Victory

"Pamatujte, každý den je dobrodružství."~Matt (Czech for: "Remember, everyday is an adventure.")

Feb 28, 2013
I had a rough time falling asleep last night. It was hard to get comfortable, harder to drift off, and even harder to stay asleep. I’d gotten up early and I was dead tired, but I just couldn’t quite relax enough to nod off completely.

Sometime around 2am I did fall asleep. I slept till about 10:00. When I woke up, I had a message on Facebook from my brother. I replied, before getting up to plan out my day.

I had three things I needed to do today. First, I needed to go grocery shopping. I was pretty much out of food and couldn’t pull off eating out every meal. Second, I had some homework to do. Our research project was due next Tuesday and I wanted to start reviewing my notes on Czech to see if I couldn’t start picking up some more of the language. Third, I wanted to go see Lady of Tyn Church.

I decided to start with the grocery store since I needed the food. I made a list and started gathering my things when I realized I didn’t have any coins. Again, the grocery carts require a coin to use them. I certainly had enough things on my list that I’d need a cart. So I decided to be flexible. I flipped my schedule around and headed into town instead.

On the way to town, I hopped off by school to get a piece of pizza from the window vendor. I had a 100 crown bill and the pizza was only 25 crowns a slice. Since 100 crowns is the smallest denomination of paper money, I knew my change would be in coins and then I’d have the coin I needed for the grocery store.

I ate the pizza and continued into town on the tram, deciding I’d go see the church first and then return to the store. I rode into the Republic Square and walked down Celtena street towards Old Town Square. Lady of Tyn Church is a key feature of the Prague skyline known for its two towering spires and I was able to see them as I approached.

I came up along the east side of the building. Tucked into one of the small gardens by the church, and practically hidden by the canopy of a restaurant, was a statue of the Virgin Mary. According to the history of the church, this statue used to sit in the center of Old Town Square next to the Astronomical Clock. When Prague was invaded in World War I, the statue was removed. Some sources say it was moved out of protest by the protestants, other say it was to protect it by the Catholics; either way, the statue hasn’t been returned to the center of town.

Following a series of signs to the entrance of the church, I walked first to the north side, then to the west side, and eventually to the south. As I walked through the narrow streets encircling the church, I noticed the number of tourists in the area. They all walked around with cameras pointed skyward or—and this one is my personal favorite—pulling a suitcase on wheels behind them across the cobblestone roads.

When I got to the south side of the building, I didn’t see the entrance to the church. In fact, I hadn’t really even seen its south side. There were other buildings built into the front of the church. It looked like part of it was a restaurant, part of it was a ticket office, and part of it looked like office space. I initially thought from the signs that maybe the office space was part of the French embassy, but then I realized the French Embassy probably wouldn’t have signs in Czech on it.

As I walked through a narrow passage between a few of the buildings, I found a small courtyard that led to the entrance of the church. Going in through the wooden doors, I discovered, like a few of the other churches, this one wasn’t open to the public. All I could do was stand in the glass entry way and peer into the sanctuary.

What I could see was fantastic! They didn’t allow photography, but the room was once again gilded in gold and draped in regal, purple banners. It was stunning and powerful to look at.

As I walked back out into Old Town Square, I saw another church that I hadn’t been in. It had an iconic green roof (as many of the significant buildings in Prague seemed to have) and looked to be open to the public today.

This church was called The Church of Nicholas—named for the same saint as the church I’d toured by the castle. It was now a Hussite church, after changing hands with the Catholics a number of times. I’d read about it in a few of my travel books, but it didn’t get the same attention as some of the bigger churches.

As I approached one set of doors, there was a large orange sign saying—in both English and Czech—that the entrance was on the other side. As I walked around the building, I saw a squished cupcake on the ground, followed by a series of frosting covered footprints that trace the trail up the stairs and into the church.

Inside, the sanctuary was beautiful. There was a huge, crystal chandelier that hung over most of the room. Bohemian crystal has been the largest export of the region since Prague was founded thousands of years ago. This church had put this crystal too good use. The organ had enormous golden, silver, and crystal angel wings coming out of either side of it. There were crystal crosses and gilded statues all around the room. The ceiling was painted with stunning frescos, the most interesting of which (in my opinion) was one that made it look as though the congregation was looking up from the fires of Hell into Heaven.  At the front of the room was a very simple altar, decorated with yellow tulips and displaying a wooden carving of the Eucharist.

