Cesky Raj & Jaclyn's visit!

one of the amazing views on the hike path at Cesky Raj!

Dobry den! With only a few weeks left, and only one more trip, I have been taking full advantage of my time in Prague. This weekend was very eventful, and assured me even further that I chose the right city to "study" in. On Thursday, Jenna and I went to a city called Cesky Raj, also known as "bohemian paradise." We went with five other girls from a different program that we have classes with. They were talking about it in class one day and they invited us to go with them. We took an hour and a half long bus ride to Cesky Raj and had a bit of a rocky start (typical). We were dropped off in the center of town, when we were trying to reach the hiking trails and caves like we saw in the pictures. After roaming around, speaking gibberish to local czechs, and not seeing the bohemia paradise, we finally reached a train station where a man who spoke english pointed us toward the right direction. Once we got onto the hiking path, every pathway, hill, and lookout point had the most incredible views of the city. The trees were green, the flowers were in full bloom, and it was a sensationally clear day.

Jaclyn, Jenna and I in front of the Lennon Wall

We hiked for about 3 hours, stopping at a castle along the way. I couldn't believe that a place this beautiful existed just an hour away from Prague and we had never heard of it before our friends told us! After the hike, we reached civilization again and found a restaurant overlooking the city. It felt amazing to sit down and just enjoy the scenery. Unfortunately, Jenna and I had to leave early, but we definitely want to try to go back before we leave to hike through the caves!

That same night, our friend Jaclyn came to Prague for the weekend. We all went to high school together and have not hung out much since then. We picked her up from the airport, dropped her stuff off in the room, and of course, took her out to a club. What better way for her to start her journey in Prague, right? The next day, Jenna and I played tour guides and took Jaclyn to the Charles Bridge, the Lennon Wall, the Prague Castle, and even a little park to sit and catch some sun. To be honest, I loved going to all the sites again. I don't think I could ever get sick of any of them because each time I go it's different. Jaclyn also wanted to walk through the Jewish quarter, so we did that and walked into one of the temples.

Sparta Game!

After a long day of site-seeing, we went back to the dorm, and then headed out to our favorite Mexican Restaurant (Jaclyn told us she hadn't had Mexican food this entire time she's been abroad, so Jenna and I happily obliged). Immediately following dinner, we headed to the Prague Sparta soccer game! We had never been to a game before, and our team is actually really good. I had to buy a Sparta scarf, even though I know I will probably never wear it (especially considering it is dark red and has an S on it... Stanford?). The game was so much fun! We had front row seats and a bunch of people from our program went too. Overall, it was a great night and Jaclyn enjoyed herself. Saturday was Jaclyn's last full day in Prague, so we took her to some more sites, some of which Jenna and I hadn't even seen yet. We woke up and went straight to the Wallenstein Palace and Gardens. The palace is now home of the Senate and the gardens were absolutely beautiful. Jenna and I had been waiting to go to a garden until the weather got better, and it was well worth the wait. Everything was so green and bright, it felt so great to be walking in the sun through the gardens. Next we headed to Petrin Hill, one of the best views of Prague. Jaclyn was in awe at the city and I had to admit, I had never been up to Petrin Hill with such phenomenal weather. After the climb to the middle of the tower, and many snapshots, we were ready to head to Old Town Square where the Easter Fair has been going on. After walking around the fair and making Jaclyn try all our favorite treats, we went to the Chocolate Museum, a museum Jenna and I have had our eyes on for a while.

horse and carriage ride around old town

We got to watch a chocolate demonstration and of course, we got to sample the finished product. It was a lot of fun and quite delicious. Our last stop on the agenda was the Jerusalem synagogue. We had seen a picture of it during our walk through the Jewish quarter on Friday, but it wasn't anywhere near where we were, so we waited to go. It was honestly the coolest looking synagogue I have ever seen: so many bright colors and intricate designs, I wouldn't even have known it was a Jewish synagogue (well besides the star of David and hebrew writing). Since it was Saturday, it was closed for Shabbat, but Jenna and I really want to go back to see the inside. For Jaclyn's last night in Prague, we took her to one of our favorite restaurants on the river. With a view of the bridge and castle right behind us, we couldn't have asked for a better ambiance to end the weekend. Before going out with friends for the night, we actually went on a horse and carriage ride around Old Town Square! We were waving to people as they passed, and it was actually a lot of fun! Definitely something worth doing. After our carriage ride, we met up with a bunch of friends and went out. Jaclyn left on Sunday and headed to her next destination. I am so glad we got to catch up and spend time together. Overall, this weekend was great: filled with sites, adventures, and great company!

prague and krakow,poland.

