Terezín

Yesterday, our group visited the small town of Terezín, about forty five minutes just north of Prague. The town developed first as a citadel in the late 18th century when the Habsburg Monarchy erected two fortresses along the Ohře River--the Small Fortress and the Large Fortress. Neither fortress really underwent direct siege, and the only attack occurred during the Austro-Prussian War.

During WWI, the fortress was used as a political prison camp. Then during WWII, Germans occupying the Czech Republic decided to the make use of the area yet again. The Nazi Gestapo adapted Terezín to serve as a Jewish Ghetto and concentration camp. The Nazi controlled camp stood from November 24, 1941 and May 9, 1945, and over the course of three years, 140,000 Jews were transferred to Theresienstadt--of which nearly 90,000 were deported to further camps. Roughly 33,000 died in Theresienstadt itself.

Doris Groszdenovicova, a survivor of Terezín, showed tremendous courage to return with our group to the small town and lead us down the same streets that she walked while a nineteen year old woman living in the ghetto. It was quite incredible to learn about her first hand experience living in the ghetto throughout the Holocaust, and then living throughout the Communist Era. Especially since she spoke English quite well, there was no translation or real language barrier, and so her emotions and memories connected with Terezín were clearly felt.

Our tour of Terezín concluded with a trip to the fortress, where we ventured into the living quarters that housed political prisoners. Up to 100 prisoners would be housed in a long, rectangular room that had housed 30 bunk beds. Next door, in a room half the size and with little natural light and no beds, upwards of sixty Jews would be crammed together. Our tour guide (Doris did not want to enter the fortress), shared gruesome details that made the experience all too real like how restroom pails, 1 for 60 men, would only be emptied once a week.

The trip to Terezín, while informative and valuable, proved to be very somber. Forced propaganda, a tale of how the Nazis fooled the Red Cross, and the living conditions of both the ghetto and the prison remind one of the tragedies that occurred in this place. I think it also takes visiting these locations to fully grasp the events of the past, to allow them to fully affect you and numb you, thereby preserving the experience and knowledge in your memory.

Barley, Water & Hops

Beer is huge here.

Beer is cheaper than water, than wine, than tea. Beer is present at every meal, and appears in large glass mugs, with a thick two inches of foam floating at the top.

On Wednesday, our group of Documentary Photographers departed from Prague for a getaway in the fairytale town of Cesky Krumlov. To break up the three hour drive however, we made a detour and pitstop in the town of Plzeň, home of Pilsner Urquell brewery.

We received a tour of the brewery and learned the history of Pilsner beer, the most prominent beer brand in the Czech Republic and much of Europe. The town of Plzen first began brewing beer in 1295, and by 1839, city officials created a city-owned brewery which would brew beer in the Bavarian style--bottom-fermenting yeasts in caves which improved the beer's clarity and shelf-life.

We explored the brewery--from the interactive levels and moving theatre & movie, to the chilly caves beneath the main building where the beer barrels are stored. Our student group was even treated to a beer tasting of un-pasteurized beer.

Despite all of this, I am still a child. Despite the interesting exhibits and the process to make Pilsner beer, I am not a fan. The taste of bitter still settles uneasily on my tongue, tastes bitter, and evokes a disgusted facial expression. Europe, you did your best, but I am still not a fan of your national drink. I highly advocate a trip to a brewery for each and every legal reader out there. In the meantime, I'll stick to water and white wine.

All A Game

We have entered our fourth week here in Prague and I think that almost everyone is starting to settle into some semblance of a routine--a favorite breakfast stop, figuring out the tram lines and metro stops, and frequent trips to the nearby Italian restaurants, Tesco, and the Beer Garten. We are turning into locals, tossing around Czech words more casually, and no longer phased by the stranger mannerisms that first caught us off guard here.

With the third week though, sights around us are becoming ordinary. Each day, I am taking less and less photos. Tourists have all begun to look the same. I feel as though my photo quality has even decreased. I just remind myself of what my pal Kelsey told me in regards to writing and other manners of artistic expression, when you start to criticize your work and find flaw in it, you are improving. Well I hope my photos are improving. Things are just becoming monotonous....four thousand photos in.

So several of us have created a few games that we play. Yesterday, on an architecture tour about town, we learned or became reacquainted with various styles from the medieval to modern period. The order goes: Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and finally Rococo. As a history major and art history minor (brag brag brag), I was feeling good before the walking tour. Boy was I rusty. Too many indigenous art classes (Aztec and ancient Peruvian). I had completely forgotten about Renaissance art. But, after a quick refresher lesson, we began to play the guessing game as our tour guide, Professor Martin Krummholz, led us to prominent buildings around Prague. "That one is Renaissance because of the decorative details/graffiti" and "that one is Baroque because of the curvature of the windows..."

