What I am looking forward to coming home to...
friends and family
Mexican food
my bed
cats
dishwashers
clothes dryers
Netflix
ice
free water in restaurants
cash back
unlimited texts and night/weekend minutes
the beach
fro yo from Yogurtland
not sharing a bathroom with 5 people
not living out of an entertainment center and a fireplace
pronouns
What I will miss about Prague...
new friends
the metro
Myšak
the Subway sandwich on Vaclavak
the beer
easy access to everything in Europe
spring
everything about Charles Bridge except the tourists and the construction
Petrin Hill
Termix
paddleboating on the Vltava
blaming things on Communism
Monday, May 11, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
March 5 through March 9
LONDON, BABY!
My fellow theatre major friend, Sarah, and I went to London! Going to London was the first time I needed to fly out of Prague. To get there, I took the green metro line to the end, where I met Sarah, and then we took the bus to the Prague airport. Our flight wasn't until 9:45 so it was dark getting out of the city, and very cold and rainy. We got to the airport with less than an hour to spare, but the Ruzyne Airport is super simple so we made it to the gate, where they have the only quick security check, with plenty of time. We were very spoiled travelers. My only advice to others flying out of Prague: BRING SNACKS! They only sell the same nasty sandwiches and 5 dollar bags of chips everywhere once you go through check-in.
We flew EasyJet, and the trip was pretty uneventful. We flew into Gatwick Airport, got some pounds out of an atm, and made our way through customs. Because of the late departure and the time difference, it was 1am by the time we reached London. We rushed to buy train tickets and ended up on the Gatwick Express to London Victoria, which was a comfortable ride into the city. Once at London Victoria, we made our way to the bus stop, where we finagled some change for tickets, then took two different buses to Russel's Square. It was so amazing to see every sign in English! We were staying at the Generator Hostel. It was listed with a 5-party hat rating in Sarah's hostel guide, but it was the cheapest and had the best location. We had some problems getting into a room even though we had reserved two beds in a four-person dorm. I guess they didn't want to put us in an empty dorm, but they did in the end and we had a room to ourself. The generator rooms were small and the beds squeaky, but at least it was a place to sleep.
http://www.generatorhostels.com/en/london
We woke up Friday morning to clear, sunny skies! What's up London? We ate our amazing breakfast of bran cereal and toast before making our way on three subway trains to the Tower of London! After buying tickets, we made it just in time for the tour, led by Paul the Yeoman. He claimed the E II R on his uniform stood for "Extremely Romantic for 2 minutes". The Tower tour was really interesting. I loved hearing the stories behind the different parts of the castle such as Traitor's Gate. We also saw Edward's Palace and the Crown Jewels!
After exploring a bit, Sarah and I took the London Chipper boat down the Thames to the Bankside stop. We ate the the Tate Museum Cafe, which was delicious, before buying 1 lb audio guides and heading into the Tate Modern museum, which kind of looks like a factory. The audio guides were great. They were kind of like iPods and included a lot of different information options. I listened to some of Jackson Pollack's favorite jazz and the audio guide screen would show pictures of art that influenced whatever painting I was looking at. I enjoyed seeing Picasso and this sculpture called "Thirty Pieces of Silver"
(http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/CollectionDisplays?venueid=2&roomid=5034)
After the museum we walked across the Millenium Bridge and then went home to change. We had tickets to Woman in Mind, which was an interesting play by Alan Ayckbourn. After the play we found an underground wine bar that was all lit with melting candles.
The next morning we met at Wellington Arch for a walking tour. We walked and saw a lot of the city, including the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (it was so crowded!) and Trafalger Square, where our tour guide told us that there were very few pigeons because they had started controlling the population with birth control-laced birdseed. How weird is that? We finished our tour by Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament. I wanted to see the London Eye from across the river, and then we ate lunch at an Italian restaurant with huge menus with lifesized pictures of the food.
Then we walked over to the Wyndham Theatre where Twelfth Night was playing and I convinced Sarah we should get 10 lb standing room tickets. We walked and shopped around Charing Cross and Covent Gardens. The neighborhood reminded me of a little New York. We found a really great shop that sold fair trade African goods. Then we made our way back to the theatre. The show was AMAZING! It was witty and touching and just wonderful. The actors were so inspiring and the design was perfect. I was truly motivated to come home and start auditioning. And the ladies at the box office were nice enough to let us move our standing spots to the lower balcony so we could see much better for the second half. It was closing night so the applause went on for about 10 minutes! After the show we relished over delicious Indian food. Sag aloo!!
