Things Just Keep Getting Better

Hello!

Life has been pretty rough for me lately...two weekends ago I was in Munich, Germany for Oktoberfest, a festival dedicated to drinking beer. Then, last weekend I was in the wine region Moravia, Czech Republic where we stayed at a wine vineyard and had unlimited access to wine (sigh) I just do not know what to do with myself.

Well as you can tell, that paragraph is true only if you substitute rough for AWESOME. I can only pinch myself and feel truly lucky that I am able to have this amazing experience this semester....and things just keep getting better. While I miss my family and friends (and my dogs) back home, I am really loving my life here in Prague. Let me tell you about my past couple of weekends..

Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany - BEST TIME EVER!!! I was a little unsure what awaited us behind the pearly gates that are Oktoberfest...I mean I've seen the movie 'Beer Fest' but one cannot describe its magic. I'll try....image 2000 of your best friends crammed like sardines into a huge beer hall...all awaiting beer. And when that first drop hits your lips you are suddenly transformed. Everyone is singing, dancing, cheerings, and having a good time. Australians, Canadians, Germans, Americans, French, Spanish you name it are all together and friends through our mutual love of beer. I cannot help but wonder if the whole world could be at Oktoberfest, world peace would be possible. Its a giant fair as well...with rides and games. The picture was taken from the top of the ferris wheel looking over Oktoberfest at night. Also, the food was soooo good. I could eat there everyday. It was the best time of my young life and something I will never forget. If possible, I think I will make Oktoberfest my annual pilgrimage...sort of like my own personal Mecca. But other than just Oktoberfest I did see a good chunk of the city of Munich, which was beautiful. We went to the Olympic Park, where Munich hosted the Olympics in 1972, which was the games where my favorite American distance runner, Steve Prefountaine, ran in. The 1972 Olympics were also when the Munich Massacre happened when terrorists killed 11 Israel athletes. Another place we spent a lot of time at was the Marienplatz, which is the center square in Munich. There are a lot of cool things to see and do there, like St. Peter's Church and the New City Hall building. All in all Munich was a great time and a great city with lots of friendly people ( I accidentally stroked a German man's thigh on the metro but thats another whole story in itself) Just this last weekend we went on a school trip to the wine region of Moravia, Czech Republic. It was a lot of sightseeing and wine drinking crammed into two fun filled days. We started off in town of Moravsky to see the Slavic Epic by Mucha. These are enormous paintings done by the artist Mucha and are very important works of art for Czech history and culture. Next we went to the little town of Mikulov which is on the Austrian-Czech border for lunch. We climbed up this huge hill and got an amazing view of the city and the Czech country side. Then if was off to Lednice, CZ which is home to a UNESCO Heritage Site and one of the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen. It was sparling trees, flowers, shrubs, lakes, etc and is just stunning. There are also a palace which was designed by the guy, who get this...invited the pencil. It was nice to walk around and be in a place so naturally beautiful. Then we went to our final destination of the night, Velke Bilovice, a small village where our wine vineyard was located, and where we stayed the night. We arrived to this tiny vineyard and of course wanted to freshen up after our long day. Well guess what. The guy gave our reservation away and there were only 10 beds left...for 24 of us. Not a problem though...we resourceful college kids. After a dinner of unlimited goulash and broucek, it was time for the wine tasting. We were thinking 15-20 wine samples wouldn't be that much wine...we were wrong. Everyone was feeling pretty happy after the wine tasting. Then, we got to pick our favorite wine to drink unlimited throughout the rest of the night. So take 2o some American college students and give them open wine bar...what was the guy thinking. We wrecked havoc on his vineyard. But in our defense, we did have not enough beds to our name. It was a lot of fun but I was glad to get back to Prague and back to my own bed.I cannot believe I was already been here for over a month! Living in Prague is awesome and since I am graduating in May, living and working abroad is something I am highly considering doing. I can safely say my heart belongs to Prague. Tomorrow we are doing a 2.5K fun run uphill to celebrate all those who helped end Communism in the Czech Republic. Then this Friday is the start to our 5 day, 4 country field trip through Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary. Can't wait!

Nessie

Peace.Love.Prague

Hello!

Another week has come and gone on my time here in Prague. And things just keep getting better and better. I am settling into life here and getting use to the people and how things work. I do not feel like a tourist anymore. This week was our first official week of classes for school. I think it is going to be an easy semester. I go to school Monday to Wednesday and am taking four classes...4 day weekends rough i know : ) for class we talk and lecture for about an hour or so and then we walk around Prague and look at cool stuff. Makes sense though. why just talk about it when you can go experience it. This is going to be an extremely easy semester school wise but I am not complaining! A few things i saw this week...

The Prague Jewish Quarter - For my Jewish Studies class our teacher took us to the Jewish Quarter of town, including the cemetery. During WWII, Hitler kept the Jewish synagogue and cemetery so that he could eventually turn it into a museum for the extinct Jewish race in Prague. Makes you sick to your stomach. In one of the synagogue, they wrote the names of all 800,000 Czech Jews who were killed during the Holocaust. It was very moving. I am excited to learn more about Jewish cultural and history since I do not know much about it. For class we are going to a lot of great places this fall. This part of town is very beautiful and full of history and I would strongly recommend checking it out if your ever in Prague. Of course you can come visit me if you want!