Springtime in Prague!

I know I haven't spoken about Prague much since I've been traveling every weekend, but I will now take this opportunity to update you on my recent activities in Prague, the most amazing city EVER! So the weather has been pretty on and off. Luckily last week the weather was phenomenal... I mean, I actually wore SHORTS around town. I was so excited considering those were at the bottom of my drawer. Because we wanted to take full advantage of this weather, Jenna and I had some fun adventures when the sun was out. One of the days last week, we walked across the Charles Bridge to a little park. We walked closer and found a cute ledge over looking the entire river, with a view of the castle to our left, and the city across from us. While we were sitting and chatting, some man came up to us to ask to take a picture for the Prague Newspaper because he was writing an article about Spring in Prague. Of course, we immediately turned to our best angles, and let him snap away! The pictures actually turned out cool, so the next time you pick up a Prague newspaper, let me know if you see us!

It started getting a little chillier later in the week so I had to pack my shorts back away... Jeans came back out. Jenna and I decided to be historical and so we went to the Museum of Communism. It was actually much more interesting than I thought it would be. It is crazy to think that communism lasted until 1994. The museum consisted of a bunch of pictures, artifacts, and movie clips from life in Prague under Communist rule. It was crazy to watch the movies of students being beaten up by police in Wenceslas Square, an area we walk by almost every day. After the museum, we walked by Old Town Square. For those of you that are unaware, Easter is HUGE in Europe, Prague especially. Until May 1st, there are easter markets located in Old Town Square & Wenceslas Square consisting of souvenirs, easter decorations, honey, breads, sausage, candy, baked goods, hot wine, live music, and even a petting zoo. It is such a great vibe, so whenever we have time in between class, we work our way to Old Town.

Jenna and I in the garden in front of the Castle

This weekend we went to Krakow, Poland. Unfortunately we were really only there for a full day considering we got there at about 8pm on Friday and left on 8am Sunday. I don't really know why (probably because the bus driver refused to do an overnight trip) but we left Friday morning and it takes about 8 or 9 hours to get to Krakow. Oh well, it was fun I guess... bonding/sleeping time. Once we got to Krakow, we were pleased to find that our hotel was one of the nicer ones we've stayed at with AIFS so far. They even had 2 english channels!! (Most of the other hotels just have one, BBC Worldwide...) The first night there, we were taken into the town, which actually reminded me a lot of Old Town in Prague. They even had a clock tower and church! That night, we went to a pub and got Polish cuisine: a bowl of borscht and a plate of pierogis. Most of my friends got them filled with potatoes and cheese, but I branched out and got the cabbage and mushroom filling. They gave you ten on a plate, and I could barely finish 5 before I felt sick to my stomach. They were definitely delicious though!

Jenna and I in the center of town- Krakow.

After dinner, we walked around and went to some local pubs but I got exhausted and called it an early night. The next morning, after another continental breakfast provided by the hotel, we headed out for our first tour. The morning tour was a walking tour of the city of Krakow, including many churches and important monuments. The city was beautiful, and we got lucky with the weather. It was supposed to be rainy all weekend, but it was actually clear skies! After the morning walking tour, we went to their version of easter markets (see I told you Easter's huge in Europe). I got a couple souvenirs and we picked up some lunch in the main square. After some shopping and eating, we made it back to our meeting point for the second tour: the castle and Jewish quarter.
The castle was a little different from Prague castle, but equally as gorgeous. The church at the castle is the largest in Krakow, and it was very gothic style, many statues and paintings inside the church. After walking around the church, we went back outside and took in some great views from the top of the castle. Next, we headed to the Jewish quarter. We learned that there only remain 200 Jews in Krakow because after the war and the brutal treatment of Jews in Poland, many did not come back. We walked by the synagogues and actually saw a JCC! Unfortunately it was Saturday so none of the main Jewish stores were open, but it was interesting walking around and seeing the area where so many Jews used to live and no longer do. After a long day of walking, we headed back to the hotel, took a nap, then went with a small group to the markets for dinner. A fresh plate of grilled veggies and a chicken kebab, and I was set!