The next day, we took a tour of the Globe. It was amazing to be inside the reconstructed theatre. I would love to go back and see a play there someday. Then we ate fish and chips at a nearby tavern.
Then we made our way to the airport, where we missed our flight due to several things going wrong. It was meant to be though because we decided we needed another day in London anyway! We treated our stressed out tummies to some more Indian food then crashed once more at the Generator.
Monday morning we went to the Somerset House - you would never guess that this gorgeous manor existed off the busy streets of London. We walked through the Courtauld Gallery where they have a great impressionist collection. I loved seeing Gaugin's exotic works and Van Gogh's Portrait with a Bandaged Ear. We took the bus to our hostel (we sat in the front on the top level - it looked like we were going to run over everything!) picked up our bags, and had a much more successful trip to the airport, although this time they made me check my bag. Boo Gatwick!
Overall it was a great trip! I definitely want to go back to London someday and explore some more!
Sorry the blogs are coming so slowly!
LONDON, BABY!
My fellow theatre major friend, Sarah, and I went to London! Going to London was the first time I needed to fly out of Prague. To get there, I took the green metro line to the end, where I met Sarah, and then we took the bus to the Prague airport. Our flight wasn't until 9:45 so it was dark getting out of the city, and very cold and rainy. We got to the airport with less than an hour to spare, but the Ruzyne Airport is super simple so we made it to the gate, where they have the only quick security check, with plenty of time. We were very spoiled travelers. My only advice to others flying out of Prague: BRING SNACKS! They only sell the same nasty sandwiches and 5 dollar bags of chips everywhere once you go through check-in.
We flew EasyJet, and the trip was pretty uneventful. We flew into Gatwick Airport, got some pounds out of an atm, and made our way through customs. Because of the late departure and the time difference, it was 1am by the time we reached London. We rushed to buy train tickets and ended up on the Gatwick Express to London Victoria, which was a comfortable ride into the city. Once at London Victoria, we made our way to the bus stop, where we finagled some change for tickets, then took two different buses to Russel's Square. It was so amazing to see every sign in English! We were staying at the Generator Hostel. It was listed with a 5-party hat rating in Sarah's hostel guide, but it was the cheapest and had the best location. We had some problems getting into a room even though we had reserved two beds in a four-person dorm. I guess they didn't want to put us in an empty dorm, but they did in the end and we had a room to ourself. The generator rooms were small and the beds squeaky, but at least it was a place to sleep.
http://www.generatorhostels.com/en/london
We woke up Friday morning to clear, sunny skies! What's up London? We ate our amazing breakfast of bran cereal and toast before making our way on three subway trains to the Tower of London! After buying tickets, we made it just in time for the tour, led by Paul the Yeoman. He claimed the E II R on his uniform stood for "Extremely Romantic for 2 minutes". The Tower tour was really interesting. I loved hearing the stories behind the different parts of the castle such as Traitor's Gate. We also saw Edward's Palace and the Crown Jewels!
After exploring a bit, Sarah and I took the London Chipper boat down the Thames to the Bankside stop. We ate the the Tate Museum Cafe, which was delicious, before buying 1 lb audio guides and heading into the Tate Modern museum, which kind of looks like a factory. The audio guides were great. They were kind of like iPods and included a lot of different information options. I listened to some of Jackson Pollack's favorite jazz and the audio guide screen would show pictures of art that influenced whatever painting I was looking at. I enjoyed seeing Picasso and this sculpture called "Thirty Pieces of Silver"
(http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/CollectionDisplays?venueid=2&roomid=5034)
After the museum we walked across the Millenium Bridge and then went home to change. We had tickets to Woman in Mind, which was an interesting play by Alan Ayckbourn. After the play we found an underground wine bar that was all lit with melting candles.
The next morning we met at Wellington Arch for a walking tour. We walked and saw a lot of the city, including the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (it was so crowded!) and Trafalger Square, where our tour guide told us that there were very few pigeons because they had started controlling the population with birth control-laced birdseed. How weird is that? We finished our tour by Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament. I wanted to see the London Eye from across the river, and then we ate lunch at an Italian restaurant with huge menus with lifesized pictures of the food.
