This blog is dedicated to sharing the adventures and experiences I have while living 6000 miles across the globe, in the Czech Republic.
Feel free to lurk or send me suggestions of sites to see and places to be while in Europe... Wish me luck, and 'Užívejte si!'
As previously stated, I got to see my mom for a second time while across the pond. However, not in Praha. Instead we had a girls weekend in Budapest. I took a long bus ride to get to Hungary (yes, I was hungry from all that travel. Can you believe it? Hungry in Hungary. Jokes, I know.) Anyways we went on a walking tour the next day to discover both the Pest side, where our hotel was located and the Buda side which has a large Castle overlooking the Danube. Fun fact: the church pictured below is not only decorated beautifully, but the vibrant tiles on top are actually designed to melt the snow off the roof and are made in Hungary.
We walked along the Széchenyi Chain Bridge (below, first picture is facing the Buda side, 2nd is facing Pest) and after our tour finished we marched across it once more, enjoying the nice weather as we walked to the Great Market Hall. I have to admit, that was a let down. We had some not-so-great food and didn't get our ya-ya’s out with the shopping, but it was still an experience. Just maybe not what we had expected.
After spending the day walking about we decided to relax for a hot second at the hotel and plan something for later that night. We wanted to go out and have a little fun. And by ‘fun’ I mean we found a pub crawl and decided it would be a bonding experience. It did, in fact, turn out to be a blast. Before hopping onto the pub crawl which toured the famous ruin bars of Budapest we grabbed a brat and beer from one of the stalls at a spring market and headed off to meet our guide. We hit a few cool places, one was an old dentist office and we danced the night away there. It was funny, the two of us out together like that. This just further proves my theory that A. my mom is way cooler than your mom because she made me stay the entire time and even beat me in beer pong (it was her ‘1st time’) and B. that she is and always be my homegirl / older (soon to be younger, right?) sister.
The next day we woke up and decided that the aftermath of the pub crawl was leaving us a bit worn which meant we needed to hit up the famous thermal baths. We chose Széchenyi on the Pest side which was North, so we headed off on the ancient metro with swimsuits in tow. The underground metro is so old that when it was constructed the cars were pulled by horses (ew, can you imagine the smell?) but don’t worry, they’ve since upgraded it to at least the 20th century. The baths were really cool. You could dip your feet into one and realize it was cold and hop into the next and it was burning hot. We hung out at the baths basically ALL DAY. We tried every bath, both inside and outside. We relaxed, people watched, took some fashion notes and critiques, I even tried to get some sun and ended up taking a cat nap on the concrete. We finished our experience off by having a quick bite to eat at the cafeteria. We then trekked back to the hotel, hung out and had dinner at an interesting little place near the ruin bars we had been at on Friday night. It was a good but very plain and basic meal and I think in total probably cost $8 for the two of us to eat, and that included a glass of wine for JP. After the morning we had, we decided it was best to go back to the hotel, hangout and snuggle in the massive duvet.
Oh and I made a monkey out of a towel to try and win some free nights at Marriott because I’m a poor college student. See the picture below. After many years of cruising, I have found that I too have what it takes to wrap towels into animals hahahah
I got to snuggle with my momma, enjoy breakfast and a few meals with her, stay in a hotel (it’s such a luxury to have towels and linens when compared to some of these hostels I manage to find..) and overall just have a great and relaxing girls weekend. Sunday morning after we enjoyed breakfast she even snuck me onto her river cruise boat. Of course I had a cocktail at 11am and enjoyed some free lunch and candy before I shipped off to the bus station and began yet another long bus ride-journey home to Praha.
But wait, there's more. The Thursday after Budapest I was off to another destination...Irelandia! Dublin, to be exact.
The first night there we went to the Temple Bar and ended up eating at The Old Storehouse (I HIGHLY recommend if you ever have the chance). I got a Guinness and bangers and mash and may or may not have fallen in love with both. Plus, LIVE music. It was a great first night/meal and may have spoiled the rest of the trip for me. Except, not really, because... Ireland!
Friday morning we woke up to board our bus at 6:50am to the beautiful Cliffs of Moher. We had a long day ahead of us. We wouldn’t return until 7:30 that night. But we made many stops along the way. First in the small fishing town of Kinvara, pictured below. We wound our way through the beautiful green countryside and visited a church (I can’t remember the name. Super lame, I know!) before visiting what our guide called the ‘mini cliffs’ and stopped in Doolin for lunch where I got seafood chowder. After our lunch stop we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher and boy were we lucky. Not only was the view breathtakingly beautiful but the weather could not have been better/more clear. In fact, all weekend it was sunny with no sign of clouds or rain.
