amy: Strahov Monastery Part I

Perhaps one of my greatest experiences this semester was touring the Strahov Monastery. Putting aside the time spent within the church for a later blog, the actual monastery was like all my greatest daydreams being physically manifest. To be completely honest, I was not entirely ready for what awaited me at Strahov. After just returning from a magnificent and flurried trip to France, I was peaked and ready to sleep. After the church experience, even then I was ready to just sit back and contemplate the overwhelming nature of Strahov. I was not prepared. The cold corridors were filled with a peaceful, quiet atmosphere that I love and contained the feeling of a true sanctuary. The long black skeleton key which the Dr. Kabat’s friend pulled out heightened the anticipation of what lay within the walls of this monastery. And then, my dreams came to life. The old library was what, in my wildest dreams, I had dreamt of as a child. I have always loved books, and especially old books. All around me were these books that held facts long forgotten and begging to be heard- mainly about my faith or talking about my faith or translations of the Bible. Within the center of the library was a contraption where I could read four or five books at once! At that point, I was ready to just hide and live within the library. I loved it all: the set up, the ladders, and the old globes. It just continued to get better. There was another room filled with more books reaching the ceiling of a room that seemed to reach the sky. I still find myself just wishing I could stay there forever and never leave. Maybe this whole blog is incredibly strange to some, but I love those rooms more than any others I have ever seen.