Never give a stranger your phone

Tuesday, August 20th, 2019 

Prague, Czech Republic and Vienna, Austria 

It’s 9am CES and, despite a good night’s sleep, I am feeling groggy. I quickly get out of bed and get ready for day 2 of vacation! We pack up our bags, leave them behind the front desk, and are in the basement for breakfast by 9:30am. 

I enjoy 2 full cups of drip coffee and a plate of cold cuts and cheese. I love a European breakfast and think about implementing something similar at home. Once we are done with breakfast, the group heads to the tram for Prague Castle. 

The line for Prague Castle looks long but moves very quickly. The security personnel are incredibly friendly and we are in the main courtyard before I know it. The castle was built in the 9th century and is the largest ancient castle in the world. Since it was rebuilt so many times, it represents almost every architectural style in the last thousand years. We move through each of the main rooms in a flurry of artifacts and decadence. Sarah even points out the hidden door, behind which, lies the Bohemian crown jewels. I think this is so cool. 

It’s starting to get really hot outside, but we only have a few more hours in Prague, so we decide to walk through the Jewish Quarter. The whole area is a pile of tourists and vendors. We walk past a few beautiful, historic synagogues and take some photos of the murals and statues that line the street. 

We have just enough time for a quick lunch of pizza and charcuterie before heading back to the hotel to pick up our bags. I call an Uber for a ride to the train station on my iPhone and it takes nearly 5 minutes for a driver to accept my ride. 10 minutes later the driver cancels. Uh oh. It’s getting close to the time that my train will leave and we are at least a 30-minute tram ride to the station. I tell my friends that the Uber is not coming and we all come to the conclusion that the group should walk really fast to the station. I load up my backpack onto my back and start trudging over the cobblestone roads in my paper-thin sandals. 

Drenched in sweat and in a state of forced calmness, I walk onto the train platform, just as boarding begins. Oh man, that was close. 

The train is packed and I sit in my assigned seat, which is at a 4 person table with my 2 friends. I awkwardly have to push my knees to the side in order to fit. Soon another woman sits in the 4th seat. The entire train ride is 4 hours. We use this time to reconcile expenses from Prague, drink some wine and take Buzzfeed quizzes on Laura’s phone.    

When we arrive in Vienna it is already dark but, luckily, we are only a 5-minute walk from the hotel. We quickly drop our bags, change clothes and then walk over to a recommended restaurant for a late dinner. The server recommends a bottle of white wine and after tortured contemplation, I order the goulash. The wine and food is fantastic. For dessert, I accidentally order a dish of sweet potato noodles. They are weird, but it was fun to try something new. 

After dinner, Sarah opts for bed and Laura and I decide to stay out for a few drinks. We start out at a sidewalk cafe close to the hotel. I order a vodka soda, which comes out a little weak. When I complain to Laura the server overhears and offers to add more vodka. I love this place! The new drink is incredibly strong and I am drunk in like 15 minutes. 

After the sidewalk cafe closes Laura and I wander around to see what else is going on. We find a place called Loos American Bar, which is open late. It’s packed and there is no outdoor seating, but we decide to stay for one drink anyways. Some of the locals start chatting Laura and I up. Almost immediately one of them asks to see my phone, to which I respond, no. The conversation is lively and fun, but when one of the locals makes an obvious pass at me by saying that I can’t be more than 27 years old, I tell Laura that it’s time to go. She’s slightly resistant, but the bar is about to close anyway. 

I walk back to the hotel and I am asleep before I hit the bed. 

A tale of two monasteries

Monday, August 19th, 2019 

Prague, Czech Republic 

It’s 9:30am CES and I am wavering in and out of a state of deep, melatonin-induced sleep. I keep thinking that I am awake and getting ready but I am still dreaming. Eventually, I drag myself out of bed. Laura and Sarah are almost completely ready. I quickly get ready and then head to the basement of the hotel for breakfast. 

I am ecstatic to find a station of self-serve, drip coffee. The plates are small and I fill mine up with cold cuts, cheese and a boiled egg. 

Today we will attempt a self-guided, urban hike to 2 of Prague’s most famous monastery breweries. After breakfast, I make a quick stop at the town square for a look at the astronomical clock. We continue past several beer spas and a puppet store on the way to the train station. As an afterthought, we pick up our tickets for the train to Vienna, for tomorrow afternoon. One train and one tram later we are at the starting point for the walk, located on the west side of town. 

