up—notice cherubs and
gargoyles guarding churches
and souvenir shops. Trip
on cobblestones. Toss small
coins into musicians hats
on Charles Bridge and pet
their dogs. Walk. Pick stones
from the soles of your flipflops
and skip them across
the Vltava. Touch
the walls. Visit Old
Town Square at noon
and midnight. If it rains,
close your umbrella
and dance.

going "home"

Slow down you crazy child,
Take the phone off the hook
And disappear for awhile,
It's alright,
You can afford to lose a day or two...

When will you realize?
Vienna waits for you.

-Billy Joel-

bermuda shorts and a tube top

i love sunny summer days. :)

today, i felt like i really lived here.

last night, i went bar hopping with angie, jillian, and catherine. well, catherine left us early because she flew to rome this morning for a long weekend. but angie, jillian and i bar hopped. two in little quarter, one in old town, one in new town, and one in old town square. we walked a ton, ugh. but good times were had by all. it was a beautiful warm night, and the city is great all lit up.

(Catherine, Jillian, Me & Angie)

this morning, i slept in. :) my roommate nora and i dragged ourselves out of bed at 12:30, got dressed, and took the metro downtown for lunch. then we walked halfway across charles bridge to kampa island. i sat in the park for a few hours and read, wrote, napped in the sun. a perfect lazy prague afternoon. the sun was pretty hot, so after a bit i got up and started walking. along the river, around the park, back through little quarter and then to the metro.

finally after two weeks, i don't feel like i'm in a daze. i feel like i'm in prague and at home.

i wish i had a tape recorder in my head

my blogs, my journal, AND my poetry would all be way more perceptive if i did.

thank GOD for the brown tourist signs. even though i can't read the czech words on them, there are small pictures as well. and they point me in all the right directions: to the metro, charles bridge, old town square, the jewish ghetto, little quarter, wenceslas square, prague castle... i got lost again today. but just when i thought i was lost, i turned my head to the left and realized i knew exactly where i was. (a block away from TESCO, the department store. if you ask anyone here where to get anything, they tell you TESCO. think of it as a 7 story k-mart.) i wasn't lost at all. as soon as i discovered this, i took the next little street to the right, and took a few more random turns. how strange that my new comfortablity in this city is so.... uncomfortable. i enjoyed getting lost everyday. it resulted in new discoveries. at this point, i think getting lost would have to be an effort. like, i'd have to get off at some random metro station and wander from there (but some of those areas are a little shady). i guess i should just enjoy the fact that i sort of fit in.

on another note, it's wednesday night and i have plans to go out. meeting in the lobby at 8 (early for the pubs, i know, but we have one friend who's ditching out on us early b/c she flies out for a long weekend tomorrow). wednesday night, how appropriate. feels just like home. except instead of going to places like new holland brewery and the dirty bird.... i'm in prague. ahh czech beer. :)

"turns out not where but who you're with that really matters" -dmb

and let's be honest
of all the
places
to be--
prague
is fantastic.
magical.
inspiring.

but tonight--
for the first time
since coming to prague--
i had a
really good
people
night.

fragments

everyday i think of things to post here... and everyday i'm too lazy.

this city exhausts me. maybe it's still the jet lag (they say it takes one day for every hour of time change. but it's now been 7 days for my 7 hours, so i should be over it). i think it's just being a tourist. trying to fit in like i live here. trying to soak it all in and exercising my poetic brain muscles observing and thinking of metaphors and images and ways to describe this magical place. naps have become a daily occurance. but i think that's good. i've made a habit of napping in the afternoon when the city is most crowded with tourists, and enjoying it later in the day. that's been the goal at least.

it's cold and rainy here. low to mid 60's. the past 3 or 4 days it has rained in the morning/early afternoon. sometimes again in the evening. i wish it were warmer so i could make use of all the tank tops i brought. it's so hard to pack for a whole month. but i've discovered just like at some point i have to get over being a tourist in this city and using my map (i get lost everyday... it's fantastic) i also have to get over the rain. i have an umbrella. i won't melt. though wet flip flops are a trip... i've actually enjoyed walking around in the rain. the city is almost more beautiful that way. of course, i'm anxious to see sun this week. but i'm in prague. who cares if it's raining? my days are numbered and no small stitch in the weather is going to keep me from loving it.

ypsilon theatre is lovely. it's small, intimate, comfortable. only 9 plush rows and a balcony. folding chairs on the sides. table and chairs on stage. books for sale in the lobby. bar at the entrance. 3 nights a week we have readings there: two days of well-known published writers and one of students. we gather, bring our wine and beer into the theatre, and sink in for a relaxing literary evening. the 3 hours go by at just the right speed. the whole room smells like artistry, wine. during those times i feel least alone. like i'm a part of some perfect community of writers who understand exactly how to enjoy and appreciate one another. (dps, you would all love it. you should all be here).

and now that i've rambled on with these fragments of life in praha, it's time for my daily nap before dinner. i love how the pace of life in europe just floats by....

pictures!

http://community.webshots.com/user/ktbpraha

i miss baseball

"You can bet any amount, any odds, the Christians will stick with the Bible theyve got, sure as the Chicago Cubs will stick with Wrigley Field--even though its got no lights... nightfall is to the Cubs exactly what Charles Darwin is to the Christians."
-The Brothers K, by David James Duncan-

I find it rather odd, in the 5 or so days Ive been in Prague, that Ive seen at least 30 Boston Red Sox hats. And a handful of NY Yankees, which they actually sell in a few stores. No other teams. Just those.

poetry day 1

first of all, the keys on this computer are weird. each number key has four characters on it and i cant figure out how to use them all. like the at symbol. good thing i have emails saved in my address book because i cant type the at sign. nor can i figure out apostrophes. i guess i could be a dumb american and ask some nice czech student. but for now, i improvise.

this morning i had my first class at charles university. and its lovely. hot. but lovely. alison deming is my poetry professor for the next two weeks. we introduced ourselves. we dicussed the summe theme for the program...faith and textuality... and where we each stand on the issue and what we want to get out of the theme this month. we discussed our goals as far as poetic form and components for the class. we workshopped two poems. and alison gave us some travel writings tips that i think i will find VERY helpful. ive been trying to journal every night, but find im just making a log of what ive done every day. its boring. its uncreative. its nearly useless because i wont want to reread it. i want a journal that is intriguing. that is indicative of my experience but can also be used to later inspire poems about my experience. i know i wont write nearly enough here, and much of my writing about prague will come later. i want my journal to be a springboard. i want someone years down the road to pull out excerpts and find them publishable. i want my journal to be not a log, but a piece of artwork.

a brief description of alisons sugesstions... find something to observe everywhere. a saint, a food, a word, a type of architecture... something unique to this place that intrigues me and repeats itself. and keep a focus journal of the encounters i have with it. try to find a new word everyday. something i could only get here. come up with a research question. find a story every day. think in metaphor, avoid talking about feelings. i know there were more, i wrote it all down. but thats all i can come up with off the top of my head.

im currently standing at a computer console in the hallway at the top of the second floor stairway...though i think they call this the first floor because my class is in 215 and its a floor up... and its hot. its 1 in the afternoon. im hungry. i think its time to go grab some lunch at the local grocery store near the dorm. take my journal and the brothers k to the castle park. read. write. just BE in this city. ive walked around so much in my excitement the last few days. today id like to sit. pretend i live here. let praha influence me just by being in its midst. there will be time to be a tourist later...

here.

am i really in prague right now? it feels like a dream... a wonderful, wonderful dream...