To all of my amigos who are wondering about sandwich girl, I'll address that first. I haven't been back to that place since my last entry (which is probably the longest stretch I've gone without stopping in there) so still no name to report. I apologize for the delay, I'll get there at some point this week. Anywho, today's entry will be more playing catch-up on weeks past, two weekends ago to be precise.
Right now, we will board an 6-ish hour bus ride to Munich, Germany. The bus ride there was great, I saw some of the Czech countryside... which is pretty much the same as almost any countryside on the drive from NJ to Chicago... and got some good reading done. Before I left I picked up a copy of The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. It's quite a nice read, actually. Told from five different perspectives, the four protagonists' and the author's, Kundera brings his audience into the Czech mindset in the times surrounding the Soviet occupation of Prague in 1968. The plot is really interesting because we have history happening right around the characters but the novel deals with the characters, not with history; it's a novel primarily focusing on character development so it makes for an intriguing read.
Enough about the book. The bus pulled in to Munich at around 10:30pm, I made one call to Dylan, a Northwestern friend that I am meeting up with, and my phone politely told me that I have no more credit left to complete the call. Luckily after talking to a very nice German woman, hopping on a metro, then wading my way through a crowd on a road that could have only been named “Stripper Street,” Dylan and friends were just across the street from our hotel. The next morning we awoke at 6:45am, met up with more NU friends by 7:30, and were on Oktoberfest grounds by around 8:15. I'll skip over the part where we wait in a line outside the biggest tent for two hours only to be told that we couldn't get in and head right to the best part. Just as we sit in the outside seating area of the Hippodrom tent, the clouds departed and let the sun shine right down on Munich and our day. Beer isn't served on the first day until the mayor of Munich taps the first keg at noon, but when that happened, the entire place erupted. The waiters took beer orders before noon so that they could just run out to the tables, holding 20 steins at a time, each a liter of beer. We had two waiters, Paci and Simon, who were incredible, super friendly and very funny. Over the next five hours, the only feeling I had can be described as sheer ecstasy, that and the feeling of really needing to pee. It really just was a great day. I think that the experience was extra special because of the people with whom I was there. I really appreciate the new friends I've made on my program, we get along very well, but it's a different connection than that which I have with friends from school. Seeing good friends from school after three weeks away from everything and everyone familiar put a permanent smile on my face.
My bus left at 1pm on Sunday so like any responsible young adult, I went with my buds back to Oktoberfest for a couple more drinks. Again, had an amazing couple hours with friends old and new. It was a much different atmosphere than being outside, proven by the video I'm currently posting on Facebook. Inside the tent is much more of a true cultural experience, everyone chanting and yelling and chugging and chugging and did I mention they chug a lot. [Enter J. Lehmann]. By 11:30, I said my goodbyes and made my way to the bus depot.
Arriving back in Prague, after being in a very different city (I'll comment on the differences between Prague and Munich and Vienna when I write about my trip to Vienna), I felt a sort of “I'm home” sentiment. Maybe it was more of a “I know this place” feeling, which would be much more acceptable to Czechs. When speaking Czech, natives frown when newcomers say “Mám rád Prahu” (I hope google translate used the proper ending for Praha), which means “I love/really like Prague.” As someone who has only been here for a month and change, I have to say “Moc se mi líbí.” That phrase also means that I like it a lot but with different implications, I guess. Czechs are very prideful people and one must prove himself worthy before being able to say that he/she loves Prague. So even though I am not supposed to say that I love it here, I will say that I really really really like it, and that I appreciate Prague, and can't wait to find new things to appreciate about it.
Thanks for reading.
All the best,
Than
Thanks for reading.
All the best,
Than
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