Everything old is new again

Dobrý den, my little monsters! Your fearless blogger is back in the land of no air conditioning and no deodorant, and guess what: IT'S FANTASTIC. I really couldn't be happier to be here -- this time around, the city is just perfect. Maybe it's the fact that I escaped the clutches of the Kolej, but I'm so, so, so in love with Prague. The weather is perfect, the people are not quite as frustrating, and EVERYTHING (and I really mean EVERYTHING) is within walking distance from my BEAUTIFUL APARTMENT.

I think the apartment makes all the difference. I'm living with a Russian journalist who is hilarious and slightly enigmatic so Amanda and I have had a ton of fun studying Kirill's way of life. I live two minutes from the Charles Bridge, four minutes from school, and maybe ten from Wenceslas Square. Compare that to 20-30+ to get from the Kolej to school, and I think we can all agree that this is a MAJOR FREAKING UPGRADE. I could live without the parade of loud drunks outside my window every night, but I guess this is what I get for living in Old Town -- a small, insignificant price to pay.

I really can't believe that I was ever worried about come back here. Everything about Prague feels so natural and normal and just like home, but in a way, everything old is new again. I appreciate being here so much more now that I can contrast it to a post-spring Florida, whereas before I only had slightly idealized memories of America to think of when I got frustrated with Prague. Really, though. This place might just be perfect. It's sunny from about 5 am-10 pm and cloudless and hot but not debilitatingly so. I know my way around now (obviously) and have a vague sense of the language, and I just never, ever want to leave.

So, a rundown of this week's activities:

Saturday: Arrive an hour late from Atlanta. Attack Amanda and Fede at airport. Collect my shit from around Prague. See GOSSIP at SaSaZu!!!! Get locked out and thus have to scream Kirill's name outside the window at 12:30.

Sunday: GET CARDED FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER IN PRAGUE. Went to Riegrovy Sady, a really cool beer garden in Vinohrady, to watch England get crushed by Germany... Sadness ensues. Finally found Smirnoff Ice in Prague. Hung with the Erasmus kids, who I really regret not meeting earlier, and then Amanda, after having left my apartment way earlier, came back at 2 am for a sleepover because her dorm is creepy.

Monday: First day of class. Of course I can't get my ID because my system data is screwed up, but Gaelle is fierce as hell and I found a kindred spirit in the only other ECES student, Sam. Took one class of Czech and decided that 3 credits were not worth my sanity. Dropped it.

Tuesday: Art history. Insufferable. No Professor Holub for politics. Sadness. Beautiful bonding time with Kirill, another sleepover with Amanda.

Wednesday: Tour of Prague Castle with class. Insufferable. Mitteleuropa is blowing my mind, and PROFESSOR HOLUB RETURNED!!!!!!!! Hare Krishnas prevented me from napping so I was really fresh as a daisy for class. Only not. But it happens. Took a long walk around the city center with Kirill after class. All was výborně.

Thursday: Oh God, some shit. Can't be bothered. Professor Holub took us to Anagram, I dorked out and bought a book about WWI, and I drank wine. Výborně.

Friday: Day was characterized by two major events: Žluté lázně and Lucerna, the first being the epic beach along the Vltava River and the second being the home of 80s-90s night. Žluté lázně is a huge riverside complex with restaurants and areas for sports and a TIKI BAR where I had to most wonderful Sex on the Beach at 11 am and I almost thought I was in the tropics save for the millions of Slavs surrounding me. Turns out that it was a top-optional beach, a tradition in which your fearless blogger may or may not have partaken. That's for me (and Amanda) to know and for you to ponder.

Lucerna was epic. That's all I have to say. Returning home at 7 a.m. is a new record for me.

Saturday: Holy hangover, Batman. We drag ourselves across the Charles Bridge to Bohemia Bagel where I contemplate dying. We then run back to Riegrovy Sady to watch Germany CRUSH Argentina (take that, Maradona!) and we then meet up with Fede at Old Town to watch Spain beat Portugal. I don't care how Euro-centric it is, I want Holland or Germany to take it all come Sunday. Too bad that the Czechs are still hurting from WW2 and therefore you can't find a single Germany jersey in this city.

Sunday: Radost for brunch with Sam and Amanda, schlep around Wenceslas Square and Palladium (oh H&M, I've missed you!). Camp out at Riegrovy Sady for a few hours, miss my beloved dog terribly. Potentially break my toe in the shower. Pass the fuck out.

Monday: Today. Hi. It's brutally hot here and there's no air conditioning so three hours of class is not fun despite the fact that Mitteleuropa is the most amazing class ever and I love the Habsburgs and Bismarck and it's all fantastic. Eat amazing, amazing, amazing food at this Lebanese-Indian restaurant near the Dancing House and then nearly die of heatstroke at a cafe. Heatwave, be gone. Now I'm here. At home. Writing. Contemplating buying an inflatable swimming pool and sticking it in the living room.

SONG OF THE WEEK: