Pretending to relax in Prague

Hellooo everybody! I’m back in the magical city of Prague, and I have lots to share with you.

Many of you know that I visited Prague for the first time in December 2022 with Alyssa. If you haven’t heard those stories yet or need a quick refresher, start here!

Alyssa and I saw and did so much during that trip. My goal now is to see some of my favorite places again and wander into unexplored territory.

Full disclaimer: I have been awake for 36? hours now, so if I’m not making sense…. you know what’s up.

Let’s start with the beginning of my travels.

Flying!

I left home yesterday with plenty of buffer time for the airport. As I’m sure you’re aware, many US airports have been a mess the past few weeks due to the partial government shutdown, among other things. I have to admit, I was a bit worried that the chaos would affect my travels. However, DTW is the BEST airport and only had a 5-10 minute wait time for security! There was no chaos! I am truly so impressed. To add, all of the TSA workers were super friendly, laughing and making jokes with each other.

Another aspect that likely contributed to my positive flying experience was the fact that I flew from Detroit to Frankfurt, rather than having another connection in the US. Woohoo!

Anyway, I almost had a snack crisis on the plane (sorry, Mom)… the pilot had announced that we were going to receive a light snack, drink, and some breakfast before landing in Frankfurt 7 hrs later. My first thought was… no dinner?! For probably 20 minutes, I sat there going, “shIT Clara why didn’t you eat dinner before getting on this plane?! Haven’t you learned this lesson before?!”

(I have)

I then began planning how I would make the two emergency rice crispies bars in my backpack last an entire sleepless night long.

That’s right, I also can’t sleep on overnight flights.

Before I knew it, the cabin crew was rolling out the hot meals asking if I wanted gnocci or chicken. WHEW!

I debated telling you all this story because to be honest, I should know by now whether airlines give you dinner on an overnight flight 😂

Aside from that tiny freak out, my flight was super smooth. We had a strong tailwind, whatever that means, so despite leaving 30 minutes late we still got to Frankfurt 10 minutes early. Cool!

I also sat next to a daughter and mother pair who were on their way to Spain for an epic cruise. It was the mom’s 90th birthday!!!! Apparently, those two have been traveling all over the world together. They’ve gone to Fiji, New Zealand, Hawaii, Alaska, and Panama among others. We had fun chatting!

When we landed in Frankfurt, I had about 2 hours to get to my next gate… and I would NOT ever cut it closer than that! I found FRA to be kinda confusing, especially with the new biometrics system the EU is using. I also had to essentially exit the airport and go back through security to get to my next gate. I’m sure it has something to do with Schengen/Non-Schengen stuff. Regardless, it was a time-eater.

Transportation in Prague

Upon landing in Prague, I activated my eSIM which allows me to have cellular data through the local network. This is crucial for me because I rely heavily on Google Maps for getting around the city!

Once I had my data, I checked to see how to get downtown. All I had to do was purchase (and activate!) a transportation ticket through the PID app. Don’t forget to activate it, or else you’ll be in mega trouble ($$$).

I took the trolleybus 59 to the metro station and then the green line A to my stop! It was super easy. I’ll definitely be taking the metro more frequently on this trip. Gotta save the legs for race day!

CAFÉ CLUB MÍŠEŇSKÁ

My first stop —not including a quick stop at my hostel to drop luggage off— was a vibey café called CAFÉ CLUB MÍŠEŇSKÁ. I don’t know why it’s all caps, but let me tell you, I was thinking in all caps after the two shots of espresso and cheesecake I had there! Don’t worry, I ate a sandwich too.

✨sustenance✨

I tried my best to sit there and take in the scenery around me, but alas it was a tiny bit awkward to sit there alone with my phone charging out of reach in the corner. I was wishing I had a pocket sketchbook or something so I could do something… literally anything.

What I did was take a mental image of the room I was sitting in. There were vines on the ceilings, vintage wooden tables and chairs, lots of natural lighting, and… a wild boar head on the wall?!?!

Interestingly, this was the first place I had found in Prague that wasn’t crammed full of other tourists. There were plenty of open tables, and everyone was very relaxed. Some students were even doing work on their laptops, which makes me think it’s a place that locals might actually like to go to.

