Yesterday we decided to visit Prague Castle. It's pretty close to our apartment (less than a ten minutes away) but the hike is entirely up-hill. But, it's completely worth the hike because the view is AMAZING! The castle overlooks the entire city of Prague and we could even point out various buildings we knew (the National Theatre, Orchestra Hall, our school, etc...). Inside the castle, there are tons of things to see. For 175 Czk (~$10) tourists gain access to Stary Kralovsky palac (Old Royal Palace), Pribeh Prazskeho Hradu (a museum that tells "the story of Prague"), Bazilika sv. Jiri (Basilica of St. George), Jirsky klaster - Narodni galerie (Convent of St. George - National Gallery), Obrazarna Prazskeho hradu (Prague Castle Art Gallery), Prasna vez (Power Tower), Rozmbersky palac (Rosenburg Palace), and the St. Vitus Cathedral.
We went to the Cathedral first. The cathedral's architecture is truly amazing with large stain-glass windows, marble, and high ceilings. Everything in it is beautiful. The cathedral is the burial place for multiple princes and kings, including St. Wencelas, Charles IV, and Rudolph II of Austria, Ferdinand I of Austria. Apparently I take too many pictures because halfway through the cathedral my camera died again, but I've posted pictures from first half on facebook if you want to check them out!
Next we went to the Basilica of St. George and the Prague Castle Art Gallery. Both contain really old old artwork and artifacts.
Last night we decided to go on the "Prague Pub Crawl" (www.pubcrawl.cz). Basically it's a 5-stop pub/club crawl that ends at the Biggest Music Club in Central Europe (a 5-story club). It was a lot of fun and great to get to know other girls in our program better!
Because we weren't able to see everything in the castle yesterday, we decided to go back and see the rest today. We decided to try out the tram system on the way to the castle (partly because we didn't want to hike back up the hill, but also because we need to figure out the tram system). The tram system turned out the be really easy to use and dropped us off by the Strahov Monastery near the Prague Castle. Between the monastery and the castle lay beautiful gardens and are supposed to be some of the best (and most beautiful) gardens in Prague. We haven't had a chance to walk through all of the gardens yet but what we did see was gorgeous. It was so quite and peaceful that we almost forget we were still in the city. Unfortunately, we still ended up having to hike up to the castle, but at least we got to take a different path.
At the castle, we saw the Old Royal Palace, the Convent of St. George - National Gallery (art gallery), the Powder Tower, and Rosenburg Palace. The Powder Tower houses history on the Palace Guard and the Old Royal Palace's balconies gave us an incredible view of the city. It's crazy how much history is located in the castle.
Our favorite attractions at the castle were:
1) St. Vitus Cathedral
2) The Story of Prague
3) Old Royal Palace
We weren't able to get pictures of everything in the castle because cameras are not allowed in some of the exhibits, i.e. the art and artifact galleries, etc... (although I snuck a few pictures in the Old Royal Palace when the guard wasn't looking). After two days, Schawnne and I still feel like we could have spent more time in the castle.
With sore, tired feet, we decided to head back to our apartment. Just as we got back, we heard music and saw a parade coming down our street, passing right in-front of our apartment! I posted a few pictures of it.
I think we're going to try an Italian place we heard about for dinner tonight and then we'll have to start on our class readings. Unfortunately, our first summer session beings tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
Astronomical Clock
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Day 3: Orientation Day
Friday we woke up early (7:45 a.m.) because we had orientation at our school Charles University Law School at 9:00 a.m. I decided to try out our new cereal and milk before school. Turns out that the milk over here tastes pretty normal and the cereal tastes like candy. The problem is they don't give you very much cereal in a package. I guess I'll have to learn to eat less for breakfast.
Because we had made the walk past the school yesterday (and because we haven't gotten our public transportation passes yet) we decided to walk, although it was lightly drizzling. Our walk to school took about 20 minutes. Luckily, at school someone had posted a sign telling us to go to "Room 121, Ground Floor." Apparently, however, "ground floor" doesn't mean the same thing in the US as it does in the Czech Republic, because our room was actually upstairs (not on our version of the ground floor). When we finally found Room 121, most of our classmates had already gathered and were enjoying the complimentary coffee, tea, and water.
