Hello all, I just wanted to write and update. I apologize for not updating my blog very quickly in the recent weeks. End of the semester work kicked in and final preparations to leave Prague fast approached.
The end of the semester went fairly well. Classes gave out much work and I was stuck in the coffee shop for 3 weeks straight trying to finish final work, papers, projects, and studying for approaching finals. My friends and I would all congregate in the same coffee shop for those 3 weeks, completely overwhelming the staff. Apparently doing work in a coffee shop is truly an American thing. In the end, it was and is the most comfortable place for me to get work done, so we apologized to the staff there and went along with our work.
I finished all my finals and work by 16 December and took a nice sigh of relief. That day (Wednesday), my friend Mike was leaving in the morning. He had finished all of his work early and his parents were arranging his travel back instead of the AIFS personnel. His parents got him a flight home for that morning on United. He woke me around 7:00 to say goodbye. He was the first one to leave for the program.
The next day. I went to pick up Jonathan at the airport. It began to snow and the random snow storm Prague had in October, it was the first real snow of the season. I grabbed the bus and met him at the airport. He got off the plane and was........well.........cold, haha. The weather was a bit different for him from the weather he was used to in Kenya. We made it to the dorm and got settled. We wandered around the city for a bit and came back early due to Jon's jet-lag. Jon got to skype with the parents that night and my brother and mother got to see one another for the first time in a year.
We woke a bit early the next morning and wandered around the city with Daisey and Jon got to see all the sights of Prague and all the wonderful Christmas Markets. That night we had a goodbye beer with everyone in the program in the Pub downstairs and then said goodbye to everyone. My brother and I hung around with my suite-mates for a while before making it into bed.
We woke the next morning and said goodbye to my suite-mates before they headed off to the airport. It was said to see everyone leave. Thank goodness for Facebook. Jon and I then went into the city and did some laundry. Jon was quite excited to be able to use a washing machine and dryer. We finished our laundry, then headed to lunch before dropping the laundry at the dorm. He and I then went out to the Christmas Markets again to gets some food and do some last minute Christmas shopping. We made it back to the dorm and hung around for a bit before heading out to catch our bus to Zurich.
Our bus ride to Zurich was very very very long. We finally made it by 11 a.m. Sunday morning and found our way to the hotel. We then settled and wandered around the city for a bit and grabbed our train ticket to Milan for the 22 December (tomorrow). We hung around and got some food and then went out with a few British guys we met at the hostel and got a beer that night.
Today we went up to Uteilberg (the mountain overlooking Zurich) and hiked for a bit. We then wandered around the Christmas Markets here again and did some shopping. In between hiking and shopping we got some lunch. Jon and I found a stand where there was a Kenyan woman selling handmade things from Kenya. He and she got to talking for a while. It was a surprise to say the least. He and I are now hanging out for a bit before we grab some dinner and a beer.
Tomorrow we will travel and make our way to Turin. It is time for Christmas with the relatives.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Final Weekend Trip Away From Praha
Before I start to write about my small adventure into western Europe I want to apologize for my tardiness in writing in my blog. This should be one of the last interesting posts until I leave Prague on 19 December.
On Friday 27 November, Alex and I left the lobby of Masarykova Koleg and made our way to the bus to bring us to the airport. We arrived at the airport, checked the board and found our check-in desk. We waited in line for a while and then finally received our boarding passes. We made it through security and over to our gate. We wait for a few moments and then began to board the plane. I sat on the plane waiting to take off and realized this would be the last time I would be flying out from Prague Airport. As much as I have traveled since coming to Europe, I will still miss Prague Airport.
We arrived in Barcelona, Spain and made out way to the public transportation system where we purchased our tickets and grabbed the metro. We road for a bit and then made it to our stop. We checked into our hostel and then continued to go explore a bit before I called it a night.
I woke the next morning and got ready for a day in the city. Alex and I grabbed the metro and met Val, Courtney and Imran at Catalunya Square. I walked up from the metro and at first glance I was blinded by an unfamiliar source, sunlight. I was so excited to see the sun. We met up and began our adventure. We wandered up to a beautiful park in the city and then to one of the only remaining Roman structures in the city. We then wandered around some more before making it to the beach. It was a positively beautiful day and everyone was at the beach. We wandered along the beach and search for a place to sit and eat. We found a nice little restaurant where we sat and enjoyed an awesome meal of paella. Paella served near the beach in Barcelona is equivalent to one of the best culinary experiences ever, haha. We then wandered the streets for a bit and explored Barcelona at night. We all called it a night so that we could wake for our flight in the morning.
Alex and I woke and got the Metro to the Airport. We arrived and grabbed our boarding passes and then found our flight to bring us to Lisbon, Portugal. The flight only took about and hour and fifteen minutes. We arrived and grabbed a bus to take us into the center of the city. We only got to wander for a few hours before having to grab the bus to go to the stadium. We arrived at the stadium and saw some of the biggest crowds I have ever seen. The concert looked like it was going to be a full house and I was so so excited.
The Concert I am referring to is for a band called MUSE.
We grabbed our tickets and made our way into the stadium. It filled up very quickly and the concert was about to begin. The band came out with crowds cheering. I have never seen so many screaming Portuguese people in my life. As Val and I screamed along with the crowds, we experienced the most amazing concert of my life. I cannot say anything more influential then that. The concert was truly out-of-this-world. The concert ended around 11:30 unfortunately and we cleared out.
We found a bus to bring up to the airport and then continued to hang out in the airport for 6 hours until we could collect our boarding passes at 6 a.m.
We grabbed our boarding passes and made our way through security to the gate. We waited for a bit and then boarded the last flight we would ever take back to Prague. It was a sad occasion, but in the end, we were still going back to Prague.
I finally think most people from my trip are traveled-out. I have enjoyed my travels here and in the end, I am not traveling until 8 January. My final count with Prague as home-base includes...
1. Stockholm, Sweden
2. Milan, Italy
3. Venice, Italy
4. Budapest, Hungary
5. Krakow, Poland
6. Istanbul, Turkey
7. Vienna, Austria
8. Barcelona, Spain
9. Lisbon, Portugal
and I cannot believe you all have been reading the posts related to all these cities, haha. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. As much as this is not the end of my blog posts by any means, it is the end of my weekend adventures away from Prague.
Until next time...
On Friday 27 November, Alex and I left the lobby of Masarykova Koleg and made our way to the bus to bring us to the airport. We arrived at the airport, checked the board and found our check-in desk. We waited in line for a while and then finally received our boarding passes. We made it through security and over to our gate. We wait for a few moments and then began to board the plane. I sat on the plane waiting to take off and realized this would be the last time I would be flying out from Prague Airport. As much as I have traveled since coming to Europe, I will still miss Prague Airport.
We arrived in Barcelona, Spain and made out way to the public transportation system where we purchased our tickets and grabbed the metro. We road for a bit and then made it to our stop. We checked into our hostel and then continued to go explore a bit before I called it a night.
I woke the next morning and got ready for a day in the city. Alex and I grabbed the metro and met Val, Courtney and Imran at Catalunya Square. I walked up from the metro and at first glance I was blinded by an unfamiliar source, sunlight. I was so excited to see the sun. We met up and began our adventure. We wandered up to a beautiful park in the city and then to one of the only remaining Roman structures in the city. We then wandered around some more before making it to the beach. It was a positively beautiful day and everyone was at the beach. We wandered along the beach and search for a place to sit and eat. We found a nice little restaurant where we sat and enjoyed an awesome meal of paella. Paella served near the beach in Barcelona is equivalent to one of the best culinary experiences ever, haha. We then wandered the streets for a bit and explored Barcelona at night. We all called it a night so that we could wake for our flight in the morning.
Alex and I woke and got the Metro to the Airport. We arrived and grabbed our boarding passes and then found our flight to bring us to Lisbon, Portugal. The flight only took about and hour and fifteen minutes. We arrived and grabbed a bus to take us into the center of the city. We only got to wander for a few hours before having to grab the bus to go to the stadium. We arrived at the stadium and saw some of the biggest crowds I have ever seen. The concert looked like it was going to be a full house and I was so so excited.
The Concert I am referring to is for a band called MUSE.
We grabbed our tickets and made our way into the stadium. It filled up very quickly and the concert was about to begin. The band came out with crowds cheering. I have never seen so many screaming Portuguese people in my life. As Val and I screamed along with the crowds, we experienced the most amazing concert of my life. I cannot say anything more influential then that. The concert was truly out-of-this-world. The concert ended around 11:30 unfortunately and we cleared out.
We found a bus to bring up to the airport and then continued to hang out in the airport for 6 hours until we could collect our boarding passes at 6 a.m.
We grabbed our boarding passes and made our way through security to the gate. We waited for a bit and then boarded the last flight we would ever take back to Prague. It was a sad occasion, but in the end, we were still going back to Prague.
I finally think most people from my trip are traveled-out. I have enjoyed my travels here and in the end, I am not traveling until 8 January. My final count with Prague as home-base includes...
1. Stockholm, Sweden
2. Milan, Italy
3. Venice, Italy
4. Budapest, Hungary
5. Krakow, Poland
6. Istanbul, Turkey
7. Vienna, Austria
8. Barcelona, Spain
9. Lisbon, Portugal
and I cannot believe you all have been reading the posts related to all these cities, haha. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. As much as this is not the end of my blog posts by any means, it is the end of my weekend adventures away from Prague.
Until next time...
Sunday, November 22, 2009
I Wien to Vienna
It was the start of a new day on Friday, 20 November. My roommates and I woke to shower and get ready before filing onto the bus with the rest of the AIFS crew. We all, half-awake, stumbled onto the bus and fell asleep for a bit. By about 2 in the afternoon, we made it to Vienna, Austria for the start of our adventure.
We were dropped off near the center of the city and led to our hotels. We all got situated and met downstairs to be led to the city center and dropped off for the rest of the afternoon and night. We wandered around and by the time we made it to the city center, the group and I realized the organizers just dropped us in the most expensive shopping district in the city. We all looked at each other, then around us at Tiffany, Cartier and Prada, and realized we could not only not afford anything in the general vicinity, but that it was very cruel for them to drop us off hear, haha. We wandered around a bit, grabbed some food and then ended up in the Christmas Markets for a while before going to sleep for the night.
We woke the next morning and grabbed breakfast at the hotel before being led out on our tour by the tour guide.
Side Note: In Vienna, you must be a registered tour guide in order to give tours legally in the city. You can get in much trouble if leading a tour and your are not a registered tour guide.
Anyways, we were led out and saw a lot of the famous buildings. We saw Parliament, downtown, the Christmas markets, the Church where the Vienna Boys Choir sings. We had much fun and enjoyed the tour. We then had a 2 hour break before our next tour began and some of us decided to go to the Natural History Museum. The Museum was huge and a lot of fun. At 2, we met up and took another tour. After the tour, were set free and a few of us decided to go back to the hotel for a bit and rest before setting into the night.
We took an hour or so break and then went out to dinner at a restaurant called Centimeter. We got some traditional Austrian Schnitzel and a beer.
Andy, Jill and I then wandered into the Christmas markets to do some shopping. We ate some more and enjoyed the festivities. Andy and Jill bought a few things and then we headed back to the hotel for the night.
Today (Sunday) we all ate breakfast and then set out of the bus to Maria Theresa's palace, Schobrunn Palace. We got to see one of the most beautiful palaces ever. I loved it there so much. There were more Christmas markets there that we enjoyed. We then explored the grounds and found the gardens and then hiked to the top of the hill overlooking the palace where Maria Theresa's Triumphal Arch was built. everything on the property was so cool.
We then got back in the bus and headed back to Prague. Vienna was awesome.
