11/02/2010

Before we left the train station that next day I starred out into the promenade and tried to conjure the specter of the station from twenty years prior. When I was last here there were may more youth hostel kiosks peppered throughout the station vying to help travelers find lodging. In 2010 there is only one lounge off to the side filled with brochures for tours and museums. One lonely woman sits at her desk, her ear to the phone as she waits on hold while confirming reservations at a local hotel. I am neither here nor then at this moment. Stuck somewhere between searching for the comfort in nostalgia and seeking the resolution of the future.
Every so often a lady with a coffee cart passes our train cabin offering a small cup of pre-made coffee to the passengers for a small price. It is a slow trip traveling along the countryside. The train passes through many small towns and villages. Some stops are no larger than a bus stop. This is the Europe I remember. Eventually we make it to Cesky Krumlov, the end of the line so to speak. We are met by Michael and Dagmar at the station. Being that we are the first media based artist to join Milkwood and a duo to boot the following equation ensues: four people plus six pieces of luggage does not equal getting into this compact car. We split the trip to town into two trips, luggage first and then passengers (Michael and myself) with Jennida accompanying Dagmar to the apartment. By this point all I wanted to do was put the bags somewhere and be done with them- to be free, to be able to look around and feel at ease not having to look after these stationary children. As we drove along the sleepy town streets everything looked calm and normal until we rounded a bend and own a hill revealing the castle town of Cesky Krumlov. It was like a movie sequence as reality melted away- or rather revealed itself to be an imposter. I know that I had read web pages and looked at travel guides, but nothing prepared me for what I was looking at now. We crossed over a small bridge and through a stone gateway moving at a rabbits pace avoiding tourists and other pedestrians as we whisked by. In the background loomed the castle and all the old world orange topped roofs that complete the scene. I had to laugh at my own expectations- foiled! It’s a great day.
We spent our first night in Cesky Krumlov we spent in total disorientation.
With our internal clocks not quite aligning, the light receding earlier and being in unfamiliar territory, it quickly passed 11 and 12pm (now known as 23 and 24hr) and we hadn’t eaten anything at all- and no groceries!