Today, we had another walking tour about Prague and learned of alchemy symbols, and then toured an alchemy museum. As we walked across Charles Bridge for the tenth time in order to reach the next tour stop, a classmate and I developed a new game..."shove your camera into the tourists' faces." We hoped to evoke yelling and curse words, lots of foreign profanity. Sadly, none. But interesting shots nonetheless.

So we've started to play games and get comfortable here. Over here, things are becoming familiar, and I feel as if though Prague has embraced us. We are being goofy now that the sun is out, and we are exploring the town on our own. We are calling Prague our home.

Juxtaposition

Yesterday, ominous clouds hung over the city of Prague as we hopped tram to tram and raced up the large hill to reach the Prague Castle in time for the King's Parade. Dennis, our professor, is pretty adamant about being on time and after missing our tram stop and having to double back, our group was in an unfavorable situation time-wise.

I understand the urgency of showing up on time. Especially when it means securing an advantageous spot in a large crowd, and becoming familiar with the surroundings before a popular event like a parade. Dennis even told us of prior years when parade participants could be seen riding the metro to the event, sporting full suits of knight's armor and long renaissance robes. But we were running behind, and we had a large hill to summit.

Fortunately, we arrived at the grand Prague Castle with ample time to ready ourselves for the upcoming mad dash. Thousands of tourists funneled through the castle gates and gathered before the entrance of the church. I posed behind several noble men and women as the ceremonies began. The King and Queen were introduced, the "crown jewels" presented, and then extravagant promenade began. For the next two hours, it was all about chasing the parade.

Mischievous boys dressed as knights on horses engaged the crowds and surprised unsuspecting spectators, while the joker and I became friends as I chased him around with my camera and asked him several times to jump into the air and perform a jig. Several other knights boasted and proclaimed the arrival of the king as he proceeded downhill on horseback, followed by four men bearing the crown jewels, and then a posse of noble men and women.

The Czechs create a wonderful reenactment of the historic King's Parade, which occurred during the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (1316 – 1378) and involved carrying the royal Crown Jewels from St. Vitus Cathedral to the treasury in Karlštejn. But despite the ornamentation and the key to historic detail, it was peculiar to place renaissance costumes in a modern context--heavy velvet robes and men in tights juxtaposed with cellular phones and automobiles lining the parade's path. This theme resonates with the whole city of Prague as well--a place rich with the history of kings and war and communism, but also a modern, urban community marked by the works of David Cerny and chain coffeeshops and abundant Wi-Fi.

Trams, Trains, and Metrorails

From the apartments at Veverkova 25 in Prague 7 walk a block or two south. Then take the 14 or the 24 tram line until Jindrisská, and if you reach Václavské námestí then you've gone too far. Pass the Coca-Cola mural and the large Bata shoe store. Turn left and walk past the construction, and your final destination will be around the corner from Ferdinand's, and across from the Mosqyt bar. This is the CET headquarters, the Maymester classroom.

Or why not grab the 14 tram to the Vltaská and then hop over to the metro line. Pass Florenc, Hlavní nádrazí, and make your exit at Muzeum. You'll arrive in Wenceslas Square, a major economic and cultural hub within the city of Prague, with the north end dominated by the Czech National Museum and the south by local carts of neighborhood Czech cuisine.

Trams and metro rails allow one to access every corner of Prague, but for the foreign traveler, the names of the Czech stops can cause considerable confusion. The Czech language is the harshest of the Slavic languages, and one of the more difficult languages in the world. The words can contain multiple accents and breves, or consonants that often never meet like 'H' and 'R' in Na Hroude. Adding to the confusion, there are three separate metro rail lines and over twenty tram lines that you must hop to and from in order to meet your desired destination.

But the rail lines provide you with a real cultural experience. One begins to notice the way that local Czech passengers typically stare. Especially if you are American and begin to initiate loud, boisterous conversations with your fellow comrades. The Czechs are typically more reserved. Similarly, you begin to notice other local mannerisms: a young professional, relieved from getting off of work versus a mother teaching her child English by reading a picture-book.

Riding the tram functions as a honor system since your purchased tickets are hardly ever checked. Occasionally though, an inspector who is often disguised, will approach you and flash his badge. You must provide a tram card or current ticket, otherwise pay a fine of nearly 700 Czech crowns (approximately thirty-five dollars).

Coming from Texas, a land practically devoid of public transportation aside from Metro buses, riding metro rails and tram lines is hugely unfamiliar to many in the Maymester program. But accessing these systems each day has already helped us immerse ourselves and begin to understand Prague. Over the next month, we will utilize the public transportation system numerous times, and each pick a stop to explore further. We will explore the unique cultures present throughout the city--from the Prague Castle to the Jewish quarter--and we will walk away with real stories of the real Prague. Stories beyond tourist attractions and postcard destinations.