Until next time...
We were dropped off near the center of the city and led to our hotels. We all got situated and met downstairs to be led to the city center and dropped off for the rest of the afternoon and night. We wandered around and by the time we made it to the city center, the group and I realized the organizers just dropped us in the most expensive shopping district in the city. We all looked at each other, then around us at Tiffany, Cartier and Prada, and realized we could not only not afford anything in the general vicinity, but that it was very cruel for them to drop us off hear, haha. We wandered around a bit, grabbed some food and then ended up in the Christmas Markets for a while before going to sleep for the night.
We woke the next morning and grabbed breakfast at the hotel before being led out on our tour by the tour guide.
Side Note: In Vienna, you must be a registered tour guide in order to give tours legally in the city. You can get in much trouble if leading a tour and your are not a registered tour guide.
Anyways, we were led out and saw a lot of the famous buildings. We saw Parliament, downtown, the Christmas markets, the Church where the Vienna Boys Choir sings. We had much fun and enjoyed the tour. We then had a 2 hour break before our next tour began and some of us decided to go to the Natural History Museum. The Museum was huge and a lot of fun. At 2, we met up and took another tour. After the tour, were set free and a few of us decided to go back to the hotel for a bit and rest before setting into the night.
We took an hour or so break and then went out to dinner at a restaurant called Centimeter. We got some traditional Austrian Schnitzel and a beer.
Andy, Jill and I then wandered into the Christmas markets to do some shopping. We ate some more and enjoyed the festivities. Andy and Jill bought a few things and then we headed back to the hotel for the night.
Today (Sunday) we all ate breakfast and then set out of the bus to Maria Theresa's palace, Schobrunn Palace. We got to see one of the most beautiful palaces ever. I loved it there so much. There were more Christmas markets there that we enjoyed. We then explored the grounds and found the gardens and then hiked to the top of the hill overlooking the palace where Maria Theresa's Triumphal Arch was built. everything on the property was so cool.
We then got back in the bus and headed back to Prague. Vienna was awesome.
Until next time...
Monday, November 16, 2009
Turkey, Turkey, Turkey...............yum
It was Friday morning, 13 November, and I woke to my alarm around 8:15. I rolled out of bed and tripped over my backpack lying on the ground. I stood up, cursed a bit, and then prayed to god that this was not how the entire weekend would be. I got into the shower and proceeded to dress and pack my backpack. I tried to pack a bit light for this trap because I was told that I would be bringing a lot of stuff back. I then met up with Alex and Val in the lobby of the dorm and we grabbed the bus to the airport.
We got to the airport and did the whole airport thing (checked in, went through security, found our gate) and then hung around for a bit. Val then walked over to Alex and me and said, "I just mentally woke up and realized that we are going to Istanbul for a couple days and you know what, I am so excited"
I laughed and then realized how ridiculous I had been for not going through the realization myself.
This past weekend I grabbed my flight with my two friends and made our way to Istanbul, Turkey. We arrived at the airport in Istanbul and found the tram system and proceeded to our hostel. We got lost when we got off the tram and could not find the hostel. A very nice young Turkish man came up to us and called the phone number for our hostel and the hostel owner came and found us and brought us to the hostel. After seeing where the hostel was and seeing that it was unmarked in every way, we wondered how anyone in the world could find the damn hostel, haha.
We made it in to the hostel, proceeded to give Val's boyfriend, who was flying in from London to stay in Istanbul with us for the weekend, directions to get to the hostel. We then all settled in and walked across one of the major bridges in the city where we found a place to eat some dinner. The restaurant was awesome. We then walked through the city a bit at night, exploring and taking some awesome night pictures and then called it an early night so that we could wake the next morning early.
We woke the next morning and immediately made our way up to the Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia).
Side Note: The Ayasofya was originally built as a Christian Church and then seized by the Muslims and turned into a Mosque.
We walked in and saw.....................well..........................ABSOLUTE AMAZEMENT. I cannot even describe in words the beauty that I saw inside the building. It was a mix of Christian and Muslim symbolism with the years not tended stone all around. The building was breathlessly beautiful in every way. We wandered around the first floor and then made our way up the the gallery. I think I took pictures for 4 different couples who wanted a shot in the mosque. It was awesome.
We then made our way across the street to the Blue Mosque. The Blue Mosque was absolutely gorgeous in every way imaginable (on the outside). We originally arrived to the mosque right before prayer was about to begin so we did not get to go inside at that point. We then went off and found something to eat and then came back about 45 minutes later. We removed our shoes and walked inside the building. The building was......lets just say I could have spend an entire day just inside that mosque. We wandered around for a bit and then left to wander around the city a bit more.
We then followed all the signed and made our way to the one and only Grand Bazaar and oh boy was it Grand. We found so many different places we wanted to shop and plenty of places we could spend a lot of money. We did some shopping and made our way through the endless halls, finding new things to see around every corner. We did some more shopping and haggling and ended up spending lots of money, ahah. I will not be back for a while, so I figured I could spend a little bit of money. We finally made it out after about 3.5 hours of shopping and then wandered back to the hostel to rest for about an hour.
We then headed back out to the National Museum Theatre where we had purchased tickets to see and hour long show of Traditional Turkish Folk Dancing. The performance was amazing. I could have sat and watched the performance all night. We had a lot of fun.
We then went out to a restaurant and enjoyed some tea and then proceeded to another restaurant where we ate a few kebabs. We then headed back for the night
The next morning, I woke at about 5:45 to the first prayer.
Side Note: In the religion of Islam, followers of the religion pray at 5 distinct times during the day which is usually led by the Imam (usually the leader of the mosque). The prayer is sung through a P.A. system that runs throughout the entire city (in majority Islam communities) so that all the followers may hear.
So the first prayer was sung over the P.A. system at than time and it woke me up. If there is a new way to wake for the day, that was definitely it.....and I loved it. It was such an awesome way to wake for the day.
Woke and gathered to head out for a short morning of exploration of the city. We made our way up to the Valens Aqueduct near the top of a rather large hill in the city. Unfortunately we could not climb on the aqueduct, but it was still cool to see and take pictures of.
We then headed back to the hostel and said good-bye to Val's boyfriend because his flight left before ours.
We then received a phone call about an hour later saying he had been sent to the wrong airport. We looked at the map and saw that there were two airports in Istanbul (whoops). We then got on the tram and made our way to the airport. We made it through security to get into the airport and found out that Perry (Val's boyfriend) was to fly out of the airport on the Asian side of Istanbul, not the European side (the airport we flew into). Long and short, Perry missed his flight. He found a flight that was to leave for London tomorrow morning and bought the ticket and was going to wait in the airport for the night. We made it into the terminal and grabbed out flight back to Prague.
Istanbul is my first favorite city after Prague. It is such a cool city and suggest that anyone who feels like flying half way around the world to visit. You will not be disappointed.
Until next time....
We got to the airport and did the whole airport thing (checked in, went through security, found our gate) and then hung around for a bit. Val then walked over to Alex and me and said, "I just mentally woke up and realized that we are going to Istanbul for a couple days and you know what, I am so excited"
I laughed and then realized how ridiculous I had been for not going through the realization myself.
This past weekend I grabbed my flight with my two friends and made our way to Istanbul, Turkey. We arrived at the airport in Istanbul and found the tram system and proceeded to our hostel. We got lost when we got off the tram and could not find the hostel. A very nice young Turkish man came up to us and called the phone number for our hostel and the hostel owner came and found us and brought us to the hostel. After seeing where the hostel was and seeing that it was unmarked in every way, we wondered how anyone in the world could find the damn hostel, haha.
We made it in to the hostel, proceeded to give Val's boyfriend, who was flying in from London to stay in Istanbul with us for the weekend, directions to get to the hostel. We then all settled in and walked across one of the major bridges in the city where we found a place to eat some dinner. The restaurant was awesome. We then walked through the city a bit at night, exploring and taking some awesome night pictures and then called it an early night so that we could wake the next morning early.
We woke the next morning and immediately made our way up to the Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia).
Side Note: The Ayasofya was originally built as a Christian Church and then seized by the Muslims and turned into a Mosque.
We walked in and saw.....................well..........................ABSOLUTE AMAZEMENT. I cannot even describe in words the beauty that I saw inside the building. It was a mix of Christian and Muslim symbolism with the years not tended stone all around. The building was breathlessly beautiful in every way. We wandered around the first floor and then made our way up the the gallery. I think I took pictures for 4 different couples who wanted a shot in the mosque. It was awesome.
We then made our way across the street to the Blue Mosque. The Blue Mosque was absolutely gorgeous in every way imaginable (on the outside). We originally arrived to the mosque right before prayer was about to begin so we did not get to go inside at that point. We then went off and found something to eat and then came back about 45 minutes later. We removed our shoes and walked inside the building. The building was......lets just say I could have spend an entire day just inside that mosque. We wandered around for a bit and then left to wander around the city a bit more.
We then followed all the signed and made our way to the one and only Grand Bazaar and oh boy was it Grand. We found so many different places we wanted to shop and plenty of places we could spend a lot of money. We did some shopping and made our way through the endless halls, finding new things to see around every corner. We did some more shopping and haggling and ended up spending lots of money, ahah. I will not be back for a while, so I figured I could spend a little bit of money. We finally made it out after about 3.5 hours of shopping and then wandered back to the hostel to rest for about an hour.
We then headed back out to the National Museum Theatre where we had purchased tickets to see and hour long show of Traditional Turkish Folk Dancing. The performance was amazing. I could have sat and watched the performance all night. We had a lot of fun.
We then went out to a restaurant and enjoyed some tea and then proceeded to another restaurant where we ate a few kebabs. We then headed back for the night
The next morning, I woke at about 5:45 to the first prayer.
Side Note: In the religion of Islam, followers of the religion pray at 5 distinct times during the day which is usually led by the Imam (usually the leader of the mosque). The prayer is sung through a P.A. system that runs throughout the entire city (in majority Islam communities) so that all the followers may hear.
So the first prayer was sung over the P.A. system at than time and it woke me up. If there is a new way to wake for the day, that was definitely it.....and I loved it. It was such an awesome way to wake for the day.
Woke and gathered to head out for a short morning of exploration of the city. We made our way up to the Valens Aqueduct near the top of a rather large hill in the city. Unfortunately we could not climb on the aqueduct, but it was still cool to see and take pictures of.
We then headed back to the hostel and said good-bye to Val's boyfriend because his flight left before ours.
We then received a phone call about an hour later saying he had been sent to the wrong airport. We looked at the map and saw that there were two airports in Istanbul (whoops). We then got on the tram and made our way to the airport. We made it through security to get into the airport and found out that Perry (Val's boyfriend) was to fly out of the airport on the Asian side of Istanbul, not the European side (the airport we flew into). Long and short, Perry missed his flight. He found a flight that was to leave for London tomorrow morning and bought the ticket and was going to wait in the airport for the night. We made it into the terminal and grabbed out flight back to Prague.
Istanbul is my first favorite city after Prague. It is such a cool city and suggest that anyone who feels like flying half way around the world to visit. You will not be disappointed.
Until next time....
Monday, November 9, 2009
1 City, 2 Bus Rides, 54 Broken Hearts
I am going to start this post and just let everyone know that part of this post is not going to be the most cheery writing ever composed, but that is the way this trip was.
The group from AIFS and I woke Friday morning nice and early to catch our bus at 8 a.m. We all gathered in the lobby of the dorm and then walked up the street to the longest bus ride ever, haha. We spend some time on the road, stopping every few hours or so and then made it into Krakow, Poland around 4:30 in the afternoon. Of course, this was right in the middle of rush hour so our descent into the heart of Krakow took about an hour and a half instead of 10 minutes. We finally made it to the hotel around 6 and got to unpack before being led to Old Town where we would be let go for the night.
