Oh, where does the time go...

We changed the clocks ahead today! I was vaguely aware that this was going to happen however I didn't realize it until I went to church an hour late. My cell phone here doesn't automatically change the time for me! Oh well.

My computer and I don't always get along lately. My current major issue is the battery. For some reason it is not able to find the AC adapter so it wont charge at all. IT is a brand new battery so I think this might have to do with the power conversion. It works fine when I have it plugged in however if the chord comes out at all the computer shuts down immediately. This has been happening since I have it plugged into an adapter and a surge protector leaving a lot of room for error! Any ideas out there how to fix this? Yes, I know I work for IT...

So lets see what I've been up to with pictures!

This is the "Dancin Building" for Patrick!




















On St. Patrick's day we went to an Irish Pub. I was disappointed but the lack of corn beef and cabbage however I ordered some sort of casserole and it was AMAZING. Probably one of the best meals that I've had in Prague. I will definitely be taking a trip back. The employees also had very fun Irish accents!








Some friends and I went to a fantastic jazz club one night. Clinton played there while he was president. This is a picture of my roommate and I at the club...we never both have our eyes open, oh well.






This is me with my apple strudel from Sustra Strudel. It was featured on Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown. People say that it is the worlds best strudel. The shop is just a window with one man working a bit outside the main city in what some call a "sketchy neighborhood" but its definitely worth the trip. The strudel was about the length of my forearm and cost less than about $2usd. I went alone for my first visit and brought some back for my suite mates (because I accidently ordered poppy and had to get 2, oops for not knowing Czech). We thought they were so amazing that we went back together 2 days later.












I went to the opera twice in one week! I usually love theatre but I don't think I that I'm going to rush back to another Czech opera any time soon.
It's difficult to enjoy with the uncomfortable seats, awkward viewing angle and lack of ability to understand Czech the Czech singing.









Yesterday I went to Dresden, Germany for the afternoon! I haven't been able to upload my pictures yet. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow!

Italy!

I've decided Italy might be one of the most amazing places in the world...it might even beat Disney World. I loooooved it sooo much.

Wednesday we left the Kolej (aka our dorm) at about 4:30AM. I found it funny as we were leaving many people were returning to the Kolej from their evening adventures. Since the night trams are limited we had to take a cab to the airport. Cabs in Prague are known to rip people off, I tried to barter with the driver but I got to frustrated and gave in to the price, oh well.

We arrived in Milan exhausted in the early afternoon with out a plan, a place to stay or any clue how to get from the airport to the actual city (about 1 hour away). Since we were so exhausted we decided to find a place to spend the night in Milan. My friend also knows someone in Milan so we were hoping to be able to get together with her. Here are some pics of our afternoon there:

Outside of the Duomo!













After one night in Milan we decided to head to Rome. We booked a hotel for one night with hotwire.com (cheaper than a hostel) and took a train down south. The hotel turned out to be a small bed and breakfast, I think they were very new and didn't really know what they were doing. It was pretty neat. There was no sign on the door or anything, just an apartment building that we couldn't get in to. We kept buzzing the buzzer but no one was answering, finally after several minutes a guy walking down the street came over and asked us what we were doing in broken english. We told him and he seemed to panic and run around to get things ready. It turned out to be really nice with only a few minor problems from them being so new and confused. When we returned that night we didn't have enough keys to get in the building (we had to go thru 5 different doors-the first one on the right). We buzzed, knocked and buzzed until we finally woke the owner up to let us know, we explained the situation and he said "Impossible!" then he looked at the keys very confused and said "hmmm, well I gave you a tv, enjoy it!". We were very confused but when we returned to our room we found a nice tv! In the morning we asked for breakfast (it said it was included online) this created a lot more confusion but we did end up getting breakfast at a cafe down the street. Since we really like it there and wanted to see more in Rome we also asked to spend another night, this time they gave us an extra key and decided they would deliver breakfast to us in the morning. It was a neat place, language barriers and all!


