To Prague and Back Again - DAY 4:

Ok, so I was up creating this blog until 3:30 am last night so after a VERY late start today I ended up inadvertently doing some backtracking. I thought I hadn't been to Wenceslas Square when in fact I had the first day in my jet-lagged haze so that was an hour and a half walk wasted but all was not lost. I did manage to find a yummy tiny sandwich for 17 Krona ($1). :) If you ever plan to visit, I would suggest missing this because it's not as pretty as the rest of the city and it's really just a bunch of shops apart from the National Museum.

I ended up taking the Metro from the National Museum to Malestranske Nameste and bought a ticket to a classical music concert in Lichtenstein Palace/Academy of Music. Concerts start early here (from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm.) The program covered Mozart, Vivaldi, Pachelbel, Bach, Dvorak, Bizet and Brahms. It was a quintet consisting of 3 violins, a cello and upright base. They played some of my favorite pieces (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Slavonic Dance Nr. 8, Hungarian Dance Nr. 5, and the Suite from Carmen.) You could see the pride on their faces and they would play a little harder on the Dvorak pieces, their home-town hero.

The music was good but the venue left something to be desired. After seeing the grand facade, I thought I'd be in a concert hall when in fact it was a small room with a low ceiling. The musicians were good but not great and the absence of any real ambiance as a venue was a detraction. I'm going to try again tomorrow and shoot for a church.

I noticed a guy sitting behind me who appeared to be traveling alone as well. He spoke to me after the concert. Small world, he was living in Boston but is currently on a world tour before accepting a job in either Italy or Brazil. His name is Igor and he's from Brasil. Yes, I know, Igor sounds Russian, not Brazilian, I pointed that out. Turns out his mom is a fan of classical music too and likes composer Igor Stravinsky. We chatted and walked about as I looked for souvenirs.

Random Thoughts:

I've heard the music from Carmen for years and love it but have never seen the opera and didn't know the words that went with the music. I knew virtually nothing about it except that it's a tragic love story about a passionate woman. After seeing it, (and maybe it's just this production) I realized that Carmen is a cold bitch.

It's funny walking around hearing American music from every shop. Either top 40/Dance or '80s. I wasn't expecting that. There's also a few McDonald's but with a twist. Stopping in one to ask for directions, I almost laughed because all of them employees were wearing ties. As if that makes fried food more upscale or less fattening. Interesting marketing ploy, Ronald or was that the Hamburglar's idea?

I forgot to mention that I'm surprised I can still smell anything today after using a public Water Closet yesterday and the old woman in the small, obviously too-warm toll both, nearly blew out my sensitive American olfactory senses with her BO.

It's a bit odd that the trams are in the same lanes as cars. So in Boston, you know how you might cross a track while taking a turn? Well here, you'd be in front or behind a tram. Cars run right over the tracks and trams beep at cars, it's a little crazy. That said, the Metro and tram system is great. It runs every few minutes and is fast, clean and pretty comprehensive. Just beware that they announce the stop you're at and the upcoming stop so don't get off too soon.

Another oddity, the streets are pretty dead by 10:00 pm (11:00 pm on weekends), most shops close around 6:00 or 7:00 pm. It's hard to get used to since most shops are open until 9 or 10 pm at home.

Still trying to decide on Karlovy Vary's healing springs and Grand Hotel Pupp or Cesky Krumlov's medieval city for an excursion outside of the city...