Its really over, how strange.

Its 3 am right now. The lights are on in my room but the wooden loft where my roommate sleeps is blocking any of the light that would normally illuminate me. I'm sitting on my tiny twin size bed tucked under shadows and left in this unusually quite, empty and clean room. We are all moving out of this flat so everything is being packed away and stored, giving this room a barren and magically nostalgic atmosphere. I credit it mostly to the fact that I am listening to Granny Dinner by Grizzly Bear. If you are ever moving out I recommend you sit in your almost vacant apartment (or house) and play this song as you sit on your bare floors or something like that, you'll know what i mean.

This blog never contained too much, i find it hard to blog for some reason, but i fostered a habit of documenting much of my day to day life in what i believe they call a journal. That being said and this trip almost being over this blog now seems like the perfect place to mull over everything that did happen and digesting it into legible internet pulp. I'm sure i'll distort shit a little and coat the fact with some fiction but hey thats the best way to do it really. All i know right now though is that i've met some truly amazing people and experienced some truly amazing things here in Prague, its sad to know its all done, with that i leave who ever is reading this crap as i am tired.

more berlin photos

There are two many to post on this so i'm just putting the link to my face book album with all the photos

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=187160&id=792492088&ref=mf

This Blogs about Prague but lemme tell you more about berlin.

i've been back in prague for awhile but since i haven't updated in still on my 4 day foray to the massive german capital of berlin. I arrived at 5 am slightly drunk, no reservations no plans no hostel, at the bus stop which was in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of berlin, so i arrived lost. After much effort I eventually navigated the german transit system till i arrived at an amazing if a tad expensive hostel in the bustling and painfully hip district of Mitte. It's one of Berlins 4 interesting and young bustling neighborhoods. The other 3 are Kreuzberg, Freidrichshain, and Prenzlauzer Berg. Each is quite interesting and pretty distinct from the other. Kreuzberg is an old punk neighborhood that still keeps that feel its is a good place for those of alternative lifestyle, its also a turkish neighborhood so its full of awesome food and interesting shop. Freidrichshain is Kruezberg's east berlin counterpart. It's full of squats as is much of berlin actually and there is a bitchin nazi railway station converting to a large party complex with multiple club-bars, a skatepark, cafe, rock climbing wall and god nows what else oh there is also an artificial beach at the bank of the river and its run by cool rasta peoples. Mitte was super upscale hip with expensive as clothe shops and restaurants. Prenzlauzer Berg i didn't really visit.

The walls of this City are encrusted in the most wonderful graffiti and it seems like its much more appreciated there than in most places i've been, I attriubte it to the fact that it sucks alot more in the places i've been, the scale of graffiti in Berlin is on a whole other level. They also have the most ruthlessly efficient and large public transportation system ever, the chicago El hath not shit on this.

Most of my time I was in Berlin in was in kreuzberg and i actually didn't do an extreme amount of partying which is the forte of this city, I mostly flaneured around town soaking up the amazing atmosphere, thought alot and ate a fuck ton of turkish food. One interesting encounter happened one night when I wandered into a bar because i saw that they where screening an interesting looking samurai movie from outside. I decided to go in and watch. Upon entering the movie finished and all 5 people in this quaint german bar stared at me as they all new each other and I was an american stranger. awkwardly I bought a beer and ended up chatting with the barkeeper for a while and then leaving but i thought it was a fun experience.

On my last day in Berlin I was intending on going to the nearby concentration camp as i felt that was a necessary experience, I never made it, on the way I saw a big protest comprised of trucks with loud music blaring, youngens with signs and chanting of the german kind. I ended up following them for a while and chatting with an extremely student protester about world politics. also a fun experience. I do have to go back though and visit a concentration camp I feel it is one of those musts in life.

I don't know what else to say even though i could say a shit load more. I for sure have to return to that city 4 days is not enough time to even scratch the surface.

Student Protest in berlin

FuCKING MASSIVE TRANSIT SYSTEM AHHH!!!! and its so well organized

Translation: camera: I love a streetlamp. other camera:I knew it

When I got to my hostel and looked out the window at Berlin this was the face i made

Berlin summarized through the food i ate.

return!!!!