The remains of the gas chambers- Auschwitz II

This morning was definitely not an uplifting one. We checked out and left the hotel by 8am and headed to Auschwitz I. It was established on June 14, 1940 approximately an hour outside of Krakow. Auschwitz I held up to 20,000 prisoners during the Holocaust. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to bring our tour guide into the campgrounds (strict museum rules) but we were able to walk around and see the concentration camp. Wow, so chilling. The part that got me thinking the most was walking through the living situations of the prisoners... tiny beds that had to fit 4 to 5 grown men. In addition, I walked by the "shooting wall" where prisoners would be lined up and shot. It was very eerie and scary to be at such a well- known concentration camp. After walking around the camp and going through different museums within it, we headed to Auschwitz II- Birkenau. This was turned into mostly an extermination camp by the end of the war. The Crematoria in Birkenau could burn 4500-8000 corpses in 24 hours. Unlike Terezin, multiple corpses were cremated at a time, which made the process faster. It was interesting to learn that in Birkenau after the war, Nazis tried to destroy as much evidence as possible- they wanted to get rid of proof of mass murder. This is why the camp is partly damaged. We walked by the remains of the gas chambers and crematoria. The second concentration camp was much scarier looking and definitely harder to walk through, while obviously both were equally shocking to see. However, like our guide said, it is important to acknowledge that such an awful series of events occurred to the Jews, and Auschwitz is definitely somewhere to go at least once in your lifetime.
After the visit, we headed back onto the bus to Prague. Overall, I learned a lot this trip... While it may not have been the most exciting and upbeat trip, it was definitely one I will remember.

food coma, thanks rome.

Ciao! Jenna and I just got back from an unforgettable weekend in Rome, Italy. Seeing as though it was our first official trip alone, without help from AIFS, we were a little nervous, but when we put our two genius brains together, everything usually works out. Our journey started off a LITTLE bit rocky when we got to the airport an hour before our flight, to find an insane, and I mean INSANE line to check in. I kid you not, it was moving at a pace of about one person every 5 minutes.

making a wish at the trevi

After a little over 30 minutes, Jenna and I sprinted to security (we kind of cut the line, oops) and made it through security with 15 minutes to spare. Needless to say, I was a little stressed but knew what an incredible weekend we had ahead of us. After a quick hour and a half flight, we landed safely in Rome and headed to the taxis (our friend told us that it should only cost 40 euros total from the airport to her apartment). Once we got a cab, he informed us it would be 40 EACH! Jenna and I stared at each other annoyed, and got out immediately. We ultimately ended up getting one of those shuttle buses (you know how much I don't like those) because it was 45 total. After 7 people were crammed into the shuttle, we made it to the apartment. By the way, we stayed with my friend Kristen who is in Kappa with me. Her apartment is super cute, pretty close to the Vatican and also close to town. She lives with 5 other girls and a couple of them go to Berkeley as well.

gelato!!

Once we got to Kristen's apartment and put our stuff down, Jenna and I snapped into tourist mode. We knew we had to kick it into high gear right away since we only really had one full day in Rome. We went straight to the Colosseum, passing by the Piazza Venezia, a huge white monastery-like looking building. We walked up the stairs to the piazza and got some good pictures, and then moved onto the Colosseum. Of course, we had to make a pit-stop. OUR FIRST GELATO IN ROME! We got a scoop of vanilla with chunks of nutella on a cone. YUM YUM YUM. We were literally in heaven. I must have looked like a little girl again because I had the biggest smile on my face as we walked toward the Colosseum with our gelato. Seeing the Colosseum in person was unbelievable. Of course I've seen it in movies, but to see it in real life... it's so huge and just so old, it almost seems unreal to think that it was used in the Medieval times. We went to go buy tickets for the entire inside of the Colosseum but when we did, the lady at the counter told us entrance is free the next day. So of course, trying to budget our euros, we decided to come back the next day to go inside.

