Why do we travel? There are so many articles on the internet that attempt to answer this question it's absurd. First of all, who is this "we"? Students? Americans? Mankind? And second of all, how could there ever be one reason or even an exhaustive list that explains why anyone who ever left their home did so? I just don't believe it's possible.
For instance, Psychology Today published an article in October 2009: "Travel to Create Your Self" by Robert Fuller, Ph.D. In this article, Fuller puts forth his theory on why "we" travel. To summarize:
- The excitement of fear, and the satisfaction of overcoming that fear. "Fear is part of what makes travel enlivening and relevatory."
- To break down stereotypes, see for ourselves, and gain a fresh perspective. "As we struggle to reconcile what we're experiencing with what we take for granted, we strip away what's arbitrary in cultural practice and approach what is universal."
- Travel is transformative. In taking ourselves out of our typical surroundings, we learn about who we are - who we are becoming confronts who we used to be.
The only thing I can say with certainty is why I travel. I travel to learn. I travel for a challenge. I travel to create a home. I think that an important goal of traveling is feeling that in some capacity you have gotten to know the city - things like mastering the public transportation, the customs, or the language. Or finding a favorite cafe, perhaps making a friend. Especially as a study abroad student, I am constantly trying to create a home in some way everywhere I go. On this rating scale London feels like home as much as Aix-en-Provence does, as much as Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Florence, and New York City do. I have never struggled with this as much as I did in Prague. I did put effort into it, and yet by the time I left I hadn't fully achieved that level of familiarity and enjoyment that I am always seeking. In this instance, I think the difficulty was directly related to how prepared I was to travel there - not very. I know the experience would have been entirely different if I had planned the trip more carefully or used contacts to find a friend of a friend to show me around.
Undeniably Prague is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. The Vltava river, Prague Castle, Old Town Square, Charles Bridge... But I never stopped feeling like a tourist - either promoters were trying to pull my friend and I inside with offers of cheap meals or discounted tickets, or the staff did not want to serve us because we could barely manage "hello" and "thank you" in Czech those first two days. There were fewer happy moments when I felt as though I could blend into my surroundings than in Vienna or Oslo.
That said, Amy and I still had a good time in Prague despite some rainy weather. We left Vienna by train early Monday morning. In an effort to save money we booked a ticket to Brno, just over the border, where we disembarked to buy tickets for the second half of the journey in marks, the Czech currency (although we had to unload our suitcases, run to the ticket office, and reload in quite a hurry we did save a lot of money). First on the agenda, as ever, was to find and check into our hostel. I had booked Artharmony Hostel, located on the fourth floor of a building in New Town, based on location and affordability. It was wonderful - both the hostel and the man at reception could best be described as peaceful and welcoming, there was free internet access on the computers, and our room (the Jan room) was cozy and clean with a fun Egyptian theme. Liberated of our suitcases, we walked down the wide road Ječná towards the river. The scenery was beautiful, and we stood on a bridge (or most in Czech) to survey the landscape in silent appreciation. As we walked north along the Vltava, our view of Prague Castle and the trees in their fall colors improved.
Our next move as tired and hungry tourists was to turn directly into the chaos of the King's walk, where we were certain to find English-speaking citizens to serve us. To stave off our hunger, we stopped for a pint of beer at the first acceptable bar. Amy chose Pilsner Urquell and I chose Budwar, the original (and not awful) Budweiser beer! No relation to the American brand. The rest of the night was spent exploring the Old Town with Prague sausage from a street vendor for dinner. And really, the beer was so good that who cared what we ate that night?
Our first mission on Tuesday was to find a guide book in English to research our sightseeing options and learn a few Czech phrases. The best and closest option seemed to be Wenceslas Square, and sure enough, we found a three-story bookstore with an Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide tucked away in a corner. Over breakfast we picked out the art galleries at Veletrzni Palace, one of several buildings which collectively form the National Gallery. We had to combine a subway journey and an overground tram to reach the building in Holešovice, but the art was well worth it. The majority of the galleries and exhibitions contained 19th and 20th century French art, as well as modern and contemporary Czech and European art. After several hours of beautiful artwork, interrupted by just one quick coffee in the cafeteria, we crossed the street to try Bohemia Bagel for a light lunch (our guide book recommended this restaurant, but only go there if you are really homesick for an American bagel!).
Back in the more central districts of Prague, we watched the astrological clock in the Old Town Hall sing out the hour. And in the afternoon, we happily went shopping for jewelry! The exchange rate and the abundance of garnet in the Czech Republic meant that Amy and I could realistically shop for fine jewelry on a college budget for the first time in our lives. Amy fell in love with a beautiful ring - there was a light green moldovite stone in the center surrounded by deep red garnet stones in a sideways tear drop shape.
We found dinner locally (relative to our hostel), and it was the most authentic and delicious meal yet [Restaurace U Pomniku, Gorazdova 1]. My meal was savory goulash with knedlicky (dumplings) and, of course, beer - Master Zlaty 15° for me and Gambrinus 10° for Amy. By listing the Top 10 Czech beers, our guide book had challenged us to find and sample all of them. We couldn't go home that night without finding at least one more - luckily, Krusovice was on tap at the first bar we tried. Easy! Not to mention yummy...
Success:
2. Pilsner Urquell
3. Krušovice
4. Budvar
7. Gambrinus
On Wednesday, my final day in Praha, Amy and I headed up to Prague Castle - the top sight in the city. It was a slow and steady hike up the steps of Hradcany hill, and it was a proper workout. And after all our huffing and puffing the actual castle was closed! In lieu of Prague Castle, which was closed for restorations, an art exhibit was offered in its place. The paintings were respectable enough, but the design of the space made the exhibit feel a bit spare.
St. Vitus
St. Vitus Cathedral was very, very beautiful. It was even colder inside than it was outside, I felt like I was in a refrigerator. Our tickets also included the Basilica of St. George and the Golden Lane, where I did some souvenir shopping in the tiny historic houses.
This was the rainiest day yet, not to mention chilly, so we fortified ourselves at lunch with roast pork with cabbage and dumplings before walking through the rain, sans umbrella, in search of the Lennon wall. If you haven't heard of it, this is a graffiti wall created after Lennon's assassination.
We signed our names and then crossed the famous Charles bridge over the Vltava, stopping inside the church on the opposite bank - I believe it was Kostel svatého Františka z Assisi - for warm drinks. Just the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg sprinkled on the foam of my cappucino was enough to revive me. We sipped slowly and relaxed, long enough to allow some of the damp to leave our clothes. The rest of the afternoon was pleasant enough - we walked into Josefov (the Jewish Quarter) past the Old Jewish Cemetary and along the upscale shopping street Pařížská.
In the evening, I re-packed my suitcase and researched bus routes to the Airport and Amy and I went out for one last beer (or several...). By that point, we had sampled four of the top ten Czech beers, but had yet to try #1: Staropramen. Don't worry: we found it later on tap at the bar in the Imperial College Student Union in London. And it was delicious. And we were happy.
In the morning, Amy and I ate a continental breakfast of pastries and coffee at the main train terminal before parting ways. Amy was staying until the evening and had plans of her own for the day: the Museum of Communism, Kafka's house, fried cheese. I was moving on to Norway.
I must say that although we struggled to feel at home in Prague, we still had a nice time and I would really like the chance to return one day and try again.
