Morning Glories / Old Town Square / 27 June 2019

Take a seat in Old Town Square. Rest with it while it’s quiet outside. Connect with the cobblestone. This may seem gross, thousands of shoes walk these cobblestones daily. Yet I still took a seat in the middle of old town square on my last sunrise of Prague. Similar to these strangers.

On the ground I realized just how big the buildings are. They are towering. A simple feat I looked over many times. Old Town Square at dawn might just be my favorite sight. It was my first slice of Prague the first night we had an orientation. It’s where I went to practice taking pictures of strangers. 

On top of Prague and at the very bottom. I think I ought to not leave. But alas a plane to catch. I will hold this with me. When a picture you took of strangers one morning becomes the very same thing you do the next.

Morning Glories / Prague’s Old Town / 26 June 2019

It’s not what it looks like. I am constantly surprised by the lax police here, enforcing different laws than the United States. This morning I set off to capture the feeling of leaving the bars at 5am to find sunlight, as many people do in Prague. What I got was something a bit different.

A group of five friends from Slovakia walking in the middle of the road, shouting for me to take their picture. Today I learned that’s a pretty common request from drunk people; I took pictures of 3 groups of friends in the span of 20 minutes. As they walked in the middle of the street, police drove up behind them. They got out of the road and the police drove by. Simple as that. This would not happen in America.

Prague has gotten some criticism for its grit, but that may be one of my favorite parts. In Old Town, a wall of graffiti. And not a cool graffiti wall that draws tourists, but a pretty dull one, intruding on Prague’s fairy tale nature the Korean brides so often chase after. When people ask me about Prague I will say, “It doesn’t try too hard.” It attracts millions of tourists a year but it doesn’t try. That’s the magic. A graffiti wall in old town, drunk people in the streets catching the sunrise. Praha!

The Nocturnalist / Fraktal Restaurant / 25 June 2019

So characteristically Prague. I say this because of the Pilsner. There’s something glorifying about a meal by yourself. A behavior I have tried to become more comfortable with in Austin but still sit in restaurants alone and look around anxiously, eating quickly.

In Europe there is less shame. Not only is it less likely you will see people you know, but also people solo travel through Europe often. These restaurants have seen a lot. I took a meal to myself in Cesky Krumlov and felt freely empowered. A memory I will likely never forget and that Dennis has even made fun of me for! But I was fully comfortable, alone with my thoughts and even found inspiration for a short story.

There is reward from solitude. A film professor of mine begs us to let our minds be bored. I saw the benefits of this on my solo dinner and will continue to appreciate when I see a local or traveler basking in this same simplicity. Nighttime in Prague. A Pilsner, cigarettes, a novel, a patio. While the cigarettes are not for me, we all pick our poisons. Evenings turned nights I will miss, I will miss! A Czech specialty: a meal to myself and freedom to be who I want on that night. I’ll take the cheese plate for dessert, please.

Location Notations / Letenské Sady / 24 June 2019

The last glorious days of Letna. A place friends from last year’s program spoke so fondly of. My blog post on June 2nd mentioned a couple who shared a giant pizza at the beer garden. Today, I bought a giant pizza, sat in the grass with friends and took it all in.

Running through the open fields, fearless water gun fighting and a dog who just can’t get enough. Running all over, climbing trees, rolling on the ground, laughter the whole time. I feel a strong sense of place at Letna. I know where I am in the greater context of Prague, in the greater context of myself.

As I watched the nanny and children I thought about their minds. Do the kids know what’s just beyond Letna? I began to wonder what I knew of my world as a kid. I have limited memories so I do not know the answers to these wonderings. But I hope they remember their glorious days of Letna, which they will likely have many of. Attracting all the right attention, envy for the whimsy.

“Logistics are the thief of joy,” I’ve said several times on this trip. Swim in the Vltava and get your hair wet, even if it will take a while to dry off. Gather up the water guns and dominate the fields of Letna. Don’t even think about it.

A Thousand Words / Tram / 23 June 2019

How the person you are at night differs from the person you are by day. I recently made a playlist for each of my moods, during the day I want to listen to daytime bright music. At night, there’s a certain angst to the empty streets. My internal emotions seek to fill them up.

As I gaze at everyone who enters the tram, looking for their stories, seeking to photograph. He is glued to his phone. As the tram moves through the streets and in turn moves him around in his seat. His shoulders move back and forth with the turns but his eyes are glued.

Yet still I deemed him photographable. I like to look at people through the metal of the tram and metro poles. As the poles confine their face, make only certain features visible depending on the angle. As if they’re stuck behind something.