On the way back they played Warhorse and we all realized how tiring the 12+ hour excursion had been as we started dozing off. After we arrived back in Dublin we took quick naps and decided it was time to go out and experience some of the nightlife. We went to a few pubs with music before calling it a night.
On Saturday we followed the itinerary and advice from my old cheer coach and wandered around Dame St and Trinity College and surrounding areas. We got lunch at KC Peaches, took some more naps (traveling is exhausting! What can I say?) and finally pulled it together to go on the Guinness Brewery tour. It reminded me a lot of the Bacardi Factory tour that I did in San Juan last year. It’s like Disneyland but instead of rides there’s beer. The whole place was awesome. They had a lot of interactive areas including my personal favorite, “Pour the Perfect Guinness” which we received diplomas for after completing the ‘course.’ Afterwards, we headed to see some live music at the pubs in Temple Bar and by the end of the night had toured most of the area, seen a few acts and even scored some free food from what we deemed “The Real Housewives of Dublin.”
All in all the two weekends were just perfect, especially following my extensive spring break plans. My only wish is to have more time in each place. Heck, I never want to leave! So until the next overdue post, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed my random tidbits!
Now, now Spring break... That was a once in a lifetime experience. And jam packed.
We had 12 days, two completely different countries and 4 cities in total, with 7 plane rides and a ferry as well as an 1.5 hour drive around Lac Leman.
We left Thursday, March 26th to head off to our first destination, Switzerland! If you read my first blog post I was determined to find some raves and festivals along the way and I managed to round up a group of friends who wanted in on the fun. We flew from Prague to Zurich before landing in Geneva, from there we drove at midnight in our little mini cooper “Tina” to Leysin, going around the edge of Lac Leman to get to the tiny little town situated in the Swiss Alps where the concert and skiing would take place. It was quite a bit of travelling but nothing we couldn’t handle. We made it, fit all four of us in a two person room and it all somehow seemed to work out perfectly. The first day we slept in a bit longer than we hoped, got up to the ski shop and started sorting out our equipment, passes and everything in between. It was great, some of us didn’t have ski clothes or goggles but we just went with it and braced the cold and sun and other elements. (By the end we all had great sunburns, my nose is still bright red and I was rocking a red unibrow.)The first day was warm and beautiful. It snowed the night before so the powder started getting a little slushy because we were on the mountain in the afternoon, not early as planned, but we enjoyed the day and had a lot of fun.
That night we went for dinner, after bringing pb&j’s and other snacks all the way from Prague-- because Switzerland is so expensive-- we decided it would be worthwhile to get some real food. Wrong. Spent 18 CHF on overcooked pasta with tomato sauce. Yes, overcooked plain pasta. But we headed over to the concert and enjoyed the chill vibe and good music! The crowd was unlike that at home, no one was fighting us to the front or pushing up and crowding around. It was a nice change. We were probably 10-15 feet from the DJ the entire night, so it was a great show. They had a lot of different artists spinning, we saw Kuage, Julio Bashmore, Clap! Clap! and Simbad before we dipped out, just a little bit early, in order to get on the mountain early the next day.
The second day we got up even later (oops!) but luckily just got right to the mountain and started our day off. It was spectacular. It was so warm I ended up skiing in my sports bra and had the best time, hitting both the top of the mountain and going down the front side. We found a few runs we really liked and kept doing variations of them. You can see me throwing my srat symbol below. The second day rocked and we realized just how awesome and amazing the experience was. Such a lucky life I am living here, I am blessed. Now I can successfully cross skiing in the Swiss Alps off my bucket list, but I vow I will be back with the fambam! Saturday night we saw Nikitch, Swindle (he was sick), Brandt Bauer Frick who KILLED it with a live D&B set, Lefto (also, really good and different from the rest, throwing in some jazz and hip hop) and lastly Fulgeance. The second night had even better music than the first and we stayed the entire night.
The next day we woke up and climbed the hill from our hotel to the gondola, but by the time we reached the top we realized that it was also raining up top like down below. The visibility was awful and we decided we would try a run anyways, even as everyone was hoping on the gondola to get down. We did three runs and by the time we had gotten back to the base of the mountain we were drenching wet and decided we had two good days, that it wasn’t worth it to spoil it and kill or injure ourselves before getting to our next spring break destinations. Sunday night, our last night, we planned to nap and sleep early, hit the concert and then leave immediately afterwards so the boys could make their 6am flight in Geneva. Of course, we thought this was a stellar plan and woke up, packed and headed to the concert only to find out that with the bad weather conditions they had the show early, while we were sleeping. Oh well.
The weekend was still amazing and fun even thought the last day didn’t go as planned. We saw and did everything we really wanted to and it was a great kick off to what was to follow next.
