more tours; and a revolution draped in velvet

Greetings, blogglings-

It's so strange, this transitory way of living- people in and out of your life constantly, often times long enough only for a first impression; then they're gone and you never hear from them again. I suppose it's all part of the nomadic nature of the "European Journey" one so often takes, but these people still leave their marks.
It makes me ponder about all those small two-land highway towns I drive through back and forth from Dallas to Chicago- constantly being invaded by outsiders. But outsiders that never set down roots, they merely pass through or stop long enough to make a first impression, then they're gone. Are those towns resentful, I wonder? Though those travelers who (like me) decide to take back road Oklahoma routes rather than the congested and mediocre major highways are their main if not only source of income- do they hold our ephemeral nature against us, though we are merely passerby?
And in turn, the Czechs must also feel this way toward we who are only here for brief amounts of time- we who stay longer than a mere weekend away, upsetting the balance of quiet patriotism. Just in time to put down a few roots, only to have them savagely ripped from the soil when we inevitably defect, leaving scars in the ground.
But I digress.. I'm beginning to think about leaving Prague, and it makes me rather sad, and therefore I'm turning to my regular behavior- contemplation.

I tried my hand at tourguiding once again with some lovely Polish girls I happened upon via couchsurfing.com and another amiga- I fear I overloaded them with information. I hadn't realized how much information about Prague I've accumulated in my time here, but apparently it's enough to make a couple of visitor's heads spin. Took them for the best guláš and dumplings in the city, well worth the 135kc.. Then said na shledanou (goodbye) and haven't heard from them since. Again- in and out of your life so quickly you barely have time to blink.

Today was the 20th anniversary of the Velvet revolution- yes, yet another 20th anniversary! First Berlin, now Prague- probably the best time anyone could have picked to come here.
There was a long march/parade- which I walked in. It followed the same path students (from my university!) took 20 years ago to protest Communism. It took 2 1/2 hours, but it was absolutely worth it; and the weather was nice, though I might have appreciated a little more sun for my shots. :)
There were police reenacting brutality on a corner near Vyshehrad- that threw me off until I realized it was in fact, a reenactment. There were choppers, protesters, protesters on stilts, and musical performances. It was, for lack of a better description- glorious.

I felt a little bit wrong, walking with the Czechs- I've certainly never lived under communism, I've never been any situation that could remotely relate; but it was incredible to be there, and no one really seemed to mind.

Vienna this coming weekend, I'm sure once again that I'll take far too many pictures- several of which are bound to end up here.

Cheers,

Erin