So Vienna looks a lot like Prague Castle

Despite the early morning and slight disappointment about not being able to go to Vienna, I was determined that I was not going to waste the beautiful afternoon lying in bed, which seemed to be the order of the day at Soukenicka 28. I grabbed my purse, put up my "Roam" away message, and set off, camera in hand, ready to commit camera terrorism in Prague.
The day was so beautiful--blue sky, white puffy clouds, sunshine illuminating everything. I took a right from my house, passing the house of the ambassador of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in hindsight we should have had some sort of message protesting the violence against women and girls that is epidemic there right now (among so many other human rights violations). Instead, I took the back way towards Old Town Square. I wound my way through the narrow medieval streets of Josefov, past St. Agnes Convent, the Spanish Synagogue, and numerous other places not being assaulted with tourists on a Saturday afternoon. I able to stay close to a tour in German, which is how I learned that the St. Agnes Convent was founded by a Czech king's sister in the 13th century. If I remember right.
When I made it to Old Town Square, there was a street performance of five older men, obviously a group of old musician friends who enjoyed playing jazz. I am always entertained by the proliferation of jazz on the tourist streets of Prague! I thought I would hear the same classical music that I did in Krakow, but instead Dixieland was juxtaposed on Prague! The group was pretty good, and I loved it when they imitated Louis Armstrong in Czech--some music truly is "world" music! I am not sure if anyone else in the crowd caught it, but the trumpeter had a blue Union Army cap on, very ironic as they were playing Dixieland! It was the absolute perfect way to enjoy my gelato-esque gelato in Prague!
Then I hit the tourist trap that is Karlova Street, which starts at the tourist trap of the Astrological Clock at Old Town Square and ends at the tourist trap of the Charles Bridge on the other side. The Charles Bridge is touristy for a reason, because not only is the bridge one of Prague's many architectural masterpieces, it offers great views of the city Stare Mesto (Old Town) on one side of the Vlatava River and the hills with Letna, Prague Castle, and the Eiffel/Prague Tower on the other. But I was on a mission--I was headed for the castle.
Prague Castle is one of my favorite places in Prague. There aren't too many places that I have been where 800 years of history is so accessible and absolutely beautiful. It is slightly surreal to me knowing that I am wondering through the national seat of government and passing through the president's residence as much as I want and totally without a security clearance! (Except for the armed guards posted around the grounds with their guns and bayonets--I found out that I am a little scared of them.) It is also a great place to come just for some peace and quiet, meandering through the gardens, sitting on the walls and letting the breeze and the view sweep me away. Some say that Prague is the Paris of Eastern Europe, I may be tempted to say there is some truth to that statement. Prague is an inspirational place, for literature, knowledge, activism, scenery. It is enchanting, whether I was looking down on it from one of the hills or looking up at the buildings as I walked to class. Prague does have a magical aura to it, similar to Paris, but uniquely Prague. There is even a miniature Eiffel Tower in the park across from the castle! I found myself comparing Prague Castle to Versailles, and I have to say that I like Prague Castle much better than Versailles. Versailles is basically a testament to the wealth and decadent desires a few kings, and while it is a beautiful place to visit to see beautiful art and architecture and learn about an important period in French history, Prague Castle has layer upon layer of history and experience, which makes it much more intriguing to me.
The climb up to the castle is a little steep, but once I got up to the castle, the city of Prague spread out below me. One of my goals was to take advantage of fresh batteries in my camera and snap as many pictures as possible at Prague Castle. And I reverted back to my Disney Princess/Feminist Queen fantasies. I realized (and you will probably disagree with me) is that the world needs a feminarchy, perhaps just to take care of the problems of patriarchy. Prague Castle would be a great seat for the feminarchy--it is in a castle, it already has the government offices, the castle has great views of the city...And of course I would live in the castle, but I wouldn't need the whole castle. I thought off all the amazing feminist transformation that the space could be used for: shelters, schools, job training programs, so many other programs needed to remedy the problems caused by patriarchy. And I would keep a small part for myself, which of course would be my rose garden. That would be mine and mine alone, where I would retreat to at the end of long days from saving the world. That was a lot of feminist language for me! All the while I snapped pictures, exploring each passageway or path that I came upon, and occasionally just sitting on the castle walls and trying to take everything in. My camera told me that it was time to head back with the batteries died, so I left the castle and walked to Mala Strana back the Charles Bridge.
That was when I saw him. I was about a third of the way between the castle and Charles Bridge, and surprisingly there weren't many people around. I noticed a creepy looking guy on the other side of the street, and when he crossed to my side of the street, I crossed to the opposite side and headed down a different street. I looked back and saw that he was staring me, watching me walk down the street, and not really bothering to hide it. I was being followed. I immediately grabbed my pepper spray and hid it under my shirt, ready to use it. There weren't many people on the street, so he would be able to see if I ducked into a store or restaurant. I kept heading for the Charles Bridge, thinking that I would be able to lose him in the crowds of tourists on the bridge. But once I got to the bridge, he was still following me. I had to stop at a crosswalk, when he caught up to me and was about twelve feet away from me. He knew that I knew he was following me. I was ready to turn around and use my pepper spray, and then run, but for some reason I don't know how I managed not to completely freak out and panic. I got back onto Karlova, which weaves and winds and has wall-to-wall tourists. It was hard to keep moving at a fast pace, but I could zig-zag in and out of crowds, trying to put as much space, crowds, and turns between the creeper and me as possible. I looked back when I got to Old Town Square, and took a different way back to Soukenicka, which was still through a touristy area, where I knew the side streets and could zig-zag back to Soukenicka. I think I lost the creeper around the square, but I was still scared. Fortunately, Leah, Ashley, and Martha were going to grab some dinner, so I was able to go out with them, but I kept looking over my shoulder. Rationality told me that I had lost the creeper, I handled it the best way that I could, and that it was a freak incident that could happen anywhere, but I was so shaken up. That was the scary part for me, not the incident itself, but that it shook my confidence so much. All the nights I was alone coming back from Notre Dame, the six weeks in Europe, the first Friday night in Bologna where I took the wrong bus and was stranded for half an hour (didn't tell you about that, did I?), the nights in Bologna and Krakow where I was out until ten or eleven at night by myself...the nights, and this was during the day in a crowded area. I had to work my confidence back up to step foot outside the apartment by myself, if nothing else to go to school.
As I looked at the pictures I took throughout Prague that day, I knew that I had an amazing day, and I wouldn't let one scary incident ruin my day, ruin my great time in Prague, and shake my independence.