Like I said, I left this café with a LOT of energy. I just wanted to sprint down the streets of Prague! I didn’t, but I really could have.

Střelecký ostrov

The first place on my list was Střelecký ostrov, an island that’s known for having nutrias! They’re adorable little river rodents. See for yourself!

I enjoyed watching them eat grass and swim in the river. The view was also spectacular from this location!

I also saw some pretty cool birds. I could’ve sat out there forever, but I had to keep moving due to the major lack of sleep.

I almost forgot to mention, there were some funny moments along my journey to this island.

First of all, I accidentally stumbled upon the narrowest alley in the city. It’s so small that it’s a one way with a walk light!

I, along with a few strangers, went down this alley only to find out that IT WAS A TRAP! There was a restaurant at the bottom of the alley, and there’s no way to go back up the stairs!!! Luckily, the restaurant let us walk out of the patio quietly. We were all laughing at the setup. They really got us.

Next, I somehow ended up in a sculpture garden. The most memorable sculptures were this set of creepy, crawling babies. I also saw a group of teenage boys Olympic speed walking through the park with very dramatic hip sways. It was so random!

Vrtbovská zahrada

After seeing the nutrias, I set off to find The Vrtba Garden. It took a LOT of walking in circles because I was trying to preserve the remaining 4% of battery on my phone. P.s. I own a portable charger but didn’t bring it due to lack of space in my backpack. I guess I should’ve left the 1,000 page book at home.

By the time my feet and legs were aching, I finally found the garden. It was easy to miss because there was so much construction on the road surrounding it!

When I walked in, I was surprised to see that there were a total of three people there. Another practically deserted area of Prague?! How could this be possible?!

The first level of the garden has a huge bird cage with so many different kinds of birds! There were tiny and large birds, neutral and colorful birds… SO MANY KINDS OF BIRDS! And they were singing so beautifully. I was in awe.

As I made my way up the step, the view got even better. I now saw the beautifully colored buildings, the bird cage, and the perfectly trimmed hedges.

I kept going up and up and up until I reached a door leading to a narrow staircase up to the highest level. Up there, I had the most incredible view of Prague. I sat there for nearly 30 minutes just listening to the birds, identifying famous landmarks in Prague, and building myself a mental map of the city. This really came in handy on my way home when my phone was dead 😅.

I could not believe that such a majestic place like The Vrtba Garden was almost completely empty! Yet another escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. 3/3?!?!

Signal Space

After checking into my hostel room (I have 7 roommates!) and charging my phone, I went to Signal Space to view their digital art exhibition called Echoes of Tomorrow. I had originally planned this activity for myself because I knew that after my candidacy exam, I would need some time to sit and dissociate. Little did I know I would have 3+ opportunities to do so in a single DAY!

I intended for this to be a very relaxing and mindless activity, but it was actually quite thought-provoking and mildly unsettling.

There were a variety of displays including kinetic, lasers, an infinity room, interactive visuals, and more. Each display was meant to send some sort of message about how technology is becoming more integrated into our lives. T

he kinetic display used an algorithm to move the lights and sound in a way that was unique every time; specific combinations never repeated themselves. This was meant to show how technology can compare to life’s moments never being the same.

The laser display, on the other hand, pointed out how technology can change how we perceive our environment. The lasers moved in a way that felt like there were waves crashing around me, even though there was no physical object there.

The next room was mind blowing to me. When I first walked through the curtain, I was so confused where I could even walk. I looked at the guy working and said, “uhhh this is trippy”. He then confirmed that I can walk straight through the display.

Do you see what I mean?!

The next really interesting display was the interactive one. Whenever I moved, the visuals would change to match my movements!

Overall, I thought this was a super cool exhibit. I was fascinated by the lights and sounds that made each experience so unique. I was also impressed by the ability of these artists to use algorithms and other technology to generate this art! However, I can’t shake the underlying tones of uneasiness I have about technology’s influence on us. I don’t know how best to explain my thoughts right now, but it was just a weird feeling.

You know what else is weird? Paying $10 for a very mid chicken kebob on a hotdog bun. But, I did that. At the Easter market. Did you know that Prague has Easter markets?!

Goodnight y’all. Cruisin’ Clara is finally getting some REST!