Then we walked over to the Wyndham Theatre where Twelfth Night was playing and I convinced Sarah we should get 10 lb standing room tickets. We walked and shopped around Charing Cross and Covent Gardens. The neighborhood reminded me of a little New York. We found a really great shop that sold fair trade African goods. Then we made our way back to the theatre. The show was AMAZING! It was witty and touching and just wonderful. The actors were so inspiring and the design was perfect. I was truly motivated to come home and start auditioning. And the ladies at the box office were nice enough to let us move our standing spots to the lower balcony so we could see much better for the second half. It was closing night so the applause went on for about 10 minutes! After the show we relished over delicious Indian food. Sag aloo!!
The next day, we took a tour of the Globe. It was amazing to be inside the reconstructed theatre. I would love to go back and see a play there someday. Then we ate fish and chips at a nearby tavern.
Then we made our way to the airport, where we missed our flight due to several things going wrong. It was meant to be though because we decided we needed another day in London anyway! We treated our stressed out tummies to some more Indian food then crashed once more at the Generator.
Monday morning we went to the Somerset House - you would never guess that this gorgeous manor existed off the busy streets of London. We walked through the Courtauld Gallery where they have a great impressionist collection. I loved seeing Gaugin's exotic works and Van Gogh's Portrait with a Bandaged Ear. We took the bus to our hostel (we sat in the front on the top level - it looked like we were going to run over everything!) picked up our bags, and had a much more successful trip to the airport, although this time they made me check my bag. Boo Gatwick!
Overall it was a great trip! I definitely want to go back to London someday and explore some more!
Sorry the blogs are coming so slowly!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Dresden, Germany
"Sprechen Sie Englisch?"
So Kelly and I left last Saturday morning for Dresden. Our train left Holešovice nádraží at 10:40 but the engine had mechanical problems so we didn't arrive in Dresden until 3pm or so. We sat in a compartment with a nice German man named Stefan who was very talkative the whole way there. We stayed at the Kangaroo hostel, an Australian themed place right near the train station which was very funky. Kelly and I were really hungry so after check in, we walked to a restaurant recommended by her Let's Go guidebook called Planwirtschaff, which specializes in locally grown foods. It was all very delicious, especially the potatoes au gratin. After dinner, we walked around Neustadt (New Town) which has a very young, alternative atmosphere. Unfortunately, many people were out of town for Carnival so the streets were pretty empty. But we had fun walking around the shops, discovering Leibniz cookies (yummy cookies dipped in chocolate), checking out all the crazy graffiti in New Town. I don't think it's illegal there. We actually saw some people with paint and spray cans decorating a wall. We also got some delicious apples at a local market. Kelly took German in high school, so that was very helpful in getting around and reading signs and things.
After walking around a bit, we went back to the hostel. We were both very tired and almost fell asleep! But we said, "No! We must go out!" and picked ourselves back up. First we went to the chocolate bar and had delicious chocolate cake and coffee. Then we wandered a bit and found a jazz club that had been recommended to us called the Blue Note. I ordered a hefeweizen, and thought of Grandma! We listened to a guy with a guitar called evilmrsod, and he was pretty good. The crowd was very quiet, which was probably frustrating for him. On the way home, we got french fries to go (we called them "pommes frittes go home") and made it a fairly early night, especially for Europe, which was around 1am.
We woke up on Sunday, checked out of our hostel, stored our luggage, and made our way to Old Town (Auldstadt). We crossed a beautiful bridge (though not as beautiful as Charles) and we greeted with large looming churches and old baroque buildings. There is a lot of interesting historical architecture in Dresden. A lot of the churches are black in color because of the WWII bombing that occurred. I really loved one wall, covered in a mosaic, called Fürstenzug or the Procession of the Dukes. We also saw the Frauenkirche, a beautiful church that kind of looks like a cake that has been very recently restored. We ate lunch at Cafe Aha, which specializes in organic and vegetarian food. Kelly has been very sweet about finding vegetarian places for me to eat. We both ordered potato soup. which came in two massive bowls that we didn't think we would finish, but we did because it was so delicious.
We hiked back to the hostel, got our bags, and headed for the train station. The train ride home was pretty uneventful. It was fairly foggy so it was harder to see the sandstone mountains or the Santa's Village-like German towns that line the river that we saw on our way.
Yay Dresden! More pictures to come soon...
