Prague

21.09.07-23.09.07


Ah, Prague. The capital of the Czech Republic and a truly beautiful place to spend three days. My perception of the city on the first night was slightly...um...skewed is a good word. At this point in my European experience, the German language is getting pretty familiar. I can understand what people are talking about, I can read signs and get around, and I can order beer amongst other necessities. So stepping off a plane in a country where they speak a new language that is close to Russian and far from anything I've ever heard before in my life, was interesting to say the least. We also had to deal with a new currency, the Czech Crown. It felt pretty good to pull out a couple grand from an ATM.
I'm rich biatch!
We got in around 7 PM, just in time to see the sun start to settle over the forests in the distance. We hopped on a bus and a subway train to our hostel, checked in, abused the free internet long enough to find somewhere to eat while en-route to the city center, and we were off by 8. Out the door and to the train stop around the corner, with only high hopes for what people told us would be a wild night.

First order of business, we needed to eat something. We got some down home Czech cookin'. I had some tomato beef and dumplings and we shared a few rounds of drinks while an accordionist bellowed away in the corner. With our bellies heavier and our spirits lifted, we walked in an aimless direction looking for more libations, and what do you know? we found some!

What is green, comes with a shot of sugar, and burns like hell going down? Absinth.
Popular with many an eastern european philosopher, Absinth is one special little shot that comes on REAL quick. Armed with a beer to wash down the poison I just put in my body, we realized that this night was far from over. The club we were at was OK. I'm not much of a club guy, but the DJ was kickin' out some classic jams and the beer was aplenty. I mean, look at me...I'm a freakin' mess.
I woke up around 10 with a striking pain in my head, a nasty taste in my mouth, and a scalpel of light slicing into my eyelids. Damn, I never learn. We got ourselves together enough to make it out of the hostel by 12:00 to try to get some food inside of our hollowed shells of bodies. ad that helped get our feet moving around the city to see all kinds of wonders that had the collective power to make me forget that I poisoned myself the night before.
I walked all over the city and really exhausted my brain. We walked around from 2:00 until 8:30, checkin' out everything that the city had to offer. We met some girls from Chicago, Played some foosball with a guy from Canada, and I talked to an old guy about how crazy it is to build a cathedral 1000 years ago. I'll save the commentary and you can just enjoy these in the silence that I did.


WTF?



On Sunday we had ourselves some breakfast and headed out for some a brief cultural excursion that included the Museum of Communism and the Czech National Museum. The Museum of Communism really shed some light on the recent history of this city, albeit a dark one.

I'm a sucker for propaganda. Aren't we all though?

Where the three of us had previously stumbled through thoughtlessly only two nights prior, the heart of the Czech revolution had raged for 10 days in November of 1989. I was 7 years old then, Oblivious to the struggles of the world. It really had a startling effect on me and I spent the remainder of my time in Prague reflecting on the countless people who stood up for themselves in the face of supreme adversity, and demanded a change. Gladly, this will be the lasting memory of Prague. I could have been my throwing up Absinth off a bridge at 4 in the morning.

Frankfurt International Autoshow

17.09.07

Part of working for an automotive company is that you get to go to sweet auto shows. We boarded the train early in the morning and headed to Frankfurt for the show and to meet up with our good friend Jakob. When we arrived at the show, it seemed to me that the entire city took the day of to check out what their nation had to offer up for the next model year. And offer it up they did.
Of the many cars at the show, there were two that really ran away from the others. The Renault Laguna Coupe concept and, my favorite of the show, the VW Up! concept . Check 'em out...

I love my german cars, but I especially love my veedubs, and VW announced today that they are going to have a production ready version of the Up for 2011 and if I am living in any sort of major metropolis at that time I will be looking into this amazing car.

Also, Audi was the only company to have the balls to bring out a "real" race car. I say real because all the other race cars that were there had never been driven on a track. This Audi R10 won the 24 hour LeMans race this year, and there it was in the flesh.


After the show we join Jakob for a spin around the city in his BMW 1er and settled in for some food before heading back to the train station.

Cheap German Guitar

14.09.07

I needed a new creative outlet to help me out here in Munich. And one thing has been constant in my life has been my guitar. So with a little research and a pair of legs, I headed out to a second hand music store and scored this bad boy for 15 Euro! Feeling pretty good now.

