Sunrise

What better way to end our time here than to go to 80s and 90s night at Lucerna? There was a different feeling in the air this time. In a way, it's the first night we've hung out together by choice and not because we're studying here together. After our graduation, all of us are just some people who know each other in Prague.

I was getting cabin fever staying at the house so long, so I decided to head towards our first bar a bit early and just wander around the city at night a bit. I walked back up to Vyšehrad for the last time and looked out over the city, lit up in all different shades of orange and yellow. I really can't get enough of it.

About thirty of us packed into this neighborhood bar near the dorms, claustrophobically clutching drinks and attempting to have conversations with our friends while standing less than six inches from their faces. With the night trams already functioning, we knew we had to get to our final destination soon enough.

We made a fantastic choice. Lucerna was as sketchy as it's ever been, and we did nothing but bask in it. Which do you like better: the fat guy on the stage drenched in sweat lip-syncing to every song while rubbing himself suggestively, or the old guy with white hair trying to dance with all the girls in our program? I like the fat guy myself. Oh, and don't worry, the tears that I said didn't happen earlier in the day? Yeah, they started, in full force. You just can't stop girls from turning on the waterworks.

The place closes down at 3:30, and as the music turned off and the lights came on, someone had a brilliant idea: let's sing the national anthem! Picture this: a hundred Americans singing the Star-Spangled Banner as people from what seemed like nearly every other country on Earth yelled obscenities at them and gave them the finger. It rained beer, we were all drenched in it.

I'm not really sure when the brawl started.

Behind me, one particularly vocal guy started tussling physically with a girl. And just as I heard "and the hoooooome ooooooff theeeeee braaaaaaavvvveee!" I see the blur of Dave Turner's body leap off the stage and deck some guy. By the time he had made contact, the pile had already formed, punches were being thrown, and in general, America was defending her pride. (Don't worry mom, I kept my distance. America doesn't need me to defend her.)

In typical fashion, the US prevailed. Outside, cooling off in the night air, our sole casualty, a huge guy from Madison named Jason who had a bloody lip ("you should've seen the other guy"), broke out the victory cigars. We loitered there for a few minutes, in the middle of Wenceslas Square, when somebody noticed it was getting light out toward the East. There was only one place we all wanted to be.

The walk began. North, through Wenceslas Sqaure, past the street where we found club Meloun, and into Old Town square, where the dawn gave an incredible backdrop to the Tyn church. There, we hung a left and trekked West, down the coronation path where new kings walked centuries ago, until we finally reached the Charles Bridge.

I couldn't help but say it. For seven hundred years, people have been standing on that bridge and watching sunrises. And you can see why (well, no you can't since I didn't have my damn camera).

Woke up this afternoon and joined some folks at Radost F/X for brunch, then followed them back to Wenceslas for some shopping. I didn't need anything, I just needed to be out in this city again. When my exhaustion overtook me, I retired back to the house and finished preparations for my trip.

Tomorrow morning I'm gone for my last five days of RnR. But it's not over yet, so I won't even pretend this is the last post. If I find internet anywhere, I can assure you you'll hear from me next week. If not, I'll be writing in the journal Sally gave me four months ago, and I'll post some thoughts in retrospect. I'll miss you all.

It's been so long!

NOTE: This is part 1 of 2. Read this one first!

WOW there's so much to talk about! I'm sick (sinus infection, always happens around this time...), so I'm taking the rest of the day off (easy when I don't have any classes). I'm gonna post now about the incredible adventures I had in Krakow (of which there are many), but I'm afraid the Flickr photos might take longer (I have about 200 pictures waiting to go up there).

Allow me to begin with a description of our key characters:

Evan W: My good friend with a fantastic first name, and a fellow Trojan. He's tall and lanky with a huge head of curly hair and a beard (that will be important later). Always dressed well, Evan is the kind of guy who takes great pride in his individuality.

Dave: 6'4" and probably about 250lbs, Dave plays O-line for Williams. Everything about him is huge. Speaks in a low, throaty voice and snores incessantly (even while he's awake). He loves women.

Jon: Also a football player (at Amherst), but not as gigantic as Dave, John kinda declared himself the leader of our rag tag bunch of misfits. He had done some research on the place, had booked our hostel, and generally was in front whenever we were walking.

Danny G: Born and bread New Yorker going to school at Tulane. The kind of person who never ceases to surprise you, he seems really frat-cool when you first meet him, before you find out that A) he's a literature major and LOVES it and B) he can quote Dragonball Z.

Danny: Remember the guy I talked about a while ago who I really didn't like? Yeah, him. The guy's actually really nice, just didn't make the best first impression. But partying is his deal.

And thus, the trip began. We managed to snag an entire compartment to ourselves on the way there, which was really nice to have when we all started to try to sleep. I had some great conversations with Evan and Danny G, about assorted topics, and Dave, all 6'4" of him, slid onto the floor and passed out with all of our legs on top of him.

Not taking the night train on Friday was the best idea anyone has ever had. We arrived in Poland at about 10pm, plenty of time to find our hostel and still hit up the night life. Of course, we got lost on the way there (well not lost, just off our maps), but we finally arrived at the dilapidated parking lot where, in one corner, the back door of our hostel was located. The Stranger (we pronounced 'stranger' like Busta Rhymes pronounces the word 'danger"), our home away from home, was a really nice palce that was basically empty, aside from the group of 20 English guys (more on them later). We got an entire room to ourselves.

That night was still Evan's birthday, and at midnight it would be mine, so we took a recommendation from Martin, the guy working our front desk, and set out with nothing but a name and a list of drinks and shots we should order (Poland, after all, is the land of sweet vodkas...like the 100 proof honey vodka that tastes like candy). The place we ended up at was a tall building with a different club on every level, and was a lot of fun. Especially when, after introducing myself to a nice Polish girl, she informed me it was a gay club.

Despite that, three members of our party managed to do just fine, and I ended the night walking home with Dave, Jon, and Danny (not G. that's gonna get confusing). It was a glorious ending to an evening, complete with me laying down a beat for a professional break dancer in the middle of Krakow's Old Town square. We found some Polish girls who spoke English and they led us to some late night food (but not before Jon managed to kiss one of them. It was impressive), and we headed back to the hostel for the evening.

I'll continue in a new post....we'll be right back after this short break.