Prague and Dresden (Blog #2 Due March 29th)

7: Field Trip #1

I can officially say that our first field trip was a success!  I had been looking forward to going to Prague and Dresden, and I can’t believe it is already over. Even though I had already been to Prague just a couple weeks ago, I was ecstatic to go back.  I get the feeling that Prague is just one of those places you can visit over and over and always find something new and interesting to do.  I already felt comfortable finding my way around, and I was ready to explore more of Prague with the group.  Our adventure started early Thursday morning when we boarded the train from Olomouc to Prague.  This was the first train I had ever been on, and I really enjoyed it.  It was much easier than traveling by airplane, the views were amazing, and the seats were super comfortable.  When we arrived in Prague we walked straight to our hostel to check in and freshen up.  This was also the first hostel I had ever been in, and it completely exceeded my expectations.  It was clean, comfortable, and the staff was very friendly.  After a short rest in the hostel we were ready for our first tour of Prague with Martin (one of our professors.)  Martin took us through the Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, and finally the John Lennon Wall.  Although I had just been to these spots about two weeks ago, it was still just as breathtaking as the first time I saw them.  I also feel like I was able to appreciate them even more because I could spot other details that I had not noticed the first time.   From the John Lennon Wall we were free to do what we wanted, so a few of us went to find food and relax back at the hostel.  Later that night we met Martin again and the Astronomical Clock to go to a pub for a few drinks.  The next day was full of so many adventures, starting with a tour of the Prague Castle.  From the castle, a group of us decided to use our free time by finding the Petrin tower.   We knew we had to go uphill to get to the tower, but we did not know exactly which route to take.  We ended up getting lost, but it was completely worth it.  We found an amazing pizza restaurant and a beautiful view of Prague from the Monastery.  Eventually we made it to the Petrin tower, which is basically Prague’s much smaller version of the Eiffel Tower.  After climbing all the way to the top, we were exhausted and ready to head back to our hostel.  On our way back to the hostel, we walked past a Thai massage store.  Lauren, Mei and I decided to go in and try the “fish spa.”  This is where you dip your feet into a tank with these strange little fish, and they swim up to your feet and eat the dead skin off of your feet and legs.  I was a little nervous because I am so ticklish on my feet, but I was also excited to try something so different!  It was very uncomfortable, but in the end I was glad that I tried it.  Later that night, Erica and I decided that we wanted to try another new activity, so we went to a blacklight show.  The show was titled “Frankenstein” but it was nothing like the original Frankenstein that we were thinking of.  It was a confusing and twisted version, but it was really cool to see how the actors staged everything for the show.  I don’t really know how to describe it, but many of the actors wore all black and moved the props around so it almost looked animated.  

Top of the Petrin Tower

Fish Spa

 These first two days were fun and exciting, but the next couple of days were a little more emotional.  Saturday we traveled to Dresden, Germany to spend most of our day.  In Dresden, we first visited the Frauenkirche, a dome shaped church that was nearly destroyed by the bombings of World War II.  After seeing the pictures of the church when it was bombed, I was in awe at the fact that they were able to reconstruct the entire church to the way that it is today.  I thought it was really special that they were able to use some of the bricks from the original church to rebuild the new church.  The darker colored bricks are the ones that were in the original church.  Since we did not have much time in Dresden, we were only able to see one more museum before we headed back to Prague.  I was happily surprised at how beautiful of a city Dresden is, considering the fact that it was devastated by the bombings.  After about five short hours in Dresden, it was time to go back to Prague. Although we did not have much time in Germany, it was still an unforgettable experience.  We spent most of our last day at the Jewish Quarter in Prague, which was another emotional experience.  We learned that nearly 85,000 Jews had died in the Czech Republic during the World War II era.  The names of all of these victims are written inside of the Synagogue, which was a little hard to take in.  I could not imagine being as mistreated as they were, and it made my heart very heavy.  We also saw the Old Jewish cemetery, which was quite unique.  Since the cemetery space was so small and concentrated, there are tombstones scattered all over the surface and layers upon layers of bodies buried underneath.  This was one of my favorite things we were able to see on this field trip!

Frauenkirche

Old Jewish Cemetery

I am already reminiscing on the moments of this trip, and I cannot wait for our next field trip to Vienna and Austria!

Paris and Prague (Blog #1 Due March 22)

10:Personal Excursions
I have been anxiously waiting to post into my blog ever since I arrived in Europe!  I feel like I could go on and on about all of the excursions I have already done within the past 10 days, but I will try my best to keep it short and sweet.  Now that I am settled into my dorm, I have had time to reflect on the time I spent in Paris and Prague before meeting the UNK group.  On March 8^th, I arrived in Paris with my mother, brother, and sister in law.  We were super tired from the jet lag, but we decided to stay awake and explore the area around our hotel.  Since this was our first time in Europe, I think our excitement kept us going even though we were exhausted from traveling.  Our first stop was Notre Dame, which was absolutely breathtaking!  It is definitely one of those places where pictures just don’t do justice for how beautiful it really is.  The next day in Paris we visited the famous Louvre museum!  I was in awe at the crowds and crowds of tourists in the Louvre, but it was definitely worth the trip.  I also never thought that I would ever see the Mona Lisa in real life, but on this day that became a reality!  There were so many other stunning pieces of artwork in the Louvre, but I have to say that Mona Lisa was by far my favorite.  The last big excursion we went on in Paris was our trip to the Eiffel Tower on March 10th.  Although I have seen the Eiffel Tower a countless number of times in pictures, my jaw still dropped at that first glimpse I saw of it in real life.  It was one of those moments where I could not believe my eyes, and I must say it left me speechless.  After taking probably a hundred pictures outside of the Eiffel Tower, we got the chance to go all the way to the very top.  The views from the top of the Eiffel Tower were simply gorgeous, and I did not realize how big Paris was until I was all the way up there looking down at the city. 

The next morning we had an early flight to Prague, and I have to admit that I was very sad leaving Paris.  However, I was excited to be in the Czech Republic and continue to explore more of Europe!  Since we were in Prague, one of the first things we decided to do was go to a pub and try the world famous Czech Pivo (beer)!  We also stopped by the Astronomical Clock and walked around in the Old Town Square.  I could not believe the beautiful architecture in Prague.  It is truly indescribable, but if I had to describe it I would say it is something straight out of a gothic fairy tale.  We were once again tired from travel, so we called it a night and woke up early the next morning to explore more of Prague.  After miles of walking around the Old Town Square area that day, we were happy to relax on a dinner cruise boat along the river that night.  It was yet another spectacular excursion, and it was so fun to see the town of Prague lit up at night from the river.  The next couple of days consisted of more tours around Prague, including a tour of the Prague Castle, and some other big tourist spots.  On our tour of the Prague Castle I was continually amazed at all of the historical events that our guide told us about that had all happened in Prague.  I was also surprised to hear that the Prague Castle is the biggest castle in the world!  On top of the tour, we got to spend some time at the John Lennon wall and the church where the Infant Jesus of Prague is located.  They were both very interesting to see in person!  

March 15^th quickly arrived and I knew I had to say goodbye to my family and hello to my UNK group!  I was very fortunate to have spent all of this time with my family here in Europe, and it was so nice that they were able to drop me off at the airport and wish me luck on my adventure.  I am now settled into my dorm at Olomouc, as I mentioned before, and although everything is still in a trial-and-error stage, I am already having a blast.  I will be updating my blog as much as my free time will allow, but for now I’m Czech’n out!