We walked around Old Town Square a bit and then all grabbed some money and dispersed to explore. We ended up finding a nice place to eat and then wandered again through Old Town. We found a bar, had a few drinks and then called it a night.
The next morning, we all woke to a nice guided tour of Krakow. Krakow is a beautiful city. It is full of student life and seems pretty young. The Polish Government has done an awesome job keeping up the city over the years. It did not seem run down in the least bit. We saw plenty of Catholic Churches and did a lot of shopping. I put down my camera for this trip because I knew I would not be taking many pictures. We were going in and out of so many places that cannot be photographed that it was not even worth lugging the camera around. I handed the 5D off to a trusted friend who shot it for the day.
We wandered around and then was led to the old Jewish quarter of town. It was very interesting to walk through that part of the city and see all the history.
We then went to the Castle in the city. It was big and awesome like all the castles in Europe, haha. We were then set free from our tour and we all split up and a few of us found some food and headed back to the hotel for a bit. No one wanted to go out for too long so that the bus ride would be more comfortable the next day. We enjoyed the easy night. I ate some ice cream, haha. We called it an early night and headed off to bed.
Waking up the next morning was an experience. We all woke and bombarded the front desk with our keys at the same time and left the hotel. The bus ride was lively and fun for the first hour, but then it hit us.
Our bus pulled into the parking lot of Auschwitz. We all got off and we walked into the facility. I do not quite know how to describe my emotions when I walked through the grounds, and when I do figure it out, I will let you know. To see a place that did do many things beyond mention does one thing, it drains you. I do not know what to say.
We then got on the bus and went 15 minutes down the street to Auschwitz II.
After these two visits, I had no desire to do anything but sit and think. I and the rest of the my 53 companions were all in the same thought for much of the bus ride.
We made it back to Prague around 7.
.......
The group from AIFS and I woke Friday morning nice and early to catch our bus at 8 a.m. We all gathered in the lobby of the dorm and then walked up the street to the longest bus ride ever, haha. We spend some time on the road, stopping every few hours or so and then made it into Krakow, Poland around 4:30 in the afternoon. Of course, this was right in the middle of rush hour so our descent into the heart of Krakow took about an hour and a half instead of 10 minutes. We finally made it to the hotel around 6 and got to unpack before being led to Old Town where we would be let go for the night.
We walked around Old Town Square a bit and then all grabbed some money and dispersed to explore. We ended up finding a nice place to eat and then wandered again through Old Town. We found a bar, had a few drinks and then called it a night.
The next morning, we all woke to a nice guided tour of Krakow. Krakow is a beautiful city. It is full of student life and seems pretty young. The Polish Government has done an awesome job keeping up the city over the years. It did not seem run down in the least bit. We saw plenty of Catholic Churches and did a lot of shopping. I put down my camera for this trip because I knew I would not be taking many pictures. We were going in and out of so many places that cannot be photographed that it was not even worth lugging the camera around. I handed the 5D off to a trusted friend who shot it for the day.
We wandered around and then was led to the old Jewish quarter of town. It was very interesting to walk through that part of the city and see all the history.
We then went to the Castle in the city. It was big and awesome like all the castles in Europe, haha. We were then set free from our tour and we all split up and a few of us found some food and headed back to the hotel for a bit. No one wanted to go out for too long so that the bus ride would be more comfortable the next day. We enjoyed the easy night. I ate some ice cream, haha. We called it an early night and headed off to bed.
Waking up the next morning was an experience. We all woke and bombarded the front desk with our keys at the same time and left the hotel. The bus ride was lively and fun for the first hour, but then it hit us.
Our bus pulled into the parking lot of Auschwitz. We all got off and we walked into the facility. I do not quite know how to describe my emotions when I walked through the grounds, and when I do figure it out, I will let you know. To see a place that did do many things beyond mention does one thing, it drains you. I do not know what to say.
We then got on the bus and went 15 minutes down the street to Auschwitz II.
After these two visits, I had no desire to do anything but sit and think. I and the rest of the my 53 companions were all in the same thought for much of the bus ride.
We made it back to Prague around 7.
.......
Monday, November 2, 2009
Halloween Weekend, It Wasn't Too Scary
Well, the best way to start this post would be to wish everyone a belated Happy Halloween.
This past week was not very interesting. I went to class and enjoyed the company of Praha. Most important parts of this week have to be when professors mentioned the up and coming midterms that I will be taking this week and next. I also sat down for a while and tried to figure out a few things that needed attention for next semester back at St. Anselm. It is so very hard to believe that I only have about 6 weeks left in this beautiful city. I have decided that if I could move anything and everything that is a part of my life (people, concrete items, etc.) over to Praha, I would live here for the rest of my life. The truth of the matter is that I miss all of you and, being how moving all of you over here is not an option, I am definitely coming back to the United States (at some point). I can't even think about leaving this city right now, it is too sad to even imagine.
This past weekend was interesting and fun. Friday was a lazy day and we all just kind of hung around. I went out to do a few errands and walk around the city. Friday night we went to a restaurant/pub where they served a bunch of micro-brew beers. We sat and enjoyed beers like Coffee Beer, Banana Beer, etc. A bunch of us shared a few flights and then we called it an early night.
Saturday (Halloween) was a very interesting day. I woke and exercised a bit and then at about 3 in the afternoon the festivities started. My friend Andy and I met up with Jill and Alex and we hung out for a bit. After a couples hours, I was granted to the honor or tattooing everyone with a Sharpie marker if they wants a tattoo. In my opinion, the angel wings and the anchor came out the best, but I'm just saying. We hung around a bit before heading out to a club.
Side Note: Halloween is not a big event over here. The United States has definitely done its part to completely blow the holiday out of proportion.
We found a fun place to enjoy Halloween and then called it a night.
A few friends and I were in total need of something fastfood-like and American to eat the next morning, so we headed out to McDonalds.
Side Note: The three big fast food chains here in Praha are Subway, McDonalds and KFC. I have not eaten at Subway of KFC while here and yesterday was the first day I ate at McDonalds, haha.
It took us 30 minutes to travel across the city by metro to go to McDonalds. We got there, ate, and left for our 30 minute ride back.
I then talked to Jonathan for a while on Instant Messenger and he and I finalized our plans for when he comes to visit and then when I go back to Kenya to stay with him. That is going to be a fun trip. The day ended with some homework.
Now it is Monday, and I totally have a case of the Mondays.
Until next time...
This past week was not very interesting. I went to class and enjoyed the company of Praha. Most important parts of this week have to be when professors mentioned the up and coming midterms that I will be taking this week and next. I also sat down for a while and tried to figure out a few things that needed attention for next semester back at St. Anselm. It is so very hard to believe that I only have about 6 weeks left in this beautiful city. I have decided that if I could move anything and everything that is a part of my life (people, concrete items, etc.) over to Praha, I would live here for the rest of my life. The truth of the matter is that I miss all of you and, being how moving all of you over here is not an option, I am definitely coming back to the United States (at some point). I can't even think about leaving this city right now, it is too sad to even imagine.
This past weekend was interesting and fun. Friday was a lazy day and we all just kind of hung around. I went out to do a few errands and walk around the city. Friday night we went to a restaurant/pub where they served a bunch of micro-brew beers. We sat and enjoyed beers like Coffee Beer, Banana Beer, etc. A bunch of us shared a few flights and then we called it an early night.
Saturday (Halloween) was a very interesting day. I woke and exercised a bit and then at about 3 in the afternoon the festivities started. My friend Andy and I met up with Jill and Alex and we hung out for a bit. After a couples hours, I was granted to the honor or tattooing everyone with a Sharpie marker if they wants a tattoo. In my opinion, the angel wings and the anchor came out the best, but I'm just saying. We hung around a bit before heading out to a club.
Side Note: Halloween is not a big event over here. The United States has definitely done its part to completely blow the holiday out of proportion.
We found a fun place to enjoy Halloween and then called it a night.
A few friends and I were in total need of something fastfood-like and American to eat the next morning, so we headed out to McDonalds.
Side Note: The three big fast food chains here in Praha are Subway, McDonalds and KFC. I have not eaten at Subway of KFC while here and yesterday was the first day I ate at McDonalds, haha.
It took us 30 minutes to travel across the city by metro to go to McDonalds. We got there, ate, and left for our 30 minute ride back.
I then talked to Jonathan for a while on Instant Messenger and he and I finalized our plans for when he comes to visit and then when I go back to Kenya to stay with him. That is going to be a fun trip. The day ended with some homework.
Now it is Monday, and I totally have a case of the Mondays.
Until next time...
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
A Weekend Off
I want to apologize for not posting a blog on Sunday or Monday. To be honest, I did not think to write one because I did do much this week, ha. I actually had my first peaceful week in Prague without any traveling. It only took my 2 months to have a peaceful week and weekend, but so goes my life.
So this past week was as basic a week as I could have had in Prague. I went to my first and only course on Monday morning (Czech language), and had the rest of the day to myself. I believe, if I remember correctly, that was the day I posted a Blog about Budapest.
Tuesday came and I enjoyed my day off from classes. I got a lot of school work done and looked into the ever ongoing search for summer internships. Unfortunately, there are some things that followed me here from the states that have to be dealt with, haha. I hung around with some friends, went for a run, and went for a walk through the city to take some pictures for my photography class. All in all a very peaceful day.
Wednesday morning came and I slept in a bit. I went out to exercise.
Side Note: Running in the city gives you so much more stamina and perseverance. The presence of the city makes you feel like...well....like running is actually enjoyable.
I then went to my Financial Crisis Class in the afternoon for 3 hours. The class I can honestly say is less that thrilling, but the subject matter seems to be getting more and more enjoyable. The Economics Professor love talking about the EU (European Union), so any time the subject comes up, the conversation tends to last quite a long time.
The came Thursday. Thursday is the long day of the week. I wake to go to the other half of my Czech Language class for the week. I get out around 10:30, head back to the dorm and go for another run. I then go to my photography class for about 3 hours. The class is always fun and I always enjoy learning new things about photography. After that class, I then have a 15 minute break before returning into the same classroom and same seat within the classroom to sit again for 3 hours through my Recent Economic Development class (aka Communism in Eastern Europe, the ones who got it write, the ones who did it wrong). The class is very interesting and the professor is a lot of fun to talk with. The class ends around 8:15 and I head back to the dorm to relax for the night.
This past Friday was a new experience for me. I did not have to wake up at some ungodly morning hour to grab a bus or plane to a new land. I was actually able to sleep in and do nothing all day. I woke late, and a few friends and I went shopping to grab supplies for Taco night. I do miss one this in the United States quite a lot, and that is Tacos. Amazing, I know. We prepared dinner and then hung out for the night. It was definitely a lazy Friday.
Saturday I woke to a gloomy day outside. The weather was warm, but all in all, not very exciting. I went out for a walk in the city and tried taking some photos. The weather was not liking that idea though. That night, a few friends and I went out to a restaurant/brewery called Uflecku. The Brewery is known for making an infamous black beer. It is a beer that has not be pasteurized and therefore has a very black essence about it. We ate and drank and I officially found my new favorite beer, haha.
All in all, I had a very good weekend in Prague.
until next time...
So this past week was as basic a week as I could have had in Prague. I went to my first and only course on Monday morning (Czech language), and had the rest of the day to myself. I believe, if I remember correctly, that was the day I posted a Blog about Budapest.