For my other classes we also went and saw many cool things around Prague I haven't seen yet, including the Astronomical Clock, the beautiful Wallenstein Garden and the Lennon Wall. The Astronomical Clock is super old and tons of people flock to it each hour to watch it ring. There is usually at least 1000 people gathered around it every hour. The Wallenstein garden is a hidden gem I think. Its really quite and away from the hustle of the city. There is this crazy wall in it that i cannot even try to begin to explain. You walk along and there is a whole flock of peacocks just walking around. The Lennon Wall is one of my favorite places I've seen so far. In the 1980's right before the fall of Communism, young people would meet at the wall to protest and promote peace. Now of days it is just a wall but Beatles fan and alike come. It is constantly repainted and you can write your name on the wall! I can't believe I live here! The same day we went to the wall some Buddhist monks were dancing in the street, so we joined in! They were just so happy and we danced with them and their drums for a bit near the Charles Bridge! Groovy! Click on the links above to czech them out..ha get it?


This past weekend I ran in the Prague Grand Prix 5K (3.1 miles) there were 1170 people in my race alone! It was a lot of fun. I placed 543rd...you know no big deal lol (notice the medal haha) Jess and I had one fan! Thanks Dan! Last night I went out with a couple people and we ended up making friends with some very nice people from Australia. I love the nightlife here...clubs and bars are open till 5AM, a little different from back home. I stumbled home around 4AM after some very nice Czech people gave me a bunch of ballons on my way home! Love it here! Well off to pack, we leave in less than two hours for Oktoberfest in Germany!!! WOO!!

Nessie ; )

Your My Mate...Busy week in Prague

Ahoj!

Another week has come and gone in Prague and i love it! This week was very fun and busy at the same time. I am so happy our Intensive Czech Language class is finally over! I can now confidently order a beer and ask for directions in Czech. Some things that I did this week...

Prague Zoo - After class one day we hoped on the tram and headed out to the Zoo. The animal lover in me was very happy. They have this room where you enter in through a dark curtain and real, live, blood sucking bats swoop over your head...no cage or anything. O and it is pitch black. I screamed like a little girl when the first one rushed over my head. Also, we got about two feet away from a baby elephant!

Vltava River Cruise - On Thursday our program took us all for a lovely river boat cruise down the Vltava River, which runs through Prague. We received an email the day before saying that we would be swimming...ok. Well just by looking at the river its not what you call "clean" but I brought my suit anyways. So after dinner, drinks and such we docked and it was time for swimming. I figured "swimming" meant splashing around for a bit and coming back abroad. No, no...we swam about 700M's upstream. I literally thought I was going to have to stay in that river forever, because I was going to drown. The worst part is one of our teachers, a sweet 60 year old man with an old man belly, who probably smoked at least 4-5 cigarettes before hand, somehow beat me up and down the river. Maybe the Czech's know something we don't. All in all a very lovely evening.

Going out in Prague - These first couple weeks we have been going out a lot, but its such a good time you really can't help it. Gieger (the guy in the suit) works for USAC in Prague and takes us out and shows us where some sweet clubs and bars are. There's never a dull moment with Gieger around. Its also fun not to worry about how to get places or who is driving, like back home. Just take your drink with you and hop on the metro and your there. I think us girls decided that taking classy metro pictures before heading out is a must now. One more thing...even the McDonald's here likes to party. In the bathroom, blue neon lights guide your way and techno music is being pumped out of the speakers...and yes, you can buy beer there.

Also, i burned a huge chunk of my hair off....in Europe they have different outlets than we do so you need adapters and converters to use things you bring from home (computer, camera charger, etc.) Well I went to use my three barrel crimper and forgot to use the wattage converter...in turn it became so hot that when I put it in my hair, smoke erupted and it sniged a complete piece off. The burnt hair smell filled our entire apartment building.

Last night we finished booking our plans to attend Oktoberfest next weekend!!! Its probably going to be the craziest experience of my young life. Can't wait!!!

Tonight I am running in the Prague Grand Prix 5K through Old Town Square! Should be a good run! Wish me luck!

Nessie

Another Night in Praha

Jak se ma'ta!

Prague...is...AMAZING! I still cannot get over the fact that I am living here in Prague...its slowly starting to hit me. I almost feel like I have been here forever but I only left good ol' ND a week ago. Its beautiful walking around the cobblestone streets and looking up at these buildings that look straight out of a fairytale. The city of Prague was not hit hard during WWII like other European cities, so many historic places still look like they did back in the day. The pictures are from a walking tour our program director Jan took us on. Prague has such a great history and it seems around every corner there is another story, another important event that happened right where you are standing. Unbelievable. We are lucky to be studying in Prague this fall during the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, which was the fall of Communism in Czechloslavkia. We went to the square where they denounced the Communist government and the new government took over. The history buff in me couldn't be happier (plus, think how many more questions I will be able to answer on JEOPARDY!..probably at least 3 now lol) Another great thing is all the public transportation...tram, bus or metro. Our apartment is right by the metro stop..literally you can hop on the metro and within 10, 15 mins be in any part of the city your heart desires. Downside to public transportation...people smell. Like really, really smell sometimes, but theres nothing you can do lol. I hope I can still remember how to drive when I get home...the 93' tauras i'm sure will miss me, as will others miss the 93' and all the joy it brought...as we all know the 93' is always smiling because of its missing bumper : )

And then there was last night...of course Prague is not all landmarks and history. It is such a fun city and its really great to be a young person in Prague. Think of Grand Forks night life...then times it by 100000. Last night a bunch of us went out and hit the town. Wow, what a crazy night. We walked around and found some really fun clubs and bars to go to. The first place we went to was an all techno club...I am a little rusty on my rave moves, but they are improving. We went to a couple more places that all have the same recipe...dark club, loud techno like music, lots of people and lots of beer. No complaints for this girl. We walked home around 2AM, which is actually pretty early here considering the clubs are open till 5AM. A kid in our group actually got his junk grabbed by a prostitute lol....o Prague. Good people, good beer, good times. Our intensive Czech language class this morning at 9AM was ROUGH, to say the least! I felt better today though after lunch: Fried cheese with tarter sauce with potatoes and dinner: crepes filled with beer jelly : )Nessie ; )