Sidenote: Since moving to Prague I've learned that I don't like mineral water -- not only don't I like it, I actually hate it. Because things are named differently here, we bought "bubbly mineral water" instead of "still water" at the grocery store. I will NEVER make this mistake again. From now on, I am only buying Bonaqua!
Anyways, we began orientation by taking care of the administrative things like getting our tram cards and student IDs and meeting our teachers and Czech student mentors. Then, a Czech professor and historian of the law school gave a 2 1/2 hour lecture on the history of law in the Czech Republic, starting with the establishment of the country in the 1300s all the way through today (the post communist era). While interesting at first, we found it hard to stay awake as the time wore on--not to mention that some of the students had just arrived that day or the previous night and were suffering from some serious jet-lag.
After the lecture, our Czech law student mentors gave us a tour of the law school (including the location of the water closets, i.e. bathrooms), the library (where we will go to print materials), and the cafeteria. They also gave us vouchers for free lunch in the cafeteria. I can guarantee that I will not be eating there again during my stay here. They gave us about 5 pounds of cut-up boiled potatoes, one small slice of fried pork (if you could even call it pork -- yuck), plain shredded cabbage, and a doughnut sliced open and filled with some kind of weird, awful-tasting cream. Turns out, it is possible to ruin a perfectly good doughnut. From now on we will be eating out or bringing our own lunch from home.
Sidenote: Other than our cafeteria lunch, everything I've eaten over here has been delicious!
After lunch, we met in the main lobby of school for a tour of the law school of Universitas Carolinus, built before King Charles IV was king (ruler in the early 1300s) and the oldest college building in central Europe. A section of this building, the "Graduation Hall," holds semesterly graduation ceremonies for law students and promotion ceremonies for professors. This hall also houses a HUGE bronze statue of Charles IV and a large tapestry of St. Wenceslas and Charles IV. Formerly this hall was a dining room for the professors and students who lived (a floor below), ate and learned together in this building. Apparently King Charles IV bought Universitas Carolinus from some rich guy and turned it into the first building of Charles University.
Then the Vice Dean of the law school took us into the room where the Deans and other important members of the school administration dress in traditional attire for the ceremonies. He even put on the robe, hood, and gold chain that he wears during the ceremonies. Apparently the ceremonies are still very traditional and done entirely in Latin, although nobody really understands it anymore.
Afterward, Schawnne and I headed back to the apartment to rest. On our way back, we stumbled upon Bohemian Bagels, i.e. a little piece of heaven with the tastiest bagels ever! I will probably be frequenting this shop often.
We wanted to go out later that evening so we posted on the trip's facebook page to see if anyone was interested in going to the bar beneath out apartment - U Maleho Glena, i.e. "at little glen." Two guys from our school decided to trek across the Charles Bridge to meet us. We sat for 4 hours, drinking Czech beer, eating American appetizers, and talking. One of the guys, Tim, also talked us into trying absinthe.
Apparently taking a shot of absinthe is a procedure. First, you take a small spoon and fill it with sugar and then dunk it into the alcohol so that the sugar becomes saturated. Then you use a lighter to light the sugar on fire and wait for the sugar to caramelize. Once it caramelizes, you stir the flaming spoon in the liquor. Then, you blow the flame out of the glass and take the shot. Tim was the first to take the shot and made such a bad face that Schawnne and I were a bit scared to take it. Being brave, I took mine and found that it wasn't as bad as I was expecting (apparently Tim's a baby). It definitely had a bite to it but definitely wasn't like drinking fire, which is how Tim made it seem. I will not be making it my drink of choice, but at least I can check it off my bucket list.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Day 2
My post will be short and sweet tonight.
We met Bethany (another roommate) late last night, as she was out to dinner with her friend who has been traveling with her for the past few days. She's done a bit more sightseeing here than Schawnne or I, so she's got some great tips on places nearby to check out.
After a much needed "sleep-in," Schawnne and I got a tasty fruit and croissant breakfast near the Charles Bridge on our way to do a little sight-seeing. After breakfast, we decided to check out "Old Town" which houses the historical Astronomical Clock--and we made it just in time. Like most clocks, it goes off on the hour, every hour. Two skeleton statues ring bells while the Saints appear in the windows above. Afterwards, a trumpeter plays and waves to the crowd below in finale. We're told that we can go up into the clock tower for a small fee (which we decided to save for another day). The whole spectacle lasts less than 1 minute, but people gather in crowds to see it. Unfortunately, my camera died right before we made it to the clock so I wasn't able to capture the action or any photos of the clock. Luckily, Schawnne had her camera and took a video which she posted on my facebook wall (look there if you want to check it out).
