Life, with the garden
Location: Prague, Czech Republic • • • Visit: July 2013
The city has two botanic gardens. After doing the standard wandering up the castle hill and around the old town, it was already afternoon and I only had time to visit the historic garden, run by the Faculty of Science at Charles University. It was a lovely little green jewel, wedged in between the concentrated downtown city tangle on the east bank of the river. I particularly appreciated their geological garden, a large section among the trees and flowerbeds dedicated to displaying boulders of rocks of different kinds, including information of their formation and where in the Czech Republic you could find them. The recently graduated physical geography student (that is, I) was utterly pleased.
I’m in Prague. My day yesterday was really nice. All the tourists at the castle were kind of over the top, but the Botanic Garden afterwards was incredibly calming, and almost completely empty, and made for a really nice stroll. I have nothing at all against Prague. I’m just –
– so fucking exhausted. And I don’t really know when that happened. I think I was fine when I left Belgrade, but then my phone got stolen in Bratislava and I had all that trouble with the train to Prague being more than two hours late and I had no way of contacting Martin, my couchsurfing host, and just having to be on my toes all the time. (I did find Martin, eventually, and he turned out to be the sweetest host, so, no trouble there.)
Maybe I’m not fine with losing my phone anymore. Or, I’m just over-stuffed with seeing new places, experiencing new things. I’m sick of castles and museums – I would like to spend an entire day just sitting in the shade of a tree, reading a book. But the book I had was in my phone and for god’s sake, I’m in Prague! I can’t just sit here on Martin’s couch and waste the day away. I have to suck it up, get dressed and take my sore feet out on yet another city tour.
I’ve even checked if I could change my train ticket from Copenhagen to Stockholm to two days earlier, but that would mean doubling the price of the ticket and I want to see Copenhagen, I really do, I’ve never been and I’ve heard it’s supposed to be awesome. It’s just, right now I can’t even seem to muster up the energy to go to the bathroom.
I’m homesick. I want to speak Swedish. I want to sleep in my own bed. I want to go home.
Katja Malmborg 