Prague: The Eternal Charm of Bohemia

One of the most impressive trips in my life. Not only because the places were visually spectacular with the most romantic atmosphere, but I also had a great travel companion; my japanese friend Takeshi!

If you are looking for places where you can spend some unforgettable romantic time with the love of your life (or even lover!), this is the place for you!

Although overly crowded and very touristic, Prague still maintains its mystic charm and constantly put those who have crossed its threshold under its enchanting spell of old age.

Nostalgic, ancient and artistically beautiful, Prague will immediately take you to the glorious past of Holy Roman Empire and Bohemia Dynasty. While strolling along the streets in the old town, I couldn't help imagining what the lives of the czechs had been like in these exact same streets hundreds of years ago.

Autumn is, in my opinion, the best time for such romantic visit as you won't miss a view of Prague covered under the misty morning veil. Among the fascinating features you'll find nice people with their hearty smiles, traditional czech dishes that will satisfy all needs and palates, shining bohemian crystal arts, classical concerts in medieval churches and marrionette theatres. Truly impressive.

Here are some of the touristic, yet charming, sites we visited.



Old Town Square; this one of the most beautiful spots in the city is situated in a labyrantine part of the old city. Just follow other tourists to get there :)



The famous ever-crowded Charles Bridge.



Bridges of Prague under the shroud of morning mist. This photo was taken on the belfry of St.Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle; after climbing 284 steps, nothing was better than losing yourself in the panoramic view of Prague.



A view of Prague Castle and St.Vitus Cathedral from the other side of Vltava river. How come it was defined as a castle, I hardly have no idea, but it didn't seem to me in any way like a fort or castle at all.



Wenceslas Square; not so much a square as a boulevard running through the heart of the city. From this point on, you can find almost everything to satisfy your shopaholic need and materialist impulses, be it clothes, food, drinks, fashion accessories or adult entertainment.

Nevertheless, Prague is unfortunately not blessed with the kind of endless night life you can find in Madrid. Don't expect hundred of people roaming the nocturnal streets here in Prague. Every bar and club opens as VERY early as it closes.

After spending some good time in a (literally) underground gay bar, we made ourselves scarce at around 2 o'clock (yep, very early) since there was hardly anyone there! We then spent about an hour searching for other interesting places, but nothing. We got so desperate that we decided to take a look at an erotic bar, which was not at all of our taste. A sign read "Body painting, oil massage, striptease, blah blah bla, ring the bell if you want to enter" let us know that was not absolutely a place for us.

We were hesitantly discussing whether to enter...but not for long. Suddenly the bell burst out ringing and the gate was automatically opened welcoming us in! Surprised by the fact that we were being observed from a CCTV hidden in the area, we broke into a run!!! Takeshi first, followed by me at a lightning speed. In less than 5 seconds, we were two blocks away from that place! I roared with laughter! I didn't know why we had just bolted away like that! It was purely instictive. I was damn surprised by that bloody bell. And realising that the guy who was watching us through the camera must be killing himself laughing even made it harder for me to suppress my delirious laughter.

After the runaway, we spent more or less half an hour more roaming the streets in hope of finding some good warm place to fit in. No luck. Just some seemingly ordinary bars and cafés. That was when we decided to go back to the hostel to take a rest. Strangely, we were the first ones who got to the room, other four roommates were still out there, enjoying the amazing night life of Prague. Well, they were lucky, at least they had a place to enjoy. I made a promise to myself that from then on, I would make a very good preparation in the next trip if I wanted to lounge around some nice places (with some nice guys, if possible). :)

We also had a chance to go on an excursion to Cesky Krumlov, an EXTREMELY beautiful small town in the south. The town itself was worth seeing. The castle and the baroque theatre were totally impressive and well-preserved. Describing it here would only be an insult to its beauty since my narrative ability is not competent enough to convey all the breath-taking beauty of the town. That's why I will leave it to you to see it for yourself. Just go.

All in all, Czech Republic is a place that you can't miss. Although much less visited than Vienna, Munich or Paris, it isn't in any way less charming than any other european cities. Add it into your list, and you will never regret.

Life is a Roller Coaster

Sometimes (and somehow) your life just gets unexpectedly out of control. It suddenly decides to kick you out and take the rein itself, whether for the better or the worse.

Recently mine has just taken its authority over my well-planned lifestyle. The results were simple; everything was screwed up.

From time to time, I ponder on the seemingly predetermined pattern of life and still marvel at how it works.

One fine day it gets so high that you feel reaching for a star is more than possible, then, unexpectedly and without warning, the sky abruptly comes falling down over you and the earth is torn apart as if to swallow you down its bowels. While in such a never-ending torment, out of chaos comes a promising sunshine that will wash away all the menacing darkness and light up your day once more. And life gets into its normal track and goes on as if nothing had happened before.

Such was my life two weeks ago.

After spending days and nights worrying about the renewal process of my resident's card and putting my future tasks into their priority, I got inevitably stressed without knowing that my physical condition was worsening. I could sleep only 6 hours a night during the whole 2 weeks, which totally drained me out. It was topped off by the great labor of the removal and installment stuff.

Then my poor abused body couldn't stand it anymore and decided to manifest its chemical rebellion. Rashes began to pop up on my ankles and made their way up to my thighs, my arms, my hands, my neck, my ears and finally around my lips!

It was hives, or officially named Urticaria. It is supposed to appear as an allergic reaction to some chemical or biological substances such as pills, food or even drinks. However, in my case, it was probably because of the stress itself.

That was what I was informed of after waiting in an emergency unit for 3 hours. Ironically, the waiting room was called "Box rápido" which was not, in any bloody way, fast at all. Three bloody hours of waiting! With that itchy feeling all over your body! Can you imagine that? That was (and still is) how thing works here in Spain. If you don't drop dead or stop breathing right there at the feet of a doctor, just queue up and wait for your damn turn, as you usually do in the bank!

