Prague Journal

Monday, March 7, 2005

Today is Howard’s birthday, so I picked up a chocolate cake for him, which I ended up carrying around most of the day. My morning was spent trying to get tickets to tomorrow’s performance of the Nagano opera (which was sold out), picking up a package at the post office (which I also carried around all day), going to the bank (which had closed for lunch when I arrived).
Matt and I spend the afternoon at the castle while Rick and Ales met for math talks at Ales’s office. Even though I’ve to the castle several times since we arrived last fall, it’s always breathtaking to see St. Vitus Cathedral and to walk around and inside the old castle. It’s still cold outside, so the guards were wearing fur collars and hats. This was the first time I’ve been to the castle when it wasn’t crowded, probably because it’s a weekday, not because of the weather (the fact that none of the castle buildings are heated does not deter tourists). Matt and I reminisced about his time here and the things he liked to do when he was eleven, among them a stroll down Golden Lane and a stop at the house where Franz Kafka lived.
We left the castle shortly after 4pm, so I took the opportunity to go to a lecture at the Sociology Institute at Charles University while Matt wandered around town by himself. We then rendezvoused at 6pm so that we could meet Rick and Howard at 7pm for dinner. Marketa is on a ski trip with her father, so there were only the four of us for dinner and birthday cake. I’m glad Matt got to meet Howard (and vice versa). We had some interesting conversations, especially about history, politics and economics. All in all, a pleasant and very full day for all of us.

posted by JWinn @ 11:47 PM