Capitalism, but mainly cookies

Wednesday I picked up Danielle from the airport!!! It was so nice to see her after so many months. I brought her and all her things to the apartment and we started to unpack and settle in. Then we walked around the entirety of the center of Prague. We saw Old Town, Wenceslas Square, the Infant of Prague and Charles Bridge. That night we had everyone over for DJ's birthday so the apartment got a bit crazy! After everyone left for the club Danielle and I stayed behind to clean it up before heading to sleep. Thursday I had my living history final before I  headed back to the apartment to pack for the weekend away in Amsterdam. We caught the tram to the airport and off we went! Danielle and I got these amazing sandwiches at Paul's before boarding the plane. The flight was really nice. We sat next to a man who had lived in Amsterdam his entire life and therefore told us the entire history of the city as well as a great places to eat while there. The wind was so bad that the landing was rather scary, but we made it! The whole plane clapped once we reached the ground we were all so glad just to be on land.
Friday we woke up nice and early to get some apple pie at a place that Grace's friend had suggested before entering the Anne Frank house. It was a really moving place to have the opportunity to visit. The part that struck me was the video of her father, Otto, saying that after reading her diary, he realized that parents will never actually know their children. It was so hard to watch his face as he said it. You could feel his pain not for his experiences, but for the experiences of his children. Afterwards we strolled through the town a bit before heading into the cheese museum! There were so many cheeses to sample there and they were all so delicious! I had too many favorites, and hey, free cheese! Then we walked through Jordaan, a nice area of town before stopping for some coffee and soup before walking over to the Van Gogh museum. On our way we stopped by the infamous IAMSTERDAM sign for some photos. Van Gogh was good. We watched a film about him before walking through the works of art. We then met up with a bunch of other UPCES students for indonesian food. After dinner we walked through the Christmas market in town and then went through the Red Light District briefly before going to sleep.
Saturday we slept in a  little bit before heading over to the Pancake Bakery for breakfast. I was fooled. It was crepes and not nice fluffy pancakes like I had hoped they would be. But it was still really good so I was satisfied. We all went on a Sandeman's free tour after and learning more about the city. One especially fun fact is that the word cookie comes from Dutch! So we have cookies because of the Dutch influences in America. Who doesn't love cookies?!?! After the tour we went the Sex Museum in Amsterdam. It was really intense. They mostly showed how sex has been portrayed and developed through photos over time. There were also many old artifacts about the depictions of sex from ancient times. It was interesting to see how something could be so unchanging historically. The only thing that changed was the medium it was shown with. Then we had chinese food at the restaurant that the man from the plane had suggested to Danielle and me. It was really good. I haven't had a good fried rice in months and I had the opportunity to. Afterwards Danielle and I took a boat cruise through the Lights Festival. It was so nice to see the city from it's famous point in the canals. We went into areas we had not walked through as well as places I had seen while walking around. Then she and I went back through the Christmas Market and having some amazing french fries before walking through the Red Light District and just talking about our weekend so far while eating some delicious gelato.
Sunday Danielle, DJ, and I woke up early and went to Hillsong Amsterdam. We met so many friendly people especially this one woman while I was in the bathroom. Turns out, she was the one giving the word that day. She spoke so well about the struggles people all face on their way to trusting God and having faith. She really inspired the room and was so kind. She used to drive from Belgium just to go to Hillsong in Amsterdam. It was a really great sermon about not being intimidated or scared and just being ourselves as children of God. After church Danielle and I met up with Dani and the three of us went to the Rijksmuseum to see some lovely Dutch art! After we took pictures in front of the IAMSTERDAM sign which at this point was covered in holiday decoration!!! It was so pretty. Then we headed back and went to the airport. Our flight was unfortunately delayed all the way to the time we were meant to be landing in Prague. That was quite unpleasant, but we did make it home at a decent time!
Monday I got Danielle up nice and early and we went to my last day of internship. It was fairly easy to say goodbye to the children, but not as easy to say goodbye to Mrs. Carolyn. I really enjoyed working with her this past semester. She got me a bunch or macaroons and a cup and plate from bakeshop. I have to write her and the students a nice thank you when I get home so that they can have a stamp from the USA for their wall. Now it's two more classes to go and then I will be all finished with my semester of studies. Flying off to Milan this weekend, but there are so many things to do and see in-between!

We're in Amsterdam!!! Bikes and canals

CHEESE

Typical tourists

Van Gogh self portrait

Sex museum!

