Really enjoying the Czech Republic so far. Spent a crash course this morning on DuoLingo–something I should have done a week ago–just to get hello, good [time of day], please, and other basics down. I just feel bad when I’m ordering and everyone has to default to Dumb American, ya know?
The language is really pretty. Nick was mentioning yesterday that he has a hard time wrapping his head around it, and I’m not having that issue, which I largely think is because of my time noodling around Hungarian. Some of the consonant pairs–like the one that brings you Rocza–are just comfortably familiar.
The aloha of the language is “ahoj”–and yes, that j is pronounced like a “y.” It’s a very casual hello/goodbye, meant for friends and family, but nonetheless, it amuses me. Talk Like a Pirate Day, every day!
Plus, I just like Europe. I like the cultural foundations, like what you eat for breakfast, or the fact that sparkling water isn’t carbonated to soda pressure. I like how green it is, even in the city center, the age of the cities, the variety of architecture, even the structure of neighborhoods. Mostly, I just feel comfortable here–and so far, “here” is every city I’ve been to, with the possible exception of Dresden.
We won’t have a chance to do much exploring beyond where we’re eating tonight and tomorrow until next week, but that’s okay. The heatwave will be over then, so less chance of OH GOD MELTING, more time for all the photographs…and maybe a try at plein air painting.