Prague on the mind

If I were Ray Charles (now wouldn't that be interesting?!), I'd change that tune about Georgia to Prague for that city is most definitely on my mind. Right before I left I made a trip at my friend Fal's suggestion to the Kafka museum. Prague and Kafka shared quite the complicated, highly complex relationship. The musuem is a bit of a puzzle, surprising you with it's twists and turns and use of dark, light, straight, narrow, and angles here and sometimes there. The journey through attempts to create a sense of Kafka's wonder and torment mixed in one. Kafka wrote something about Prague stealing your heart; the city takes you in, capturing you, and doesn't let go too easily.

But, I'm finding that there is other beauty and wonder on the other side of the Atlantic pond. Tonight I had the opportunity to take in the Washington monument, with its moonlit reflection upon a small pond in the national mall grounds, and the American flags surrounding the base, blowing in the crisp night wind. As I walked along, I made use of my Christmas present to myself, a Sansae270 mp3 player, listening to U2's "City of Blinding Lights" and for that brief moment took a sigh and could honestly say, "Ah, this is good. This is beautiful. What a gift it is to be here." I still remember my first impressions of DC as a child on a day trip to see the nation's capital, later as an 8th grader on my school's "Spirit of 76" trip, and oh least I forget those 2 trips to the National Spelling Bee at the Capital Hilton. Those were the days, and well, these are the days!