Tuesday came and I enjoyed my day off from classes. I got a lot of school work done and looked into the ever ongoing search for summer internships. Unfortunately, there are some things that followed me here from the states that have to be dealt with, haha. I hung around with some friends, went for a run, and went for a walk through the city to take some pictures for my photography class. All in all a very peaceful day.
Wednesday morning came and I slept in a bit. I went out to exercise.
Side Note: Running in the city gives you so much more stamina and perseverance. The presence of the city makes you feel like...well....like running is actually enjoyable.
I then went to my Financial Crisis Class in the afternoon for 3 hours. The class I can honestly say is less that thrilling, but the subject matter seems to be getting more and more enjoyable. The Economics Professor love talking about the EU (European Union), so any time the subject comes up, the conversation tends to last quite a long time.
The came Thursday. Thursday is the long day of the week. I wake to go to the other half of my Czech Language class for the week. I get out around 10:30, head back to the dorm and go for another run. I then go to my photography class for about 3 hours. The class is always fun and I always enjoy learning new things about photography. After that class, I then have a 15 minute break before returning into the same classroom and same seat within the classroom to sit again for 3 hours through my Recent Economic Development class (aka Communism in Eastern Europe, the ones who got it write, the ones who did it wrong). The class is very interesting and the professor is a lot of fun to talk with. The class ends around 8:15 and I head back to the dorm to relax for the night.
This past Friday was a new experience for me. I did not have to wake up at some ungodly morning hour to grab a bus or plane to a new land. I was actually able to sleep in and do nothing all day. I woke late, and a few friends and I went shopping to grab supplies for Taco night. I do miss one this in the United States quite a lot, and that is Tacos. Amazing, I know. We prepared dinner and then hung out for the night. It was definitely a lazy Friday.
Saturday I woke to a gloomy day outside. The weather was warm, but all in all, not very exciting. I went out for a walk in the city and tried taking some photos. The weather was not liking that idea though. That night, a few friends and I went out to a restaurant/brewery called Uflecku. The Brewery is known for making an infamous black beer. It is a beer that has not be pasteurized and therefore has a very black essence about it. We ate and drank and I officially found my new favorite beer, haha.
All in all, I had a very good weekend in Prague.
until next time...
Monday, October 19, 2009
Once Upon a Time, There Was a Bath in Budapest
It was the morning of October 16, 2009 and the morning light had barely come over the the distinguished horizon. Our hero, laying in bed, is hit by the rush of the early morning sun. He stretches and..............blah blah blah, if I were to write the entire post like this , I am pretty sure I would be shunned to Hades by the great poets of past.
Anyways, moving on to reality. I woke on this past Friday morning around 4:30 so that I could exercise a bit before leaving to grab the bus around 5:30. I went and met my travel buddy Amanda in the lobby and then headed out. She and I made it our way to the bus station via metro. We got to the station, figured out how things work and then grabbed our bus to the wonderful city of Budapest, Hungary. We then sat on the bus for about 7 hours. Sitting for that long without any breaks and pit stops really does a number on your rump. Lets just say my backside was very happy to stand after that ride.
We grabbed some subway passes to aid our process of getting lost in the city and then got on the next train. We figured out the situation pretty quick and found our hostel with little confusion actually. We met up with everyone in the group when we checked in and then a few of us went out to a massive market place building to grab some lunch. There was so much food and trinkets everywhere is was a little unbearable. We ate and then headed back to meet up with everyone so that we could go explore the city. We wandered along the river for a while, seeing all the famous buildings we had originally gone to the city to see............on the other side of the river..............whoops.
We did make it to Buda Castle at the end of our journey before heading back. The castle was so amazing to stand in the presence of. The stairs to climb up to the castle were so amazing. White as could be, the castle stood before me, awesome. We then made it over to the walls surrounding the castle and I spent a good amount of time adjusting camera setting to grab the most perfect picture of the Budapest skyline in the evening. We then made our way back to the hostel to get into our bathing suits.
We made it back, changed, and headed out for the night to one of Budapest's greatest attraction, the hot baths. We made it to the baths, paid our cover charge and headed in to put our affects in lockers. After everything was put away, we made our way out into the baths. After a few cycles of warm, hot, freezing pools (in that order), my body began to feel like jello and I didn't think my muscles could be more relaxed......I was wrong. I stepped into the sauna and repeated the cycle again with the new layer. I think my body was in pure bliss at that point, haha. We spent a few hours there and then made it back to the hostel for the night.
The next day was very interesting. We planned to get up early so that we could go get tickets (that cannot be reserved by any means before the intended trip) to Parliament. We got there 15 minutes after the ticket window opened, and a guard told us we were too late. So we saw Parliament on the outside, haha, and then started to wander again. We ate some lunch, made it to and absolutely beautiful park (where we weren't allowed in a specific part because some kind of Chinese Diplomat was there) and then headed back to the hostel to rest before going to the Labyrinth later. We took about 2.5 hours to relax and then headed out. We grabbed the subway for a few stops and then walked for a while before getting lost. We asked a few people and then finally found the place. The Labyrinth is a series of tunnels in a hillside that were naturally formed by water and then made into a bomb shelter during WWII. The best part about this place is that, after 6:00 p.m. they turn out the lights and the maze is completely dark. The only means of light are the 3 lanterns given to you at the entrance. We headed in, and then about a half hour in we were encountered by a shadow around the corner. We stepped back and............and................a deep dark voice from around the corner "We are closing now." We laughed at the man, freaked out of our minds and then made it to the exit (that we had found 10 minutes earlier by mistake).
We then walked back to the hostel to crash for the night. The next day, a few of the group needed to wake to get on the early bus back to Prague. They woke and left and then the rest of us slept for a bit, woke up, and headed out for a few hours before having to catch our bus. We wandered the city for the day, shopping and looking around. We then made it to an island in the middle of the Danube River, where we explored a beautiful park for 30 minutes. We then decided to head back to the hostel to collect our possession and then move on to the bus. We made it there, grabbed some food, and then grabbed our seats on the bus.
We sat on the bus again for 7 hours again, but with a couple of pit stops. We made it back to Praha around 11:30 p.m. We had to run through the metro stations to grab the metro before the trains shut down at midnight. We got around and finally made it back to the dorm around 12:15, which is why I did not write my blog last night, haha. Sorry I was a day late. It was fantastic trip and worth every HUF (Hungarian abbreviation for their currency). I got my best pictures of the semester so far there. Next adventure should be a lot of fun.
Until next time.......
Anyways, moving on to reality. I woke on this past Friday morning around 4:30 so that I could exercise a bit before leaving to grab the bus around 5:30. I went and met my travel buddy Amanda in the lobby and then headed out. She and I made it our way to the bus station via metro. We got to the station, figured out how things work and then grabbed our bus to the wonderful city of Budapest, Hungary. We then sat on the bus for about 7 hours. Sitting for that long without any breaks and pit stops really does a number on your rump. Lets just say my backside was very happy to stand after that ride.
We grabbed some subway passes to aid our process of getting lost in the city and then got on the next train. We figured out the situation pretty quick and found our hostel with little confusion actually. We met up with everyone in the group when we checked in and then a few of us went out to a massive market place building to grab some lunch. There was so much food and trinkets everywhere is was a little unbearable. We ate and then headed back to meet up with everyone so that we could go explore the city. We wandered along the river for a while, seeing all the famous buildings we had originally gone to the city to see............on the other side of the river..............whoops.
We did make it to Buda Castle at the end of our journey before heading back. The castle was so amazing to stand in the presence of. The stairs to climb up to the castle were so amazing. White as could be, the castle stood before me, awesome. We then made it over to the walls surrounding the castle and I spent a good amount of time adjusting camera setting to grab the most perfect picture of the Budapest skyline in the evening. We then made our way back to the hostel to get into our bathing suits.
We made it back, changed, and headed out for the night to one of Budapest's greatest attraction, the hot baths. We made it to the baths, paid our cover charge and headed in to put our affects in lockers. After everything was put away, we made our way out into the baths. After a few cycles of warm, hot, freezing pools (in that order), my body began to feel like jello and I didn't think my muscles could be more relaxed......I was wrong. I stepped into the sauna and repeated the cycle again with the new layer. I think my body was in pure bliss at that point, haha. We spent a few hours there and then made it back to the hostel for the night.
The next day was very interesting. We planned to get up early so that we could go get tickets (that cannot be reserved by any means before the intended trip) to Parliament. We got there 15 minutes after the ticket window opened, and a guard told us we were too late. So we saw Parliament on the outside, haha, and then started to wander again. We ate some lunch, made it to and absolutely beautiful park (where we weren't allowed in a specific part because some kind of Chinese Diplomat was there) and then headed back to the hostel to rest before going to the Labyrinth later. We took about 2.5 hours to relax and then headed out. We grabbed the subway for a few stops and then walked for a while before getting lost. We asked a few people and then finally found the place. The Labyrinth is a series of tunnels in a hillside that were naturally formed by water and then made into a bomb shelter during WWII. The best part about this place is that, after 6:00 p.m. they turn out the lights and the maze is completely dark. The only means of light are the 3 lanterns given to you at the entrance. We headed in, and then about a half hour in we were encountered by a shadow around the corner. We stepped back and............and................a deep dark voice from around the corner "We are closing now." We laughed at the man, freaked out of our minds and then made it to the exit (that we had found 10 minutes earlier by mistake).
We then walked back to the hostel to crash for the night. The next day, a few of the group needed to wake to get on the early bus back to Prague. They woke and left and then the rest of us slept for a bit, woke up, and headed out for a few hours before having to catch our bus. We wandered the city for the day, shopping and looking around. We then made it to an island in the middle of the Danube River, where we explored a beautiful park for 30 minutes. We then decided to head back to the hostel to collect our possession and then move on to the bus. We made it there, grabbed some food, and then grabbed our seats on the bus.
We sat on the bus again for 7 hours again, but with a couple of pit stops. We made it back to Praha around 11:30 p.m. We had to run through the metro stations to grab the metro before the trains shut down at midnight. We got around and finally made it back to the dorm around 12:15, which is why I did not write my blog last night, haha. Sorry I was a day late. It was fantastic trip and worth every HUF (Hungarian abbreviation for their currency). I got my best pictures of the semester so far there. Next adventure should be a lot of fun.
Until next time.......
Sunday, October 11, 2009
I went to Italy.......to get rained on
So I will start my adventure from the beginning....
I boarded the plane to fly to Milan, Italy for the weekend at Prague International. This week I traveled alone and met up with my friends in Milan. I met up with three friends in Milan, Jordan, Kari, and Val. Since they do not have class on Thursday (unfortunately I do) they flew to Italy a day early and enjoyed an extra day there. We took off the tarmac and made it to the city within an hour and twenty minutes. I followed the instructions my friend had given me to the T and found my way onto buses, the subway, etc. etc. As I was making my way through the city, I noticed that Milan was not as Romanesque as I thought it would be. All the buildings seemed new (at least new within the past 200 years). The city just was not what I was expecting (not a bad not expecting, just a little different). I finally made it to the hostel and my friends and I got talking about the plans for Friday and Saturday. We decided on a walk around Milan for the day and then the next day (Saturday) to grab the earliest train out to Venice and spend the day there.
We packed up and headed out into the city for the day. We basically wandered the entire day and ended up in some pretty cool places. The main shopping center of the city seems to be fairly old (within the past 500 years) and houses some beautiful store and architecture. We then walked outside of the center and saw the Duomo, which was beautiful and great to take pictures of. We then ended up wandering through a park, and then wandered around the park, and then up the park, and down the park, and in the park, under the park....it was a big freaking park. My legs have not been sore from walking at all since coming to Europe, they hurt after that walk, haha.