We managed to leave at 3am on Monday morning and got to the airport around 5am where my roommate, Kiersten, and I waited for our flight that didn’t leave for Athens until 11am. That was a long time in the airport, and we were tired and too uncomfortable to sleep. Our plane boarded and we headed from Geneva to Athens, Greece getting in at 3pm. With some ease we found the bus and made it into the city, walked about 10 minutes from Syntagma (Constitution) Square and made it to our hostel that had incredible views of the Acropolis.
Of course, first thing we did was go shopping. We were in a great part of town because it was where everything was happening and the area had lots of restaurants and stores. We went to the rooftop bar at our hostel for happy hour and they had buy one get one free on Alfa beer which was surprisingly good, and the windows gave off a spectacular 360 view of Athens. We could see the Acropolis lit up and just how vast the city is. Later, we headed out for dinner where we indulged in kebabs and cheese croquettes, grilled peppers and other Greek dishes. We fell in love with the food very quickly after the first night.
The next morning we had an early walking tour and that turned out to be one of the highlights of Athens. Our guide was English but he had been living on a few of the South Aegean islands as a guide and in the city for the past 19 years. He showed us around places we never would have known to check out. He explained a lot about the current state of Greece and also gave us tales of the Gods and Goddesses, how Athena won the city over Poseidon, and some history on the landmarks we passed. The tour ended up taking 4 hours (it was suppose to be 2.5) but he had so much information and great recommendations we enjoyed every second. He also gave us a great lists of foods to try and that was probably the best part. We saw some of the churches and mosques in the city, the first two being Saint Eleftherios and the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, before we passed by Hadrian’s Library/the Platia Agoras and up to the Hidden Village, which is just below the Acropolis. The panorama above is from this point. We could see across from us the highest point in Athens, which is called Lycabettus Mountain and is credited to Athena, who created it when she dropped a limestone mountain she was carrying when the box holding the Erichthonius was opened. She had intended to use it to make the Acropolis the highest point in the city.
We headed towards the Temple of Olympian Zeus (above), which only has 12 of its original 104 columns remaining, and passed the Arch of Hadrian along the way, which had been connected to a wall that separated the new and old city. The arch is inscribed on either side, one side naming Theseus and on the other Hadrian as the founders of Athens.
We walked through the National Gardens and the last stop was the Greek Parliament building. Out front we saw the very intense changing of the guards which happens every hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The soldiers are there to protect and guard the Monument of the Unknown Soldier and cannot move.
On Wednesday, we followed Trevor’s advice and went to the Acropolis museum the next day (free entry to students inside and at all the historical landmark sites, definitely a sweet perk!). The museum was amazing, it had areas that revealed the former city that was directly below our feet and a host of cool statues and items and techniques used ages ago. Literally, ages ago. I’m talking 500 BC. From pottery and artwork to building and architecture, there were even pieces relating to sports. Unfortunately though, we couldn't take any pictures inside. After we toured the museum we climbed up to the Theatre of Dionysus and passed the Odeon of Herodes Atticus before we reached the top of the Acropolis. Here we saw the massive Parthenon (above) up close as well as the Temple of Athena Nike. Trevor had explained the previous day that Nike means victory, and it is said that in Istanbul the swoosh symbol is engraved into the statue of the goddess Nike in Ephesus. After we saw the Acropolis we went over and took in the view at Areopagus Hill (pictured above, Lycabettus on my left and Acropolis to my right).
We continued to eat our way through Greece, my favorite dish on the trip was probably the grilled peppers stuffed with feta cheese, tzatziki and pita (OBSESSED is an understatement, I ate it at every single meal), stuffed vine leaves and the zucchini balls and tomato fritters we had. We also had some great meat dishes that I don’t know how to explain but were to die for and I wish I could just move to Greece for the food. It was amazing.
On Thursday we had another early flight, this time to the island of Mykonos, also known as the windy island. Below is a picture of the famous windmills at 8am, the day of our arrival. Day 7 and still going strong, well, after a nap of course!
We ended up renting quads to discover more of the island, it was very cold because it was so windy. We got quads, as advised by the hotel owner, because we would have toppled over riding little vespas since it was SO windy. Kiersten even wore her snow jacket from Switzerland. We went to all the beautiful beaches and returned back to Mykonos town where we got dinner.
On Friday, our last day in Mykonos we took a ferry to the island of Delos, the birthplace of Apollo and his twin Artemis. We saw the dried up, Sacred Lake and the nearby Lake House from 300 BC. We went in and saw the original statues that made up the Terrace of the Lions in the museum, and saw the replicas which stand in their original place on the island. The lions were dedicated to Apollo by the people of Naxos before 600 BC and there are thought to have been 9-12 originally. We climbed Mount Kynthos, which is topped with a sanctuary of Zeus. See the pictures below. Including the ancient theater, pathway up to the top of Kynthos and view from the top.