We also walked along Parizska Street which has lots of "high-end" shops (Burberry, Prada, Louis Vuitton, etc...), and is akin to Newberry Street in Boston and then headed back to our apartment (I didn't want to do too much sight-seeing without my camera).
Still feeling a bit jet-lagged, we decided to nap while my camera charged. After a nap, we decided to venture out to find a grocery or market where we could buy the essentials for breakfast and lunch. Because of our 9 a.m. classes and the nature of Czech dining (the food is phenomenal, but it takes FOREVER to eat out), we won't have enough time to eat out for breakfast every morning. Three blocks away from our apartment, we found a small grocery/market that had the bare essentials: bread, peanut butter, jelly, milk (don't worry Dad, it is pasteurized), bottled water, chips, cereal, bananas, and a couple ice cream snacks for our walk back. Turns out that grocery stores (or at least this grocery) do not provide you with carts or bags unless you pay extra. We decided to forgo on the cart cost but purchased the bag, allowing us to eat our ice cream while walking home.
For dinner we decided to try a pub recommended by Rick Steves -- U Medvidku (which started as a brewery and is now a flagship beer hall of the Czech Budweiser (the real Budweiser)). The food was great but the service was sub-par at best. And dinner lasted almost 3 hours (not by our choice)! Like the rest of Europe, the lifestyle here is just plain slow compared to our American ways. Looks like we'll be trying out a different restaurant tomorrow night.
We met Bethany (another roommate) late last night, as she was out to dinner with her friend who has been traveling with her for the past few days. She's done a bit more sightseeing here than Schawnne or I, so she's got some great tips on places nearby to check out.
After a much needed "sleep-in," Schawnne and I got a tasty fruit and croissant breakfast near the Charles Bridge on our way to do a little sight-seeing. After breakfast, we decided to check out "Old Town" which houses the historical Astronomical Clock--and we made it just in time. Like most clocks, it goes off on the hour, every hour. Two skeleton statues ring bells while the Saints appear in the windows above. Afterwards, a trumpeter plays and waves to the crowd below in finale. We're told that we can go up into the clock tower for a small fee (which we decided to save for another day). The whole spectacle lasts less than 1 minute, but people gather in crowds to see it. Unfortunately, my camera died right before we made it to the clock so I wasn't able to capture the action or any photos of the clock. Luckily, Schawnne had her camera and took a video which she posted on my facebook wall (look there if you want to check it out).
We also walked along Parizska Street which has lots of "high-end" shops (Burberry, Prada, Louis Vuitton, etc...), and is akin to Newberry Street in Boston and then headed back to our apartment (I didn't want to do too much sight-seeing without my camera).
Still feeling a bit jet-lagged, we decided to nap while my camera charged. After a nap, we decided to venture out to find a grocery or market where we could buy the essentials for breakfast and lunch. Because of our 9 a.m. classes and the nature of Czech dining (the food is phenomenal, but it takes FOREVER to eat out), we won't have enough time to eat out for breakfast every morning. Three blocks away from our apartment, we found a small grocery/market that had the bare essentials: bread, peanut butter, jelly, milk (don't worry Dad, it is pasteurized), bottled water, chips, cereal, bananas, and a couple ice cream snacks for our walk back. Turns out that grocery stores (or at least this grocery) do not provide you with carts or bags unless you pay extra. We decided to forgo on the cart cost but purchased the bag, allowing us to eat our ice cream while walking home.