Beautiful view of the church from Red Light district

Rijksmuseum

…they have a holographic tree

Christmas Market Palooza!!!

This past week was Thanksgiving!!! We had a huge potluck with about 20 people all bringing something for everyone to enjoy. We were able to live stream the parade and everything. It was a really nice dinner. We were even cheesy enough to play a charades like game after we had finished all of the amazing food and desserts. There was hardly a scrap of food leftover.
Friday we headed up to Dresden in Germany for their Christmas markets. While I was there, I had to opportunity to visit three of the different markets. But first we took a nice guided tour of some major points in the city, first by bus when we saw a Guinness World Record holding milk bar and some lovely Elbe castles. Then we took a walking tour of center city and saw the massive Zwinger Palace and a lovely mural of the history of the city. Then it was time for the markets!!! The first Rachel, Lindsey, and I walked into was a Medieval Market with men dressed up and acting in character. It was lovely. We stopped there for some hot chocolate and Rachel asked the man behind the counter. He very honestly replied, "Because I have to taste them all I don't like any of them." So we had to make decisions on our own. I then bought a cut up and friend apple which tasted delicious and Rachel and Lindsey bought these pizza like things that ad cheese and assorted toppings. Then we walked over to another more classic market that was a long stretch on the other side of the river. In the center of the long walkway was the most beautiful tree, lit up all blue and it had dripping lights. After we walked past it all and took pictures we then found one more amazing market. It was more like a fair. There was a ferris wheel and a bridge to climb and get a whole view of the area. Of course panoramic pictures had to be taken!!! Then we were off to home and some homework.
Saturday was an essay writing day. I needed the time to relax and write my papers before Danielle comes this Wednesday and then we go to Amsterdam this weekend!!! But I digress. After doing some work I met up with Lindsey and Rachel and we went to the Prague Christmas tree lightening! Old Town Square was more crowded than I have ever seen it in my entire stay here. It was literally impossible to move about once we found a nice spot in view of the tree. All the lights on the monuments were turned off right before the tree was lit and then one small strand lit up after we finished counting down. Lindsey, Rachel, and I were all underwhelmed. Then suddenly, the whole tree was lit, every last branch. Classical music starting playing and the tree lights did a show for us. The whole crowd oohed and aahed. Such a sight it was to see. Afterwards we made our way through the crowds and had a lovely Czech dinner of fried cheese in a restaurant nearby before heading over to Wenceslas Square. That market also had a really nice tree as well as a pretty nativity scene. Then we walked over to Namesti Republiky and saw another smaller market where Rachel tried grill cheese (not what we have in America) and I had some Hungarian fruit cake. Then we parted for the evening, very full, not just of food, but of Christmas joy. There was still more to come!!!
Sunday Rachel and I met up in the afternoon and headed out to Plzen, where they brew Pilsner beer. They were also having a tree lighting and we had to see that one as well! So we headed over to the train station and got our tickets and off we went. We spent the afternoon wandering around the town and studying for our final on architecture styles this upcoming week. Then we stopped over in the market and watched a choir of children sing carols while we sipped on some hot wine. Afterwards we got some dinner at a small restaurant that had pictures of New York City inside of it before heading over to see the lighting of the tree. We counted down just as we had the day before, but this time the tree did not light up right away! There must have been a delay because after about a minute and a couple jokes it lit up and it was lovely!!! After we stood about for a little bit, we headed back home on the tram.
Monday was a lovely day of interning with the students. I learned the Mrs. Carolyn's husband owns a bakery that is really popular among the American students. I was so surprised! Tuesday night Dani came over and we continued to work on some final edits and essays so we can be done with our work. As a break we went to the local chain vegan restaurant in town called Loving Hut. There was an all you can eat for 70 krowns special. We were so excited!!!

Zwinger Palace, Dresden

Christmas market, Dresden

Amazing lit tree in Dresden

Dresden Christmas Market

Prague Tree

Prague tree all lit up!