We made our way back to the hostel, hung for a bit, and then went out with one of Jordan's friends who is studying in Milan. We wandered around for a bit and found a nice little cafe, where we at and shared a bottle of wine. It was a nice relaxing night in Milan, much fun.
We woke the next morning bright and early to make our way to the Central Station to grab our train to Venice. We enjoyed our solitude for the 2.5 hours we were on the train. We made it to the train station in Venice and...........well............lets just say you walk out of the Train station and see the most picturesque canal in the world. I knew at that moment that this trip was worth the time, money, and everything in between. We wandered through the city, over this bridge and that bridge. The canals were beautiful, and by the end of the day, I had taken enough pictures of them to satisfy my lifetime. We walked for a bit, finding all the signs that said S. Marco --> hoping they would actually lead us to St. Marks, haha. Then all hell broke loose. The rain started coming down like mad. I got completely and utterly drenched. Jordan and I found a street vendor, bought some umbrellas, and we all went and found a nice place to dry off. We realized the rain was not going to stop any time soon, so we decided that moving on and enjoying the city as much as we could was the objective (as long as we had our umbrellas, we were fine). We finally found our way to St. Marks where I stood in utter amazement at the giant in from of me. I was so beside myself at the size of the church and could not believe how many people were still out in the rain. Unfortunately, for the hour or so it rained, my camera was in my bag for protection, so I did not get pictures.
We then moved on wandering through the rain exploring the city until we found a nice little cafe to sit and enjoy some coffee while the rain came down. Plus, in Italy, there is that wonderful time in the afternoon when all motion stops, everyone takes a break and the country is silent. We enjoyed our coffee and then finally, the rain stopped. I took out my camera at that point and started taking pictures like crazy. We made it to the edge of the city, where the sea hit the city, and the sun came out. It was a bloody miracle, haha. We walked and enjoyed ourselves so much. I took so many pictures at that point my finger hurt. We left plenty of time to make it back to the train station because A. We didn't have a map and B. it takes a while to walk 3.5 miles through crowded, narrow, winding city streets. Kari and I did a good job remember how to make it 9/10 of the way back, but for that last little bit we forgot and ended up asking for directions. We followed the same path back that we came, so all the things I did not get to take pictures of because of the rain, I shot. St. Marks is shot and ready to be digitized.
We made it back to the train with some minutes to spare. Val and I went off to get some Gilato and wandered a bit, then we all got on the train, ready for the ride home. We got back, found our beds, slept for a few hours and woke early to get to our bus back to the airport. We had a very successful trip. Milan was good, Venice was awesome, and Italy will always be Italy.
Until next time....
I boarded the plane to fly to Milan, Italy for the weekend at Prague International. This week I traveled alone and met up with my friends in Milan. I met up with three friends in Milan, Jordan, Kari, and Val. Since they do not have class on Thursday (unfortunately I do) they flew to Italy a day early and enjoyed an extra day there. We took off the tarmac and made it to the city within an hour and twenty minutes. I followed the instructions my friend had given me to the T and found my way onto buses, the subway, etc. etc. As I was making my way through the city, I noticed that Milan was not as Romanesque as I thought it would be. All the buildings seemed new (at least new within the past 200 years). The city just was not what I was expecting (not a bad not expecting, just a little different). I finally made it to the hostel and my friends and I got talking about the plans for Friday and Saturday. We decided on a walk around Milan for the day and then the next day (Saturday) to grab the earliest train out to Venice and spend the day there.
We packed up and headed out into the city for the day. We basically wandered the entire day and ended up in some pretty cool places. The main shopping center of the city seems to be fairly old (within the past 500 years) and houses some beautiful store and architecture. We then walked outside of the center and saw the Duomo, which was beautiful and great to take pictures of. We then ended up wandering through a park, and then wandered around the park, and then up the park, and down the park, and in the park, under the park....it was a big freaking park. My legs have not been sore from walking at all since coming to Europe, they hurt after that walk, haha.
We made our way back to the hostel, hung for a bit, and then went out with one of Jordan's friends who is studying in Milan. We wandered around for a bit and found a nice little cafe, where we at and shared a bottle of wine. It was a nice relaxing night in Milan, much fun.
We woke the next morning bright and early to make our way to the Central Station to grab our train to Venice. We enjoyed our solitude for the 2.5 hours we were on the train. We made it to the train station in Venice and...........well............lets just say you walk out of the Train station and see the most picturesque canal in the world. I knew at that moment that this trip was worth the time, money, and everything in between. We wandered through the city, over this bridge and that bridge. The canals were beautiful, and by the end of the day, I had taken enough pictures of them to satisfy my lifetime. We walked for a bit, finding all the signs that said S. Marco --> hoping they would actually lead us to St. Marks, haha. Then all hell broke loose. The rain started coming down like mad. I got completely and utterly drenched. Jordan and I found a street vendor, bought some umbrellas, and we all went and found a nice place to dry off. We realized the rain was not going to stop any time soon, so we decided that moving on and enjoying the city as much as we could was the objective (as long as we had our umbrellas, we were fine). We finally found our way to St. Marks where I stood in utter amazement at the giant in from of me. I was so beside myself at the size of the church and could not believe how many people were still out in the rain. Unfortunately, for the hour or so it rained, my camera was in my bag for protection, so I did not get pictures.
We then moved on wandering through the rain exploring the city until we found a nice little cafe to sit and enjoy some coffee while the rain came down. Plus, in Italy, there is that wonderful time in the afternoon when all motion stops, everyone takes a break and the country is silent. We enjoyed our coffee and then finally, the rain stopped. I took out my camera at that point and started taking pictures like crazy. We made it to the edge of the city, where the sea hit the city, and the sun came out. It was a bloody miracle, haha. We walked and enjoyed ourselves so much. I took so many pictures at that point my finger hurt. We left plenty of time to make it back to the train station because A. We didn't have a map and B. it takes a while to walk 3.5 miles through crowded, narrow, winding city streets. Kari and I did a good job remember how to make it 9/10 of the way back, but for that last little bit we forgot and ended up asking for directions. We followed the same path back that we came, so all the things I did not get to take pictures of because of the rain, I shot. St. Marks is shot and ready to be digitized.
We made it back to the train with some minutes to spare. Val and I went off to get some Gilato and wandered a bit, then we all got on the train, ready for the ride home. We got back, found our beds, slept for a few hours and woke early to get to our bus back to the airport. We had a very successful trip. Milan was good, Venice was awesome, and Italy will always be Italy.
Until next time....
Sunday, October 4, 2009
So I Went to Sweden and Didn't Get Meatballs
So I went to Stockholm, Sweden on Friday.
On Friday morning, a groups of us from the dorm (Sam, Amanda, Annie, Kari, Jordan, Matt, and I) woke to bustling around our rooms trying to pack out bags to go to Stockholm. We completed the task and checked that part of the trip off our list. We all met in the lobby of the dorm and made our way to the bus that would bring us right to the Airport from outside our dorm (a little to convenient). After about 20 minutes, we made it to the airport, wandered around to try and figure out the layout, so that in the future, with the many other flights we take, we won't be running around with our heads cut off trying to figure it out. We made it through security and into the terminal where we sat for a while waiting for our flight to get a gate. I read and wrote for a bit while everyone else hung around. Our gate was assigned and we made our way to the plane to board.
Now lets backup a few hours to me waking up and packing my bag and such again. I woke up like it was another day, went to see my friends, got on public transportation, did the routine. It was not until I sat on the plane and waited to take off that Annie reminded us of the realization, "we are going to Stockholm, Sweden for the weekend and then coming back to Prague to study and live." Then the light bulb finally clicked in my thick head and I realized I AM GOING TO STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN FOR THE WEEKEND AND THEN COMING BACK TO PRAGUE TO STUDY AND LIVE!!!
Now that we have that sorted out, I sat on the plane was so so very excited to get to Stockholm. We took off and landed about an hour and a half later. We got off the plane and discovered that yes, Sweden is definitely north of the Czech Republic, and then proceeded to put our jackets and sweatshirts on to protect us from the cold. We took a bus to the city center and began our journey.
We walked around the center of the city for a while before making into the subway where we bought our train passes and proceeded to our hostel. We made it to the hostel and then decided to go wondering around that part of the city for a while. Sweden is a very modern city, but has some of the cutest little shops ever. We looked in every window imaginable on our mile walk and then made our way back to the train stop and went to the city center again. It was about 6 in the evening at this point and the Sun was going down. We wandered along the river and saw some of the most beautiful buildings. We stopped a few times and I sat along the edge of the river, thinking and trying to take in this beautiful city. We then called it a night and headed back to the hostel.
The next day, we woke early to try and get in as much as we could. We found a map of the city and a map with all the museums' locations and headed out. At this point, I was handed the map to navigate the group around the city (uh oh, do they know who they handed the map to, maybe I should tell them I thought the world was a cube for the longest time, and then maybe will take the maps away from me) I accepted the task and actually got the group around the city well. We wandered along the river and across a few bridges to a few islands, taking pictures as we went.
Random Thought: So Stockholm is not only built along rivers, but is also built right next to the Baltic Sea. These people are serious about their water. Alright, back to my rant.
The buildings there are just beautiful, as well as all the sailboats, my goodness were there a lot of sailboats. We made it to the Aquarium and to the Nobel Museum where we saw a lot of interesting exhibits.
I think the most amazing part of being there had to be just walking around, details of Autumn in every direction, taking pictures of all the wonder.
Random Thought #2: The people in Sweden are gorgeous. The men, the women, and everyone in between. And based on what I heard, a humongous portion of the population speaks English. And we are back to the rant.
We finally ate some lunch and headed back to the hostel for a bit to rest up. We then went out to a small pub where we were told we could get some traditional Swedish food. We ate to our stomachs' content ( a little too much I think), and then wandered for a bit to see if we could work off the pounds upon pounds we just added to our body mass. We called it an early night so that we could get some sleep before waking up at 4 a.m. to get out the door to catch our bus to the airport. Did I mention that the airport is an hour and a half outside the city limits (kind of a pain to get back and forth to). We made it through the normal airport stuff and then sat and waited. We finally made it onto the plane and made it back to Prague.
Then the realization hit again. I say "made it back to Prague" so effortlessly, and then discover yet again, that I am in Prague. Prague is my home base for the next few months and I will love every time I get off the plane from a long weekend in a new place and walk in this beautiful city, my home.
Until next time...
On Friday morning, a groups of us from the dorm (Sam, Amanda, Annie, Kari, Jordan, Matt, and I) woke to bustling around our rooms trying to pack out bags to go to Stockholm. We completed the task and checked that part of the trip off our list. We all met in the lobby of the dorm and made our way to the bus that would bring us right to the Airport from outside our dorm (a little to convenient). After about 20 minutes, we made it to the airport, wandered around to try and figure out the layout, so that in the future, with the many other flights we take, we won't be running around with our heads cut off trying to figure it out. We made it through security and into the terminal where we sat for a while waiting for our flight to get a gate. I read and wrote for a bit while everyone else hung around. Our gate was assigned and we made our way to the plane to board.
Now lets backup a few hours to me waking up and packing my bag and such again. I woke up like it was another day, went to see my friends, got on public transportation, did the routine. It was not until I sat on the plane and waited to take off that Annie reminded us of the realization, "we are going to Stockholm, Sweden for the weekend and then coming back to Prague to study and live." Then the light bulb finally clicked in my thick head and I realized I AM GOING TO STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN FOR THE WEEKEND AND THEN COMING BACK TO PRAGUE TO STUDY AND LIVE!!!