The walk starts along a quiet, tree-lined path. It soon meanders into a residential area and around an empty schoolyard. As we pass by an old cemetery, we stop for a look. The land is terraced and overgrown with plant life. The cloud-covered sky and general stillness of everything makes it feel as though we just stepped into the opening scene of a horror movie. 

Eventually, we approach the Brevnov Monastery. We spend some time exploring the garden; the area is completely silent and it’s starting to feel like we are the only 3 people on the planet. Once we are sure that we’ve seen everything on the grounds, we go into the pub to sample the beer. I am feeling adventurous and order something called “pork scratchings with chop onion”. Laura and Sarah swear they will not try any, but I don’t care. 

The beer is surprisingly refreshing, though the food turns out to be chilled fat with something crunchy mixed into it. I smile and power through nearly one-third of the appetizer before finally giving up. 

Soon we are off to the second brewery of the day. We pass through a large garden and eventually end up in another residential neighborhood. We follow a cobblestone street into an ally way where we are basically walking only a few feet from people’s back doors. The path wanders through a smaller, more urban park and eventually down to the main road. We follow that street to the end, where we meet a long, steep stairwell, at the top we find the Strahov Monastery. 

This monastery is substantially more populated than the first and we have to wait in a short line to buy tickets to see the library. The Strahov Library is old and famous; we are able to view manuscripts printed as early as the 1500s. There are a few other churches that are also open for viewing. 

Eventually, we wander into the brewery. The outside seating area is vast and has an amazing view of the city. We find a table with an unobstructed view and order a round of beer. After a long morning of walking, it’s nice to sit back and relax. A little mouse scurries under the table, but I am so tired that I can only prop my feet up on the lowest rung of the fence next to my chair. After a brief discussion about visiting the Petrin Tower, we decide to take the tram back to old town instead. 

As we exit the tram, we are immediately greeted with a row of outdoor pubs, set against the Vltava river. We can not resist sitting at one of the tables and ordering another round of beer. We watch the paddle boats float by as the sun begins to set. We even see some nutria hanging out by the river and take like 15 pictures of them. By the time my beer is empty, we’ve made the decision to rent a paddleboat. 

The boat is fun and we are on the river when the sun officially sets for the day. The air quickly chills and once we are off of the boat, the group is in agreement that is it definitely time for dinner. We sit at one of the hundreds of cafes in old town. Everything is crowded and we end up sharing a large table with a couple who smokes the entire time. I order roasted pork and potato dumplings, which are just okay in my opinion. Laura and Sarah enjoy their food much more. After dinner, we decide that it’s time for dessert. We want to try trdelniks, which are basically phallic-shaped pastries, with a donut-like shell, filled with whipped cream, ice cream, nuts and fruit. It’s everything that I hoped it would be. 

It’s nearing midnight and I am drunk and bloated from dessert. We wander over to the main bridge. The lights of the bridge and the town reflect into the river, creating a scene of such beauty and wonderment that I take about 50 pictures in an attempt to capture this moment.

Eventually, we go back to the hotel. I load up on more melatonin and fall asleep immediately. 

More Pokemon Go and teeny, tiny coffees

Sunday, August 18th, 2019

London, UK and Prague, Czech Republic

It’s 2:25pm GMT and my plane is landing in London. My head is foggy as I fumble around my carry-on for the European SIM that I purchased on Amazon. I find the card but left the tool at home and have no way to remove the existing SIM card. Eventually, I get off of the plane and have a little over 1 hour to kill before my next flight leaves. I wander around the international terminal for a while and then into Boots, the local travel store. There is an attendant dedicated to the cell phone section and I politely ask if he’ll help switch out my SIM card and he agrees. Yes! I am back online. 

I check in to the American airport lounge and are immediately underwhelmed. It looks like a break room at a Nordstroms in Texas. I pour a teeny, tiny cup of coffee from the automated coffee machine and find a seat by the window. I spend my time listening to music, playing Pokemon Go, and making multiple trips back to the coffee machine. At 4:30 pm I make my way to the gate for my flight into Prague. 

After a quick 2 hour flight, I have officially arrived! The immigration line is short, but it moves slowly. Once I grab my bag I start to look for my driver from the hotel. I make a few passes through the arrivals hall and am starting to get worried when I finally see a sign that reads “Sarah Hymes”. Sarah is my long-time friend and travel buddy and has already arrived at the hotel earlier today. I try to explain to the driver that I am ready to go, but she insists on waiting for the other two guests since the hotel room was booked for 3. Eventually, I convince her that the others have already arrived, but she still seems suspect as she drives me through Prague to the Hotel Liliova. 