For dinner we decided to try a pub recommended by Rick Steves -- U Medvidku (which started as a brewery and is now a flagship beer hall of the Czech Budweiser (the real Budweiser)). The food was great but the service was sub-par at best. And dinner lasted almost 3 hours (not by our choice)! Like the rest of Europe, the lifestyle here is just plain slow compared to our American ways. Looks like we'll be trying out a different restaurant tomorrow night.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Arrival to Prague
Finally made it over here! Phew... Long journey with layovers in Chicago and Warsaw, Poland. All of our flights (in Minneapolis, Chicago, and Warsaw) were delayed, but luckily, and thankfully, we didn't miss any of our connections. After sleeping on all three of the flights, you'd think that I would feel somewhat rested... but cramped, in-flight sleep hardly classifies as "real" sleep. A bonus to the flights, however, was that I was able to sit by Schawnne (my "travel buddy" and roomie in Prague) 2 out of the 3 flights! That helped make us feel a little more at ease during our travels. Luckily, I didn't have any of the "late-night" distractions that Schawnne had. She was woken multiple times by an old Bulgarian man who accidentally (at least we would like to think it was accidentally) grabbing her shoulder and bumping into her while coming to talk to his buddy (very large Bulgarian man) for numerous hours during the night. The larger Bulgarian man also made it a habit to knee the back of Schawnne's seat every hour or so. Needless to say, she was very happy to exit the plan in Warsaw. Luckily, I had the window seat so didn't experience any of these sleep disruptions.
Sidenote: Warsaw looks a lot like Minnesota (at least from the airport) and is very similar in temperature. Although we had just gotten off a plane, Poland requires you to go through security a second time. Interestingly, their security guards wear uniforms that look like some of the military uniforms in the US--including camouflage pants. From the airport, were bussed a short way to our small plane and climbed the drop-down stairway to board our LOT Polish Airlines plane to Prague.
After arriving in Prague, the first thing we noticed is how clean the airport was and the few number of people in the airport. Ruzyné, Prague's airport, isn't like those in the US with people bustling all over the place. Instead, Ruzyné is quite, very clean, and aside from the few people working there, basically looks dead. Interestingly, we saw a man and women rollerblading around the airport (presumably security guards, but they also could have been just there to get some exercise)--a scene we would NEVER see in the US (maybe around a mall, but not in an airport).
After getting our baggage, we looked for our shuttle driver. However, Schawnne's name (she made the reservation) didn't appear on any of the hand-held signs. Because of our delays, we were worried our driver had come at a different time or hadn't arrived yet and decided we needed to get online to check. Ruzyné, like many airports in the US, doesn't give free Wifi to airport "guests/passengers." Near the exit of the airport we saw a sign for "free Wifi" in the window of a cellphone and computer gadget store. Schawnee asked the young man working at the store to connect to the internet on her new tablet. Turns out that in order for our shuttle company to pick us up there was a link we needed to click on, but because we didn't have internet access during our travels, we didn't know and didn't click the link--leaving us without a shuttle service. So, with no shuttle, we had to brainstorm other safe ways of getting to our apartment.
Luckily, the nice young man who had allowed us to use his internet, mentioned two choices--1) to take a taxi from the airport, costly roughly $70 OR 2) to take the bus to the metro (or "Tube" as they call it here) and then walk the rest of the way. He was even willing to give us free bus/metro passes if we chose that route. Wanting to save on costs and up for the adventure, we decided to take public transportation. After boarding bus #119 which was to take us to the metro, we noticed the man that had been sitting next to Schawnne on the flight from Warsaw to Prague. Although American, he was well aquatinted with the Prague lifestyle and had lived here for 2 years. He helped direct us from the bus to the metro and told us which stop to get off at. Thankfully everyone here has been very nice and helpful.
We exited the metro at the second stop, as instructed, and rode the escalator up into into a beautiful, sunny garden with a fountain in the middle--paradise compared to the last 24 hours. Taking a minute to sit down with our baggage, we decided to orient ourselves. The problem was, neither one of us had the exact location of our apartment (nor had we printed out a google map of the apartment's location before leaving home). Luckily, however, I had written down the address and Schawnne had purchased a map of Prague in the States (something I should have also done) so we were able to guess which way to go.
Turns out, the metro let us off about 1/2 mile away from our apartment, which would have been fine except I brought 2 suitcases and a backpack so my arms were about to "break" off by the time we got to our "new home away from home." That... and the streets are pretty narrow here and made of cobblestone so maneuvering two suitcases was tough work and LOUD. We must have screamed "American" the entire way to our apartment.
Our apartment is in a really nice spot, near the Karluv Most (Charles Bridge) and within walking distance of our school (about a mile away). We're planning on walking there tomorrow to check it out. I've put up a few first pictures on facebook (check them out)!