Now that we have that sorted out, I sat on the plane was so so very excited to get to Stockholm. We took off and landed about an hour and a half later. We got off the plane and discovered that yes, Sweden is definitely north of the Czech Republic, and then proceeded to put our jackets and sweatshirts on to protect us from the cold. We took a bus to the city center and began our journey.
We walked around the center of the city for a while before making into the subway where we bought our train passes and proceeded to our hostel. We made it to the hostel and then decided to go wondering around that part of the city for a while. Sweden is a very modern city, but has some of the cutest little shops ever. We looked in every window imaginable on our mile walk and then made our way back to the train stop and went to the city center again. It was about 6 in the evening at this point and the Sun was going down. We wandered along the river and saw some of the most beautiful buildings. We stopped a few times and I sat along the edge of the river, thinking and trying to take in this beautiful city. We then called it a night and headed back to the hostel.
The next day, we woke early to try and get in as much as we could. We found a map of the city and a map with all the museums' locations and headed out. At this point, I was handed the map to navigate the group around the city (uh oh, do they know who they handed the map to, maybe I should tell them I thought the world was a cube for the longest time, and then maybe will take the maps away from me) I accepted the task and actually got the group around the city well. We wandered along the river and across a few bridges to a few islands, taking pictures as we went.
Random Thought: So Stockholm is not only built along rivers, but is also built right next to the Baltic Sea. These people are serious about their water. Alright, back to my rant.
The buildings there are just beautiful, as well as all the sailboats, my goodness were there a lot of sailboats. We made it to the Aquarium and to the Nobel Museum where we saw a lot of interesting exhibits.
I think the most amazing part of being there had to be just walking around, details of Autumn in every direction, taking pictures of all the wonder.
Random Thought #2: The people in Sweden are gorgeous. The men, the women, and everyone in between. And based on what I heard, a humongous portion of the population speaks English. And we are back to the rant.
We finally ate some lunch and headed back to the hostel for a bit to rest up. We then went out to a small pub where we were told we could get some traditional Swedish food. We ate to our stomachs' content ( a little too much I think), and then wandered for a bit to see if we could work off the pounds upon pounds we just added to our body mass. We called it an early night so that we could get some sleep before waking up at 4 a.m. to get out the door to catch our bus to the airport. Did I mention that the airport is an hour and a half outside the city limits (kind of a pain to get back and forth to). We made it through the normal airport stuff and then sat and waited. We finally made it onto the plane and made it back to Prague.
Then the realization hit again. I say "made it back to Prague" so effortlessly, and then discover yet again, that I am in Prague. Prague is my home base for the next few months and I will love every time I get off the plane from a long weekend in a new place and walk in this beautiful city, my home.
Until next time...
Monday, September 28, 2009
The End of Intensive Czech and Mass with the Pope
Before I rant for the next few paragraphs or so, I would just like to apologize for not updating the blog as often as I thought I was going to originally. For the sake of not boring all of you with short paragraphs every other day, I wait until the beginning of the week/end of the week to type out all that has happened. So, now you know how I work and hopefully you will not have to waste the effort of checking my blog every day and just looking on Sunday/Monday for a new post. There will be weeks when I update more than once though, just not very often. Moreover, lets move onto what happened this past week.
This past week was very interesting, exciting, and enjoyable (all adjectives that I will be using quite often while here). This past week was the second and last week of the mandatory Intensive Czech Course taken by all the students in the ECES program. The course was long (4 hours 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for 2 weeks) and a bit aggravating to say the least. I chose to take Latin for 8 years of my life; a non-spoken (for the most part) Romantic Language that evolved over the years to become elegant and easily understandable in it's formation. My life revolved around translation and not speaking the language in anyway. I then come to Praha for a semester, where the Language is not Romantic and is, of course, spoken. I do not think I could have chosen a more backwards language 8 years ago to prepare me for this trip, whoops. The language has some different letter pronunciation and a lot of vocabulary that needed to be learned, but the class was not too terribly bad in the end. The professor was extremely nice and in the end I came out with a B+ for the class; not bad for a Romantic :-p
Friday came quickly (unfortunately) and started with learning some drinking songs with the professor and then going to the pub at 10:30 in the morning with him to get a pivo (beer) with the the rest of the class to celebrate the completion of the class.
After class on Friday, I strolled through the city with a few people and saw some new sights and then finally found one of the English Bookstores. The store is called Big Ben and has quite a lot of books despite its size. I ended up picking up the new Dan Brown book, The Lost Symbol and have been reading it in my spare time. I am about half way through and love it. I highly recommend it to anyone who would like a new novel to start. We then went out to a pub that night before calling it a day.
Saturday was truly and adventure. My friends Jordan and Amanda, and I chose to go to the small town of Cesky Krumlov. The best way to access the town is by bus and train. So starts the adventure. We took the Metro to the main train terminal and got up to the hostess where we bought our round trip tickets to Cesky Krumlov. We left her presence and wandered out into the terminal where we finally examined out ticket. The ticket had no information on it what so ever. We did not know where to go, when to go, or how to get around. We wandered around the terminal for 15 minutes trying to figure it out before we found a grumpy security guard and asked him the meaning of our confusion. He told us that you buy a ticket and then just chose which train you want to ride on; there are no ticket specifics, you just buy and go where ever you want. We then found our train and sat for about 3 hours with the cutest little old czech woman before hitting another train station. We then had to get off at that train station so that we could transfer to the one train line that runs into this picturesque town near Austria. We saw that the transfer train was not leaving for about an hour and a half, so we wandered and explored the town we got off in, grabbed some lunch, and found the square. We then made it back to the train, where we met the same little old lady we had sat with going to this train station. Like on the previous train, we did our best to communicate with the woman. After about 50 minutes or so, we finally made it to Cesky Krumlov.
The town of Cesky Krumlov is the epitome of the perfect small European town up in the hills. There were streets no bigger than an over-sized ally way with shops on both sides. We wandered through the streets and made it to the square where there was a small festival. The booths smelled of food goodness and the young children were putting on a musical display. After some spelunking in town, we wandered into the castle where we just kept hiking up and up and up until we finally made it to the top. I like to rationalize our hike and the higher spots of the hill as the different levels as heaven. We would make it to different plateaus the higher we went up, and each plateau was more beautiful than the last. When we made it to the top, well, nirvana is the only word that comes to mind. The last level was the most beautiful garden I have ever seen. It looked like a garden taken directly out of a 17th century French Chateau. It even overlooked the entire town, a little cliche in my opinion, I mean, how many castles are there in Europe that have to overlook the entirety of a town :-p
After a little more meandering, We got back on the train and headed back to Prague. The trip was long, but worth every waking moment.
Sunday was a little bit more relaxing, with a lot less train. We woke very late to recover from our journey and a bunch of us took a walk through Prague and ended up on the river. We decided to take a couple of rowboats out and enjoy the sun. The boats were very enjoyable, but were short lived unfortunately. We wandered for a little longer after giving up the boats and then head back to the dorm before going out food shopping. Sunday night was the night that I did the only American thing I can remember since coming to Europe. We all missed Football a little bit, so we found a pub that would put on American Football games is the TVs were reserved. So we went out, had a couple beers and watched the Patriots before calling it a night.
Today was, well, a very spiritual day. Today was St. Wenceslas Day in the Czech Republic (the equivalent to their Independence Day) and Pope Benedict XVI has been in town for the weekend. The pope conducted mass the next town over from Praha, so Sam, Amanda, and I went out to this town and got to experience mass conducted by the Pope. The best way to describe this mass would have to be......Giant Papal Concert 2009. The mass was conducted in a field where, in front was a massive stage (makeshift altar) and designated sections for people to stand and watch the mass. There were thousands upon thousands of people there and was definitely an awesome experience. I am so happy I got to listen to Pope Benedict conduct mass in Latin. Spoken Latin is always awesome to listen to. Side note....The Popemobile is awesome and drove but 10 feet away from me (Pope not included in purchase of said vehicle). We then made our way through the crowd at the end of mass and made our way back to the dorm. The rest of the day was quite relaxing and enjoyable and has led me to right now. I am going to watch a movie in a little and enjoy the first day of classes tomorrow (of which I have none).
I apologize for the length of the post, there was a lot to mention and I hope you all enjoy reading it. Until next time....
This past week was very interesting, exciting, and enjoyable (all adjectives that I will be using quite often while here). This past week was the second and last week of the mandatory Intensive Czech Course taken by all the students in the ECES program. The course was long (4 hours 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for 2 weeks) and a bit aggravating to say the least. I chose to take Latin for 8 years of my life; a non-spoken (for the most part) Romantic Language that evolved over the years to become elegant and easily understandable in it's formation. My life revolved around translation and not speaking the language in anyway. I then come to Praha for a semester, where the Language is not Romantic and is, of course, spoken. I do not think I could have chosen a more backwards language 8 years ago to prepare me for this trip, whoops. The language has some different letter pronunciation and a lot of vocabulary that needed to be learned, but the class was not too terribly bad in the end. The professor was extremely nice and in the end I came out with a B+ for the class; not bad for a Romantic :-p
Friday came quickly (unfortunately) and started with learning some drinking songs with the professor and then going to the pub at 10:30 in the morning with him to get a pivo (beer) with the the rest of the class to celebrate the completion of the class.
After class on Friday, I strolled through the city with a few people and saw some new sights and then finally found one of the English Bookstores. The store is called Big Ben and has quite a lot of books despite its size. I ended up picking up the new Dan Brown book, The Lost Symbol and have been reading it in my spare time. I am about half way through and love it. I highly recommend it to anyone who would like a new novel to start. We then went out to a pub that night before calling it a day.
Saturday was truly and adventure. My friends Jordan and Amanda, and I chose to go to the small town of Cesky Krumlov. The best way to access the town is by bus and train. So starts the adventure. We took the Metro to the main train terminal and got up to the hostess where we bought our round trip tickets to Cesky Krumlov. We left her presence and wandered out into the terminal where we finally examined out ticket. The ticket had no information on it what so ever. We did not know where to go, when to go, or how to get around. We wandered around the terminal for 15 minutes trying to figure it out before we found a grumpy security guard and asked him the meaning of our confusion. He told us that you buy a ticket and then just chose which train you want to ride on; there are no ticket specifics, you just buy and go where ever you want. We then found our train and sat for about 3 hours with the cutest little old czech woman before hitting another train station. We then had to get off at that train station so that we could transfer to the one train line that runs into this picturesque town near Austria. We saw that the transfer train was not leaving for about an hour and a half, so we wandered and explored the town we got off in, grabbed some lunch, and found the square. We then made it back to the train, where we met the same little old lady we had sat with going to this train station. Like on the previous train, we did our best to communicate with the woman. After about 50 minutes or so, we finally made it to Cesky Krumlov.
The town of Cesky Krumlov is the epitome of the perfect small European town up in the hills. There were streets no bigger than an over-sized ally way with shops on both sides. We wandered through the streets and made it to the square where there was a small festival. The booths smelled of food goodness and the young children were putting on a musical display. After some spelunking in town, we wandered into the castle where we just kept hiking up and up and up until we finally made it to the top. I like to rationalize our hike and the higher spots of the hill as the different levels as heaven. We would make it to different plateaus the higher we went up, and each plateau was more beautiful than the last. When we made it to the top, well, nirvana is the only word that comes to mind. The last level was the most beautiful garden I have ever seen. It looked like a garden taken directly out of a 17th century French Chateau. It even overlooked the entire town, a little cliche in my opinion, I mean, how many castles are there in Europe that have to overlook the entirety of a town :-p
After a little more meandering, We got back on the train and headed back to Prague. The trip was long, but worth every waking moment.