By the time I make it up to the hotel room, it’s 9:30pm. The lights are on but both of my friends are in bed, asleep. They groggily greet me and I announce that I’ll be eating dinner and drinking a beer before bed. I insist that they should both sleep, but Laura drags herself out of bed to join you. I  am secretly grateful. 

The block by our hotel is packed with cafes, all of which are still open. We pick an outside table and immediately order a cold beer. Laura orders fried cheese and I choose rabbit remoulade. We catch up and I can’t help but notice that Laura’s eyes are really red, I feel bad for dragging her out of bed, but later I’ll learn it was actually a reaction to the material on her new airplane pillow. Around midnight we turn in for the night. I plan on getting a full 8 hours of sleep before starting our first full day of vacation. 

Chardonnay, cake and pancakes

Saturday, August 17th, 2019

Los Angeles, CA and London, UK

It’s 4pm and I am already calling a Lyft to the airport for my 8pm flight to Prague. I am over-prepared and literally have nothing else to do. My plane ticket affords me access to the Oneworld Business Lounge, so I resolve to arrive early and get a little drunk. 

My Lyft driver is totally weird and makes a few offensive racist comments on the way to the airport. I gently explain to him that his previous rider’s taste in music has no bearing on his intellect or ability to function in society. I am sure that my words fell on deaf ears. 

Check-in and security move extremely quickly and I am soon entering the Oneworld Business Lounge. The space is huge, at least 4 times the size of a standard airport lounge and there are a ton of places to sit. I pour I myself a glass of chardonnay from the self-serve bar, sit near a corner, and shamelessly people-watch while catching the rouge pokemon on my Pokemon Go app. Eventually, I  grab some desserts from the dessert bar and even make one pancake using the self-serve, pancake-making machine. This place is so cool.  

Fully loaded on chardonnay, cake, and pancakes I  eventually make my way to the gate, just as the plane is boarding. My seat, located in business class, is phenomenal. I am next to the window and my seat adjusts in all sorts of positions, including completely flat. I  sip on champagne as the flight boards and eventually settle in with some bad romantic comedies. 

After dinner, I  hydrate excessively and throw back a few melatonin. Soon I easily drift to sleep. I  am almost halfway there. 

Speechless

Tuesday, June 25th 2019

Nevada City and Los Angeles, CA

It’s 8am and I am waking up in my tent for the last time. Today I will check out of the Ananda retreat center. I am ready to leave, not in the sense that I need to get away from here, but more like I feel that I got what I came for. As I pack up, I suddenly feel that I should not take the rock from the forest with me. I silently ask what to do and think that I should leave it somewhere in the garden.

I make a lap around the property silently thanking each area where I meditated. When I arrive at the root cellar I decide to place the rock on a small altar in front of Kali, the goddess of decomposition. As I leave the rock, I silently wonder if I have shifted the energy of the garden. 

I end my walk at the dining hall, where I fill up my coffee tumbler. At 8:30 am I go to meet Alley at the Temple of Joy for one final meditation, but someone else is using the space and Alley is not there. Instead, I spend the time journaling. 

At 9am, Alley and I meet for breakfast. We eat in silence and then, afterward, hang around drinking coffee and working on the puzzle until the front office opens. 

At 10am I say my goodbyes, check out, and am on the way back to civilization.

I immediately stop at the first In n Out I see and relish in the joy of meat and cheese. I also grab a Starbucks cappuccino and send a few texts to check-in. 

I arrive at home by 6pm and meet a friend around 8pm. I try to explain my trip, but, all of the sudden I am speechless. I am somehow able to spit out the words “I don’t know what to say” and they kindly respond that I don’t need to talk about it right now. 

As I crawl into bed for the night, I feel slightly stunned, but also have a deep-seated sense of peace and tranquility. I think to myself that I should do this more often. 

Reflection, relaxation

Monday, June 24th 2019

Nevada City, CA

I try to sleep in as late as I can, but still, end up out of bed by 8:30am. I walk to the dining hall to find fresh coffee and tell the kitchen attendant that I love her. I eat a small breakfast of boiled eggs and granola. 

Today has no scheduled activities and most of my retreat group has already left. I plan to reflect on my experience before heading back to the city for work. I spend most of the morning sitting by the small pond near the front of the garden. My chair faces the Temple of Joy and the diffused morning light shining through the overgrown garden is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. Around 10am I start the 3 mile hike around the property. This time I do not miss any turns and have a newfound appreciation for the silence of the forest. 