In one corner there was a display on the history of The Church of Nicholas. It had been a pivotal church throughout Prague’s history. Jan Hus (one of the earliest reformers to break away from the Catholic Church) had preached in this church. His demands had been that all should receive the Eucharist, and that the gospel should be preached in the native tongue. After he was burned as a heretic, the church had remained vital in the Hussite movement away from the Roman Catholic Church. It had played a pivotal role in the struggle for Czechoslovak independence following the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, being the first church to speak in the then nationalized Czech language. It was also a strategic location for political resistance against Hitler in WWII. Many of the priests of the church had been shipped off to concentration camps and killed for promoting their religion—a crime seen as a disruption to the Nazi party. After the fall of communism, this church has lead the way in helping reintroduce religion to what is one of the most Atheist cities in the world. The name Nicholas is very fitting for the church. “Nicholas” is a variation of the Greek word for “Victory.”

Being only midafternoon, I decided to walk around for a bit. Lucas had told me on Monday about a great place to get ice cream near Wenceslas Square. I decided to head there to make up for the ice cream eating I’d lost in the past weeks.

As I walked to Wenceslas, past the Astronomical clock and through the market of street vendors, I came upon another church I hadn’t been inside yet. Checking the doors, they were locked and I’m assuming from all of the signs with red “X”s this one wasn’t for tourists.

I continued down the cobblestone roadway and into Wenceslas Square. According to Lucas, the shop was next to the “cinema” that was across from the tram station. I assumed that Cinema meant Movie Theater, but when I got to the tram station, I didn’t see a movie theater anywhere. Looking around a bit, I found a shop that sold DVDs. Sure enough just around the corner from that was a small walk up window selling ice cream by the scoop.

The various flavors of ice cream were displayed in a glass case, just like in Cold Stone or Baskin Robbins. There were small pieces of fruit in each tub identifying the flavor. Caramel is my favorite, but I will pretty much go for anything that is extra-sweet-and-rich. I ordered one scoop of the cookie flavor, and one scoop of a tub that looked caramel flavor. I learned from the lady working—who spoke broken English—that it was actually walnut and was their “most famous flavor.”

 Sitting at one of the outdoor tables by the shop, I enjoyed every bite of ice cream that I took. Both flavors tasted amazing and were gone much too quickly. The cone itself was shaped sort of oddly. It was longer than most ice cream cones and very, very skinny. It too was very sweet. As I sat there enjoying my treat, and watching people race about the square, I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to spend an afternoon.

As I left the ice cream shop, I came around the corner just in time to see Tram 9 pulling away. Of course there would be another one in six minutes, so I paced around looking in shop windows and listening to the Czech conversations around me.

When the tram came I rode it back to the dorm. Going inside to get my grocery list, I saw that I had a note on my Facebook from Lad’ka. She was putting together a trip for this weekend and said she’d be over at 3pm to discuss it. Since it was almost 3, I decided to wait for her to come.

When she arrived, we went over train schedules and sites to see. She said she would put together the tour, I just needed to find people to go with us so we could get the group discounts.

We started recruiting by going up to Kevin’s room. Kevin had Lad’ka’s ethernet chord and she wanted to get it back. Since Kevin still doesn’t have his visa approved, he isn’t able to travel, but his roommate (Gabe from Texas) was interested in going.

Lad’ka had to leave, but I emailed Thibaut to find more people. Thibaut and at least one of his roommates wanted to come with us.  That would give us enough people to get a group discount.

As I exchanged notes with Thibaut, I also talked briefly with my friend James. He was in class however so our conversation got cut off. I decided that was a good cue to head out. With my coin for the shopping cart in hand and my grocery list in my pocket, I headed out for the store.

I rode the 9 in the opposite direction from town towards the grocery store. I’d learned from a few of the Czech students that this brand was frequented more by elderly people which was why even the younger employees didn’t speak English; it was meant to create a more comfortable atmosphere for the older shoppers, who didn’t like the influence of English in the country.

I got to the store and deposited my coin into the cart. The chain unlocked and I took the buggy inside.

I immediately felt lost. The signs over the shelves and aisles were all in Czech. All of the packaging and branding was in Czech. I was pretty much going to have to buy based off of (a) what I already knew or (b) the pictures on the labels.

