Going nowhere.The other day, my friend Brian emailed me pictures from his recent vacation to Greece. The pictures showed him and his friends in shorts and tank tops, walking the ancient ruins, eating meals by the ocean, the sunlight reflecting off their sunglasses.
Yesterday, I got an email from Adam, who after Prague had ventured to the Croatia coastline, where he spoke of "hot sunny days." Some of his friends even got sunburned.
And then there is me. I go to Ceske Budejovice, a town whose name I can barely pronounce. From the moment I got here, it went from normal autumn temperatures to January frigid. Today as I walked to the Budweiser Budvar brewery, the town's biggest attraction, I was wearing my warmest sweater, my green puffer and rain coat, and the cold still bit through my jeans. The sky was blue, but the next minute it was grey. It rained on and off. My umbrella rippled uneasily in the brutal wind. The rain drops felt like ice on my red and cold hand. I was on a busy road filled with cars and trucks puffing diesel fumes in the air. I walked by a mall, a massive OBI store--their version of Home Depot--Communist style buildings, and not much else.
Most people go the beach when they go on vacation. I decide to go to east bumblefuck Czech Republic.
How did I end up here?
I asked myself this question today, and I just laughed.
When I was planning this trip, my goal was to focus on a few countries and really get to know them. I wanted to see the main attractions, but also get off the beaten path and find some hidden treasures along the way. I wanted to see how the real people live. And I guess I have got it here: Ceske Budejovice is a fine place, but it's just ordinary. It's where Czech people live and work and have kids and go to the mall and drive cars. It reminds of New Jersey.
I feel like I have been in the Czech Republic forever. Poland seems like such a distant memory. I have only been in this country 12 days, it feels like a year.
I enjoyed the beer making factory. Afterwards, I looked in my guide book for something else to do. My other options for the day were the South Bohemian Motorcycle Museum or the Museum of the Horse-drawn Railway.
I head out tomorrow.
The mall.
Obi.
View of the square from the top of the Black Tower.
The Black Tower.
4 comments:
"I enjoyed the beer making factory. Afterwards, I looked in my guide book for something else to do. My other options for the day were the South Bohemian Motorcycle Museum or the Museum of the Horse-drawn Railway.
I head out tomorrow."
...excellently put. are you hanging out / talking to the locals at all?
I try to talk to everyone I can, but no one wants to be my friend. It might be due to the fact that I have found few people who speak English.
Are you surprised that nobody in Chech Rep wants to be your friend? You said yourself that Chechs think that Americans are stupid and fat..
What's wrong with living in New Jersey? I love it.
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