Sunday was a little bit more relaxing, with a lot less train. We woke very late to recover from our journey and a bunch of us took a walk through Prague and ended up on the river. We decided to take a couple of rowboats out and enjoy the sun. The boats were very enjoyable, but were short lived unfortunately. We wandered for a little longer after giving up the boats and then head back to the dorm before going out food shopping. Sunday night was the night that I did the only American thing I can remember since coming to Europe. We all missed Football a little bit, so we found a pub that would put on American Football games is the TVs were reserved. So we went out, had a couple beers and watched the Patriots before calling it a night.
Today was, well, a very spiritual day. Today was St. Wenceslas Day in the Czech Republic (the equivalent to their Independence Day) and Pope Benedict XVI has been in town for the weekend. The pope conducted mass the next town over from Praha, so Sam, Amanda, and I went out to this town and got to experience mass conducted by the Pope. The best way to describe this mass would have to be......Giant Papal Concert 2009. The mass was conducted in a field where, in front was a massive stage (makeshift altar) and designated sections for people to stand and watch the mass. There were thousands upon thousands of people there and was definitely an awesome experience. I am so happy I got to listen to Pope Benedict conduct mass in Latin. Spoken Latin is always awesome to listen to. Side note....The Popemobile is awesome and drove but 10 feet away from me (Pope not included in purchase of said vehicle). We then made our way through the crowd at the end of mass and made our way back to the dorm. The rest of the day was quite relaxing and enjoyable and has led me to right now. I am going to watch a movie in a little and enjoy the first day of classes tomorrow (of which I have none).
I apologize for the length of the post, there was a lot to mention and I hope you all enjoy reading it. Until next time....
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Intensive Czech, what a class
Dobry Den Everyone! or Good Day Everyone.
This week started the the introduction of the required Intensive Czech Class into my life. Intensive Czech is definitely intensive and definitely not the easiest language in the world to learn. It has not been too much of a struggle though. After 8 years of Latin, it has been easy to pick up on the structure of Czech, but pronunciation is another universe in itself. Of course I am going from a Language that is not like any other language in the word (English) and a romance language that is not spoken anymore (Latin) to a spoken Slavic language that can drive anyone crazy. The class is fun though. My professor is a really nice guy and is the one who wrote the book we are using. I have one more week of Intensive Czech and then semester classes finally begin. I cannot wait for the semester to officially begin.
This week I went to a few spectacular places throughout the city. Tuesday night some of the group and I went to see the opera Figaro. The opera house was absolutely gorgeous. I took my seat and took 15 minutes just to analyze the magnificent building I have entered. It also took me a while to realize that the building I was sitting in is probably older than the United States.
On Thursday night some of the group and I went to the Czech Philharmonic Concert at the Concert Hall. The orchestra was performing both Beethoven and Dvorak. I cannot even describe the subtle bliss that is live Romantic music hitting my ears. The performance was tear worthy and by the end of the night, my hands hurt from clapping so much at the end of the concert. If there is but a piece of heaven on earth, it is the sound of a live Oboe player soloing over the soft accompaniment of the strings in the back round. I am so happy I got to experience the Czech Philharmonic.
Yesterday I went to the Zoo. The Prague Zoo is enormous. My group and I walked around for about 4 hours and only saw about half of the property. The animals they had there were excellent (even the little children running around screaming). We also went across the street from the Zoo into a large garden with two large Villas on either side. I took a lot of pictures there because it was so very picturesque.
Last night I went to a wine Festival a few stops down on the Metro. I went with two friends, Val and Amanda. Over here they sell a product called young wine in the fall right after they have picked the grapes. Young wine is exactly what it sounds like, it is wine that has just been pressed and does not have a large alcohol content yet, so it tastes like grape juice. We had a good time and then retired for the night.
I believe that is it for now, so until next time Dobrou Noc (Good night)
This week started the the introduction of the required Intensive Czech Class into my life. Intensive Czech is definitely intensive and definitely not the easiest language in the world to learn. It has not been too much of a struggle though. After 8 years of Latin, it has been easy to pick up on the structure of Czech, but pronunciation is another universe in itself. Of course I am going from a Language that is not like any other language in the word (English) and a romance language that is not spoken anymore (Latin) to a spoken Slavic language that can drive anyone crazy. The class is fun though. My professor is a really nice guy and is the one who wrote the book we are using. I have one more week of Intensive Czech and then semester classes finally begin. I cannot wait for the semester to officially begin.
This week I went to a few spectacular places throughout the city. Tuesday night some of the group and I went to see the opera Figaro. The opera house was absolutely gorgeous. I took my seat and took 15 minutes just to analyze the magnificent building I have entered. It also took me a while to realize that the building I was sitting in is probably older than the United States.
On Thursday night some of the group and I went to the Czech Philharmonic Concert at the Concert Hall. The orchestra was performing both Beethoven and Dvorak. I cannot even describe the subtle bliss that is live Romantic music hitting my ears. The performance was tear worthy and by the end of the night, my hands hurt from clapping so much at the end of the concert. If there is but a piece of heaven on earth, it is the sound of a live Oboe player soloing over the soft accompaniment of the strings in the back round. I am so happy I got to experience the Czech Philharmonic.
Yesterday I went to the Zoo. The Prague Zoo is enormous. My group and I walked around for about 4 hours and only saw about half of the property. The animals they had there were excellent (even the little children running around screaming). We also went across the street from the Zoo into a large garden with two large Villas on either side. I took a lot of pictures there because it was so very picturesque.
Last night I went to a wine Festival a few stops down on the Metro. I went with two friends, Val and Amanda. Over here they sell a product called young wine in the fall right after they have picked the grapes. Young wine is exactly what it sounds like, it is wine that has just been pressed and does not have a large alcohol content yet, so it tastes like grape juice. We had a good time and then retired for the night.
I believe that is it for now, so until next time Dobrou Noc (Good night)
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Brno, Moravia, Czech Republic
Greetings from a nice long weekend past in the Moravian district, Czech Republic.
On Friday, September 11, my group and I left Prague for a nice long weekend in Moravia. Moravia is the second of the two unofficial, yet official territories in the Czech Republic. Moravia is also know as the Czech Republic's wine district.
We left Friday morning and headed off to Brno, the city we would be staying in Moravia. We stopped once for lunch, and a second time to look at a very old, very beautiful cloister in the town of Tisnov. This cloister is very famous for the entrance way to the church known as the Porta Coeli (Gate to Heaven). We stayed for about an hour and then headed on our way to Brno. We arrived in Brno, unpacked and then went to a wine cellar for dinner known as the Templar Order Restaurant. This has been a wine cellar in existence for centuries and has since been turned into a beautiful restaurant. Dinner was excellent and the wine was wonderful.
Saturday began with a tour of Brno and some exploration of the local churches and some experimentation with what is referred to as young wine. Young wine is a a wine that has not aged for a very long time at all and tastes very much like grape juice. I had a cup while watching the festivities. The festivities consisted of people dressing up and singing their praise for the new wine (wine production, and the celebration of young wine is very important in Moravia). We there visited the Gregor Mendel Museum which was quite awesome and then moved on the the Basilica of Assumption of Virgin Mary, one of Brno's oldest and most beautiful churches. I have become very fond of all the churches over here and love taking pictures of all the ones I can visit. The last place we visited on Saturday was the Austerlitz Battlefield. Austerlitz is a battlefield outside of Brno where Napoleon defeated the Russian and Austrian armies in 1805. There was a massive memorial in place on location and was magnificent to look at.
Sunday consisted of a lot of sitting on the bus to get to a few specific places in Moravia. We packed up in the hotel and got on the bus to visit our first place of the day, Adamov. Adamov is a small town known for St. Barbara Church, where a very large, very intricate wood altarpiece is found. The piece was massive and full of detail. We then headed to the Moravian Karst Caves where we took a walking tour and a boat tour of the caverns. The caverns were very cold with limited area to move, but they were definitely worth seeing. Before heading back to Prague we stopped at the most beautiful church I have seen outside of St. Peter's Basilica. The church is in the small town of Krtiny and is truly the focal point within the whole town. The church was decorated top to bottom with paintings, statues, woodwork, stone work. Every art form was used to enhance the beauty of the church. I could only feel warmth when walking through the church looking all around me.
Tomorrow my Intensive Czech Class begins, so my school work will finally begin.
Until next time....
On Friday, September 11, my group and I left Prague for a nice long weekend in Moravia. Moravia is the second of the two unofficial, yet official territories in the Czech Republic. Moravia is also know as the Czech Republic's wine district.
We left Friday morning and headed off to Brno, the city we would be staying in Moravia. We stopped once for lunch, and a second time to look at a very old, very beautiful cloister in the town of Tisnov. This cloister is very famous for the entrance way to the church known as the Porta Coeli (Gate to Heaven). We stayed for about an hour and then headed on our way to Brno. We arrived in Brno, unpacked and then went to a wine cellar for dinner known as the Templar Order Restaurant. This has been a wine cellar in existence for centuries and has since been turned into a beautiful restaurant. Dinner was excellent and the wine was wonderful.
Saturday began with a tour of Brno and some exploration of the local churches and some experimentation with what is referred to as young wine. Young wine is a a wine that has not aged for a very long time at all and tastes very much like grape juice. I had a cup while watching the festivities. The festivities consisted of people dressing up and singing their praise for the new wine (wine production, and the celebration of young wine is very important in Moravia). We there visited the Gregor Mendel Museum which was quite awesome and then moved on the the Basilica of Assumption of Virgin Mary, one of Brno's oldest and most beautiful churches. I have become very fond of all the churches over here and love taking pictures of all the ones I can visit. The last place we visited on Saturday was the Austerlitz Battlefield. Austerlitz is a battlefield outside of Brno where Napoleon defeated the Russian and Austrian armies in 1805. There was a massive memorial in place on location and was magnificent to look at.
Sunday consisted of a lot of sitting on the bus to get to a few specific places in Moravia. We packed up in the hotel and got on the bus to visit our first place of the day, Adamov. Adamov is a small town known for St. Barbara Church, where a very large, very intricate wood altarpiece is found. The piece was massive and full of detail. We then headed to the Moravian Karst Caves where we took a walking tour and a boat tour of the caverns. The caverns were very cold with limited area to move, but they were definitely worth seeing. Before heading back to Prague we stopped at the most beautiful church I have seen outside of St. Peter's Basilica. The church is in the small town of Krtiny and is truly the focal point within the whole town. The church was decorated top to bottom with paintings, statues, woodwork, stone work. Every art form was used to enhance the beauty of the church. I could only feel warmth when walking through the church looking all around me.
Tomorrow my Intensive Czech Class begins, so my school work will finally begin.
Until next time....
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
ECES Orientation Trips
Greetings everyone from Prague. Here in Prague we still have yet to do anything related to classes at Charles University. The past two days students from my program (AIFS) and students from another program through Charles University gathered to go on orientation trips to different parts of the Czech Republic. (ECES is the student exchange portion of Charles University Staff).
Yesterday (Tuesday) I and other members of the group chose to go to Terezin, Czech Republic. Terezin was first made famous with the large fort built in the town in the 1790s. Over the years it then became a prison and then in World War II the fort was taken over by the Nazis and used as a concentration camp for many Jewish people. We were taken to the fort at first and was given a history based mostly around the WWII portion of the fort's history. The fort is very large and had much to be said about it. We then moved on to the town in which the Jewish prisoners were held before being sent to other concentration camps. We walked past many historical places in town and saw many historical artifacts in a museum. After the museum visit we moved on to lunch and collapsed after a very long day. It was a very insightful day, most definitely one I will remember for a very long time.