Nativity scene in Wenceslas

Beer Museum, Plzen

Plzen Market

Plzen tree :)

Weeks Passing in Prague

We left off after Paris! The actual birthday celebration for it happened Monday night. After a nice long day of interning at Park Lane Primary school I got home and cleaned because we had people coming over! Monday night was the night I had everyone over for my birthday. Dani and Grace brought me a delicious piece of chocolate cake and a lavender smelling pillow for those times I get stressed. Rachel got me a bottle of French wine since we just did not have enough in France and also made me a nice birthday card. It was enjoyable and really chill. Everyone just brought over what they wanted to drink and we relaxed for a couple hours as our weeks began.
Tuesday night Grace, Grant, DJ, Rachel, and I all went to the symphony. It was so scary because it was meant to be held in a church. But we all imagined different churches. Fortunately, Rachel was able to make it to the right one and give us all directions so we made it just in time! We got to enjoy some beautiful pieces by Mozart and Bach. There were several soloists including a father and son duo which was super cute.
Thursday night I went to the Opera with UPCES to see The Two Widows. It was also a Smetana like the one from the previous week. But this one was much more modern. It was so interesting to compare to The Bartered Bride because they represented such different parts of society. The Two Widows was all about aristocracy whereas The Bartered Bride was about the farmers and peasantry. Both were incredibly amusing to watch and I really enjoyed them.
Friday I met up with Rachel after writing a paper all morning. She and I climbed up Vitkov Hill in Prague 3. We got to see the largest Equestrian Statue in the entire world. It really lived up to  it's name. The statue was absolutely massive. The views from up there were equally wonderful to see. There is a museum at the top about the history of the Czech Republic since the ending of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The coolest part as seeing an original copy of the Munich Agreement that Hitler had signed. We of course took the time to color in the children't entertainment area. We were the only ones in the whole museum so this was not a problem. Then we saw the tomb of the unknown soldier. Afterwards we walked across town to have dinner in Cafe Louvre where Einstein and Kafka and Capek used to go occasionally and ponder the world.
Saturday was a full day of work between readings and papers. It was a lot, but it was necessary to make time easier while the semester winds down. Sunday Rachel and I met up again and headed over to the Kafka museum. An author so famous for writing about and discussing Prague there just had to be a museum here for him. Because of his tortured life, it was really interesting to see because it really depicted the struggle that he was holding on the inside. Rather than just taking the reader through his life, we were brought through his readings and where he was when he wrote it. Needless to say by the time we left we needed to stop for some coffee and just process everything that we had seen in the museum.
Monday was another day of interning at school, but then Tuesday night tons of us all met up and went to see a band from Portland, Oregon, STRFKR, at the Meet Factory. They were so good. The lights were awesome and the venue was rather small so it we were able to get really close to them. My favorite song I think was their cover of Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Overall it was a solid week. This weekend the Christmas market is meant to open up in Old Town Square so I can not wait to go and see it!

