I spent the remainder of my weekend just exploring, trying to get my bearings. The main goal of Saturday: find a market and buy some food so I don’t eat out for every meal. The
goal for Sunday: don’t get lost. Seriously, though, no matter how you plan, if you don’t get 
lost in a city like this, even if it’s just for a moment, are you truly experiencing it? Have your markers (for me they are things like “the hill,” the river, and Old Town Square) and always head back to those if you get lost. One of the reasons I like walking everywhere instead of public transportation is that it’s easier to figure out where you are and retrace your steps.Here are a couple of thoughts from my Saturday adventures:(My main points of contact were Old Town Market and the Strahov Monastic Brewery)
- Sometimes, getting lost is because you can’t follow directions, but it can also lead to
beautiful thing. I was wary of climbing the hill back to Strahov, but it also showed me that there are some beautiful hiking opportunities right there in the city. I later learned that I was in Kinsky Gardens, which sports ponds, ruins, the hunger wall, a rose garden, an observatory, and a summer home that once belonged to the man the area is named for. - It only took me until Day 2 to try the Czech’s version of dumplings. They are bread based
and delicious, like all other cultures’ dumplings I have had the pleasure of tasting. At lunch, I had bacon bread dumplings, though dinner came with just traditional bread
dumplings. The bacon bread dumplings were paired with beef goulash, which I constantly forget is served differently country-to-country, while the traditional dumplings came with duck. - I suppose I should have thought more about the markets I was looking into. I wanted a full
market experience to purchase food for the week. Instead, I received the watered-down, tourist, souvenir destination. I think I’ll stick to mini markets. It’s too expensive to use tourist destinations, and, now that I have korunas, they are more convenient for the things I will need. - If I keep climbing hills like this, I’ll be unstoppable when I make it back to the United
States. My only suggestion on such adventures: just don’t stop. If you think your legs hurt while walking those hills, just rest. Trust me, that’s worse. As Dory would say: “Just keep swimming.” Nights are for resting, or, for me, afternoons at this point.
Here are some thoughts from my Sunday adventures:
- The seal statue makes much more sense when you discover the park was originally a
wealthy man’s gardens for his summer home (see above comment). It was extremely peaceful sitting there reading for about an hour today. While I can see where there is somewhat of a “second pond”, the main water is all that really captures your attention. It’s also a very happening spot for locals, or so it seems. - Strahov Stadium, which is visible from my dorm blok, and is the main focal point on top
of the hill, stands minuscule to its original structure which once had the moniker of largest stadium ever constructed.This was for the entire world, but conflicting reports also state it was the fourth largest. While the entirety of the structure still stands, it is dilapidated, although the inside is still used, as a practice field for the Spartans (a local fotball team) and other activities, it no longer houses the 220,000 spectators it once did. It is interesting to note that this monstrosity of a structure seems to have been built for gymnastics, which I am eager to learn more about. - There are a couple of things here that constantly remind me how conservative many of the United States’s views truly are. The biggest is probably that I share all bathroom facilities in my dorm blok with both men and women. Today, in my exploration, I also noticed most of the dorm bloks have their own bars. In my adventure, I came across a rugby practice as well. It was for a co-ed team. It’s the little things, but they are so evident sometimes.
- If you are a vegan, Czechia may not be the country for you. It’s even difficult to find
vegetarian meals, though, when you do, they are often much cheaper than meat dishes. I overheard a tour guide on my first day state that Czech cuisine largely consists of meat, butter, and cheese. In my experience, that is true of most Central and Eastern European countries. Still, when you find vegetarian plates, they are delicious.
The great thing about going into these places almost unaware is that I come home with a list to look up. While this weekend it seemed to focus on the more tourist like things, such as how much tours cost (I’ll just look things up and visit them for those rates), I have also come across some interesting things. Not only was it fun to look up Strahov Stadium, but I found two markers within the gates that I intend to find out more about. I have come across interesting tales like that of Kinsky, who was late to the show and never finished his gardens, but whose legacy still lives on.This is what I will leave you with: I met a man at dinner this evening, he was having a pint
while I was waiting on my food. We spoke for a bit. It was hard to understand one another because I speak no Czech and he spoke little English, but I totally understood when he 
asked what I liked best so far. I explained and then had to break it down further, but until I said it I hadn’t realized this is why I like Europe so much. I told him “The U.S. is ugly. You have to go looking for beauty. Here, though. Here, beauty is everywhere. In the streets. In
the buildings. In the nature. It’s all around you.” Now, I didn’t mean that the U.S. is truly ugly, but that often you must seek out the beauty, where here, it is literally around every corner, constantly taking your breath away.
Raven K 