Cheers! and Sadness

I went to a jazz club tonight with Martina. It's my last full day in Prague and I spent the day wandering around the city, tracing my now familiar route in between the different districts. While waiting for my tram, decidedly sad, someone came up behind me and asked me for directions and I had an instant fix of glee. I must not look so lost for this man to ask me where the Metro station was. He was puzzled. Oh it's an easy mistake, I say. This is MalostransKE Namesti. You are probably looking for MalostransKA which is the tram stop for transferring to the Metro subway and if you follow the tram tracks, it will lead you to it, it's the next stop. Off they go. And then I hop on the next tram which turns out to be the wrong one, the #22 (I was supposed to take #12). I was so smug with my direction giving, I didn't bother looking at the signs. I hopped out of the tram when I realized my mistake and found myself at Narodni Trida train station. No problem. I know this will take me to Smichov where I can then pick up my missed #12. There are not enough words to describe the irony that the moment you feel you finally got the hang of a place is exactly the time you also must also leave it. Life is funny that way.

The language continues to baffle me. I can't make any real connections with the words other than those I know by rote. Na zdravi (Cheers!) sound so much like Nadrazi (train station). Although I must say when I find the right train station for where I want to go much like ealier, I do feel like pouring myself a pint of their fine Pilsner Urquell, holding out my pint in the air and saying Nadrazi! I'm going to miss Juraj and Martina and Estee. I'm going to miss this place.