Alexa in Wonderland

Me: Run, Stop, AHHH, Flash!

Hmmm, so for Prague I thought I’d describe a lot more but it would just make you more jealous (don’t worry, you can get here some day!). Instead, I’ll focus on the really weird last two days of my trip, one of which was mostly not in Prague.

First, above I’ve got more pictures of the Sedlec Ossuary in the album link. Isn’t that place incredible? It definitely belongs in mainstream art history lessons because it’s just such a clever and unique dislplay.  Apparently this guy  Rint was assigned the task of organizing over 40,000 skeletons left over from the Black Plague and Hussite wars and this was the result—several garlands of jolly rogers hovering over a chandelier made of every bone in the human body, the Schwarzenberg crest, four bell-shaped mounds of bone in each corner and other creative embellishments. Definitely the creepiest chapel ever though.

After that, Jessica and I went back from Kutna Hora (1 hour train from Prague) for our last night in the city and enjoyed one last look at all the beautiful vistas there.

The next day, very early in the morning I started my trek back to Brno but totally screwed it up. First, I accidently took a bus from the university the wrong way and was not able to get on the early train I needed to back to Brno. So I went an hour later, hoping some strange circumstance might let me get on my flight. I rushed by taxi to the airport but found no luck. And right during that moment I was sadly absorbing the news at the counter, a kind familiar American voice said, “Need a trip back to the train station? We’ll drop you off. Are you thirsty? You look tired.” Thank God. This nice couple from Long Island really caught me right before I panicked and kept me relaxed enough to figure out an alternative solution to getting home—hopping on a two hour train to Slovakia and flying out of Bratislava later that night.

While we were driving back to the station, they told me about everything I could do in Brno (the husband grew up there) and even had a city map to give me (total angels). One of their suggestions was the Capuchin Crypt, a place loaded with really old mummies, right across the street from the station. I ended up only having 10 minutes to look at it so I literally ran through the exhibit, pausing every now and then to scream and then take a picture. Me: Run, Stop, AAHHHH, Flash!, Run, Stop, AHHHH, Flash!

Then I almost flipped out again because I couldn’t find any English speakers when I didn’t see a train leaving directly to Bratislava. A Czech conductor signaled that I needed to get on a train to Breclav, which I’d never heard of before, but I had to do it immediately because it was about to go. To prevent hyperventilation I slapped myself down on the seat of this ancient train and whipped out the Lonely Planet guide. WTF is Breclav?! Thanks to the pronunciation guide and map in my book, I realized it was a town on the border where I would probably have to transfer before going to Slovakia. Thank you for the guide Ray and Ro! I would’ve cried the whole way there if I didn’t know where the hell I was going. Well, that wasn’t the best way to get home but it certainly was more interesting.

Prague! Prague! God, this trip is going to require a few entries.

Never in my life have I felt like I was completely surrounded by such a strange, foreign and fantastical world. I saw and did so many wonderful and crazy things that my two and a half day trip seemed like some long legendary journey. Ahh, so corny but true. I wandered every beautiful street saying “I DARE any other city in the world to be this beautiful!” I mean the beauty just did not stop. Every street in central Prague was gorgeous. And usually when I’m surrounded by as many tourists as there were thronging the city last weekend I get depressed and frustrated fast, but no amount of tourism could stop my heart from fluttering everytime I looked at Tyn Church, the Clock Tower, Charles Bridge, the secret garden, Prague Castle or any vista over the city.

The city itself was made that much better by my friend Jessica, who I was an editor with at Entrepreneur.com. I stayed with her at a university campus where I met up for drinks and clubbing with a bunch of students there and some of the class directors. And wouldn’t you know it—we ended up hanging out more with the Spanish speaking crowd, so my Spanish practice even continued in Prague! I guess that was a good thing :)

Too Much To Say

Okay, this weekend’s trip to Prague included:

Quite possibly the most beautiful city on earth * Secret Garden * Mochi Worship * Skeleton Art * Great meals, Pilzner and Moravian wine * Frustration with inability to fully capture Praga’s beauty with my camera * Trains—So Many Trains * My Hero: The Lonely Planet Guide or Heroes: Ray and Ro for the guide—thank you! * I have to go to Slovakia? *

Overall, it was incredible because I went with Jessica! More to come …