Cesky and Murphy (my two favorite things)

I realize it's been a few days, but a siege of first world problems has overtaken my life. Let me complain to you for a moment, will you? First off, I'm sick as heck. Before you pity me, which I hope you do, you should be mad at me. Who gets sick on the first day of Europe trip and ignores it for 2 or 3 weeks? Idiots. And me. Second major tragedy: my computer is dead. It's a goner. I was watching a film during a pity party, and all of a sudden, I heard a sound like a light bulb going out and then my screen went black and then I smelled the delicious smell of burning plastic. Woe is me, woe is me. Now that I've explained myself (whined), let's get down to business. I am having a wonderful time. My flight back home to Houston is in a week from tomorrow, and I can hardly believe it's all ending so quickly. I am so sad! But, I can't wait to see the mama and the papa and the Ryry and the friends and Chago. And breakfast tacos. And Barton Springs. And APA. I'll stop.

Mini-photo stories! Here they come.

Last week, we spent three days in Cesky Krumlov. Cesky Krumlov is where I think heaven is. I probably already said this on my silly academic blog, but it's a magical place where there is a castle, chummy townspeople and yummy, yummy food. Think Beauty and the Beast but, you know, better.

I have a knack for finding parks.

The castle had a moat of live bears. In the castle, there are bear rugs made of the moat bears. All died of natural causes. 

Great basil martinis. It is kind of an unofficial tradition for the Doc Photog Maymester group to get them when in Cesky.

I mean, I just had to. He's so dang cute.

Me dying in the art museum after the pubic hair exhibit. As in, a woman made all these drawings that seem to be pencil drawings, but she really just arranged her pubic hairs on a canvas a bunch of times.

The best thing that ever was, the mirror maze. As mentioned on the other blog, a bunch of classmates and I went into this maze with Dennis, his wife and two children. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. I laughed, cried and lost my mind. I mean that.

This was really common. Maybe an art exhibit. I'm not sure, but it was weird. Not as weird as pubic hair art though.

After Cesky, I took a few days to relax and take it easy. Unfortunately this means I barely took any photos, something I am now regretting. HOWEVER, a wonderful thing did happen on Saturday at 2:01 pm. MURPHY CAME TO VISIT ME FROM BERLIN! It was a most wonderful thing. Her visit was not nearly long enough, but we got in some quality time. Here's a photo to prove it!

 

 

 

Ain't she grand?

I will do better at that photo thing I'm supposed to be doing here and will leave you with this,

More soon, I hope. Thank you to my parents for this trip!

Lana

Gratitude, Compassion

Last week, we went to what used to be the town of Lidice. To give you a quick recap, it was a town completely destroyed by the Nazis for essentially no reason one day. All the men over 16 were killed, the children either killed or "Germanized" and the women over 16 sent to concentration camps. What resides there now are monuments and a museum in a huge, beautiful (eerily so) park. After visiting the museum and walking around, we had the opportunity to sit with a survivor (she was the youngest "woman," 16 and two months, so was sent to a concentration camp) and listen to her speak about her life and then ask questions. It was so moving. They asked us to write them and talk about our experience there, and this is what I said:

Dear, Ms. Sklenickova,  

I hope this message finds you well.

At the end of our wonderful discussion with you, you asked us to write you about our experience in Lidice. I looked forward to doing so, because it was an opportunity to express my gratitude to you and also my growth from the experience.

Coming to Lidice was, in one word, heart-breaking. Observing the ways in which humans destroy each other tears the heart into pieces. However. I realized after coming to Lidice that compassion is born of this kind of ache. Compassion in the form of sympathy and empathy unites us and pulls us forward and away from the horror that mankind is capable of. This is why I thank you endlessly for telling your story to us and sharing such an intimate part of your life with countless strangers. Compassion does not justify destruction nor does it redeem it, but it seems to be the one good that comes of it. And the good that comes from compassion? Well, I don't need to describe the way compassion changes the world for the better. That's what I am getting at: I am thanking you for making the world a better place by instilling compassion in your listeners every time you share your story. It is a sacrifice I cannot imagine, so I thank you again and again. 