Hakuna Matata and other anecdotes from Paris

November 14th
PARIS!!!! In a nutshell this trip was absolutely insane. We started by meeting up at the bus station around 6 to catch the bus to the airport. Things were mostly smooth until I had metal in my shoes and got the full pat down. Then we were through security! We got to the airport super early considering the gate for our flight wasn't posted until the boarding was supposed to have finished. So we ran over to our gate. Then Rachel had two bags instead of one and had to figure out how to combine the two. I think she tried three times before DJ ran out and let her put things into his bag. We had all made it to the gate! But the night's adventures were just beginning. When we were called to board the plane, we waited a few minutes and then got in the line. It was now that Rachel looked at her boarding pass and realized that her ticket was for the next day. They would not let her on the plane. Even with begging and pleading, Rachel would not be allowed on the plane and had to wait until her flight the next night. So DJ and I got on the plane alone and headed across Europe. Once we landed in Paris at 11pm, confusion really began. The floor was covered in white soap everyone at the airport. Why? No one knows. Generally there would be someone cleaning the floor, but this was not to be! Then we went to the ticket booth to find you could only buy a three day pass at the ticket selling area with people selling them. It was conveniently closed. So we bought a ticket from the machine. It was the wrong ticket.... So we returned to the machine and purchased the correct (more expensive) ticket. Then we were finally able to begin our long journey into Paris. We took three different trains and then emerged out of Nation station. During our journey the email with all the information we needed to find the apartment and get the key for it was accidentally moved into my spam. And we had to wifi to retrieve it. This began a walk of guessing and hoping and praying with the little information we had left that I had screen shotted that we would be able to find the apartment. We managed to get the key. Then we went to the building we were the be staying in. There were two sides of stairs to walk up unbeknownst to us. We chose one and went up to the 4th floor the one I remembered the apartment was to be on. We hoped to connect to the wifi network that I had the password to in another email. We chose the wrong staircase...So we went back down unsure of what floor we actually needed to be on. It was at this point that we decided to read the mailboxes and realize there was another side. So by 2 am we managed to find our way to the apartment and connect to wifi to figure out which door we had to unlock. All the while we had been using the light of an iPod because the light switches looked like doorbell buttons and we didn't want to wake anyone up. It was after we started to unpack that I opened up my purse and found the directions we had needed the entire night already printed out... This was absolutely devastating. I think I laughed for a solid five minutes all the way to tears. On the plus side we got to meet the adorable cat of the apartment owner. We went straight to bed after checking in with Rachel who as you recall was still in Prague about when she was going to be able to make it. Learned that she had to take the flight she had booked the next day and moved our schedule around a wee bit so we could all see more of the city.
November 15th
The fun continues! DJ and I woke up at 7 am to catch a train to Versailles! Overall it was a beautiful place. Unfortunately most of the things in the gardens were closed up, but I got to see so many famous paintings of Louis XIV and Napoleon that are hanging in it. We also got to see the door that Marie Antoinette used to escape when the people came to the palace angry about the regime. We stood where the Versailles Treaty was signed and overall had a wonderful time exploring and staring at all of the art work and immersing in Louis XIV's obsession with Apollo. We then returned to Paris and headed over to the catacombs. Before entering we stopped for some lunch. DJ and I found this adorable side street with tons of food options on it. We headed into this adorable little cafe and somehow managed to order successfully with the three words we know in French!!! Then we headed down into the catacombs. They were so extensive and were so cool. There was an ossuary deep underground that holds God knows how many bones from what used to be a cemetery that had flooded and started spilling into the water supply. On our way back from the catacombs, we accidentally found Notre Dame! So we took a couple pictures of it. Then we went up to the area by Sacre Coeur. Which considering the size took us an awful long while to locate. Typical tourists. On our way up a bunch of men from Senegal were grabbing people and forcing them to stand there while they put bracelets on them and wouldn't let them go in the end asking for money. The whole time they keep asking you questions and when you ask them any they just respond with "Hakuna Matata." If you guessed this happened to us, you got it! We were some of these people. I've still got the bracelet on the prove it! (my Paris souvenir...) Then we found our way to Moulin Rouge and took some pictures of it and in in front of it before making our way to the Arc de Triomphe. It was really cool to see and was much larger than I had originally imagined it would be! Afterwards we strolled down the main shopping street of Paris, Avenue des Champs Elysées. Along the way we found the Disney store and so we just HAD to go inside!!! Afterwards we continued along the street and it was then that I saw the most amazing advertisement! The Christmas Market had opened that night and it was just ahead on the street!!! So we meandered through that until we made it to Place de la Concorde which has the large Ferris Wheel that was lit up beautifully. We passed this and continued up the road until we finally reached the Louvre. Fortunately being EU students we were able to secure free entry! So we spent several hours there seeing the Mona Lisa, and the Venus de Milo as well as many other gorgeous works of art occasionally analyzing them before moving along through the massive museum. Afterwards we made our way to the metro and had a lovely dinner at the circle around Nation that our host had suggested to us. It was called Chez Prosper and it was delicious. Our inability to speak French was a wee bit in the way that night. Fortunately our waiter was extremely kind and helped us to the best of his ability. We went back to the apartment to rest before Rachel arrived! Once she did we filled her in on all of our adventures up to that point and then fell asleep once more so we could be ready for Saturday.
November 16th
We woke up nice and early now the three of us together once again and set off for the Eiffel tower! Sadly it was super foggy and we chose not to go to the top of it because all we would have seen was fog. After taking some photos by it we meandered over to the Musee d'Orsay, an impressionist gallery in Prague. It was really nice one because I love impressionism and two because they had an amazing special exhibit called Men and Masculinity that showed the portrayal of males over time in art. I learned there that it was not until 2012 that such an exhibit even existed. It was incredible to watch the works develop from the greek statues all the way to today's videos and photos. Then we went over to Le Marais to a cafe that DJ had found. When we arrived they told us we had to wait an hour so we could leave our names and then come back. We ran over to Notre Dame to see it with Rachel this time and took some pictures before returning and having an amazing lunch of crepes. Then we walked back over to Notre Dame and as we crossed the bridge there was a man playing a song that I do not know the name of, but that is always in Paris movies! Then we walked up to get pictures by the Louvre during the day time. Afterwards we headed back towards the apartment to meet our host for the first time. Along the way we stopped at the Bastille and took some pictures of the monument that is now erected there. After meeting Dou (aka the sweetest host ever) we went out to really explore the Christmas market. We strolled up and down the streets looking at nearly every single vendor and sampling some local fare along the way! We enjoyed a dinner of hot wine and kebab. Right after dinner however, I passed this incredible looking waffle with nutella and strawberries on it so although I was not hungry I just had to try it! I was right. It was possible life changing! Then we walked back up to the arc and then over to the eiffel tower to see it at night. It sparkled for us twice while we were there. We found a really nice spot up a bit from it with a beautiful view and waited with people before it sparkled. It was nearly silent when the clock struck 10 because as soon as it started to sparkle you could clearly hear the gasp of everyone around. After enjoying that and taking what could be considered an unhealthy amount of photos of the eiffel tower we walked over towards Notre Dame. While there it turned midnight and I rang in my 21st birthday! Then we headed home and got some rest. 
November 17th (21st!!!)
Although many are likely expecting some crazy birthday story I am sorry to say this will not be so. On Sunday morning we got up and went to Hillsong Paris for a church service. It was really cool. The service was in english with a French translation and the songs were in both languages with the subtitles of both. During the sermon the woman spoke about friendship and how to create positive friendships. It was really nice to listen to something about relationships that wasn't directly romantic. Afterwards we flew home and got back to Prague in time for dinner. So I made myself a bit of an interesting stir fry with what we had left in the fridge before calling it a night. Overall it was a really nice weekend and Paris truly captivated my heart. The city had so many beautiful places. I hope to return one day to see it in the spring when all of the gardens are in full bloom! But until then it is back to work in Prague! The semester is rapidly coming to an end and I can not believe how much there is left to do in such little time!

