Farewell
I realized as I sat on the tram last night that I would miss all this– the foreign babble surrounding me (at first scary and intimidating but now comfortable, familiar, like birds or the wind), the passing by of old buildings and famous monuments, the rumble of cobblestone streets. The memories will haunt me and won’t stop until I go back, until I start to travel again. I know this.
8-26-07
My last day in Prague. I don’t really feel compelled to do more sightseeing. I’ve been walking around a lot lately, and it feels like enough. The city is beautiful, I like it. This evening I went to the Letna beer garden (on the hill), looked out over the lights, shining under a full moon– a perfect summer night. It’s strange not knowing when I’ll be back, whether in 5 years or 10 or 50. I wonder if it will change much, and how.
8-27-07
Early morning, and I take a taxi to the airport. As we drive, I think about how different this ride is from my first taxi ride into the city. That was late at night, now it is early in the morning. Then, everything looked strange and new. Now it looks familiar– I recognize places I’ve been, tram routes I’ve ridden. A good transition.
So here I am at the Prague airport for possibly the last time– the last for a while, that is. On my way to Valencia, finally. This past week went by pretty slowly, but I guess I’m suddenly here, so not that slowly.
We rise up into the sky and slowly the landscape fades below me, into white clouds, as though in my memory as well, not forgotten, but far below, part of the past. My new horizon is a stretch of clouds beneath a torquoise sky– blue as only sky can be this high, deep fading to white where it touches the clouds.
I wonder if standing in my new apartment, surrounded by all my things, will feel the same as I’ve been imagining it. Will it look how I remember it? What will Spain do for me this time?
Today I watched Prague fade away below me as I rose among the clouds.
Now I roar through the air towards Valencia, a new city with new possibilities, new experiences awaiting me.
I could not have come to where I am today without Prague, yet I know it is time to move on.
I say farewell with fondness and few regrets. I look forward with excitement and joy.
Tags: Europe, Prague, Travel
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