It’s gritty and raw, this Prague in the early aughts. Still recovering from decades behind the iron curtain, the vibe reflected a hunger to revel in freedom. It also reflected the realization that nothing is what you expect. With rock n’ roll comes paycheck to paycheck, a stark reality that founded the very music and movie culture fueled by escapism. Below, a vimeo video showing my first year in Prague. Teaching English and touring the city by day. Meeting everyday people and learning language by night. From summertime heat crossing the glorious Charles Bridge and falling in love with Old Town to Christmas markets and springtime gardens, the first year was my greatest life teacher understanding reality through the paradigm shift of a fresh lens. The juxtaposition of everyday life. Somebody sitting with their laptop and cell phone in a cafe that occupies a building from the 17th century and hasn’t updated the furniture or wall hangings since before WWI, not two. Its this sharp contrast that creates a completely different perspective in life, making everything thereafter more real.
From Mala Strana to Old Town, petrin Hill, Zizkov and Vyserhad this film shows the highlights of living in Prague from 2006 to 2007. Czech Republic train trips to the countryside, earning and spending koruna, teaching english and working at BB Centrum brought to life the industrial rise of Eastern Europe in a city where castles dominate the view of the Vltava walking across the ancient cobblestone Charles bridge.
Through the cold snow of Prague before Christmas, we walk from markets in Staroměstské náměstí to Mala Strana smelling the bread, fried meat and sweets of Czech delicacies. We tread the slippery cobbled streets carefully dodging tourists watching the astronomical clock in Old Town square with decorated trees and watercolor prints of the Charles bridge.
The Christmas markets, selling trinkets that are not junk made in China, like in Napoli, but hand crafted amber jewelry from Poland. They have woven cloth made here and the divine smell of hot mulled wine and fried breads made in front of you. Ok, someone did get creative enough to resell beer for 8x the price by putting it in a pretty box and adding a nice glass, but its damn good beer.
Walking through the snow of Staroměstské náměstí in Prague, treading the slippery cobbled streets, smelling fried bread and sweets of Czech delicacies under decorated trees and watercolor prints of the Charles bridge at Christmas markets in Old town. European tourists are so different from the American theme park crowds. The air is still sparkling with laughter, here and there, but the whole amplitude stays on an even keel. The surreal dream-like quality that inspired generations of artists before my time is tangible. Men look elegant in long black coats and fedora hats, black gloves. An older man with a polished wooden cane hands his platinum grandchildren, a boy and a girl the same size, maybe twins, something breaded and sweet.
I turn the corner and find a sleeping man in rags, drenched in his own piss. The smell permeated the candy coated air and people keep their distance. Its not that this is unusual, in any city this year. Its just that after spending twenty minutes in a nineteenth century expressionist painting, I’m not prepared, so it strikes a different chord.
That’s the juxtaposition of everyday life I find visceral and vibrant here. A young man in an old suit sitting with a laptop and cell phone in a cafe that occupies a building from the 17th century and hasn’t updated the furniture or wall hangings since before WWI, not two. It’s this sharp contrast that creates a completely unique perspective. It’s no more real or authentic than my years in America, but the air is charged with an energy that permeates the soul.