What is ‘Home’? The journey through Prague and time!

(Year 2183 – Some planet in the Milky Way)

It has been a long time since I have been home. I do not even know what I consider home anymore. What is home? Is it a place, is it the society that creates a sensation of home or is it something very much different? I believe it is both the place and the people but the difference between any other place is the fact we do not see it change. We think we see the place grow and reshape itself, the rhythm of all the people to vary every day but is it actually the place or is it just us? I would say that a place that we call home changes itself too slowly for us to register the drastic alterations we think it undergoes and it is just the change in our way of thinking, our own space of mind that creates this illusion of change. That is, because we only notice the temporary changes but not the long-term ones. With every new great change, we eventually forget what it was like before, looking at the short-term changes only. Then, home becomes grey and the only outstanding thing is what is happening at the moment we are there. Home is just a place relative to time. Maybe, that is why I have lost perception of home. It is all the same. No change at all. Have I lived for far too long?

(Year 2021 – February – Atlanta)

It has been over half a year that I have been at home. What an interesting feeling. I have been in this situation before. I sometimes forget what home is like. Is it changing? Is Atlanta becoming my new home because I have spent so much continuous time here that I am losing perception of the big picture, the overall change? No. It can’t be. I see the city oscillate every day. Saturday is still different from Monday. Unlike Prague. My home.

(Year 2019 – June – Prague)

What a beautiful city. I have spent half a day today walking around, showing my friends the beauty. We started at the river bank. You can smell the fish when walking on the stone walkway. The sun was high that day. We didn’t pay much attention to the powerful, full of heat, rays as we kept on walking, cooled by stone wall from one side and the river from the other. “I must say, since I was here the first time, not much has changed. Only some of the boats parked at the side were moved.” I remember pointing that out to my friend. Or maybe, I only notice the ones that sell alcohol now and the only change I recognize is, if they move one of those. Can I say then it hasn’t changed? Have I forgotten how the river bank looked couple of years ago? Eventually, we had to climb stairs up so we could continue on our tour.

(Year 2165 – Mars)

            When I found the diary, I was fascinated. It contained so much, and I could relate to it, to some degree. Earth became boring, too simple, and thus humans expanded. Colonized planet after planet, forgetting where they came from. To be honest, I was in the same situation until I read the diary and realized what I have been missing. I am getting too old, too old to ponder around the galaxy, too old to act recklessly without caring just like the young generations, but I am old enough to go back to Earth to live off my last years.

(Year 2019 – June – Prague)

While I was still thinking about the meaning of change in my hometown, we walked past the Dancing House, an accomplishment of postmodernist architecture, and continued along the river. I love walking around the Dancing House as it stands out apart from the “boring” block-like buildings with red roofs. After a short walk we arrive at the jewel of Prague, Charles Bridge. With statues of various Saints lining the edges and being entirely from stone, it is the oldest and the most beautiful bridge in Prague. During the day it is crowded like no other place. We have to make way through the masses. Being in wondering mood, I asked my friends: “How many people do you think have crossed this bridge.” We could not come up with an answer. Maybe it was million, maybe ten million, who knows. Just like a bridge has milestones, our life has milestones. There are many but only some redefine the way we see the world. The latest milestone that changed my life was being able to legally drink. I now see Prague as an entirely different city. Over a short period of time, I started noticing things I haven’t before and the previous view of my home became bland, indistinguishable from the ones before that. Now it is like I received new glasses. I see the city with a pair of new eyes, looking for different elements than the eyes before.

(Year 2018 – October – Boston)

The first two months were challenging. Getting accustomed to a new place is more complicating than I thought. Thanks to the help of others though, I was able to get into the rhythm of the new environment, the place I would call “home” for the next seven months. But is it really going to be my home? I don’t think so. I might see minor changes happen, maybe because of different seasons or because of the new people I meet but overall, I will never call this place home. The time I will spend here is too short for me to become part of it. To see the city in colors at first and then fall into the dark pit, the grey painting of blurred memories.

(Year 2019 – June – Prague)

I tried to recall some of the singular memories that I have from the past. I had a difficult time knowing which year that particular memory happened. It could have been a year ago or four. Who knows. After we crossed the river, we got into the part of town which is ruled by narrow streets and seemingly tall houses with little shops at the ground floor, selling various souvenirs, ranging from glass to “I love Prague” T-shirts. Most of these streets are uphill when going from the riverbank and atop this hill sits the grand Prague castle. Navigating through these steep filled streets, we finally reach our destination. The beautiful overview of Prague is irreplaceable. Wherever you look, you see red roofs with thousands of different shades and the only thing standing out is the TV tower. I am so glad they do not allow skyscrapers to be built nowhere close the center. It would be such a shame to destroy the beautiful skyline. It’s a different experience. The view of the city just changes into something completely different. From the reaction of my friends, they were mind blown.