I took this photo of a boy and his family during my visit to Lidice. The scene of the boy playing while in the background you see his family and the cross representing those who were killed really moved me, because I couldn't stop thinking about how, in a way, you have helped give this boy the simplicity of this moment. By sharing your story, you have given him and all children a chance at the happy and simple childhood everyone deserves instead of the heartache many face. This is nothing short of incredible.

Thank you, and I wish you and your family well,

Lana

Half-Way Mark

So, my trip is already halfway over. This is so sad to me! I feel like it's been a wonderful and fulfilling two weeks, but I want more, more, more. I know that "more, more, more" is certainly what I'm going to get what with our packed schedule, but still, I am just getting comfortable here. Alas, the second half will be even better than the first.

Here are my photo mini-stories. I am finding they're the most fun way to tell you about my trip.

Cafe Louvre is a favorite amongst my classmates. Apparently, famous folk like Kafka and Einstein came here, but we just like it because the food is relatively cheap, they speak English and it's pretty delicious.

How I want my retirement to look like.

Wrote a blog post on this on my other blog. The photo speaks for itself.

You guys. The parks must be my favorite thing here. They are, and I mean this literally, almost magical. I feel like I'm in a fairytale when I walk through them. They are gorgeous and forest-like and incredible. There are these cottonwood trees or something that are...what? Shedding? This means it looks like it's snowing, and everyone is out and about and happy with their beer and children and families and rollerblades and kissing and friends and dogs and basically all things that make the world an easier place to live in.

Good god, the dogs here are so weird. I mean, they're normal, but they're extremely well-behaved. Maybe it's because I work at a shelter, but it's very, very weird to me. I mean, it's great, but it's strange. They walk off leashes and don't jump on you when you walk by or bark at other dogs.... It's so weird. But it gives me hope for training a dog in the future when I have two Great Danes.

Our walk to class sort of through the park. Very different than UT...

Another park scene

So, that's my favorite stuff that I've been up to. MISS YOU ALL.

Thanks to my parents for this trip!

Close But Not Close, Far But Not Too Far Away

Things are improving. They weren't bad per say, but they were a little gloomy. As some of you know, the sky here was pouring down on us so much so that Prague started flooding, and the entire city was put on some sort of High Alert. It was all over the news. My mother was probably panicking, bless her. It wasn't actually that bad, but we couldn't go out as much (we weren't really allowed to one day) despite desperately wanting to get out of the apartments. On the times that we did go out, it was so depressing. Between the constant rain and grey and humidity, being outside wasn't all that great anyway. 

However, we have put that all behind us now. I am laying in bed by an open window waiting for some classmates to come back from a run (I could've gone, I suppose), and the sky is bright blue and the air is fresh. And and and I don't really remember what rain looks like today. I hate rain.

I really like this post from my other blog. You should read it. It has lots of feelings and some facts in it. http://lanabaumgartner.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/s-e-x/

Tomorrow, we start day long adventures and I am excited for those. I love the leisurely days (okay I sort of don't love them, but I accept their existence), but I'm ready to be busy and see new things and learn much. I have found how much I love my days to be filled to the brim with experience. I have been told I am bad at relaxing, and maybe that's true, but I love learning and being challenged by people and places so much more. Re-reading that, I'm pretty sure that's news only to me and all of you are like "duh Lana, we could've told you that about yourself eight years ago."Ah well!


Here are my favorite photos (the first three are not very good) since the last post.

THE FLOOD! That's a street sign and a swan.

Looking at the flooding from the park railing. His facial expression pretty much sums it up.

He caught me. Awkward. 

This is pretty shameful. On one of the horrible rainy days, we were walking around, drowning really, and saw a mall. Then, we went inside the mall. And it was like bathing in hot chocolate. The mall was warm and had soothing colors, and I never thought I'd be so happy to be in a mall, but I'm telling you, the rain was horrible. It was like a reverse oasis.