I had to strictly take anti-histamine pills which caused drowsiness for over two weeks; the greatest of all torments. I could hardly concentrate on anything and spent all day yawning and dozing, be it at work or in metro.

To make matters worse, I had a paid translation to finish in only 3 days, of course, under the effects of the pills. Besides the natural linguistic difficulties of the text itself, my project was hampered by a night-time gran fiesta that an apartment mate of mine threw on Saturday. So I had to put up with the loud music, thunderous laughs and boisterous conversation and resisted all the urge to pull my hair and let out a big scream and jump out of the window.

But precisely that night, I finished that damn traslation. As soon as I lay down, I hardly noticed anything around me and fell asleep so fast like I had never done before.

It was the best sleep I could ever get during that period.

From then on, everything seemed to get back to its normal course. I had renewed my card. The symtoms were gone. I began to take pills less frequently and had more time to finish any pending minor tasks that had been set aside, or even to prepare myself for the upcoming trip to Prague!

That was when I started thinking about how mysterious life can be. It sure is a roller coaster. Some times you reach the peak and stay there for a long long time, the others you go down (or are pushed down) nosedive to the bottomless void. It is always like this; up and down alternately, contrary to my previous pessimistic perception (Yeah, I used to think that these bloody series of unfortunate events would never end. What a shame, wasn't it?).

And so was the enlightening lesson I got.

Until next time, hold on to the optimistic side of yours and never let it go away.

Out of Africa

After a long hard day of removal, nothing is better for me than sitting in my own empty room and writing my last tribute to my second home of Nuestra Señora de Africa...

Without the ear piercing rock music my stupid spanish neighbour is playing right now, I would surely have more imagination and concentration to summon the nostalgic sad feeling that may inspire memorable heart-breaking phrases like "I can't bear the thought of parting from my beloved Africa".

On the (extreme) contrary, I am so desperate to get out of this greenish student's residence.

Not that I don't bring any good memory during my stay with me, but the present is so unbearable that I just can't wait to try living a real life out there where people and things are different.

By the word "different" I mean...

- No more stupid spanish brats (oh yeah, I'm being a racist here, but mind you, it's not my fault!) who played music so loud as if their parents had never educated them before.

- No more itchy feeling while entering the Comedor. Lately when most of my friends have gone, I feel quite uneasy while walking through the canteen's door and most people turn their head to observe me (actually, they are observing whoever making the entrance, dramatic or not). I won't waste a paragraph to analyse the cause of my uneasiness here since it is obviously about unexplicable emotional thing.

- No more dealing with people that I don't get along well (at least for my part). Well, to tell you the truth, this problem never has a permanent solution. Everywhere you go, you are destined to bump into someone who has a different tune. But for me, the problem in Africa has at last come to an end. Phew!

- No more bloody rules that sometimes make things more complicated and turn the residence into a prison.

- No more dealing with the brain-dead Residence's Management Team. Bye bye Fabien!!! Hope you get lots of praises from future students!

You may think that I'm being so damn negative here (as always). To counterbalance all the cons above, I have squeezed my brain (till the last drop, of course) for some good things about Africa as well!!!

Here are what I have found out...

- I have had chances to meet interesting (and not so interesting) people who gave me their friendship and the opportunity to widen my perspective and taught me about tolerance. Thanks guys! You really teach me a lot, though unconsciously. If you spent time with me here in Africa and are reading this, there's no doubt that the message is for you :)

- Africa has become a crucial turing point in the road of learning for me. Thanks to everybody who was, has been and is part of it and has accompanied me along the way.

- My spanish has improved dramatically since I arrived because of the conversations in the Comedor and the cafes. Living here did help me master my language in various topics and fields.

- I can now say that I have eaten (almost) all the possible traditional spanish food. It's like a one-stop eatting experience; stay here for one year and you will taste it all! (ahem, I'm not talking about the food quality though, just want to keep things nice).

- The staff such as cleaning ladies, Carmen and Luisa in the laundry, Felipe and Juani (and Jimbo the dog) at the reception and José the tecnician are all very nice. Hate to say goodbye to them.

- Swimming time in summer! Ooooh, I really LOVE that. And it's free! (Beware! The water is so damn cold that you may get cramp easily within minutes).

- My ears have never had a rest here due to the constant gossips that fly here and there through out the building (but I has always been the last one to know about the most interesting gossips! I don't understand why!)

- If you are a dude, you have quite a chance to enjoy pretty pleasurable sights ( which I didn't) provided that there are so many girls here. Beautiful, cute, model-style, fashion conscious, conservative, liberal, humourous, talkative, showy, bitchy, sensual...You've got it all for you.

- But since I'm not in for girl watching (or hunting), I have to talk about guys instead, heheh. The point is that there are (and were) quite a few attractive guys here, so I can't say much about that; Not that they are unattractive, but the type I like can not be found here... until recently :) when new (and young!) spanish students came. That's really a pity for me to leave Africa. I can even see that some of 'em are gay and can be good prospects for a "my partner" position. Heheheh. Anyone interested?

Well, I think that's all I can think of. Too bad that I can't make it more sensational so that it can jerk some tear out of you.

After this incredible two full years which have passed so fast, it is finally a time to say goodbye to Africa which is and will be one of the most impressive memories in my life.

As everyone says "Life goes on", mine also does the same, although I don't even know exactly where I am heading. But surely at some point and some time in the future, along the road, I will look back and think of you and the good time we all spent in Africa. And in this way, I will be able to smile and keep going on again until I reach my destination.

Bye bye Africa.

Telón.