"Prague still has the spirit of anxiety, strangeness, and extremity that Kafka and Hasek left amid its ghettos, bars, breweries, and golden spires"... yet upon my recent return I couldn't help but be reminded of what I first saw in Prague and how blessed I am to be able to experience life here.
As Richard Wagner said: "The ancient splendor and beauty of Prague, a city beyond compare, left an impression on my imagination that will never fade"
I thought of this as I wandered through the streets of the city yesterday. The rich history, the fairy-tale-like beauty, diverse cultures and languages, intriguing cuisines, cultural quirks and customs and unique experiences that one can only taste after a certain undefined stint of searching - these things (and the people I've met here) I will never forget.
And as I sat in the sunshine outside a cafe tucked away on Řetězová street, I heard the church bells ringing and the great murmors of the city. I saw people walking around with their dreams, their stories and their often-unspoken history. The couple next to me was speaking French, the Czech women on the street were laughing and walking their small dogs, and old Baroque buildings across the street were whispering of the past and things I would never understand. In a way, I felt as if I I'd transcended time and landed in a dream in which I never wanted to wake. I could do nothing but close my eyes and breathe in deeply and remember to not forget.
It was then that I remembered the multi-colored experiences I've had here in Prague and how they've shaped me to be who I am today. "We are living in the Left Bank of the ’90s. For some of us, Prague is Second Chance City; for others a new frontier where anything goes, everything goes, and, often enough, nothing works. Yesterday is long gone, today is nebulous, and who knows about tomorrow, but, somewhere within each of us, we all know that we are living in a historic place at a historic time" (Alan Levy)
All this to say, it will be bittersweet when I leave Prague. I am thankful for my time here. I am excited about being in the states, but I know I will never forget this city.