Today (Wednesday) I and others chose to go to the town of Telc. The town is about 2 hours outside of Prague and is the most picturesque town I think I have ever visited. We arrived and I wandered around town with my friend Amanda and took a lot of pictures. After 30 minutes of shooting, the group and I had a tour of the chateau in town. The chateau has been passed down from 4 main families and is now part of the UNESCO history sights. At the end of the tour, we had learned much about the history of the building, and also learned that living in a chateau would be freakin' amazing, haha. We then got some lunch and some ice cream and took a walk around the rest of the town. The town is so unbearably beautiful, there were pictures to be taken everywhere. We walked through a lovely park and then returned to the bus. Today was much less stressful the the day before. I enjoyed the town of Telc very much.
Tomorrow, everyone has the day off, so I think I am going to explore more parts of the city and take some pictures.
Til next time...
Yesterday (Tuesday) I and other members of the group chose to go to Terezin, Czech Republic. Terezin was first made famous with the large fort built in the town in the 1790s. Over the years it then became a prison and then in World War II the fort was taken over by the Nazis and used as a concentration camp for many Jewish people. We were taken to the fort at first and was given a history based mostly around the WWII portion of the fort's history. The fort is very large and had much to be said about it. We then moved on to the town in which the Jewish prisoners were held before being sent to other concentration camps. We walked past many historical places in town and saw many historical artifacts in a museum. After the museum visit we moved on to lunch and collapsed after a very long day. It was a very insightful day, most definitely one I will remember for a very long time.
Today (Wednesday) I and others chose to go to the town of Telc. The town is about 2 hours outside of Prague and is the most picturesque town I think I have ever visited. We arrived and I wandered around town with my friend Amanda and took a lot of pictures. After 30 minutes of shooting, the group and I had a tour of the chateau in town. The chateau has been passed down from 4 main families and is now part of the UNESCO history sights. At the end of the tour, we had learned much about the history of the building, and also learned that living in a chateau would be freakin' amazing, haha. We then got some lunch and some ice cream and took a walk around the rest of the town. The town is so unbearably beautiful, there were pictures to be taken everywhere. We walked through a lovely park and then returned to the bus. Today was much less stressful the the day before. I enjoyed the town of Telc very much.
Tomorrow, everyone has the day off, so I think I am going to explore more parts of the city and take some pictures.
Til next time...
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Early Days, Praha
On Saturday the 5th, my group from AIFS and I left the Hotel in Munich and loaded onto buses for the last leg of our journey. The bus ride from Munich to Prague is about 6 hours in all so many of the students could catch up on some long lost sleep. We stopped at the Pilsner Beer Factory for lunch when we crossed the border into the Czech Republic. It was a nice lunch, but I think everyone, including myself, was very anxious to make it to the dorm in Prague. We finally got to the dorm and dealt with all the administrative stuff before going to our rooms. I was so happy to unpack everything out of my suitcases. Living out of a suitcase is a somewhat miserable task, but now, all my stuff is finally unpacked.
Our first night in Prague, two of my new friends, Alex and Sam, and I decided to break off from the main group and wander around Prague. We took the Metro (subway) 4 stops away from our dorm and climbed the stairs out of the Metro station to the ground. I got to the the surface and looked up in a sea of wonder and excitment. We walked into the most beautiful square with the oldest buildings I think I have ever seen. THe lights from the night life mixed with the mystique of the old buildings add up to a thrilling environment. Alex, Sam and I found a pub to eat at and then emerged from it about 2 hours later when we decided to take the Metro to the Old City.
Getting off the train at the old city, we wandered around until we finally walked across Charles Bridge. My heart dropped immediately at the sights seen from that bridge. We looked up about halfway across the bridge to see Praha (Prague) Castle. I stood looking at the castle for about 10 minutes, completely beside myself from the beauty of this enormous structure in front of me.
We then of course got lost in Prague and needed to take a taxi to get back to the dorm.
Yesterday (Sunday) we woke and did a tour with the AIFS representatives and the ended up wandering around the city for a while finally making it to a supermarket so we could buy some supplies. Last night was relaxed and enjoyed a night without having anything planned.
Today will be somewhat similar to yesterday. So today will be a good day, haha
Pictures will be up soon, I just haven't had a chance because the internet connection here is not solid yet.
Our first night in Prague, two of my new friends, Alex and Sam, and I decided to break off from the main group and wander around Prague. We took the Metro (subway) 4 stops away from our dorm and climbed the stairs out of the Metro station to the ground. I got to the the surface and looked up in a sea of wonder and excitment. We walked into the most beautiful square with the oldest buildings I think I have ever seen. THe lights from the night life mixed with the mystique of the old buildings add up to a thrilling environment. Alex, Sam and I found a pub to eat at and then emerged from it about 2 hours later when we decided to take the Metro to the Old City.
Getting off the train at the old city, we wandered around until we finally walked across Charles Bridge. My heart dropped immediately at the sights seen from that bridge. We looked up about halfway across the bridge to see Praha (Prague) Castle. I stood looking at the castle for about 10 minutes, completely beside myself from the beauty of this enormous structure in front of me.
We then of course got lost in Prague and needed to take a taxi to get back to the dorm.
Yesterday (Sunday) we woke and did a tour with the AIFS representatives and the ended up wandering around the city for a while finally making it to a supermarket so we could buy some supplies. Last night was relaxed and enjoyed a night without having anything planned.
Today will be somewhat similar to yesterday. So today will be a good day, haha
Pictures will be up soon, I just haven't had a chance because the internet connection here is not solid yet.
Friday, September 4, 2009
London, take 2, Munich
Yesterday was our first full day in London. the day started with some breakfast and then everyone in my group proceeded to the tour buses where we would get on the bus and have a nice tour of London. The tour was awesome. We were given the chance to get off the bus at limited times to go and see many of the famous landmarks of London. I was able to see Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Big Ben, the Eye, St. Paul's Church, Millennium Bridge, etc. London is an awesome city, it just happens to be very expensive.
After the bus tour, the Driver dropped us all off and my group for the day and I wandered around and ended up having lunch at a pub and then making our way to St. Paul's. We arrived at St. Paul's and chose to climb all the way to the top of the tower. That was more than a hike and probably not the best of ideas. We then went to the National Gallery and looked at some of the most fantastic paintings in the U.K.'s collection. Once we figured out how to use the Tube (subway), getting around London was not very hard. We then went out to dinner at a Pub just up the street from our hotel and went to sleep early.
I woke at 4 a.m. so that we could leave the hotel at 5 a.m. to get to the airport. Our flight left London today at about 9:10 a.m. and we arrived in Munich, Germany at around noon. I have been hanging around the city for a while and decided to take a break and type this out before our night tour of the city.
Tomorrow we bus down to Prague where I can finally unpack my suitcase and settle in for a few months. I can't wait.
Until Next Time.....
After the bus tour, the Driver dropped us all off and my group for the day and I wandered around and ended up having lunch at a pub and then making our way to St. Paul's. We arrived at St. Paul's and chose to climb all the way to the top of the tower. That was more than a hike and probably not the best of ideas. We then went to the National Gallery and looked at some of the most fantastic paintings in the U.K.'s collection. Once we figured out how to use the Tube (subway), getting around London was not very hard. We then went out to dinner at a Pub just up the street from our hotel and went to sleep early.
I woke at 4 a.m. so that we could leave the hotel at 5 a.m. to get to the airport. Our flight left London today at about 9:10 a.m. and we arrived in Munich, Germany at around noon. I have been hanging around the city for a while and decided to take a break and type this out before our night tour of the city.
Tomorrow we bus down to Prague where I can finally unpack my suitcase and settle in for a few months. I can't wait.
Until Next Time.....
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Soooooooooo...London
I do not have much time, but I am going to take a few minutes and update my blog. I have made it safely to London, England on my flight from Boston. I will be here for a couple days as a stop-over before flying to Munich, Germany. It was a decent flight and all the people I have met in my group are awesome. I can't take up too much time, so I will stop writing and find somewhere tomorrow to sit and type for a while. for now I will say goodbye. I will update very soon.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Pre-departure Blog
Alright, so it is the night before I set out for Europe and what am I doing...watching Star Trek the Next Generation of course, haha.
The past few days have most definitely been interesting to say the least. Finishing up with my good-byes and my last minute preparations, I realize that I am truly down to my last hours here in States for the next 4 months. Although saying goodbye to everyone has been a bit difficult, I reassure myself with the reality that I will be home before I can blink an eye. It is very comforting that I have many ways to contact all the ones I love while I am somewhere in Europe doing God knows what.
I am all packed with all my necessities, luxuries, etc. When I first looked at my empty duffel bag, I thought to myself, "I can fit it all in there." My enthusiasm lasted for about 3 months and ended about 6 hours ago when I was having some trouble to trying to find the smallest spaces in the bag to fit the smallest, but most necessary of things. It all fit in the end though, kind of, haha.
While I double and triple check that I am ready to leave on my way, I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that I have not forgotten anything. There must be something I forgot, that is the way it always goes (knock on wood). I think I am ready though.
I fly out tomorrow night from Logan Airport at 9:30, so of course that means I have to be there at 6:30. I will be flying to London, England and staying there for a couple of days so that my group from AIFS can all be assembled. Then after spending a couple days in London, the group and I will move on to Munich, Germany for a day or so before busing down to Prague, Czech Republic where we will all settle in the dorms and get used to the city and Charles University.
Butterflies does not come close to describing my excitement. This is definitely an experience of a lifetime and I hope all those who chose to read this enjoy following along with this experience.
I am going to miss all of you here. Everyone at St. Anselm, have a wonderful semester and I will talk and see you all very soon :-)
I love you all and hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.
The past few days have most definitely been interesting to say the least. Finishing up with my good-byes and my last minute preparations, I realize that I am truly down to my last hours here in States for the next 4 months. Although saying goodbye to everyone has been a bit difficult, I reassure myself with the reality that I will be home before I can blink an eye. It is very comforting that I have many ways to contact all the ones I love while I am somewhere in Europe doing God knows what.
I am all packed with all my necessities, luxuries, etc. When I first looked at my empty duffel bag, I thought to myself, "I can fit it all in there." My enthusiasm lasted for about 3 months and ended about 6 hours ago when I was having some trouble to trying to find the smallest spaces in the bag to fit the smallest, but most necessary of things. It all fit in the end though, kind of, haha.
While I double and triple check that I am ready to leave on my way, I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that I have not forgotten anything. There must be something I forgot, that is the way it always goes (knock on wood). I think I am ready though.
I fly out tomorrow night from Logan Airport at 9:30, so of course that means I have to be there at 6:30. I will be flying to London, England and staying there for a couple of days so that my group from AIFS can all be assembled. Then after spending a couple days in London, the group and I will move on to Munich, Germany for a day or so before busing down to Prague, Czech Republic where we will all settle in the dorms and get used to the city and Charles University.
Butterflies does not come close to describing my excitement. This is definitely an experience of a lifetime and I hope all those who chose to read this enjoy following along with this experience.
I am going to miss all of you here. Everyone at St. Anselm, have a wonderful semester and I will talk and see you all very soon :-)
I love you all and hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Test Blog
Hello Everyone,
Hopefully the link in my email has worked for you and you are able to see this. If all goes to plan there will be new blogs to read at least a couple times a week while I am away and you all will be able to follow along if you choose. I will be leaving on September 1 for my semester abroad in Prague and will be back mid January. I hope everyone had an excellent summer and I hope you have an excellent Autumn.
Hopefully the link in my email has worked for you and you are able to see this. If all goes to plan there will be new blogs to read at least a couple times a week while I am away and you all will be able to follow along if you choose. I will be leaving on September 1 for my semester abroad in Prague and will be back mid January. I hope everyone had an excellent summer and I hope you have an excellent Autumn.
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