So Kelly and I left last Saturday morning for Dresden. Our train left Holešovice nádraží at 10:40 but the engine had mechanical problems so we didn't arrive in Dresden until 3pm or so. We sat in a compartment with a nice German man named Stefan who was very talkative the whole way there. We stayed at the Kangaroo hostel, an Australian themed place right near the train station which was very funky. Kelly and I were really hungry so after check in, we walked to a restaurant recommended by her Let's Go guidebook called Planwirtschaff, which specializes in locally grown foods. It was all very delicious, especially the potatoes au gratin. After dinner, we walked around Neustadt (New Town) which has a very young, alternative atmosphere. Unfortunately, many people were out of town for Carnival so the streets were pretty empty. But we had fun walking around the shops, discovering Leibniz cookies (yummy cookies dipped in chocolate), checking out all the crazy graffiti in New Town. I don't think it's illegal there. We actually saw some people with paint and spray cans decorating a wall. We also got some delicious apples at a local market. Kelly took German in high school, so that was very helpful in getting around and reading signs and things.
After walking around a bit, we went back to the hostel. We were both very tired and almost fell asleep! But we said, "No! We must go out!" and picked ourselves back up. First we went to the chocolate bar and had delicious chocolate cake and coffee. Then we wandered a bit and found a jazz club that had been recommended to us called the Blue Note. I ordered a hefeweizen, and thought of Grandma! We listened to a guy with a guitar called evilmrsod, and he was pretty good. The crowd was very quiet, which was probably frustrating for him. On the way home, we got french fries to go (we called them "pommes frittes go home") and made it a fairly early night, especially for Europe, which was around 1am.
We woke up on Sunday, checked out of our hostel, stored our luggage, and made our way to Old Town (Auldstadt). We crossed a beautiful bridge (though not as beautiful as Charles) and we greeted with large looming churches and old baroque buildings. There is a lot of interesting historical architecture in Dresden. A lot of the churches are black in color because of the WWII bombing that occurred. I really loved one wall, covered in a mosaic, called Fürstenzug or the Procession of the Dukes. We also saw the Frauenkirche, a beautiful church that kind of looks like a cake that has been very recently restored. We ate lunch at Cafe Aha, which specializes in organic and vegetarian food. Kelly has been very sweet about finding vegetarian places for me to eat. We both ordered potato soup. which came in two massive bowls that we didn't think we would finish, but we did because it was so delicious.
We hiked back to the hostel, got our bags, and headed for the train station. The train ride home was pretty uneventful. It was fairly foggy so it was harder to see the sandstone mountains or the Santa's Village-like German towns that line the river that we saw on our way.
Yay Dresden! More pictures to come soon...
Sunday, February 15, 2009
It's Sunday in Prague! Time has flown by quickly, I didn't realize it's been over a week since my last real blog. I'm sitting on my bed listening to music and eating my new favorite treat, nutella and pretzels. I've been lazy today because I went to my first discoteque last night and came home at 5am! The dancing at clubs doesn't get going until 2am or so. The place we went is called Termix and me and my neighbor danced all night long to Abba, Justin, and the Grease medley.
So last week I began class at the Anglo-American University, which everyone has deemed to be Prague's community college. My schedule is as follows:
Tuesday
9:30-11:15am Czech 101
2:45-6:00pm European Film Seminar
Wednesday
9:30-11:15am Czech 101
11:30am-2:15pm Gender Equality in Europe
Thursday
11:30am-2:15pm Prague Art and Architecture
I'll write more about my classes once we get deeper into the subjects. The first week was mostly intro info.
Tuesday, Feb. 10 was a very rainy day but I still wanted to walk home from school. I walked across Charles Bridge, along the Valta River, and I stopped at an English bookstore called The Globe to get some tea for the chilly walk home. Wednesday was a snowy day. All most all of the kids are from Wisconsin or other snow cities so I was made fun of a bit for my fascination with the snow. It's just so pretty! I thought that a cold snowy day would be good for a look at the Old Jewish Cemetery in the Jewish Quarter, which is north of Old Town Square.
As about.com states, "The Old Jewish Cemetery was created in the 15th century when Jews were forbidden to bury their dead outside their own district. Space was scarce, so bodies were buried on top of each other in an estimated 12 layers. Over the centuries, lopsided tombstones formed unruly, poetic groupings." and Rick Steves says that there are over 9,000 gravestones there. It was very serene inside the cemetery. I took this picture real quick, because I wasn't sure if I was allowed to or not.