On Saturday morning we took a ferry to the island of Thira in Santorini. We were picked up at the port and got to our hotel in the main town of Fira. We took the bus to Oia to see the sunset and beautiful town. It was very nice and upscale, we ordered drinks and caught the bus back to Fira.
On Sunday we went on a 6 hour sailing cruise around the Caldera. Our first stop was the volcanic island of Nea Kameni. A few thousand years ago, there was a massive volcanis eruption. It created the island of Thira, Thirassia and Aspronisi, which is called Santorini. This is why it is believed that the area between these three islands may be the lost city of Atlantis. From Nea Kameni we went to the smaller volcanic island next door called Palea Kameni where some people jumped into the cold water and swam towards the hot springs. (Wish I had brought my bathing suit, we missed out, but hey! we didn’t get sick so its okay) From here we sailed over to the island of Thirassia where we climbed 200 steps to get lunch with a beautiful panoramic view. That was a workout! After lunch we boarded the boat and sailed to Oia. We stayed on the boat, since we had already seen the sunset the day before and returned to the Old Port. There we rode donkeys up the steps (4th picture down, see the zig zagging steps?). Mine was in the lead and quickly fell behind, I think s/he was not feeling it. I named her Blanca. If I was the donkey I would have sat down and not moved, trying to get switched to the petting zoo or something. Anyways, that was a cool thing to do and after this long day of sailing and donkey rides we went to a nice dinner overlooking the beautiful cliff side towards the islands we had visited earlier in the day.
Our last day in Thira we went wine tasting. We visited three wineries and did an impromptu pit stop at the local Crazy Donkey brewery. We learned about the interesting growing and cultivation practices of grapes in Santorini. They mainly use one variety for all wines, both red and white, it’s called Assyrtiko. They don’t stake the vines, rather they let them grow in a basket formation low to the ground because of the intense winds. The volcanic soil has no fertilizers or pesticides, our guide even told us you may see snails on the crop, but it is no harm to the grapes because they prefer the leaves. We tried a few whites and reds, the first to wineries didn’t do it for me. My favorites were all at our last stop, and at each of the wineries we were given a naturally sweet wine that had an interesting taste, somewhat like raisin juice. The brewery had some good beers, there was an IPA and the two varieties, Red Donkey and Yellow Donkey were our favorites. After this tour we got gyros and tomato fritters and headed out later that night to some of the bars. Waking up early on Tuesday we nearly missed our cab. We returned to Athens and had a long layover in the airport before we got back to Prague in the late afternoon.
Spring break was crazy. It was fun. It was jam packed, and even though it had its ups and downs at times it was such an experience. Nothing I have ever done before has compared. We somehow pulled off this trip that took a lot of planning and research. Now I can confidently say that I think I’m in love with both Switzerland and Greece and I know I will be back some day. Who knows when, but hopefully sooner rather than later. Now I am back in Prague, updating this blog of mine and getting ready to head to Budapest where I will meet my mom on Thursday night. I’m excited for our mother daughter trip, I’m glad I’ve had a day free from school to mellow out from all the hectic travelling I’ve been doing but I’m also ready for my next destination! Hope you have enjoyed this long post! xo
I am so busy that I forget people may still be checking this blog. So I will briefly rush through March, which was fairly calm compared to what I will be doing in April. (Below is a picture in front of the Moser Glass Factory.)
My parents visited for my birthday which was so much fun and I loved seeing them and showing them around. It was a nice visit and I think they saw why I have fallen in love with Prague. The Saturday that they left, my program went to Kutna Hora to see the bone church and check out the town. That was cool, nothing to rave about honestly, but I really like getting out of Prague and exploring more of the Czech Republic and touring old churches or sites from hundreds of years ago.
We went to Vienna, Austria the next weekend. After missing our bus (oops!) our trip was a little thrown off. We arrived Friday and the weather was gloomy. We hung out at the hostel and walked around, stumbling upon a beautiful cafe and seeing some of the major landmarks. Of course it was dark and we were taking guesses at which things were which, checking google maps to see if we could find information. After the cafe we went to an awesome Australian restaurant/bar called CrossFields. You walk in and its a small, smoke-filled bar that is playing rugby on it’s screens. You head down the stairs and there is a foosball table, the walls are decorated with crocodiles and has a very lively atmosphere. It made me feel like I was in a cool, adult version of Rainforest Cafe. They were very busy but we managed to get some food, including HUGE burgers and corn and not-Austrian dishes (LOL). They had crazy items on the menu like kangaroo or croc tacos or grasshoppers but no one was feeling particularly adventurous.