I wrote a blog post about this photo that I was pretty genuine about. That sounds weird, but you know what I mean maybe. This was during a moments break from the rain on the same day as the mall. Everyone is looking up at the astronomical clock (once upon a time, it was one of the 7 wonders of the world), and they were all so freakin' happy to be there. I, on the other hand, was whiney and miserable and missing Barton Springs (drenched in freezing water by choice), and then I found these people. They were just happy to be in Prague at all. It was very humbling.

Random photos unrelated to the flooding:

Ooh-la-la the love locks bridge of Prague

Buy my sweet metal jewelry?

Thanks to my parents for this trip!

Lan

This Leftover Lighthouse

Some photos here. Yesterday, we went to the "King's Parade" up near the famous Prague castle. It was so fun. I started out in a terrible mood -- I was hungry (explanation enough?), tired, confused etc etc -- but once I ran (jogged-ish) up a fifty mile hill to the castle, the endorphins kicked in and I was good to go. We spent the evening running after the parade down the hill (the same one I ran up) with our cameras. It was hilarious and a blast. Dennis, our professor and magical fearless leader, is desperate for us to get up and close with people when we photograph them, so I was essentially part of the parade. In fact, I was so close I got swatted with a tiny horse whip to move to the side. Liz got butt swats from fake swords. It was a win for all of us. 

These crazy people are Liz and Dennis. Dennis, like I said above, is our professor. He is incredible, sassy and hilarious. We could not be happier to have him. We currently have a list going of the absurd things he says that will make up my last post of my academic blog paired with as many creeeper photos of him (like this) that we can get. Liz is the girl fearing for her life behind Dennis. She is also incredible, sassy and hilarious. She is also one of my most favorite fellow Praguers. 

Thanks to my parents for this trip!

Lan

Prague Round 1

I'm in Prague. I just smiled saying that. My experience here so far is quite lovely. I just smiled again.

:)

It's hard to say what we've been doing exactly. We have been doing a lot though. This is for sure. Mostly, it's been walking around, exploring and taking it all in. This has been the best introduction, the seemingly aimless wandering. At first, I was frustrated at not always looking at a map, but looking back, it really helped provide the dazzle effect. It seems there is an endless amount of beauty and culture to take in. By not being able to comprehend the bounds, the beauty seems boundless. Like I said, dazzling.

Photo-taking has been really fun, but also difficult. It's hard to feel like I'm getting an original photo since this is such a touristy place, but that's part of the challenge I suppose. That being said, I must say that I'm trying hard to also take the time to really look at Prague through my eyes and not just through a lens. It's so easy to get caught up with the calculations of making what you see into a decent enough photograph that you stop looking at things as a whole. I know that all perspectives have their value; I just want to find the balance.

Speaking of photos, here are some of mine thus far:

Odd

Strawberries for pups.

Selfie on dat bridge.

"FARE YOU WELL I LOVE YOU MORE THAN WORDS CAN TELL"
The Lennon wall. I loved this. Victoria and I took couple photos in front of this line.
Sorry, Santiago.

PDA is big thing here. It's common to see couples cuddling, kissing or holding hands.
Most of us find this disturbing, but I like it. I don't mean I enjoy it or whatever, I just think it's sweet and genuine.
In a place where the citizens are stereotyped as cold and mean,
seeing kindness and affection is reassuring and seems even sweeter than your average frat party PDA.

This is from the Museum of Communism.
It was so frustrating and difficult to photograph here because of boring subjects and inadequate lighting.
However.
I was really pushed to try and ended up getting some of my most unique photos yet.

Museum of Communism again.

We took a photo field trip to Olsany Cemetery a few days ago. I am grouping those photos together so you have the best chance of getting a feel for how peaceful and calm I felt there. I spent the first half of my time photographing but then was overcome with the beauty of the place and stopped to sit, look around and journal. And breathe. The air was crisp and cleansing. This pause was also metaphorical. I've described myself this past semester as going a hundred miles per hour and finally I am able to slow down here. I've been feeling really sick, but in a way it's good, because I sleep a lot and take it easy and only do what I want to do instead of what I feel like I should be doing. It's just been really great here so far. Anyway, here are my cemetery photos.

More soon. I miss you guys!

Thank you to my parents for this trip!

Lan