Preparing for...Prague!

In front of the famous Cathedral of Cologne. 

After a lazy couple of days in Cologne, am getting ready to hit the road again. Have been more than a little bit undecided about the direction I should be heading, so for the lack (?) of better suggestion have now decided it will indeed be Prague. It is a city that almost everybody seems to like, and most often people get a dreamy look in their eyes when talking about it. There is supposed to be some tango too, and it will also be a new country for me. To get there, I think it will take something like 5-6 days' cycling, depending very much on the wind, my moods, and of course, the terrain. At least for the first days I will be following the Rhein valley that should make cycling pretty effortless. On the other hand, as Bonn, the next city along the river, also has a lively tango scene, I might be slightly delayed :-)

To be totally honest, one reason for wanting to head to Prague is that I have not been feeling quite as welcome in these more southern parts of Germany as I was during my first week in this country. The mentality here is certainly different; there are far fewer smiles (on several occasions, people have just stared at me blankly, or even grimaced, when seeing me smile at them), and even the tone of voice in everyday conversations is somewhat flat. Unfortunately, this is pretty much the experience I had from my time spent working in Germany all those years ago, and thus is somewhat counterproductive to my quest of replacing it with a more positive, friendly and open image. Obviously, there are nice exceptions, but on the whole I am finding the people here slightly offputting, despite trying very hard to maintain a positive, open and happy state of mind.

The weather has been very warm and humid, and this seems to make everybody slightly irritable too. Myself, I have had a very nice time though, despite (or perhaps because of?) doing almost no sight-seeing and achieving very little in general.

Before carrying on, however, I will be going to another milonga tonight. This one will take place in Don Tango Club, a dance school/bar owned by an Argentinian, and the atmosphere is rumoured to be "welcoming" and warm. Let's hope it will give me a new idea or too about the area in general!

P.S. Guess what I found just now, browsing the web for tango events and milongas on the way to Prague...? There will be a festival NEXT WEEKEND in Prague, just when I had planned to be there (See: Tango Alchemie). Oh, what a relief. Now I know what to do with my life for the next week or so! :-)))))))

Comments

  1. vuokkomero11/06/2010, 22:52

    Nice to get your `letter`again. Wish you have a nice and cosy night with lots of skillful leaders.
    Hugs, mum

    ReplyDelete

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