Art & Football

After a full day of class, I headed to Prague 7 to try to get to know the one “artsy” area I had yet to fully discover. I first tried to find the Orco building, a young, student art collective, but realized I had accidentally found directions to Bistro 8. Whateva, it was a really cool, quirky café. Strolling through the area, I found my way to Veletrzni Palac, the Narodni galerie for modern art. This building could not have been uglier from the outside, but wow, this interior. I first just entered the museum café, which was a huge, white, industrial space with interesting fixtures and odd seating areas. The wall had an incredible mural that resembled tattoo art. 

Already amazed, I headed in to the gallery. I am not sure if it was because of the door I entered or the fact that it was already 5:15, but I ended up sauntering right in to this giant museum without paying. I honestly did not realize it, if that gives any indication of how awed I was by the works in front of me. The first floor was all portfolio’s of recent University graduates, and I especially loved a collection that seemed to be made fully with tissue paper. Next up was "Vivat Musica!" A collection that displayed the connection between music and fine art, particularly within Central Europe and the Czech Republic. Many of the exhibits were very interactive and used multiple senses, my favorite being “Voices of Prague” which allows the viewer to place small pins around the city and listen to the symphony of what that sounds like. 

He Loves Me Not

Deus Ex Machina

Choosing my street, the riverfront, my school, Old town square, Dlouha street, and the beer garden, I enjoyed my very own Prague symphony of my typically frequented spots around town. Moving on however, was when I found my absolute favorite floor or any art gallery ever. A painting called “He loves me not” was completely striking, and just as the museum was closing I found deus ex machina. Unable to continue viewing, I have no idea who made it or anything about it except that it truly struck a chord with me. Ushered out of the museum, I swore to return again and headed back to Old town to meet Hailey and Sam for dinner! 

I am so happy that one of my best friends from high school and one of my oldest, lifelong friends are both overlapping with me with their study abroad in Prague. We tried out Lokal, the Ambiente group’s famous restaurant for local Czech food. This restaurant was HUGE and resemebled a giant cafeteria, serving no-nonsense dishes of Czech food, straight up. I tried a collection of sausages, Sam was introduced to smazney syr, and Hailey tried some authentic Czech steak. It was AWESOME to see them! I then went to meet Julie at Lion and Ball for the U.S. game. We arrived an hour early to reserve seats, and were then joined by Nate, a Vanderbilt friend, as well as some of his fraternity brothers and other guys in his London program. It was great to see more Vandy faces, and even meet some new people from school I did not know before, as well as nice to catch up with Nate. Lion and Ball was filled with US and Belgian fans and the atmosphere was very energetic. So energetic, in fact, that I accidentally had an entire beer poured on me that was meant for the annoying Belgian behind me. (Forever holding a grudge against this Syracuse kid). Still, it was kind of a funny experience…? I guess? While the night was further damped by a loss, it quickly turned around as we headed out on Dlouha. The street is slowly gaining a warmer spot in my heart than even Demonbreun! A busy day in full, I headed back home content and excited for a full day of freedom in the morning :)