Ok! So it has officially been a
week since I left for the Czech Republic. It has been a few hectic and amazing
days and I will try to fill you in as best as I can.
P.S. Sorry if it gets lengthy. Here we go!
Leaving home was an interesting
endeavor to say the least. Mom and I packed and repacked my bags countless
times the night before and then tried to figure out how much it weighed… yeah.
The day of departure really wasn’t too bad. Got to the airport way earlier than
I needed to, hung out with my parents for a bit, and then boarded the plane.
The first flight was pretty easy, nothing crazy, but the Minneapolis airport
was crazy nice, like don’t touch anything nice. For the international flight I
was actually surprised at the amount of room that the seats afforded and it was
a fairly pleasant experience. I watched a movie, listened to music, attempted
to talk to the French people that surrounded me and took a small nap so you
could say I was a happy camperJ.
Skipping to Prague now, I am so very grateful that we had a fellow Nebraskan
come to pick us up at the airport. I’m pretty sure it would have taken me hours
to figure out how to get to the hostel we were staying at from where we were.
Let’s just say that navigating the subway and trams with a full set of luggage
and nearly 20 people in a group was crazy. Our hotel, Mosaic House, was
awesome! I was in a room of six girls total and it was surprisingly spacious
with three sets of bunks and a bathroom that was to die for (sorry mom, forgot
to take pictures). BUT!! I did take pictures of my first official Czech meal
and Czech beer, and trust me when I say both were amazing! After dinner a few
of us went on a little sightseeing tour then proceeded to pass out cold back at
the hostel.
The next few days kind of run
together, my sister/friend/roommate Kait and I decided to go on a walking tour
of Prague that was provided by our hostel the next morning. We ended up
learning a few words in Czech, some history, ghost stories and some local
customs with a bunch of other people from the hostel. We also met some cool
people from the states that were traveling Europe too, one girl was from
Michigan and two guys that are from Chicago but just graduated from Iowa State,
so shout out to you guys if you ever read this! The five of us decided to go
explore and we found some really cool places. We visited Prague Castle and
attempted to find this beer garden that our tour guide told us about and ended
up getting lost instead, which was fun in its own way. We got to explore the
night life of the city and found this awesome pub that you just climbing down
and down from one room to the next. No one knew how far underground we were but
it was old and fun and it made us wonder what it had been used for in the past.
The next day we had the bright idea to climb the tower on Petron Hill which is
a replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris but a third of the size and because of
the hill it is the exact height above sea level as the tower in Paris. We walked
from our hostel in Praha 2 (Prague) to Praha 1, up this hill that looked like
it would never end and finally reached a series of steps that kept going like
the energizer bunny. When we reached the top of the hill we had to climb to the
top of the tower and believe me when I tell you it sucked but was worth every
pain. It was the best view in Prague and we even visited a monastery on the way
down and enjoyed a few mugs of their special amber beer that they brew
themselves. That was our last day in Prague so the night was spent hanging out
and eating Kebabs (which are amazing) and talking with people that we met. And
that was the end of Prague!
Now here are some pictures! Enjoy :)
So this is Kait and I at the airport in Omaha waiting to start our adventure!
And this is us again drinking our first mug of Czech Beer or Pivo in the Czech Language. ( It was one of the first words we learned. we do have priorities you know.
For my first traditional Czech meal I had this amazing dish of grilled pork with potato and bread dumplings and a sweet tasting sauerkraut. Yum Yum!
After dinner a few of us walked to the Charles Bridge to see it lit up at night. Pretty right?
This is the Astronomical Clock in Prague's Old Town Square. It is one of the oldest of its kind in the region and is the only one with moving hands because of recent repairs. On the tour that took us to the clock our guide told us the story of how the creator had his eyes taken out because the mayor (I think) that commissioned the clock to be made thought he was making plans to build another more beautiful structure for someone else. It turns out the creator was making plans for bettering this clock, not making a new one. In retaliation for his loss of sight the now blind creator had his assistant sneak him into the structure so that he could remove a small clog, rendering the clock useless and out of commission for years.
On the walk up to Prague Castle we decided to try out this thing called Hot Potatoes... pretty much a spiraled potato, on a stick, covered in salt and grease. It was delicious.
And here is the amazing view from Prague Castle.
This is St.Vitus Church that lies within the Castle walls. I literally backed up as far as I could go and still couldn't get the majority of the building in this picture. Its still beautiful and I cant wait to go inside on my next visit to Prague.
And here is a picture of Jess (with the camera), Brian (a new friend), and Kait all trying to figure out how to find this amazing beer garden we had heard about. We couldn't find it and got lost.
Kait, Jess and I with part of the city behind us.
And here is our group of new friends that we met at our hostel, the Mosaic House. From the left its Spencer (a new friend), Kait, Sierra (another new friend), Me and finally Brian (and another new friend). We took this picture on the top of the tower on Petron Hill. It was a pain in the keister to get to, and I'm pretty sure I dropped a pant size or two just climbing to the top, but it was well worth the effort to see the best view of Prague.
And here it is! Remember that cool view a few pictures ago? Yeah we are now looking down on top of Prague Castle here and it was breath taking.