(Year 2020 – March – Prague)

After I learned to drive eight months ago, I was scared to drive around Prague. The city center is not built for cars and the one main street is getting overwhelmed every day. I talked about my fears with my parents and they said that it is not as bad as it seems. Only the parts where the communists got inspired by New York’s one ways are terrible. With this in mind, I bravely entered the asphalt jungle overlooked by the imposing concrete monsters. At first, I was shaken. Later, I realized that this was one of my life milestones. All the distances suddenly radically shortened. Everything seemed so close and I saw new angles of Prague that I have not seen before. I unexpectedly saw everything in terms of streets and how to get there by car. Everything was interconnected and I received a fuller, more 3D view of my home. However, with such change, came negatives. I became less aware of the beauty of the narrow streets and I could not recall how the city looked when I was either driven by my parents or when I had to walk. I stopped appreciating the beauty of blooming parks during summer or the icy pavements and I replaced it with a simple black look of the roads.

(Year 2168 – Earth)

            I came back couple of months ago. I have been gone for so many years that I almost forgot how Earth looked. However, once I saw it, I knew that it was the same old rock floating in space. It all seems so familiar. The beauty of the blue oceans, the green of the forests and jungles, the grey and white of the mountain ranges, and the yellow seas of sand. Oh, how I have missed Earth. By far the most outstanding planet I have been to. Some of the younglings have never seen it. How tragic. Long time from home can really change a person. Even though I felt like I forgot about home, forgot about the joy of colors, letting them sink into the back of my mind, I realized that it livens up once you see it. No more grey, only colors dancing around.

(Year 2019 – June – Prague)

With the beautiful scenery in our minds, we departed to our next and last destination – Old Town Square. I have so many memories from that place. We took the underground which is the fastest way to get there. It is the nicest square with one of the oldest and the most famous clock in the world. Apart from that, and what not many people know, there are 27 small crosses from stone on the ground to remind of the 27 Bohemian leaders who were executed in the 1621. The open sides of the square are mostly used by restaurants who roll out their “gardens” which seem very appealing but only a person who calls Prague his home knows that these are just tourist traps and that the best food is found in restaurants hidden in the narrow streets around the square.

Food is an important part of my life and thus I know a lot of restaurants around Old Town. But it was not always like that. When I was young, my parents always chose where we would eat if we went out. The portions were always too big and my judgement was always off. I would mostly eat too much and then suffer during our walks around the city. As I grew, my judgement would become better and eventually, no portion seemed too large. I would also become more daring and new cuisines would excite me. And once I got past the phase where I would crave only pizza or fries, I realized that the restaurants we went to were bland. They did not excite me anymore. The food was just grey. As time passed, I completely forgot about these places and after a fair amount of years, I found out that most of these places were closed now. And even though these were long-term changes, they happened to quickly and with no attention from me. Our trip was concluded in one of my favorite restaurants where I realized the extent of changes in the food options around Prague.

(Year 2184 – Somewhere in the wide Cosmos)

      I know I am close to going to the other side so I put this short story, compiled from diary entries, together for the young generations, to remind them of the beautiful place called Earth, or how I call it, HOME. My dream of dying on Earth will not come true, however, I do not regret anything. I have lived for a long time but it is not bad at all. At least I could always think of the memory of Earth. Home is a place that even if you leave you will always vividly remember and no matter what changes have been applied, it will always seem the same. The only alteration ones view of home can undergo is when it is an internal change. Only us achieving milestones in life will change the perception of home. The one place we can fully remember.

Picture sources:

• Plockova, J. (2018, November 14). Naplavka. Retrieved February 28, 2021, from https://www.afar.com/places/naplavka-prague

• The Travelling Frenchy. (2020, May 17). Best rooftop views in Prague. Retrieved February 28, 2021, from https://thetravellingfrenchy.com/best-rooftop-views-prague/

• Smith, K. (2018, May 24). Charles bridge PRAGUE: Prague locally blog – PRAGUE RESIDENCES. Retrieved February 28, 2021, from https://www.pragueresidences.com/praguelocally/prague-sightseeing/charles-bridge/