Versailles!

Sacre Coeur

Notre Dame

Me and the Mona Lisa

Me outside the Louvre

Arc du Triomphe

Sparkling Eiffel Tower

Midterms Round 2!

So last week was another fun filled week of exams and paper writing. It seems like it will never end, but as I type this today, I only have one month left until the end of the program and I can not believe it. We greeted DJ's parents last week and now they've left for the United States. I can remember when he told me they were coming halfway through. I can't believe that has past now. Midterms went well I think! Now it is just up to getting grades back. Last week I decided to stroll through an art gallery called the Kampa Gallery to take a break and being as it is modern art it just made me sad. I suppose that was at least a nice distraction from stress. Here stress is different though. At home it's stress about completing assignments and handing in all of my work. That is a stress here as well, but there is the added pressure of time. They say it's all relative, but here we literally have been on a timer ticking down since we arrived and with only a month left in Prague there is still so much I want to do, while of course getting good marks! All worries aside though, this past weekend was another nice journey around the Czech Republic.
Friday was a day trip to Litomerice, Ploskovice, and Velké Žernoseky. We took a tour through the town of Lito and then had a delicious meal. I had the fish as UPCES was covering it! Who doesn't love free lunch? Then we toured the palace of Ploskovice where Anna Cudova, one of our program staff's, father used to be the caretaker. It was breathtaking. There was one hall that had tremendous high ceilings and frescoes throughout. Anna said that some of the furniture was actually from the Prague Castle and visa versa. Lastly we traveled to Velké Žernoseky where I attended the first wine tasting I have ever been to in my life. Lindsey, Rachel, and I all sat and tried six different wines. The white were delicious, but the red was what I would consider disgusting. They were just so dry! On the bright side we got some delicious bread and cheese to sample along with our wine. I don't think I had ever felt so fancy. Saturday DJ and wandered through the markets with his family before we sent them off towards the United States. That night I had Lindsey and Rachel over for movies and mojitos (made by DJ!). We decided to watch a movie about Paris since that is where we're headed this weekend! Sunday was a day to catch up on all the work that had been put off until then. But that night DJ and I met up with a bunch of our friends and had some classic American food and Hooters Prague. Oh how I've missed barbecue sauce and chicken wings!
Monday I went to internship at the school and that night DJ, Rachel, and I ventured off to the opera. We saw The Bartered Bride, a comedy by Smetana, a Czech composer. It was so funny! I was entranced by the dancing and luckily there were subtitles so we knew what was going on. During the second intermission we enjoyed a lovely glass of wine and met a guy who is studying in Paris so we were able to ask him all the sorts of things that we should do while there. Tuesday I finally made it to the Museum of Communism! I have been dying to go since I got here and my class took me. It was really nice and I enjoyed having a conversation with my professor about the state of communism in North Korea after we saw a small exhibit about it. Now it's all about getting ahead on work so we can really enjoy our last month in the city and my birthday trip to Paris! Can not believe it is already here!!!