The next day we hit Naschmarkt, which is like a big flea market and checked out their food and random assortment of antiques, both big and small. After a crazy ride and getting a little lost along the way, we went to Schönbrunn Palace, where we spent the entire day at the Schönbrunn Tiergarten Zoo. We checked out the Palmenhaus which was filled with beautiful flowers and they gave away fruit samples (the fruit here is so sweet and good) as well as the Wüstenhaus which had lizards, snakes and other desert plants and animals. Above are some photos of the fish nibbling on our fingers in the lobby area before entering the Desert House. Naturally, of course, I was screaming and jumping around splashing water because it tickled. The animals at the zoo were so active and outside despite the cold and gloomy weather, including the warmer weather animals. We caught some videos of pandas, a mom and cub climbing around (above), pushing each other in a swing and saw everything from polar bears and penguins, to lions and tigers and bunnies and horses. It was a massive zoo and it was a fun adventure for our group. We hiked over to see the Palace itself as the sun was getting ready to set. We climbed up the hill opposite it to get a closer view of the Gloriette (below). It was a beautiful place, truly spectacular. We went out later that night to a few bars and a club and headed back to Prague the next morning.
We had midterms the last week of March so we stayed back the weekend before them to get stuff done ahead of time. We finally went to the Brazilian churrascaria called “Ambiente Brasileiro” where they bring around skewers of meat and shave it off for you at the table. It is unlimited meat and boy were we full. We tried so many different things, some were great others not my favorite but it was a lot of fun. You definitely can’t go there everyday, I will fast before my next visit. I can’t wait to go back though, thanks Kyle for the tip! We also went to a Sparta outdoor (brrr, it was FREEZING) soccer game. They won and I enjoyed going to my first game here in Praha, although I do prefer hockey. Always have, always will :)
And one of the best parts of my abroad experience-- sharing it with ma good ol' mom and pops.
I met my parents at Prague airport on Friday the 27th. I took them on the metro and to the Hotel Klarov where they would be staying all week. It is so close to my campus, the building is visible from my school library. After they checked in we did a little sight seeing around Prague Castle, touring the compound and outside of St. Vitus Cathedral.
Boy are they troopers! I would have been exhausted and jet lagged, and yet they managed to make it through dinner and all that walking. We went to Mlejnice, a little restaurant tucked away in Old Town square that had rave reviews online. It definitely lived up to my expectations. JP got the best beef goulash I have had yet. It was thick and tasty, not watered down like most others I've had here. I want to go back for more it was so good! We also got some traditional dumplings, meat and of course, pivo! The first day was complete and the very next morning we would be heading off to Cesky Krumlov, an old town in the southern part of the Czech Republic.
We went on a tour of the city. Very interesting history (of course I can't recall most of it since I've lagged on blogging all of this). I do remember the guide telling us that the cathedral there is also called St. Vitus and it was to show power in line with Prague which I thought was very interesting.
The Cesky Krumlov Castle has a bear pit in it’s moat. Unfortunately the bears could not be seen while we were there because it was cold out, but they currently have 3.
We went and had a very traditional "Bohemian feast" at a place called U Dwau Maryi. This restaurant/pub was a time warp. I felt like we were in medieval times. Strange height on ceilings, wooden benches, very dark and rustic, furs on the seats, etc. I found some stock photos, check them out below.
We went to a Sparta hockey game after we returned from Cesky Krumlov with my school, scored Bob & Joanie some free tickets as well as let them try the brats and beer at the stadium.
On Tuesday we went to Karlovy Vary, which translates to Carlsbad and is known as the royal spa town. For my birthday we got Thai massages and visited the Moser Glass Factory. It also has fountains where you can taste the spring water, some of them tasted cold and mineral-y while others were hot and smooth. It was a great week and we did a lot together! So glad they were able to experience this beautiful city with me.
I'm trying to play catch up here! So following Germany we forced ourselves to stay awake and go see a Sparta Hockey game at the TipSport Arena with our school who got us tickets for 20 czk (< $1 USD).
Kiersten, Mason and I snuck off and found better seats and enjoyed ourselves so much we vowed we would be back for each game. Brats, beer, and hockey. A GREAT TIME! And to top it off, Sparta won.
Now all I need is a jersey.
Kiersten and I went to a Czech cooking class on the following Wednesday and that was really fun. Kiersten made the mashed potatoes and cucumber slaw while I breaded and fried the cheese and chicken breast.
Unfortunately our fried cheese was a complete fail (it definitely needed more breading), but everything else was so delicious and extremely easy to make. The cucumber slaw was grated cucumber mixed with some vinegar, water, salt and sugar. It was perfect with the chicken and of course we loaded up those mashed potatoes with heaps of cream and butter. YUM!
Jeez, I have not been keepin' up on this whole blog thing.
