Photographical Documentation

The Paris and Scotland pictures are up on facebook here.
Germany will hopefully be soon but might have to wait till I get back from Poland.

Czech, Czech-- One, Two, But not Three

So I don't know if anyone still reads this blog seeing how I have been less than dedicated in keeping up with it lately, but I will do my best to fill in some of the gaps of the last month.

I finally have my pictures of France and Scotland, and I am afraid I will be lazy and just post the pictures on facebook and try to describe the trip through captions.
However, seeing as my trips to Prague and Germany are slightly more recent, I will make some attempt of blogging about them.

Starting with Prague:
This highly anticipated trip that I took in the beginning of November was slightly different than from what I expected but very enjoyable nonetheless. Originally, the plan was for Lena, Jess, Sarina (UCI), Michelle (UCSB), and I to have three full days in the city; however, the lovely Wizz Air decided to change their flight days around, which resulted in flying out early on Friday and coming back early on Sunday. Undeterred by the 7 and 6am flights, we were willing to make the best of it. We also found out that two of our friends, Brendan (Canadian) and Thomas (Illinois-ian) decided to come with us on the trip. Traveling in big groups is always an adventure, but thankfully I have been enduring...er enjoying... it for nearly a decade, so I was somewhat prepared.

After a brisk early morning walk to the bus and train station, an hour bus ride to the airport, relatively brief plane flight, long bus ride and metro ride into town, we had arrived in Prague around 10am! After checking into our refreshingly nostalgic Soviet hotel, us girls planned to meet the guys (who had a hostel elsewhere) at the Old Town Square for another Free Walking Tour. For some reason, the guys weren't able to find the tour group, but they didn't miss much. This was my fourth tour with the Sandmann's Walking Tour, and it has been alternatively fantastic and unimpressive (Berlin- great; Paris- not; Edinburgh- great; Prague- not). Despite our ADHD, unfunny guide, we were able to see a good deal of the historical sights of Prague and learn some interesting facts in the moments when we weren't trying to keep from simultaneously freezing and falling asleep.

After the tour, we defrosted at a cafe with the help of some delightfully spicy chili hot chocolate then went to the famous Charles VI Bridge that was lined with 30 or so important saints. In addition to seeing some spectacular views of the river, Prague Castle, and other parts of the city, Michelle was even able to rub the left foot of the statue of St. John Nepomuk, which will either bring her bad luck or babies (the right one would have given her good luck or love).

With that important business out of the way, Sarina and Michelle went souvenir shopping while Jess, Lena, and I tried to go to the Jewish Museum that featured artwork of Czech children in Auschwitz. Unfortunately, it was closed, so we spent almost an hour on the steps of the State Opera House. This was the same building that our tour guide told us that during the Nazi Occupation, Hitler decided to come and visit Prague; so in preparation for his visit, Nazi officials attempted to remove the Jewish composer Mendelson's statue from the Opera House building by picking the statue with the "most Jewish (i.e. biggest) nose". However, they ended up pushing off Wagner's statue-- Hitler's favorite composer.

After killing time by taking countless jumping pictures off the steps, we finally met up with shoppers and after some more waiting, the long-lost guys found their way to the Opera House as well. We all went to dinner at probably the most touristy place in Prague possible and ate some overpriced albeit tasty "Czech food." However, the day would get much better when we all went back to the Opera House and saw the incredible Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, which is one of the 20th best orchestras in the world. It was such a beautiful, elegant experience. After the concert, we had some delicious mulled wine in the Square then somehow made it back to our hotel and crashed.

The next day, we ate a yummy breakfast of bread, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, and cake and set out to meet Brenden, Thomas, and now Brenden's brother Jason to explore the Prague Castle. The Castle and its many buildings are perched on top of a hill that overlooks the city. It was quintessentially European-- complete with guards and souvenir shops. After viewing the amazing gothic St. Vitus Cathedral, we made our way to a scenic park nearby that was nearby and took in the beautiful autumnal environment.

After a leisurely lunch, we ended up walking around the city a bit until some us split up to go shopping and some went off to see if they could tickets for performances that night. After meeting up again, Thomas, Lena, and Jason decided to see the Swan Lake ballet, while Jess, Brenden, Sarina, Michelle, and I decided to check out an indie Czech band at a nearby bar.
If you are ever in Prague, you should definitely try to see a Czech band at the Balbínova poetická hospudka. Although the place was a little sketchy and more than a little smokey (it gave me a literal whiff of Kaz :), we had a fantastic time. It was highly entertaining and a nice break from all the touristy things we had done before.



After the concert, we met up with the Swan Lakers and enjoyed some quasi-Italian food. Since we had a 3am wake-up time to get to the airport for our 6am flight, we called it a night.
Too few hours later, we caught a taxi to the airport (we weren't sure if public transportation was working at night), but it was well worth the extra money to listen to "Mrs. Robinson" is Czechlish!

Overall, it was a fun and a bit scattered trip. I loved the Soviet/Russian-ness of some of the parts of the town: the metro stations, art, concrete buildings, and even the smell. However, I wasn't expecting the masses of tourists, especially in November, but it's Europe and I need to get used to it, I guess. And of course, traveling and sightseeing with a group of eight people is always an experience!
Stay tuned for an update on Germany hopefully soon! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

P.S. I appear to be having some trouble uploading pictures, but I have an album on facebook that pretty much covers everything here: Czech, Please!