#mayamileski

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Performances in Praha

Ahoj!

This week has been super fun, busy, and filled with some super cool things! This trip has felt like it’s going by so fast and I can’t believe it’s half way done!

First off, we celebrated my friend’s birthday by going to a Yung Gravy concert at the Rock Cafe here in Prague! We were in the first row at the concert. It was a very small show compared to what one would expect in the United States, so it was super fun and interactive.

We also went to see a ballet called Leon & Lena at the Estates Theater. While I am not a huge fan of watching ballets, it was interesting to watch and the building it was performed in was super beautiful!

Some friends and I also took a day trip to Divoká Šárka, a nature park about 45 minutes from Prague by tram. We hiked the super pretty trails and hills as we explored the park. We also swam in the lake there and were able to jump in the water from a 3m high platform which was exciting! We also found a huge chair at the park and took a picture in it!

I also went to visit the Narrowest Street in Prague! It is in Lesser Town and it has a traffic light indicating when you are allowed to walk through, since only one person can fit at a time.

I have also been able to go to more beautiful churches nearby! I recently went to The Church of Our Lady Victorious and of the Prague Infant Jesus. The interior was super nice and they offered English mass.

I’m super excited to realize that I’ve started to discover some of the lesser known parts of the city and I can’t wait to visit even more!

Čau!

Maya Mileski

IPE Prague, Czech Republic

Biomedical Engineering

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Coming Home & Reflecting <3

Dobrý Den!

It has been a little over one week since I left Prague and got to Iceland, and I am now home. The beginning of my journey to Iceland started off a bit rough. My flight from Frankfurt to Reykjavik had to turn around mid-flight because the plane lost its weather radar. We landed back in Frankfurt and I had to spend the night in a hotel. The next day I headed to Reykjavik and met my friend there.

During my time in Iceland I went on many tours and saw a lot of Iceland’s natural beauty. Sadly, my friend had classes most days so I spent a lot of time exploring the country alone, but it was also relaxing to see nature in this manner. One of my favorite things about Iceland were the numerous waterfalls we saw, especially Gullfoss and Seljalandfoss.

A photo of my friend and I at Seljalandfoss.

Gullfoss Falls

I also hiked 8 miles when I climbed Mount Esja! This mountain is 3000 feet in elevation. It was such a beautiful scene the entire hike, but near the top there were a lot of small rocks. This made going down the mountain extremely difficult because I kept sliding. The view from the top was amazing! From the moment I got off the bus to when I came down from the mountain, it took about 6 hours. However, the busses to and from the mountain did not come very frequently, so I had to wait a very long time for them to arrive, making this an all day adventure. Here is a photo from the top of Mt. Esja and a photo I took during the climb!

Iceland was very cold but I was lucky with the weather. Most days were pretty sunny and there was limited rain. The prices were pretty high compared to Prague and most other countries I visited. It was nice to get out of the cities for a while and enjoy nature.

After visiting Iceland, I was excited to come home and be with my family. I was really looking forward to having a normal rest of my summer and enjoying things like beach days, boating, and spending time with friends from home. I was home just in time to enjoy the 4th of July here in the USA. I missed my mom and dad’s cooking and a lot of snack food that I could not find in Prague. The day after I got home, we rode UTV’s on trails through the woods. It was so nice to be back and do some more summer-like activities away from the busy cities in Europe.

Overall, I am extremely happy I chose to study in Prague. Meals and activities were always very cheap and it was easy to travel around. The transportation system was very well organized, easy to use, and I never found myself waiting long periods of time for buses/trams/trains to come. There’s also so much to do within the city that my friends and I were never bored. I am also glad I chose Prague because the weather was great! It was not too hot but definitely felt warm enough to enjoy the feeling of summer. The friends I met were amazing and I can’t wait to spend time with them back in Ann Arbor!

I also feel like I learned so much while studying abroad. While it may sound corny, I definitely learned so many life lessons and I was forced to discover things on my own. I made a lot of mistakes along the way as I tried to navigate Europe, but I truly think this was the best way to learn about the world. All of these bumps along the road will give me so many stories to tell in the future.

Thanks for following along with my blog! My message to anyone who may be interested…STUDY ABROAD (especially in Prague)!!!!!! It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had and I would absolutely recommend it. Thank you IPE and the University of Michigan for providing this opportunity to students like myself!