Let's see, where to start. 3 weeks ago I went to Germany. We had a group of 5, bused up to Berlin on the 19th for a somewhat last minute weekend adventure. We stayed in a really nice hostel, had a very questionable (and kind of stinky) roommate there. You "live and learn" though... The first night we hit a Mexican cantina (yes, in Germany I know! How authentic) because it was the closest bar/nightlife we could find. Again, "live and learn" when choosing lodging for students who are looking to go out and experience all that a city has to offer. We went on a walking tour the next day, hit a lot of sites:
Hitler's bunker which is now a parking lot, Checkpoint Charlie which is a little mini Disneyland itself. Our tour guide was telling us that the gigantic pictures of a soldier on either side of the fake little station aren't even real soldiers, but rather Dutch models in uniform. Oh, and the signs have been moved and can be read in English. Definitely not the originals. We saw both a War and Holocaust memorial, as well as Brandenburg gate (below). I was really excited for Berlin, thinking it was going to be amazing, which don't get me wrong, it was fabulous, but coming from as beautiful of a place as Prague is it wasn't what I had expected.
We went out that night on a beer tour by the same company, which was fun but a bit overpriced and lacked good information from the guide on the 3 different microbreweries we visited. We went out after this excursion and somehow everyone in our group dropped at least 50 euro per person for an awful club that had overpriced drinks and a cover charge.
We probably got home at 3am and had to catch a 7am bus down to Dresden. FUN. But boy was Dresden beautiful! We stayed at an awesome hostel, they stored our bags and were really superb with handling our group. We explored the city, checking out the Procession of Princes (below), the Frauenkirche "Church of Our Lady" (below) and stumbled upon a Winter Market. THIS WAS THE BEST PART OF THE DAY. We got delicious brats, potato latkes, and of course some good beer. They had a few food booths as well as an ice rink and huge slides at this small outdoor festival. After we pigged out we headed back towards our hostel, checking out some more sites and sitting at a cool Biergarten next to the Elbe.
We went out that night and hit a few of the bars near our hostel. The first one was way too crowded so we worked our way down the street and ended up in a very interestingly decorated bar. Enjoyed a beer and moved along when the cigarette smoke started killing us. We went on to find the "Lebowski Bar". Definitely a cool place, dude. We had to get white russians and stop to watch part of the movie which is always playing on the tv screens. We went on to enjoy some Absinthe at the first bar that had been way too crowded. We figured out that as the night goes on, people work their way down the streets so we did the opposite and avoided the craziness.
The last bar we went to was awesome because we made friends with the owner, who insisted on giving us free drinks. She told us quite a bot about her life and that she would be in Prague on Monday night, even going so far as to give us the name of the bar she would be at.
Dresden was a lot more than I had expected, it was absolutely gorgeous and I really hope I can go back!
We did try to find the bar lady, but were unsuccessful. We did find some great beer though! .....And the next day while on the tram, one of my friends was tapped on the shoulder and turned around-- IT WAS HER! What are the odds?
The first week has come and gone in a whirlwind. I have so much time to sit around and do as I please, but I can't seem to find the time to post as often as I like. So I do apologize to you all. HOWEVER, if you want to see more updates, check out my Facebook album of photos (click on the icons at the top of the page, you don't even need an account ^) or check out my Instagram, where I post pictures the most frequently.
I started school on Monday the 9th and I enjoy that my classes are only once a week, even if they are a bit drawn out. I have four courses and so far I'm happy with them all; granted I probably won't be saying that when I have to write a 10 page Art history paper, give a 15 minute speech and organize the financial reports of a company, but for now, it's all good in the hood.
My Prague Art & Architecture class may actually end up being the most useful and interesting class I take this semester. On Monday we sit down for an hour long lecture, learning about the role of the church and history of Prague (today was all about relics & Saints) and on Tuesdays we are lucky enough to go on a 2 hour walking tour, exploring museums and areas in the city. Last week we went to an exhibit less than a block from Anglo American University where we were able to see manuscripts, chalices and works of art from the state and the church, some dating back to the time of Charles IV himself. Tomorrow for class we will be hiking up to Prague Castle (my second time on the compound, however my first time inside the buildings) which will be nice to go in and have more information and guidance on what is what and the history behind it all. By the end of this year, maybe I can become a tour guide.
In addition to my Art & Architecture class I am taking a Business Ethics course. My professor is from Germany and has worked extensively in the business world, primarily for telecommunication firms, so it will be interesting to learn about global business and her experiences, as well as gain some new perspective. I think it will be most interesting to hear her views on American business practices and ethics, instead of a biased view.
I also have a Public Speaking course for my major and I am taking Managerial Accounting (eww! bleh, I know). I am surprisingly feeling prepared the most for that course, so fingers crossed on balancing and managing my classes with all the travel I have been planning.
As for travel-- this weekend has been solely devoted to researching, nagging my mom (LOVE YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! You are the bomb.com) every 5 minutes with phone calls and Facebook messages and booking multiple trips for my time here.