Main Square of Lito

Overview of Lito

Restaurant where we had lunch

Ploskovice

 Wine tasting!OperaCeiling

Chilling at the opera

Midterms Week Round One!

So I left off last week after seeing the Bone Church. This past week in comparison I must say was a wee bit less adventurous. Monday was a gorgeous day. However, I spent the first half of it indoors working on papers for midterms week. When DJ got home however, he persuaded me to go and walk around the city for awhile. I was so glad I did. It was nearly 70 here so DJ put on a pair of shorts and off we went. Being as we are now officially over halfway through this adventure (when did that happen?!?!) we took a well deserved to a classic American place, Starbucks. There we spent an exorbitant amount of money on coffee just so it would taste like home. We then began our trek to the Zizkov TV tower, aka the ugliest building in Prague. But it is covered in sculptures of crawling babies and we couldn't miss the chance to see some nice contemporary art! They were pretty interesting and definitely did not enhance the beauty of the tower, but to each their own! Then we took a tram over to the Petrin tower which I had not been to before. It is like a mini eiffel tower, but since it's up on a hill they are actually the same height away from sea level. Because the sun had almost set we decided to take the funicular. Well, we're either really glad we did or not. As we were sitting and waiting for the ride up, a man came by with his camera flipping everyone off and taking pictures of them. He then entered the compartment behind us where he eventually fell asleep? but definitely fell over and was then escorted away from the vehicle. I'd be nervous, but he was so drunk the picture he took of us is more than definitely blurry. I'd be surprised if the shutter was open all the way! We got to the top after the sun was down and got to see Prague all lit up at night. Then we began our trek down the park "trail" which wasn't lit. Fortunately neither of us fell, but the hill kept on getting steeper and steeper until finally they decided stairs were a better option.
Tuesday through Thursday was just filled with studying and taking midterms. But then Thursday night was Halloween! So I had Lindsey and Rachel over and we watched some Tim Burton movies and ate a bunch of different chocolates and candies before Rachel and I went over to our friends apartment for a Halloween party. It was a really fun time and a lot of people dressed up. We all stayed there for a bit before heading out to a club that was decorated for the occasion. DJ and I left after a little bit there because we had an early day the next morning, but overall it was a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday!
Friday we welcomed DJ's family to the city! They were so excited to see him at the airport and it was great to bring them into Prague and show them a bit of our temporary home. That night I went out to an HC Sparta Praha hockey game with UPCES. It was really cool. There was a section of fans that looked younger and the entire game they just shouted cheers and supported their team led by a man with a megaphone. Luckily, Sparta won so no one was upset that night! Saturday I did some homework and then skyped with Danielle a bit. That was really nice because it's hard for us to make time and she's going to be here in a month so there is always so much to discuss! Then DJ and his family came in the door because we were having them over for dinner. It was such a nice dinner and Grant came too because after we all went to a Sparta Fotbol game. Remember that fan section from Friday that I watched? Well on Saturday we sat right in the middle of it, and it was even rowdier. We stood the entire game and pretended we had an idea of what everyone around us was saying in solidarity. At the beginning of the game everyone pulled out their scarves (which we didn't have) and held them up and sang a song all about Sparta Praha! And it just went from there. Grant and I were only a couple rows away from the man with the megaphone this time so we just pretended the entire game. This includes the half time break and even a little bit after because the cheering does not stop! When Sparta scored a goal someone set off a homemade flare and Grant had to pull me away from the fire. After it dissipated we noticed that the seats around the flare had melted a bit. What a crazy group of fans! It was a great night and now I am headed into midterms week round two! Wish me luck :)

Zizkov TV tower

Babies crawling up the side

On the funicular!

Petrin tower at night

Waiting for the fam

GO SPARTA

Great fan section!