Fairytales at 144 mph

This weekend was maybe the most fun I've had since I've been out here, and definatley the fastest I've ever driven in my life. Allen and I rented a 2007 Audi TT on saturday and set out on th autobahn towards the German/Austrian border. Our destination was the small town of Fussen, Germany. Resting above the town are two castles buit by a king and his son in the 1800s. The castles provided a great reason to drive a car insanely fast, so we picked up the TT and jumped on the autobahn.
German's don't buy white cars, so we stuck out like...well...like two Americans, but it's OK because the TT is at it's best when dressed in white, just pure and simple, graphic. And being an autobahn virgin, the color suited me well. Allen drove first cause he did the leg work to secure the car, and we were off. 220 km to get to Fussen from Munich, lets see how long this takes.
The autobahn began just like any other freeway. Instantly I was transported back to LA. It's been over a month since I've been in a car I thought. The trip was off to a good start and I riding in the passenger seat of a brand new Audi TT, snapping photos and flipping through the poor German radio stations. Until a Porsche Carrera 4s ripped past us and the mood in the car changed. Up until then we had been unsure how to tell when the speed limit dissolves and the road is opened. The radio went down as fast as Allens foot and we were off. I'll just say that you cover a lot of ground really fast when you don't have speedlimits...before we knew it we needed to exit the freeway and see some castles.

The two castles in Fussen are quite the tourist attraction. The first king built his home there, a modest castle overlooking his people in the town below, then when he died, his son built a second home adjacent. The son was infamous King Ludwig II who somehow earned the reputation of being crazy, which eventually led to his "mysterious" death in a lake near by...probably cause he was dilusional and built a rediculous castle in the 19th century for his "knights" other medieval fairytale dreams. But while the castle is stunning from the outside, the interior remained unfinished after the king's death. I've heared that this castle is the inspiration for Cinderella's castle in Disneyland, which makes perfect sense.
We wrapped up at the castles and headed back to the car. It was my turn to drive. I eased out of the parking lot and we casually made our way back to the autobahn, taking in many of the small towns that are nestled at the edge of the Apls, along the way.
The TT was still asking for more, so I naturally gave it some. The interesting thing about the auto bahn is that because you can drive as fast as your can go without any reprecussions from the local Polizei, your attention is entirely focused on the road ahead...not looking out for cops like in America. And although driving at 240 kmph (~150 mph) is not really the safest way to oporate a motor vehicle, it sure as hell feels good. Around 160 kmph your going really fast...100 mph fast. The Autobahn is built for this though. German efficiency shines on the autobahn. Hitler had certain criteria for the construction of the highway sytem in Germany which allow for the highest rate of speeds.
Can you see it in my eyes? Pulling past 220 kmph, the autobahn welcomes my foot through the floorboard, the turbo charged 2.0 liter engine of the TT screaming for me to release the pressure, but I was unwilling. I dropped into 6th gear to ease his pain for a few seconds while the RPM's pulled ever higher. At 230 kmph, the vision of the autobahn is realized...the car never has to slow down for the road. 235, 236, 237. I held the pedal down, eagerly awaiting every new number. The car had pushed to just below 240 kmph before a speedlimit warning showed it's face up ahead. The bright red circle showed 120 as the marked limit for the area, and I released the throttle and cruised to speed.

Yeah, so we saw some castles and whatever. The lasting memory will be the bright red needle of the speedometer forced clockwise beyond all reason.

Religiously Cold

The past couple days have been mired with unpredictable weather. The sun peeks through the clouds which hang over the city endless and purple-grey, only for minutes at a time. I wish it would just go away. I love rain, but I hate when it's wet outside and the sun comes out. It's all too contradictory for my tastes. I prefer the weather to stay in one state until I sleep again. Waking to find a new world. Different but the same.

Regardless, this recent pattern has hampered my bike excursions slightly. I used my bike to get to work in the morning yesterday, and by the end of work it was raining. The bike got left at work. This morning it was overcast and sprinkling when I took the train there and the bike home. I watched a cyclist get hit by a car today. He jumped up and began screaming at the driver of the silver BMW in german. The extent of his anger transcended the language barrier. This briefly reminded me to proceed cautiously along the slick streets of Munich, but the warning light faded into the back of my head as I dropped the chain into gear and lowered my head. Weaving through traffic reminds me of a San Francisco winter. The cold takes be back there.

Today was the coldest day thus far in Munich, and it's only september. Through the passing hours, the winds kick up fierce and the cold burst through the passing clouds. The wind here cuts though everything. The wind that comes off the alps creates chill that could not exist in Los Angeles. The city would eat it alive, and spit it back out over the sea. The cold makes it comfortable inside, alone. I have taken the opportunity to read page after page of my rapidly depleting book collection. Which brings me too my final topic.

I am growing ever closer to exhausting my english book supply, and have yet to find a bookstore here that can meet my demands of english language. So if you have a book that you're done with, kick it down the way to me. I'll bring it home with me in december. I'll come hoe and buy a drink for anyone that sends their favorite book overseas and we can talk about the subtleties of the protagonist, the anti-social message, the evil of man, or what have you.

I've been reading all sorts of work recently. Noir has been a good friend. I tend to stick to fiction, but that doesn't mean that some random philosophy will fall on deaf ears.

Curtis Evey
Buttermelcher Str. 21
80469 Munchen, Germany

I'll be anxious to see if anyone takes me up on this. Feels like a mild social experiment wrapped in friendships...delicious.

Cheers.