After my Accounting course on Thursday we will be heading out from Prague Station to Berlin. It is almost 5 hours away by bus but we have planned to explore and take a few tours on Friday (including a bicycle beer tour in the evening. Yippee!). Early on Saturday morning we will depart and head to Dresden, which is between Berlin and Prague, where we will probably tour around as well, we have yet to decide the details of our trip. I have managed to book all of this for a group of 5 of us, so I hope this makes you proud Momma ♥
The other major trip we planned this weekend is for our spring break. Now hold onto your seats when you hear these plans:
We will be leaving Thursday, March 26 from Prague Airport and heading to Leysin, Switzerland where we will be skiing in the SWISS ALPS for 3 days, as well as attending a music festival at night. (I wrote about this in one of my older blog posts) I AM BEYOND ECSTATIC! I'm so excited that I just keep telling everyone... I'm sure I sound like a broken record at this point, but I don't care, because this is bound to be the trip of a lifetime. Not only are we going to Switzerland, but the following Monday, April 30th we will take the train back to Geneva Airport in the morning before we fly directly to Athens, Greece. Our itinerary is to include Athens for two days, followed by the island of Mykonos for two days before we take the 3 hour ferry down to Santorini. We wish we could stay longer, but hitting Switzerland and three separate places in Greece in one shot is phenomenal and makes me wish I could fast forward to March 26th already. On April 7th we will be back in Prague, but only for two days!
JP Locs will be visiting Budapest a few days later, so I will take the train out to see her for the weekend and have a fun girl's trip (sorry Daddy & Mogie, we will miss you!)
As for the rest, my roommate and I are still planning our trips to Sweden, the Netherlands, Croatia and maybe another place or two. So far, we only have two open weekends, right before Midterms and Finals. If you have suggestions, please send them our way! We were thinking of Austria as well, but have heard mixed reviews on what to do there and if it is worth our time.
Honestly though, we keep forgetting we're here for school.. I mean, can you blame us? So in between these long weekend trips we will have to find beautiful cafes and spots to study, as well as take a few day trips around the Czech Republic, venturing outside of Prague and into the countryside since we both have Wednesdays off of school. I plan to make it to England to visit my girl, Ciara, and my Big, Andrea, will be meeting me at the end of May so we can hit up Portugal, Spain, Ibiza, Italy, France, and Germany before we head home to the states for Electric Daisy Carnival in Vegas at the end of June.
I am so blessed and happy. Thank you to everyone (especially my parents!!) who have helped me to get here! Reflecting on this post and my plans and the future I know I couldn't be any luckier. I think this semester, although it is very young, has already started to change my life. I am learning so much about myself and how to adapt and grow in a completely different environment that I am not used to. The opportunities I have here are endless and I really couldn't be anymore excited.
I hope you are enjoying living a little vicariously through me and I can't wait to post about my future trips throughout Europe.
Feel free to drop me a line, call or text me, I'm still around guys! Same number and everything. I really love hearing what is going on at home, helps me not feel homesick especially because I miss that warm California sun. Until next time, xoxo
P.S. If anyone would like to contribute to the "Haley-needs-money-for-food-since-she-spent-it-all-on-airplane-and-train-tickets" feel free to send it my way. Just kidding! But I will happily send people postcards of places I visit if you send me your mailing address.
Okay, so I haven't been blogging as much as I was anticipating especially since my classes don't start until Monday, but here are some updates on what I have done so far:
I arrived in Prague 6 days ago and I seem to have fallen in love with the city in the meantime. Everywhere I look, my breath is taken away by the fine and intricate details of architecture. Not even the Hooters or KFC buildings are anything less than extraordinary (I mean, except for their ugly americana neon signs).
I went out for dinner and drinks on Monday night, followed by orientation on Tuesday. We took the tram to Anglo American University (LOL, because I'm still trying to figure out how to use public transportation which isn't easy when everything is in Czech / I am horrible with directions) and got a tour of the campus, which is located in a baroque style palace. The inside is GORGEOUS, with chandeliers and statues and lounge areas, all of which have recently been renovated to accommodate the students for this semester. My apartment is in Prague 2, but campus is located just below Prague Castle, so the tram I take crosses over the Vltava River and takes about 15 minutes.
On Wednesday I took a trip to the Prague Beer Museum, meeting up with a group before heading off to a nightclub called Retro. The beer was VERY good and I've come to learn that Pilsner Urquell is huge here (although the one I ordered was a Pivo Konrad and it was extremely light and smooth). Retro reminded me a lot of epr back at home, with crazy lasers and lights, go go dancers and loud edm blarring on Wednesday nights. It was fun to see some euro guys shuffling but overall it was crowded and smokey (people smoke cigarettes inside here--eww!) and I just wasn't in the mood, so we left early.