Na shledanou!

Maya Mileski

Biomedical Engineering

IPE Prague, Czech Republic

[umichenginabroad]

Food, Field Trips, & Farewells

My time in the Czech Republic has come to an end. These have been an amazing 6 weeks and I am so happy I chose to study in Prague. This last week was filled with even more adventures and plenty of emotions as everyone in the program parted ways.

We went out to eat several times, mostly because we were trying to spend our remaining cash. We ate at the Manifesto Market, which has several different food stands. The market was super pretty with lots of plants, and it even had a pool! I ate delicious nachos there. My friends and I all agreed we wish we knew about the market sooner because we loved it so much!

We also went to the Choco Cafe where I drank the best hot chocolate ever! Although it was quite hot out, the hot chocolate was completely worth it.

We went to a pancake place called De Noc for lunch between classes. I had AMAZING Peanut Butter Mousse pancakes. It was great because it is not too far from class!

We had 2 field trips this week. The first trip was to the Aerospace Museum in Prague. It was pretty far away from our apartments, but it was interesting to see the development of planes over time. Some of the planes were very small and hard to believe they could fly!

My Sport and Culture class took a trip to the boxing gym. Our teacher is an amateur boxer, so we had the opportunity to train with a coach in the gym. It was tiring but a very fun way to workout! I have never done anything similar to boxing, so it was fun to learn something entirely new.

We also had an excursion where CEA provided a tour of the zoo in Prague. I loved seeing the animals (especially the Hippos). We also rode on chair lifts that brought us from the top of a hill to the the bottom of the hill, where there were more animals.

My friend and I walked to the John Lennon Wall. It was super pretty to see all the colors and artwork on the wall. There was also a tribute to people in Ukraine located in front of the wall. Several people had written poems regarding the events in Ukraine and the poems were hung in front of the wall. There was also an option to write a poem online and it would be added to the collection. This was a very touching way to show peoples support for those in Ukraine.

The Czech Philharmonic was playing a free outdoor concert in Prague, near the Prague Castle. A lot of people were at this event, so it was a little difficult to see the orchestra, but it sounded beautiful. From the concert location, we could see a beautiful sunset and a great view of the city.

I took a tour of the Prague Town Hall located inside the Astronomical Clock. My favorite part were the tunnels located underneath the clock and Old Town Square. I learned a lot about the history of Prague, including some gruesome facts. Here is a photo of the room where the dungeon was located.

I am now headed to Iceland to visit a friend who is studying abroad in Reykjavik. While I am so sad to leave Europe and all of the friends I have met on this experience, I am excited to return home to the United States soon.

Maya Mileski

Biomedical Engineering

IPE Prague, Czech Republic

[umichenginabroad]

Family Visit

Dobrý den!

I cannot believe that this will be our last week. This trip has felt like it’s gone by so fast. I have made so many memories and I don’t want them to end yet, but at the same time, I am getting ready to see my friends from home and have a normal summer.

When my family visited, we saw some cool things like the view from the top of the astronomical clock! We could see a lot of the city and it was really pretty! The ticket price also included a tour of the inside of the astronomical clock, but I was unable to go on the tour because I had to get back to class. However, they allowed me to keep my ticket and use it for another day, so I will likely take the tour later this week.

For my sport and culture class, we took a field trip to Strahov Stadium to see where they used to have mass exercise events every 6 years. These events, called Spartakiads, were organized by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Now, the stadium is used for soccer practices. It was a huge stadium and it was fun to get to adventure outside of the classroom. Here is a photo of us reenacting a photograph taken during the time of Spartakiads.

Prague is also super beautiful at this time of year. The weather has been perfect— warm, sunny, and not too hot (besides one day when the temperature reached 100 °F). The city recently added flowers to this statue of Jan Hus in the middle of Old Town Square, and there are more flowers scattered around the city.

I have also been taking advantage of the beautiful park near our apartments to relax, do schoolwork, and cool off.

We have also been able to find some nice outdoor beer gardens, including one that was on a boat! Here is a photo of my roommates at one of these gardens, with the beautiful sunset and bridges in the background.

