Prague

I have returned from Prague a much happier person. I was definitely beginning to get stressed out because of all of my papers that I have due soon and because the semester is almost over and I have barely seen London. Prague completely changed my perspective though. It is an amazing city. It is one of the prettiest cities I have ever seen, the buildings all look like dollhouses, and it is in my top 3 favorite places I have ever visited (Ireland, Hawaii, and Prague). I'm no longer concerned about getting straight A's here. If I get them that's fine, but I'm not going to spend the rest of the semester studying. I'm learning so much more outside of the classroom anyways, so if that means going out and experiencing London, yet getting B's then so be it.

Friday we arrived in Prague, checked in to our hostel, and met up with some of our friends who had arrived earlier in the day. We went out to a wonderful dinner where I was able to try banana, lime, and sour cherry flavored beer. I really hate beer so I didn't like them too much, but they were interesting. Dinner and dessert were delicious. Dinner was Pivovarský dům which is roasted pork, bohemian dumplings, and sauerkraut. The only thing I liked better than my blueberry stuffed dumplings with cream cheese sauce dessert was the price. Dinner, 3 beer samples, and dessert was under $10. That evening we simply meandered through the city and crashed fairly early.

Saturday we woke up early to take a walking tour of Prague. It was the best thing we could have done. We saw the Old Town, the Jewish Quarter, we took a cruise down the Vltava River, and then visited Prague Castle. It amazed me how old everything in Prague was. I mean in London you hear about buildings being built in the 16th or 17th century. I saw buildings in Prague that were built in the 10th century. Workers started building the castle in the 9th century. The Jewish Quarter was especially interesting. I never realized how everywhere in Europe was affected by World War 2. 80% of Prague's Jewish population did not survive this time period. In fact, a vast majority of Prague's synagogues are no longer active because they do not have enough members. Jews were confined to a small living area in Prague and it was so full of disease that it was destroyed and completely rebuilt in the 19th century. The Jewish Cemetary was unbelievable. The space allotted for a cemetary was so tiny that they were forced to bury people on top of eachother...in some areas 12 people occupy one grave. It is estimated that over 100K people are buried here...yet there are only 12K gravestones. We also saw the famous Charles Bridge. Built in 1357, it is the oldest bridge in Prague and the 2nd oldest in all of the Czech Repub. The river cruise was really nice. It was cold, so we sat inside and sipped on hot chocolate. Lunch was at a cute place where I was able to try another traditional Czech meal...svickova which is beef in a cream sauce accompanied by cranberries and whipped cream on top of a slice of lemon. This was by far my favorite meal. The Castle was breathtaking. That evening we went out to the largest nightclub in middle Europe which was great fun. It was 5 stories and each floor was a different music genre. We actually hung out on the Oldies floor and listened to Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson for a few hours.

Sunday was an extremely busy day. First, we climbed the Old Town Hall Tower to witness brilliant views of the city. Next, we wandered over to Charles Bridge and enjoyed looking at paintings vendors were selling while listening to some music. We also climbed Petrin Hill which is exactly what it sounds like...a hill. On top of Petrin Hill is a replica of the Eiffel Tower. When combined with Petrin Hill, the lookout area is comparable in height to the observation area of the actual Eiffel Tower. It was gorgeous. Next we visited the Loreto, which is a beautiful church, and then we revisited the castle to see Golden Lane. Golden Lane is a very cute little alley next to the castle with very old and tiny homes. The famous author Kafka once lived here. Dinner was a wonderful beef goulash that I am going to try and make when I get home. That evening Paula and I said goodbye to Billy and my roommates Maura and Meg and then went souvenir shopping. When the owner of the store realized how much we were buying, he kept exclaiming, "I love Chicago! Such friendly people live there and friendly people have lots of friends to buy souvenirs for!" haha.

Monday Paula and I strolled around the city. The Czech Republic is known for garnets, so I went to a jewelry store and bought a really nice ring. Other than that, we just walked around until it was time to leave for the airport. We did stop to have a Czech pasty called Kolache. I was so excited when Paula told me about them (she is Czech and her grandmother makes them) because they are what the Polish call Klotchsky (spelled very wrong). They also have Punchsky there (spelled incorrectly as well) and potato pancakes. I remember having all of those things every Fat Tuesday. Yum.

If you ever get the chance to visit Prague, I highly recommend it. I had a wonderful time there. It has been my favorite trip this semester so far. I can't wait to return.

Lately I am feeling so fortunate to have this experience. It is amazing how much I am learning here. Incredibly, most of this learning isn't in the classroom. Not only am I learning about the history of Europe and different cultures...I'm also learning a great deal about myself. I've gained so much confidence in my ability to be independent (I was fairly independent prior to this trip, but now I realize that I can handle any type of emergency situation), I've become more outgoing, and I've learned to stand up for myself. I've also made some amazing friends. I really believe that everyone who can take advantage of an opportunity like this should. If it wasn't for my family and friends, I'd never want to go home.

I will try and get the Prague pics up tomorrow, as well as my Berlin ones and some random London ones.