Sunday, July 1, 2007

a ballet, allergy hell & a sore rearend

so theres a lot to talk about, many pictures to see. ive been outta town in southern bohemia (near the austrian border) on a 70 mile bike trip. after this weekend, if i never get on another bike in my life, i would be okay. but lets start at the beginning. so we went to a ballet on thursday night at the national theatre. quite an impressive place. it was good to go inside, but to see my first ever ballet i was not so excited. i fell asleep just before intermission with my head rested on my arms. i was wearing a sweater and when the intermission began i had these lines on my forehead and so there was no mistake what i had been up to during the ballet. the music was kind of cool, but the ballet itself a little boring. it was a modern russian ballet or something, so it had modern music in it which i liked enough to stay conscious, but not really watch. so, my first ballet was okay. i could totally see taking a date there or something. anyway. so we get up early (6am anyone?) the next day to catch a train to southern bohemia. exhausted before the real exercise sets in, not a good start. its nice to get out of the city, but the allergies were insane. i never remember them being so bad. it was like allergy hell. endless wheat fields. i, foolishly, did not buy more claritin before the trip, so it really hit me hard. i felt as though death was imminent. on the way, we stopped and i had duck for lunch. i immediately thought of don. so this duck's for you (the one in the picture). and it was only 89 crown ($3.60?) we finally get to a small little town with a castle (henry's castle?) and its all fine. we get free food. i ate a whole chicken and a kielbasa and some of the best french fries ever. the food here is awesome. but i am on my way to a heart attack if i keep up this pace. oh, i almost forgot. the train totally reminded me of the movie top secret. the picture was inspired by that train ride where he is painting the trees flying by the window. i guess in a way, that will be the picture of the day, kelly. the whole train ride i was waiting for some thug running down the hall with steven segal calmly following him. anyway. distracted. so my ass is incredibly sore. in fact, i think most everybody's is. but i can only feel mine. i buy allergy medicine the next morning and drink extra water and i feel better in that regard, but the soreness of my hiney is pretty prominent. round two of bike riding is far easier (fewer hills) and we finally reach Trebon in time to miss our train (due to slow restaurant service) and so we are forced to take a train a little later. this gives us, and in particular me, the chance to eat and drink a bit more. ate this cinnamon and dough thing that was insane, had this ice cream that very tasty. went to the local brewery in Trebon and had a delicious 16 degree beer (8%). this place is great. but the biking kicked my ass (literally) and the allergies are trying their hardest to dampen my good times. we get in to Praha at midnight, and at this point, everyone wants to kill everyone else. we decide to hoof it (walk) all the way from the train station home since the subway is closed and the night tram does not run very frequently. i slept pretty well, and a lot of us are still asleep. good thing we have a paper to do by tomorrow. for the same professor who led us on this marathon of a bike ride. i was going to try to have a beer for everyone individually, but ive already forgotten who i had one for, etc. this picture is along the bike trail somewhere in bohemia. probably the best scenario for a beer. although i was a bit sluggish once returning to my bike. but nonetheless, theres nothing quite like relaxing outside with a delicious gambrinus. i cant forget about the sonic stuff. i am so pumped about durant and jeff green (and that guy we got from the celtics not wally). sorry to see ray ray go, but i think its a new era. durant is the real deal and the sonics better stay in seattle or i will be pretty unhappy. also, in an effort to spice things up in this blog, i am going to try to capture the best (and brightest) of the Euro-mullets i see every day here in Prague. i saw a gnarly one in Trebon that i will post later, but didnt get a great shot of. its really hard to discreetly take pictures of someones haircut without them noticing. and this guy was pretty big too. id hate to get beat up over here over something like that. i also find myself taking unconventional pictures of street signs and lisence plates like the one pictured. i could not resist. gotta take a shower and work on that paper. its a shame that i have to do actual schoolwork over here. i keep having this reoccuring dream where its the night before i leave for Prague and i am all panicky and such. but then i wake up all confused because i am actually here. am i really here?

1 comment:

Tara said...

Bike riding aye, maybe there is hope for you.