Here are some pictures I took on Rome!







































































Next we were off to Venice! Again we booked the hotel online using hotwire because it was cheaper than a hostel. Since we were only going to be there one day we decided to get a hotel right in Venice even though it was a probably a little bit more expensive. We just didn't know how transportation would work if we stayed outside of Venice. I think we definitely made the right choice. Our hotel ended up being about 2 minutes from the train station right on the main road. We checked in at the sister hotel which had a lobby right on the main strip, our hotel was the next building over and our entrance was down a very very tiny alley way, we were a little nervous at first but it turned out to be great. The only sketch things were the bathroom sink with the closed drain, and the temperature, it was extremely hot but we just opened the window.
Here are some pics of Venice:

Venice was by far my favorite. I would love to go back and just explore the back streets, especially in the evening when its less crowded. Everything about it was just perfectly warm and fuzzy! I dont know why my text is underlining itself and I can't seem to make it stop...

Milan, Rome, Venice
Italy = Amazing!!!
<3

Happy Birthday Mi Madre!

Going to Italy!!!!

Aaaand I booked a trip to ITALY for next week!!!!! I am leaving early Wednesday morning (March 11) for Milan. I will be returning via Venice on Sunday (March 15). We booked before planning so we have no idea what we are going to do! Any recommendations?!?

Dobry Den! So it has been awhile! I get distracted every time I start to write and then I forgot my password. Anyways, I guess a lot has been going on....Pictures maybe?


Below are pictures from my Czech intensive course classroom. As you can see the view was amazing. I completed a semester long course in 2 weeks! It was certainly intense and we definitely weren't camping (I know, I'm so funny : ) It was a tad overwhelming at first but I managed to catch on quickly. It's really nice to be slightly familiar with the language. It makes daily life a lot less overwhelming.






On Valentines Day I randomly came across this festival right below the Charles Bridge. I could tell that it was definitely for the tourists because the food was pretty expensive by Prague standards. However the entertainment was free and it was definitely an interesting/exciting random run in.
Who doesn't want to see random owls & musicians?












I also saw several random Asian brides in Old Town Square on Valentines Day. I'm really puzzled as to what exactly was going on. Maybe they were filming a movie? Several Asian women wearing white dresses were standing around as the one in the picture attempted to ride a bicycle with the man in the picture (i assume husband to be?) They were being filmed by a couple of cameras...However, if they just got married they didn't seem to attached or loving, they were more "whatever" towards the bike riding situation. It was pretty awkward.
However, I have seen many actual weddings in Prague. It seems almost every time I walk thru Old Town Square one is getting out and no one ever seems too be thrilled about them (just the tourists). The bride and grooms are never overly enthusiastic as they get in the car to leave. It's interesting.


Here is a picture of the "Dancing Building" for you, Patrick! OK..so maybe not the real one. I visited the National Gallery a couple weeks ago and they had a small temporary exhibit about the Dancing Building and how it is the start of a new Prague. It was then I realized that I could probably see the building on my daily tram ride. I still haven't gotten a chance to venture over to that section of town but I can see the building in a distance as I ride the tram over the bridge. I will do my best to get over there soon!





Last Saturday I had dinner at Pivovarský dům. This microbrewery has an interesting assortment of flavored beer including, coffee, banana and cherry. We shared a sample platter! I also had traditional Czech goulash and dumplings. It was a very very heavy meal!










This past Saturday I journeyed outside of Prague to visit Kutna Hora and Kolin. These two towns are about an hour outside of Prague. The highlight of the trip was Sedlec Ossuary. This chapel is decorated with 40,000-70,000 human skeletons. It was certainly a site to see. Everything was made of actual human bones and skulls....The other churches and chapels I saw that day can't really compare...






Well I guess those are about the highlights of my random adventures in and around Prague for now! Maybe I will update more often now that things are finally starting to settle down and real classes have started!

Miss you all! : )


BTW: I can't really take credit for the intense/camping joke. I know you were all impressed by my humor but I stole it from a friend at home (and i think he got it from an elementary school teacher). I'm pretty sure it doesn't have copy rights so you have my permission to repeat it with other daily scenarios. It just gets me every time! : )