piazza venezia

After the Colosseum Jenna and I headed to the Pantheon. That was so gorgeous. All the columns and exterior design were so incredible. We walked toward the entrance, but there was "Prayer in Session" so we walked around a little, and then came back to go inside the Pantheon. It was so beautiful: there were sculptures, frescas, paintings, and there the painter's tomb was inside as well (what a legit place to be buried!). After a long afternoon of site-seeing, we went back to Kristen's apartment and got ready for our night out. We went to dinner at this adorable italian restaurant (of course) and Jenna and I were in heaven. I got a Ragu Fettucine and Jenna got a Pesto Fettucine. Nothing like fresh italian pasta. In addition, we got the house wine and it truly was the perfect meal to start our italian adventures! After dinner we went out to a Reggae dance concert and this other outdoor club. Overall, day & night number one was a success.
The next morning, we got up early to make sure we fit in everything we wanted to see. Our first stop was lunch... Of course, we need to fuel ourselves with italian carbs. This time, we decided to try the pizza, since we already got pasta the night before. I got veggie pizza (classic) and Jenna got mozzarella with tomatoes and basil. Instead of wine, we had a huge pitcher of tap water... If you did not know, Prague's tap water is, for lack of a better word, dirty (sometimes it comes out brown and you have to let it run for a few seconds before using it). Needless to say, we were so thrilled to have tap water. After another delicious meal, we continued toward the Vatican. After reading Angels and Demons I thought I had a pretty good visual on what the Vatican would look like. Nope, I was completely wrong. I had no idea that it was its own city-state in Italy! It was so cool to stand on the outside and look all around and see the museum, post office, fountains, and gardens all enclosed in one area. We wanted to do the Vatican the real way, so we bought tickets for a tour of the museum, and the Sistine Chapel.

vatican city

Walking through the beautiful gardens and seeing all the magnificent statues was awesome. The museum tour took us through several galleries, hallways, and rooms that were detailed with frescas and other paintings. After a long build up of suspense, we made it to the Sistine Chapel. WOW. Jenna and I were listening on our audio tour (we're such losers) and learned all about the work Michelangelo did for the chapel. The entire ceiling and all the walls are composed of paintings by him, each telling a different story. Overall, the Sistine was by far the most intricate and beautiful place we visited. When we were done with our tour, we headed back toward town but made a quick pit-stop... GELATO NUMBER 2 of our trip. I had heard that this place called Old Bridge Gelateria was one of the best in Rome, so inevitably, we were there. They gave you three scoops for the price of one. Since it was so hot, I stuck with refreshing strawberry, pineapple and vanilla. It was so delicious yet again. Thank god I don't study in Rome... You wouldn't recognize me when I got back to the States. Next, we met up with Kristen and went back to the Colosseum, this time to go inside. Like I said earlier, there is so much history in the Colosseum, it is a little chilling to actually be in there and imagine what it must have been like ages ago in the medieval times. We got to see the ruins and take amazing pictures from the top of the Colosseum.

colosseum!

Afterward, we ended our long day of touring at the Trevi Fountain. It was swarming with so many tourists. We had to shove our way down to the foot of the fountain because there was absolutely no way I would go to Rome and not make a wish at the Trevi Fountain! We threw our coins in and made our way back to the apartment. Jenna and I had to sit down for a while and rest because our feet were dying (We had been walking for 8 hours straight). After a nap and some down time, we changed and had dinner with Kristen at this outdoor restaurant. Again, amazing pasta and wine, and great company. It was so good catching up with Kristen and spending time with her in Rome. After dinner, Jenna and I actually met up with some girls that go to Washington, one of her sorority sisters is actually studying in Rome for the quarter. They were all really nice and fun to hang out with. After another fun night, we got back to Kristen's apartment and fell asleep right away. This morning we woke up, packed our bags, got some souvenirs, and headed to the airport. Honestly, this weekend was so great because Jenna and I got to travel by ourselves, and to a destination that we have been wanting to see the entire time we've been in Europe. We had so much fun, ate amazing food, and loved all the sites. CIAO!

take me back!