On Thursday I went to a Czech culture class where they explained some common customs like how people don't tip a standard 10-15-20%, but rather you just round up your bill as well as how the metro works in regards to the undercover officers, who can flash their badge and ask to see your ticket. If you don't have it, you must surrender 800 kc on the spot or they will escort you to an ATM to retrieve it. We also attempted to learn some basic words and phrases and cultural customs that are different here. After the class, myself and two others went to a traditional Czech restaurant around the corner where I had a delicious bread bowl full of goulash. After we warmed up with soup and apple cider we headed out on a two hour tour, the first stop being Prague Castle. It was really cold (-2 C) but the hike up those endless stairs was totally worth it. The view was amazing, overlooking the entire city as we continued on to see the rest of the compound, including the french-gothic and renaissance style cathedral called St. Vitus. We ventured down and across the Charles Bridge, walking into Old Town Square. Every part of the tour was breathtaking and revealed the deep and rich history of Praha.
On Friday I met up with my Chapman professor's nephew, who is also studying abroad here and we dined at a traditional Czech restaurant, which of course included beer and some delicious food. I tried the beef and dumplings, I forget the Czech name, but it was smothered in gravy with a heap of lingonberries and cream. I kind of felt like I was at Ikea for a minute there.
Last night, I went to the immense 5 story club called Karlovy Lázně. It was amazing, although there was a cover fee to get in and I'm sure drinks were on the pricier side comparatively, overall it was a fun spot for the night and I'm sure I'll go back a few more times. There were lots of different music styles going, from different decades, which I really enjoyed. The downside to clubbing though is coming home smelling like a chain smoker with an equally awful hack. I have yet to master the art of not choking on second hand smoke in the hazy clubs.
As for today, this morning when I woke up it was snowing. Absolutely beautiful, with fresh white powder covering half of the red roof of the apartment building across the way. And now the sky is a clear and bright blue. I cleaned up the apartment a bit in preparation for my new roommate coming in today and will give her a tour of Prague and run some errands before my classes start tomorrow. I'm getting excited and nervous in anticipation but I know everything will be fine.
Hope you had an equally nice week! Stay tuned for more :] xox
We just arrived at 2:30am California time (approximately 10:30am here, in London) after a long journey. It was a fairly quiet and easy flight, but jet lag is certainly my biggest concern right now. It was hard forcing myself asleep at 4pm yesterday but the flight was pretty empty so there was room to spread out on the 800+ passenger airbus. We have a few hours to hangout and rest/grab food. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for some fish n' chips but I might hold out until I can get some more authentic cuisine when I come back to visit. Chip chip cheerio! I'm waving to the Queen for you Nee Nee 💂 TTFN
I had no clue just how many things Prague has going for it until I started doing some research. I was looking into Snowboxx, a music and ski festival in the French Alps (sounds like heaven, I know!), but the dates no longer match up with my spring break. With that disappointing news, I started looking into some other activities and concerts to fill up my breaks and weekends, both in Prague and nearby countries. Well, one website led to another and….POW! Concerts and music festivals galore! In Prague, too! You could say this is the equivalent of Christmas in my eyes.
1. Let It Roll Winter 2015 (Prague, CR) February 27th 8pm-6am $38
“Known for its insatiable crowd, one which hangs onto every break and every bass drop, performing artists never hesitate to call Let It Roll one of the best drum&bass festivals for this special, frenetic vibe it’s renowned for”
2. Apokalypsa Dark Angels 2015 (Burno, CR) March 27th-28th $22
"Summoning the world forces of techno, hardcore, house and tech-house for the 39th edition of the Czech Republic’s legendary electronic powerhouse, Apokalypsa Dark Angels will unite the expected visual spectacular with its own very special theme."
3. Garosnow Festival (Gourette, France) March 27th-30th N/A
http://www.garosnow.com/
OR
Leysin ‘15 (Leysin, Switzerland) March 27th-29th $95
"Includes a ski pass for three days as well as access to all festival performances between Friday and Sunday."
http://www.worldwidefestival.com/leysin-tickets/
4. DGTL Festival 2015 (Amsterdam, Netherlands) April 4th-5th $106
"The Neveritaweg’s classic waterfront backdrop sets a shimmering tone for one of Amsterdam’s finest proponents of the sub-mainstream scene, as DGTL Festival’s mix of established international names and lesser-known DJs strides on with a hugely successful ADE event in its wake."
http://dgtl.nl/home/
5. Insane Festival 2015 (Avignon, France) April 18th-19th $39
"From soft-pulse techno and tech-house to the driving thud of bass or hardstyle, Insane Festival’s mission is to unite the whole spectrum of electronic music, shaping over 12 hours of all-out raving around as diverse a lineup as you could ask for"