I just returned from berlin yesterday, i took the train this time it was quite fun and i meet some cool people on the way. Berlin is self was amazing I took as many pictures as i could so those will be up so. Its really just an inspiring city with so much life in it, crazy crazy shit. I move into today a flat today in prague as well its all pretty crazy. i didn't plan for most of this when is was moving boxes at fed ex two months ago.

The panelaky

Upon flying over switzerland the first thing I felt as i looked at the landscape of the Czech Republic was this odd feeling of fearful bewilderment at the site of this ocean of what looked like giant concrete legos. They are the Panelaky the cheap prefabricated concrete projects built all over during the soviet era to try and house a massive population cheaply. Now days most of them are still in use but I hear people try and soup them up to make them more livable and welcoming, while others have turned to massive towering ghettos.

all i can think of now is the crack stack although apparently thats nice.

one interesting opportunity this trip has granted me is the chance to talk to people who have lived through or right after the communist era. It's very strange at first listening to someone talk about the reality of what I've only ever read about in history text books. They have quite interesting things to say too. Being American even if i disagree with it I have a the very villianized and onesided view of communism handed down to me by history and the news. The general consensus I get though was that it was tough, difficult at times and bad but it wasn't necessarily all bad or as bad as we think, life still went on. Most people still wish they had free healthcare and it was nice to have a guaranteed salary, and at least in the Ukraine drug where never a serious problem till after the fall of the U.S.S.R.. Of course a lot of it still sucked too, the czech republic was ruled by an idiotic puppet government that took its cues from Moscow for example. A ukrainian guy told me something that summed it all up quite well to me. He said during the communist era you'd go into the store and there was only one brand of eggs or bread or milk, now you walk into a market and there are like 10 brands of milk and eggs and bread and thats nice all but is it really necessarily?

Bed Bugs, Guns and a whole lot of Fuck.

I leave for Berlin on Sunday for about a week before i come back here but there is a lot that has happened.

Firstly my bed got raided my bed bugs at the hostel leading to my arms being gangbanged by a bunch of tiny bloodsucking insects. I still have the marks.

About a day later I was walking down the street in the later part of the night. There was this czech krust punch type dude and his girlfriend who where walking in front of me as well. As I continued walking I started to notice that he kept staring back at me with a particularily paranoid glance. It became awkward as I began realized that he thought I following him, then he very obviously pulled a gun out of his back pocket to show me he had one and put it in his front pocket. Once I flipped my shit I quickly crossed the street and then he looked at me and shouted "FIRE!" continuously. He wanted a lighter for the cigarette he had just placed in his mouth. I said I had no lighter and even if i did I would have refused this gun toting nutsack one but he started walking towards me menacingly saying "Fire..Fire" with a european accent. For some reason I didn't move and when he was right in front of me I panicked and said something along the lines of "look dude I know you have a gun in your pocket". Why I would say that to an armed and clearly temperamental krust punchish czech guy I have no idea, but afterwards he said some indecipherable gibberish turned and left and then i got the fuck out of there. I must have said something right I guess or most likely he realized I moments from crapping my pants and not a threat. This all happened in front of a large tourist attraction called the Powder tower too. Oh prague

this tower.

Finally it turns out there are rumors that the puppet festival I am currently at is mostly likely involved in extremely shady mob like business. This may sound crazy but if you where here that would totally make sense as I've had weird feelings about this festival since it started. The guy running it looks like a mobster first off. Some how they've received an ungodly amount of funds from the czech government (which I guess never normally happens). The dude owns a restaurant and hotel that look like they belong in The godfather and the festival itself seems quite shoddy and ad hoc even though they've been doing it for 14 years. Also for happening in prague there are startlingly few czech puppeteers here and i've heard some are even opposed to this festival. I don't no what but something weird is going on.

So bed bugs, guns and a shady ass festival. It sounds like an fucking scooby doo episode, but its just prague.