just landed in prague. adam and i ate at a chinese restaurant down the street from the hostel. we were the only people in the restaurant, and some music came on magically just after we ordered. christmas muzak tunes. chinese food in the czech republic. its like we have some existential point to prove.

or maybe just i do, i dont know.

yesterday was the great bratislava adventure, during which the emphasis changed from being in bratislava to getting to bratislava. another point to prove. i am putting forth the hypothesis that slavic train stations are actually portals into another dimension -- kiosks open and close with apparently zero relationship to the clock, bus tickets are indistinguishable from parking tickets, the hallways are always empty and echoing even if there is no sound to be echoed, it felt like. deserted. there is a definate case of the fuck-its going on in bratislavia; things are falling apart, and its not that they dont have enough money to fix things up - which they dont - but also that nobody seems to care. pride of residence. adam and i bought some ice creams in the station (the only open kiosk and the only visible source of food) and ate the while waiting for the train back to wien. it felt ridiculously decadent.

and it felt good to get back to wien, back into the week of rain in the city of museums and sophisticated music. the sun came out this morning and i had a difficult time recognizing the city.

the more i learn about these cities and the more i talk to (read: drink with) strangers from other countries, the more i learn about myself. part of me wants to say that if my teacher hadnt died, i wouldnt have gone on this trip.

once i start thinking that, i know that i am thinking too much.

into the most haunted city in europe!