When I arrived back to the garden Alley is hula hooping and waves me over. We chat for a few minutes and then resolve to meditate together before lunch. I bring her to the root cellar, where we sit quietly for 20 minutes until the lunch bell rings. 

We eat lunch together and then go separate ways for the afternoon. Alley works on a puzzle in the dining hall and I sit in the library reading the Findhorn Garden, a book strongly recommended by Charles, the gardener. 

At 4pm I join a group session of yoga and meditation. Alley and I eat dinner together and then spend the evening drinking tea and working on a puzzle. I am feeling so relaxed and happy and can barely fathom the roller coaster of emotions that I experienced over the last two days. 

When it starts to become dark I walk back to my tent to call it a night. 

Peace, joy

Sunday, June 23rd 2019

Nevada City, CA

It’s 6:30am and I am waking up for my final silent yoga and meditation session. I quickly get dressed and enter the Temple of Silence. The group of 12 has dwindled to just 7 in only 2 days. During the group meditation, I picture myself expanding beyond my body, then beyond the temple, then beyond the garden to eventually encompass the entire universe. I breathe love into every corner of it and feel very relaxed. I ask the universe why there is fear and it answers that there is no fear.

I skip the pancake breakfast and sit in the garden with a large cup of coffee. I feel very calm and peaceful. 

At 9:15am the group gathers in the Temple of Silence. It’s time to break the silence and everyone chants Om three times. Susan invites the group to share experiences and I can not believe how happy I feel to hear other people talk. There are a variety of comments on the whole process including one guy becoming aware of the pain in his body and another woman who can not stop crying; I get her, that was me yesterday. When it’s my turn to speak, I describe my experience as exciting, scary, sad, enraging, calming, and peaceful. Those are all the words I want to say at this point. 

Once the discussion is over there is talk amongst the group about visiting Ananda Village, located just down the hill. I learn that another woman from the group, named Alley, will also be staying 2 extra days and we decide to drive down to the village together. I agree to meet at the dining hall in 30 minutes. 

I go back to my tent to grab my wallet and can not decide if I want to bring water or coffee. I ultimately land on taking my wallet, journal, and coffee mug. I’ve only been here 2 days, but already feel mild anxiety about leaving. 

Another woman from the group, named Cat, joins Alley and me for the ride down the hill. She is from San Francisco and will be taking a cab back into the city. Cat is energetic and immediately wants to be friends, there is talk about forming a Facebook group and attending different festivals together. I am overwhelmed, but ultimately agree that we should all be friends. 

At the village, we spend some time browsing the gift shop. I buy a mala bracelet, which is a series of beads that I count while meditating in order to keep track of time. Soon Cat is off to catch her taxi and Alley and I drive to the rose garden. The village is a lot quieter than I imagined and there are only a few houses on large lots. We see a group of sheep grazing. 

The garden is beautiful. There are roses everywhere and I can tell they have never been pruned. When it’s time to go back, Alley asks if I’ll drive her car and I agree. 

Back at the retreat center, I learn that lunch is not served on Sundays. I make myself a snack of macadamia nuts and beef jerky and am surprised to find my watch and map laying on one of the tables. I reclaim my property and secretly think that I always knew it would find its way back. 

I start my afternoon by staring lovingly at the garden. I walk to a few spots that were identified by Charles, the gardener, as having special power. The first one is a large oak tree, which he called Grandmother. I sit in front of the tree and quiet my thoughts. I wait patiently for an epiphany, but nothing comes. Next, I walk to the only other oak tree located on the property, which the gardener calls Grandfather. I sit quietly for a while, straining to gain wisdom. I begin to think that should become more rooted, like the tree. I am sure that my mind is playing tricks on me, but also can not deny this is good advice.

Around 4:30pm I go to the Temple of Silence. A guy from our group is laying on his yoga mat, but the room is otherwise empty. Around 4:35, Alley joins. It becomes clear that no instructor is coming, however, Alley, who is also a yoga instructor, agrees to walk us through a few poses. At 6pm we move into a group meditation. 

At 6:30pm, dinner is served. Alley and I sit together. We have a long conversation about life at home, I learn that she is a mother and a part-time hula hoop instructor, who lives in Sonoma. We talk about our personal forms of spirituality and different belief systems. Eventually, health and wellness comes up as a core tenant for me and she is very interested. 

We only stop talking when it starts to become dark outside. Neither of us brought flashlights, so it’s time to call it a night. 

As I get ready for bed, I am overwhelmed with feelings of joy and am grateful that I stayed for the full term of silence.