Later Wednesday night, I went back to The Globe with some of my roommates for snacks and drinks and I had delicious spinach artichoke dip. Then me and my room roommate Kelly went to a bar called U Sudo, which looks like a normal bar from the outside, but actually is made up of descending cavern-like rooms that go underground. We drank pivos and discussed travel plans, and we were surrounded by young Czechs who kept breaking into song. The whole bar seemed to be singing at one point. I can't wait to learn the words! On the way home, we got fried cheese sandwiches, called smažený sýr, which tasted absolutely delicious after a few Pilsners.
Yesterday I made a successful trek to LaundryLand to do a couple loads of laundry. I was nervous because I had read online that the people that work there can be mean to Americans, but the lady that worked at the one I went to was perfectly nice. She was even kind enough to tell me that my Czech bottle of soap was in fact not soap, but fabric softener.
I'm off to a show! I'll write more soon. <3
So last week I began class at the Anglo-American University, which everyone has deemed to be Prague's community college. My schedule is as follows:
Tuesday
9:30-11:15am Czech 101
2:45-6:00pm European Film Seminar
Wednesday
9:30-11:15am Czech 101
11:30am-2:15pm Gender Equality in Europe
Thursday
11:30am-2:15pm Prague Art and Architecture
I'll write more about my classes once we get deeper into the subjects. The first week was mostly intro info.
Tuesday, Feb. 10 was a very rainy day but I still wanted to walk home from school. I walked across Charles Bridge, along the Valta River, and I stopped at an English bookstore called The Globe to get some tea for the chilly walk home. Wednesday was a snowy day. All most all of the kids are from Wisconsin or other snow cities so I was made fun of a bit for my fascination with the snow. It's just so pretty! I thought that a cold snowy day would be good for a look at the Old Jewish Cemetery in the Jewish Quarter, which is north of Old Town Square.
As about.com states, "The Old Jewish Cemetery was created in the 15th century when Jews were forbidden to bury their dead outside their own district. Space was scarce, so bodies were buried on top of each other in an estimated 12 layers. Over the centuries, lopsided tombstones formed unruly, poetic groupings." and Rick Steves says that there are over 9,000 gravestones there. It was very serene inside the cemetery. I took this picture real quick, because I wasn't sure if I was allowed to or not.Later Wednesday night, I went back to The Globe with some of my roommates for snacks and drinks and I had delicious spinach artichoke dip. Then me and my room roommate Kelly went to a bar called U Sudo, which looks like a normal bar from the outside, but actually is made up of descending cavern-like rooms that go underground. We drank pivos and discussed travel plans, and we were surrounded by young Czechs who kept breaking into song. The whole bar seemed to be singing at one point. I can't wait to learn the words! On the way home, we got fried cheese sandwiches, called smažený sýr, which tasted absolutely delicious after a few Pilsners.
Yesterday I made a successful trek to LaundryLand to do a couple loads of laundry. I was nervous because I had read online that the people that work there can be mean to Americans, but the lady that worked at the one I went to was perfectly nice. She was even kind enough to tell me that my Czech bottle of soap was in fact not soap, but fabric softener.
I'm off to a show! I'll write more soon. <3
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Skype World rocks my socks
I signed up for a Skype World account, which gives me 3 months of voicemail service and an online number that you can call from any phone for local rates (as long as you're in southern california). My skype account number is (714) 881-3383. From what I understand, it's local rates for all you 714's and 949's or it probably just uses your minutes. Even if I'm not online, leave me a message!
Another handy tip for calling internationally is callingcard.com. All you do is call an 800 # from your cell phone and from there it connects you to international calls but you only use domestic minutes.
So call me! I would love to hear from you! and I'm only 9 hours ahead :)
Another handy tip for calling internationally is callingcard.com. All you do is call an 800 # from your cell phone and from there it connects you to international calls but you only use domestic minutes.
So call me! I would love to hear from you! and I'm only 9 hours ahead :)
Saturday, February 7, 2009
the communist elevator
I forgot to talk about the crazy elevator we saw in a nearby apartment! I did a little research and found out it's called a paternoster. I won't even describe it, just check out this video of one I found on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXR0_mJnO-U
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