My list was pretty simple

• Yogurt—as a simple breakfast/snack that I could eat
• Riso—this was something Ivana had introduced me to. It’s kind of like a tapioca pudding.
• Pasta—my new best friend. One of two dinners I know how to safely make.
• Lunch meat—for those nights I want protein.
• Bread—in case I run out of carbohydrates…good to eat with the pasta, and maybe if I get brave, to make sandwiches.
• Cheese—again, I’m being optimistic on those sandwiches.
• Granola bars—something to munch on when I get hungry around town or between classes.
• Nuts—for some extra protein between meals of pasta and yogurt.
• Paper towels—haven’t had these in a few weeks and now realize how much I over use them at home
• Dish soap—thus far I’ve been boiling water to sterilize my dishes…lucky I haven’t gotten too sick.

I started out retracing the steps that Ivana and I had taken. I found the pasta right away and bought a few different types. I also found granola bars and probably bought way too many of them. I was paying closer attention to expiration dates this time, and those things are going to be good long after I’m back in the States. The bread was the item that expired the fastest. It would only last me till next Monday.

Next I moved into the dairy section. I bought several different flavors of yogurt (some of the fruits on the labels I don’t even recognize) as well as a few flavors of the Riso. For lunch meat, I grabbed a few different types, not exactly sure which came from what animals. For cheese, I wasn’t able to find any sliced cheese, but I got a wheel of a real smooth cheese I figured I could spread on the bread (if I could ever track down a knife that is.)

The only things I had left were nuts, paper towels, and dish soap. I found an area of the store that was selling snack foods like potatoe chips and pretzels. Sure enough, I found cans of mixed nuts here. I also found a whole shelf of Milka Chocolate. I bought a variety package with 32 pieces. In my head I thought, if I eat four pieces a day, that’ll last me eight days and I’ll save a ton of money…while I cooked dinner, I ate six pieces.

Going through the store on my own was interesting. Traffic seemed so congested, but not to the people shopping. People really didn’t stay on one side of the aisle. It wasn’t like traffic where you keep right except to pass; it was more like you keep your buggy on your hip and wherever you go, it goes too. As a foreigner who was trying not to disrupt the flow, it made figuring out the flow quite difficult. I got only a few irritated looks, but nothing I wouldn’t see from a hostile shopper back home. I suppose grocery shopping isn’t much fun regardless of where you live.

I found my last two items, the soap and the paper towels, next to each other. As I made my way out, I decided to grab a little fruit juice to mix in with my water. Ivana had taught me this trick since the tap water—while safe to drink and very refreshing—occasionally gets a bit of a metallic taste to it.

At check out, I put my things on the conveyor belt and waited to pay. As the girl rang them up, I began bagging them. I noticed the woman behind me looked very frustrated. That was when I realized other people weren’t bagging their items; they were just putting them back in the carts. Like a good American, I finished what I started, separating my perishables from my non-perishables and putting the heavy items in the bottom of the bag. The groceries cost a lot more than I expected, but less than the first time I’d came with Ivana. It was still only about $30 USD, and I had gone a little over the “bare-bones” meal plan I’d budgeted.

After I paid and went outside, I saw that people were bagging their groceries as they returned their carts. Once the bags were full, they removed them from the cart. Then they reinserted the chain, and their coin was returned to them. I took note of this for next time.

I rode the tram back to the dorm. Putting away my groceries, I got online and skyped with my brother for a bit. After we hung up, I started making dinner.

Actually, before I made dinner, I decided to wash my dishes. Now that I had the soap to do it, I rinsed them off and scrubbed them a bit. There was some sauce burned to the bottom of the pot, and I used a spoon to vehemently scrape it off. After applying a bit of soap, they looked so much cleaner than the boiling water had been getting them.

For dinner, I made pasta and tried smearing some of the cheese on some of the bread (using a spoon since I still don’t have a knife.) I also poured myself a glass of milk. It tasted amazing! While I can’t read any of the labels on the carton, I gather it is only 1.5% fat. At the same time, it tastes unlike any milk I’ve had before. I don’t even know how to describe it, because it doesn’t taste like milk…at all!

After I ate and cleaned up, I got online again to work on the blog. I wrote a bit while talking with my old roommate from freshmen year. It had been a mostly productive day. Groceries were bought; two churches had been toured; the only thing missing was that pesky homework.

Guess that gives me something to do on Friday!