                        WE ARE SPARTA

Exploring the Country

This past week was tough. There was a lot of recovery from the trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau that I had to make. Although not immediately affected at the sites, as what I had seen settled in it made me really want to get up and take action. It also caused me to feel like I was not doing enough to better the world at the moment. It reenergized my love of service once I was able to trace the feelings though the help of talking with some friends from home. I had a lot of work this week as midterms are coming up, but I was still able to take the time to explore and take a couple trips!
Friday was the zoo. We slept in a bit and then met up with everyone at the CERGE building and headed off to see the animals in the zoo. There were so many baby animals from a baby elephant to a baby giraffe. It was absolutely amazing. The weather was a bit foggy, but isn't it always in Prague? We even rode the chair lift up above the park and saw a beautiful view of the city. Afterwards we headed to our respective homes before gathering for a bit in the evening before sleeping and preparing for Saturday!
This Saturday, 11 of us ventured up into the north of the country and may have ventured into Germany at one point. We hiked in České Švýcarsko. This happens to be where they filmed scenes from the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The scene when the Beavers say that this is all Aslan's realm, that is exactly what we looked over. Let me just say it absolutely was Narnia. You could see why the filmmakers chose that. But it was not easy to get there. Not that it was physically demanding, but there were a couple other hiccups along the way. In the morning our friend Leah almost missed the train and our other friend Grant woke up just before the train was meant to pull out so he was unable to make it. Then we arrived at the town that we needed to catch the bus to in order to hike up the mountain. Well we missed the first bus because our train came in a little late. But we didn't know until it was too late. We then read the board and saw the next one came in 40 minutes so we wandered a bit and then met back at the bus stop. There was still no bus to be seen. Then I read the schedule and saw that it only went until the end of September and was not up to date as it is almost November! After then asking several people including a woman in a russian specialty store, people in the train station, and numerous drivers of other busses one was finally able to tell us there would be one! ...In nearly 45 minutes. But once we got there the hike was beautiful. Words can not describe how beautiful nature is. Once we all got to the top of the hill and stared over the land and at the longest footbridge in Europe, and NARNIA all we could do was smile. Everyone looked awestruck with a huge grin on their faces, myself included. It is amazing how beautiful our world is. On the climb down all of us could not believe that the place is not more popular among visitors and how the Czech Republic as a whole is so underrated outside of Prague. It was possibly one of the most beautiful experiences I've ever had. We took the train home and then Leah, DJ, and I wandered around Prague 7 until we came to this great Indian restaurant and had a delicious, well deserved meal after our hike.
Sunday, I tagged along with Leah and some of her friends from Erasmus (the European version of my program) and we went to the small central Bohemian town of Kutna Hora, a UNESCO world heritage site. We were meant to leave earlier in the day, but there were some sleepy heads and we got off to a later start allowing us to arrive there by noon. Our first excursion was to the Bone Church. This church literally has the bones of 40,000 (at least) people. The chandelier in the middle of the chapel is made of every single bone in the human body. It was so crazy. I took pictures for a little while before it really dawned on me that those were people. Apparently the bones were placed there to remind the church community that they are mortal and to cherish life and follow God's laws. Then we traveled through the city and saw two more churches. The first, The Cathedral of Our Lady was really cool in that as we walked around we were able to go up this long spiral staircase into the attic and walk across a platform with beams all made without metal nails. This led to where the choir sings and happened to be the most amazing view of the church. The second was St. Barbara's Cathedral and it was massively later gothic in style with a beautifully ornate interior. Then we headed back to our train. We expected there to be a bus, but apparently there were not many running in town that day! So we had to walk slash run to make our train. We watched the time slowly pass as we headed around the town back to the station getting more and more nervous by the minute. The time we were meant to be on the train came and went and we continued hurrying just hoping it was late! While we were doing this the sun was setting and allowed us to see a double rainbow that we could see nearly the entire rainbow of on the bottom and the most colorful sunset. The sky looked like a work of art. It was impossible to catch a proper image of it on any camera. It just would not have done it justice. Once we returned Leah, her friend Emma, and I all grabbed some delicious Prague 7 gyros and then headed home. 
Overall it was an incredible weekend. I was able to really explore the country that I am studying in rather than traveling off elsewhere. I have loved discovering all the hidden treasures that the Czech Republic has to offer and I can not wait to continue doing so! But for now I have two full weeks of midterms and hopefully some smaller tours around Prague. Should be another wonderful week in, "the golden city of a hundred spires!"

The ZOO!!!

Just being elephants too! 

Longest footbridge in Europe!

Just a glimpse of Narnia 

We made it to the park! 

Chandelier of every bone in the human body

The Schwarzenberg family crest in bones

View of Cathedral of Our Lady from the choir

The town of Kutna Hora

St. Barbera's Cathedral

The most amazing rainbow!