I will admit my fault, I too get on my phone in moments of boredom and in turn miss small beauties. But this program has taught me to look up, the pure moments are right in front of me. I’m not as locked in, eyes glued, stuck behind bars.

Architecturally Speaking / Masarykovo nádraži / 22 June 2019

Modernity infiltrates classic. In an old train station in Prague, a vendor stands. A train station in the process of renovation. I looked around as a worker stood on a tall ladder scraping paint away. To be completed, to become something greater.

This is the start of what will come for the beautiful train station. The train station where the tram to Letna stops by. That I have admired multiple times, promising to visit the station for myself sometime. More vendors will pop up, the station will expand in the hopes of serving more travelers. For now there’s only one vendor.

The barrier between those in the service industry and those being served, at least for an English speaker like myself. I get anxious at the grocery store or buying a pastry from a shop in the Metro. Always unsure of what I want to get, frustrating to a Czech. But for some the interaction is smooth.

This goes to show how much humans are willing when others get on their level. I will not know what each food is when I go to buy it. I will have limited ability to make a Czech smile, aside from Mama T!!! Beautiful things happen when we have the skills to make the wall between us as humans have a few cracks in it, so the light can pour in.

Small Wonder / Letna / 21 June 2019

I had a dear friend visit me. As I took her around Prague, I was able to see the city again with fresh eyes. Walk into Old Town Square and see it like she would: grand, important, instead of normal.

We went to Letna. I was looking forward to similar behaviors as those that happened at Old Town Square. Watch her looking at what’s new and feel excited all over again. But instead I was faced with something new – Letna in the rain.

Tourists and locals crowded under tents and gazeebos, unsure if they should wait out the rain or run through it. The rain dragged on, the stack of empty cups grew taller. We watched it all happen. No longer the free summer vibe Letna normally portrays. Instead, flexibility and closeness.

A fresh take on Letna, one I’m still not adjusted to. Kingswood Cider is for sunny days! But still their cups were empty.

Architecturally Speaking / Metronome / 20 June 2019

On top of Prague. Sunsets that trickle into nighttime when the sky is dark but still a visible blue. Where groups of friends gather and smoke cigarettes and reflect on the day. Where my group of friends go to take pictures of these people. On the very top.

I’ve walked by the metronome multiple times, going down the stairs after time spent at Letna. Yet somehow I hadn’t noticed it, the huge red pole sticking up in the sky. Begging to be noticed.

The background of this picture reminds me of Austin. Congress Avenue, the capital, the river. I see it all in the blur. We have one week left and it has me thinking about being on top of Austin and how much I will miss feeling on top of Prague. The city is conquered. Their cups were emptied.

The metronome, visible from many viewpoints in Prague but to many just a red pole. In the night, a genuine place that we won’t forget.

Morning Glories / Charles Bridge / 19 June 2019

Sunrise on the Charles Bridge. The quietest I have seen Prague with sunlight. Wandering the streets of Prague at night is a similar sensation, feeling like the only one in the city. Feeling big instead of small somehow. I’ve said before, Prague at night is a treasure. But Prague at morning created something new.

I expect it does that for most people that dare approach the early AM light, most having stayed out from the night before. Some staying awake so as not to pay for a place to stay, similar to Richard Linklater’s film, Before Sunrise. But what happens when it’s time to leave for the airport at 8 AM? The relationships formed on the bridge dissipate and you accept that you may never see that person again. Unless the director decides to make a trilogy!

You simply need the right companion, be it a beer or a lover. His companion for the morning was both. The bridge at its emptiest, almost like crossing a finish line, winning the race. You made it to the bridge at 4AM. Prague’s greatest secret.

In honor of all who have cracked the code.

Noticed / My Favorite / 18 June 2019

My favorite spot in Prague. While some may know its whereabouts, I am going to keep it as close to my heart as possible. Tonight I walked off on my own, off to see the spot. I found two women enjoying their time together by the water. I’m happy to share my joy with them.

As I took photos of the water, mainly seeking inspiration for a future film project, wanting to remember the colors and the scene, the women shouted at me in Czech. I assumed they were getting mad at me, but I responded “English?” anyways. They said, “Come take our picture!” I was shocked. What came out of it was a long conversation about Prague, our careers, religion and their families. The whole time I took photographs.

They told me multiple times they were crazy. The woman on the left told me her daughter had taken three pills that day and was in the hospital. The rest of the pills were in the woman’s basket. I’m not sure if this was truth or lie. The woman on the right, only believed in nature. She was eating a whole white radish.

I chose to put this in black and white because I believe part of this charm should be mine. Part of this should remain in my memory. The colors of this space, the whole reason why I originally deemed it so photogenic, completely replaced by the women whose personalities so boldly took the place of any color the setting possesses.