After unpacking (and talking a much-needed shower), we decided to do a little walking around so see the sights near our apartment. The architecture here is very medieval with numerous statues and everything is built in stone and marble. Starving, we ended up at a little cafe near our apartment for lunch/dinner. Great pesto pasta and honey pie!
Sidenote: Warsaw looks a lot like Minnesota (at least from the airport) and is very similar in temperature. Although we had just gotten off a plane, Poland requires you to go through security a second time. Interestingly, their security guards wear uniforms that look like some of the military uniforms in the US--including camouflage pants. From the airport, were bussed a short way to our small plane and climbed the drop-down stairway to board our LOT Polish Airlines plane to Prague.
After arriving in Prague, the first thing we noticed is how clean the airport was and the few number of people in the airport. Ruzyné, Prague's airport, isn't like those in the US with people bustling all over the place. Instead, Ruzyné is quite, very clean, and aside from the few people working there, basically looks dead. Interestingly, we saw a man and women rollerblading around the airport (presumably security guards, but they also could have been just there to get some exercise)--a scene we would NEVER see in the US (maybe around a mall, but not in an airport).
After getting our baggage, we looked for our shuttle driver. However, Schawnne's name (she made the reservation) didn't appear on any of the hand-held signs. Because of our delays, we were worried our driver had come at a different time or hadn't arrived yet and decided we needed to get online to check. Ruzyné, like many airports in the US, doesn't give free Wifi to airport "guests/passengers." Near the exit of the airport we saw a sign for "free Wifi" in the window of a cellphone and computer gadget store. Schawnee asked the young man working at the store to connect to the internet on her new tablet. Turns out that in order for our shuttle company to pick us up there was a link we needed to click on, but because we didn't have internet access during our travels, we didn't know and didn't click the link--leaving us without a shuttle service. So, with no shuttle, we had to brainstorm other safe ways of getting to our apartment.
Luckily, the nice young man who had allowed us to use his internet, mentioned two choices--1) to take a taxi from the airport, costly roughly $70 OR 2) to take the bus to the metro (or "Tube" as they call it here) and then walk the rest of the way. He was even willing to give us free bus/metro passes if we chose that route. Wanting to save on costs and up for the adventure, we decided to take public transportation. After boarding bus #119 which was to take us to the metro, we noticed the man that had been sitting next to Schawnne on the flight from Warsaw to Prague. Although American, he was well aquatinted with the Prague lifestyle and had lived here for 2 years. He helped direct us from the bus to the metro and told us which stop to get off at. Thankfully everyone here has been very nice and helpful.
We exited the metro at the second stop, as instructed, and rode the escalator up into into a beautiful, sunny garden with a fountain in the middle--paradise compared to the last 24 hours. Taking a minute to sit down with our baggage, we decided to orient ourselves. The problem was, neither one of us had the exact location of our apartment (nor had we printed out a google map of the apartment's location before leaving home). Luckily, however, I had written down the address and Schawnne had purchased a map of Prague in the States (something I should have also done) so we were able to guess which way to go.
Turns out, the metro let us off about 1/2 mile away from our apartment, which would have been fine except I brought 2 suitcases and a backpack so my arms were about to "break" off by the time we got to our "new home away from home." That... and the streets are pretty narrow here and made of cobblestone so maneuvering two suitcases was tough work and LOUD. We must have screamed "American" the entire way to our apartment.
Our apartment is in a really nice spot, near the Karluv Most (Charles Bridge) and within walking distance of our school (about a mile away). We're planning on walking there tomorrow to check it out. I've put up a few first pictures on facebook (check them out)!
After unpacking (and talking a much-needed shower), we decided to do a little walking around so see the sights near our apartment. The architecture here is very medieval with numerous statues and everything is built in stone and marble. Starving, we ended up at a little cafe near our apartment for lunch/dinner. Great pesto pasta and honey pie!
As of now, we haven't quite figured out the internet situation in our apartment, so we're currently at Starbucks using theirs. It's truly amazing how many things over here are like the States. English is used a lot of the signs, and most people over here can speak "broken" English (or better). I'd like to start learning a few necessary Czech phrases though--maybe tomorrow.
That's all for now... more adventures tomorrow.
That's all for now... more adventures tomorrow.
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