Guten Tag! I just got back from an incredible weekend of sun and sites in Vienna, Austria. Out of the 44 students in our program, about 40 came to Vienna, which was very exciting because the last trip we all went on together was in London and Munich all the way back in January. We left the dorm Friday morning at 9am and took a bus to Vienna. After two stops (one being at this crazy amusement park-like place called Excalibur City) we made it to Vienna by 4pm. When we got there, we were all more than relieved to step off the bus to the warm air and almost perfectly clear sky. You could already tell how stoked we were that we were in warmer spring weather by the sunglasses and tanks. Granted it was only about 63 degrees when we first arrived, but hey, that’s basically 100 degrees in Prague weather! After checking into our hotel, our guides for the weekend, Zee and Jana, led us toward the town where there were plenty of shops, restaurants, bars, and bakeries. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Vienna is very modern and quite crowded. You know how I love cities that have people walking around and live music… well that’s exactly what life is like in Vienna. With designer stores all around, as well as the usual H&M, everyone was feeling quite excited for the weekend. After our walk into town, a group of us decided to find a good spot for dinner. After much walking, and after looking over countless menus (we are very picky when we are in unfamiliar cities) we settled on a cute little Italian restaurant by the river. Vienna is known for their wines, white in particular, so we immediately tried that. I have to say, the wine was quite delicious, and I’m more of a red wine kind of girl. After a great meal (well, great food, but NOT great that Vienna is on the euro) we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the night. We met up with some more people from our program and headed to some local bars, one Irish bar in particular which has a bunch of locals, as well as people visiting from other areas of Europe!

Our second day was even better than the first. We woke up to what we were told from the beginning of our time abroad was the best breakfast buffet EVER. I’ll admit it was pretty good: scrambled eggs, veggies, fruit, fresh OJ, toast, fresh jam, croissants…basically they had anything you could really want for breakfast which was nice for a change. After breakfast, we ventured out for our walking tour of Vienna. We walked by the Town Hall, which is a beautiful neo-gothic building from the 19^th Century located right near our hotel. Next, we walked by the Imperial Parliament. As we were walking, we came across a huge BMX bike competition taking place. Obviously all the girls rushed over to stare at the bikers and watch them do crazy jumps and flips. We continued on with our tour and headed to the church called Minoritenkirche. This church was amazing because we walked into a choir performing! They sounded so beautiful and it was so great to see the church, which is so old, being used today. The church is also home to a famous mosaic called “The Last Supper.” After seeing the church, our tour guides brought us back to the main center of town and we were free for the rest of the afternoon to venture around and explore the beautiful city for ourselves. Lucky for us, the weather was perfect: clear skies, high of 68 degrees. A small group of us stopped at a café for a quick bite to eat, and then we stumbled upon this open park with grass and gorgeous trees and plants. This was EXACTLY what we wanted to do. We literally sat around talking, soaking up some sun, and laughing, for about 2 hours. 

The Hundertwasser House

Laying around in the park made me so excited for the weather to heat up in Prague so we could do things like that all the time! After the park, we went to the first pub ever built in Vienna. After that, my friend Phil and I decided to branch off from the rest of the group to grab some dinner. We were suddenly craving sushi and came across this little restaurant with outdoor seating. Since it was so nice out, we decided to stick with it (risky, I know…sushi is very questionable when it is not expensive) but it turned out to be delicious, and the company was the best part. After a great meal and even better conversation, we headed back to the hotel.

Me in front of the gardens of the Schonbrunn Palace

This morning was unfortunately our last day in Vienna, and of course, it was the hottest it had been all weekend! With just a tank top and pants, I felt like I was back in Calabasas! (Well, not quite, but the weather is definitely getting me excited!) Before heading back to Prague, we stopped at two more amazing sites. Our first stop was at the Hundertwasser House, an apartment house in Vienna designed with undulating floors, a roof covered with earth and grass, and huge trees growing from inside of the rooms. The exterior of the house is not only extremely colorful, but also very intricate and detailed. I haven’t seen anything like it, and everyone was in awe! The second place we stopped at was the Schönbrunn Palace. This palace was one of the most beautiful places in Europe I’ve been to so far. From the interior of the palace (which consists of 1400 rooms and detailed wall designs and paintings) to the HUGE garden outside of the Palace, there were so many beautiful things to look at. After our audio tour of the palace, we were free to explore the rest of the estate. A group of us walked around the gardens, took pictures, and ended up at an adorable café in the back of the gardens, next to the oldest zoo in the WORLD! To think that people actually lived in such a breathtaking palace is too unreal. It literally took my breath away! After a long bus ride back, and of course one more stop to Excalibur city, we made it back to the dorms safely! I’ve got to say, Vienna has been my favorite city so far. From the weather to the sites and liveliness of the city, I truly enjoyed everything about Austria. On Friday, Jenna and I are traveling by ourselves to ROME!!!