See ya back at the end of the week for a recap of my few days in Prague! :(

Maya Mileski

Biomedical Engineering

IPE Prague, Czech Republic

[umichenginabroad]

Pretty Museums, Paddle Boats, & Pubs

Hello!

This past week was another great time in Prague! My family just arrived to visit me here! I missed them tons and it has been so great to see them after all this time away. They are really enjoying the city so far and I can’t wait to show them around and suggest things to do!

We went to the National Museum of Prague, which was beautiful! My favorite part was the building itself— I loved looking at the architecture, statues, and ceilings. The museum exhibits were good, however, we saw a lot of natural history exhibits. I have seen many similar exhibits throughout my lifetime, so it could not compete with the beauty of the building itself.

We also visited the Museum of Communism. This museum was a lot of reading and had fewer things to look at. It was a nice museum and it was very interesting to learn about communism and life during this era, specifically in the Czech Republic. I would recommend it to anyone traveling to Prague.

We also got to see statues of faceless, crawling babies designed by the artist David Černý. Here is a photo with one of the giant babies.

We also went to Prague’s Ice Pub. Everything was made of ice, including the chairs, tables, and cups. They gave us jackets and gloves to stay warm while in there. Sadly, the reservations are only 30 minutes long each, so we could not stay too long.

We went paddle boating as well! It was great to see a view of Prague from the water. We saw many animals like swans, ducks, fish, and nutria. The weather was perfect for paddle boating in the evening, and it wasn’t too expensive.

Classes are still going well and I’m loving my time here! I <3 Prague!

Maya Mileski

Biomedical Engineering

IPE Prague

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Castles, Hiking, & Food

Dobrý den!

My love for Prague continues! This city is so beautiful and there are so many things to see. It feels like everyday I am so busy with going to class and seeing new parts of the city.

Over the last week, I have gone to Vysehrad Castle and the Prague Castle, both of which were amazing! We decided to walk to Vysehrad, which was a nice view of some of the city I was not as familiar with.

The Prague Castle had a great view and the surrounding area was super cute.

Some friends and I also took a hiking trip to Bohemian Switzerland International Park over the weekend. Getting there was pretty difficult (we had to take two trains and a bus) and we were quite confused about when they would arrive to pick us up, but it was super fun and the hike was pretty easy (despite the fact that the entire thing was uphill). It was exciting to go off the trails and climb some of the rocks as well.

I have also been able to enjoy going for runs while here. I find it very relaxing to see different parts of Prague and explore while getting to workout at the same time!

I also had some really great food this week! I ate a dessert called Trdelník with ice cream. It was pretty good, but the Trdelník was not exactly what I was expecting. I thought it would taste more like a churro, but it was more like dough. Still very delicious!

I went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant called Marina Ristorante. It was located on the river, so the views were amazing and the sunset was super pretty! Here are some photos of the view and the food.

I hope to explore even more parts of Prague in the upcoming days! So far… I think EVERYONE should study abroad here! Na shledanou!

Maya Mileski

Biomedical Engineering

IPE Prague, Czech Republic

[umichenginabroad]

Prep for Prague

Hi everyone! My name is Maya Mileski and I will be traveling to Prague, Czech Republic this summer! I just finished my freshman year at the University of Michigan. I’m majoring in Biomedical Engineering and also getting the International Minor for Engineers (and maybe a business minor? We’ll see!) Over the next 6 weeks, I will be taking Calculus III and a 300 level humanities course called Sport and Culture in Contemporary Czech Republic.

As I get ready for Prague, I’m super excited but I have a lot of uncertainties. I have been trying to learn some Czech with the Duolingo app, but I haven’t learned too much yet. I really hope I’ll be able to gain more familiarity with the language while I’m there. I’m also not sure what exactly to pack and how much of everything I will need, so I’m planning on stuffing my suitcase as full as can be, with some room to bring souvenirs home. Here is my bag (very full…I know. Oops).

My mom is from Sweden and her entire side of our family lives there, so I have done a significant amount of international travel in the past. However, I have never traveled alone, so I am kind of nervous about that. I also struggle with directions, so I hope I’ll be able to navigate the airports and this new city well enough to get around.

Here are photos of me and my family on our most recent trip to Sweden.

I’m so excited to go to Prague and I can’t wait to tell you more once I arrive!

Maya Mileski

Biomedical Engineering

IPE Prague, Czech Republic