** from Wednesday

Last weekend was fun. Bar and Books, the pub Becca and I went to last Friday, was really cool. Dark, filled with bookshelves (obviously), and had delicious cocktails. I got a little lost finding it, but dashing through Old Town Square and its side streets was amusing on its own. Afterwards, we met up with some of my friends at Lucerna. The music was pretty lame when we got there, and Becca left after only an hour, but around 1:30 or 2:00, the tunes improved and I met up with some other girls from CIEE. I left with Julie who had made friend with two Irish guys, and we introduced them to the wonders of late night smazeny syr.

On Saturday, I finally thought I was going to see the Mozart Museum, but the building I thought it was in was actually the Prague Instrument Museum. Still interesting though. I met up with Leah and Molly to browse the Christmas markets to find Christmas gifts before we unsuccessfully searched for a free outdoor ice skating rink. Leah and I met up again at U Sudu, our usual bar, with the Irish guys (one of which is going to MIT next semester) and some CIEE students. But, the night ended with a tour of the Charles Bridge and a pub in Mala Strana. But oh, you know it's been a long night when the day trams start running on your way home...

Sunday was another Christmas gift shopping day and the beginning of my final exam studying (which should have started a few days earlier). I met my Czech mom and her friend Ivana at the pub, but left a little earlier so I could wake up for my early morning Czech oral exam. Which actually went much better than I thought, despite pulling the topic I wanted the least out of the hat. Afterwards, I abandoned my econ studying and met Julie and the Irish guys for lunch before they headed back to Amsterdam. Ran back in time for my econ exam, went to my history class, then out for dinner at Kozlovna, a restaurant/pub a few blocks from our flat.

On Tuesday, I went Christmas shopping (yet again), wandered, and visited the Literarni Kavarna with Maya for the first time (it’s always hopping when I walk by it!). I accidentally slept in until 11:00 on Wednesday, until my Czech friend called to say that he was at my flat. I sheepishly rushed down in my pajamas and we went out for coffee. Spent the rest of the afternoon obsessing over my history exam (which wasn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be), and afterwards, I met my Czech mom and her friend Lukas for the last time. We went to her other local bar for a change and just talked for awhile and ate Czech potato chips (covered, absolutely covered in garlic). It was weird to say goodbye, but Lukas is supposed to email me his and Martina’s addresses so I can send postcards from the States. And tomorrow is so sleeping in and celebrating being finished with exams!

***from Friday afternoon

Oh man, the closing days. I can barely even remember what I've done this week. I've wandered the Christmas museums a bunch of times (even though they're disappointing), poked in and out of the local antique shop, went to the CIEE Christmas party (and tried carp which was kind of gross, kind of okay). But I still haven't gone to the Mozart museum.

I had my Czech final yesterday morning (my oral exam is on Monday) and I'm relieve that it's over. Afterwards, I went back to my flat, did a little work, wrote some postcards, and met Becca, my friend form Tufts in another Prague program, for coffee. Part of my "research" for my cafe culture paper. I had written down the address of this little cafe, but on the walk there, we passed this place called Choco Cafe and we couldn't NOT go in. So we ordered horka cocolada, 100 g of 53% cocoa. Ridiculous. I only got about 1/2-2/3 of the way through mine before I started feeling a little sick. I coudln't even think about chocolate for the rest of the evening! But oh, was it delicious... The cafe itself was really cute, very feminine. And the area it was in was exactly what you imagine when you think of "romantic Prague." All old buildings and windy narrow roads. We almost missed the street we intended to turn down because it jutted off of the main road on an angle and was tiny. We passed a bunch of other cute cafes and restaurants in the area too. Seriously, this is type of neighborhood that I really wish I had found earlier in the semester.

Afterwards, I ran home to meet a Czech friend at my flat. We went to the Christmas markets in Vaclavski Namesti and Old Town Square, but unfortunately, it kept raining harder and harder, so we ducked into a restaurant in the Jewish Quarter for cover. Afterwards, we went to Pivovarsky Dum (Brewery House), a restaurant/pub that I've been wanting to go to for awhile. I tried cherry beer and he got vanilla (definitely the better of the two).

And today, Becca and I decided to actually hit up our intended cafe, Cafe Montmartre, from the day before. Sooo disappointing. Powder hot chocolate and Becca's sausage turned out to be little more than a boiled hotdog. We wandered around the sidestreets for awhile, before eventually settling for another cafe. After, we went to the Kampa Museum, a small Central European modern art museum. It was pretty interesting, and due it it's location on Kampa Island on the Vltava River, it was gorgeous views out its windows. I mailed some of my postcards on the way home, and postage, by the way, cost six times more than the actual cards, lame. Anyway tonight, Becca and I plan to go to a kind of ritzy cocktail bar than we've both wanted to go to all semester before meeting some friends at Lucerna for some 80s tunes. Tomorrow, I should do some real work...

Oh man, the closing days. I can barely even remember what I've done this week. I've wandered the Chritmas museums a bunch of times (even though they're disappointing), poked in and out of the local antique shop, went to the CIEE Christmas party (and tried carp which was kind of gross, kind of okay). But I still haven't gone to the Mozart museum.

I had my Czech final yesterday morning (my oral exam is on Monday) and I'm relieve that it's over. Afterwards, I went back to my flat, did a little work, wrote some postcards, and met Becca, my friend form Tufts in another Prague program, for coffee. Part of my "research" for my cafe culture paper. I had written down the address of this little cafe, but on the walk there, we passed this place called Choco Cafe and we couldn't NOT go in. So we ordered horka cocolada, 100 g of 53% cocoa. Ridiculous. I only got about 1/2-2/3 of the way through mine before I started feeling a little sick. I coudln't even think about chocolate for the rest of the evening! But oh, was it delicious... The cafe itself was really cute, very feminine. And the area it was in was exactly what you imagine when you think of "romantic Prague." All old buildings and windy narrow roads. We almost missed the street we intended to turn down because it jutted off of the main road on an angle and was tiny. We passed a bunch of other cute cafes and restaurants in the area too. Seriously, this is type of neighborhood that I really wish I had found earlier in the semester.

Afterwards, I ran home to meet a Czech friend at my flat. We went to the Christmas markets in Vaclavski Namesti and Old Town Square, but unfortunately, it kept raining harder and harder, so we ducked into a restaurant in the Jewish Quarter for cover. Afterwards, we went to Pivovarsky Dum (Brewery House), a restaurant/pub that I've been wanting to go to for awhile. I tried cherry beer and he got vanilla (definitely the better of the two).

And today, Becca and I decided to actually hit up our intended cafe, Cafe Montmartre, from the day before. Sooo disappointing. Powder hot chocolate and Becca's sausage turned out to be little more than a boiled hotdog. We wandered around the sidestreets for awhile, before eventually settling for another cafe. After, we went to the Kampa Museum, a small Central European modern art museum. It was pretty interesting, and due it it's location on Kampa Island on the Vltava River, it was gorgeous views out its windows. I mailed some of my postcards on the way home, and postage, by the way, cost six times more than the actual cards, lame. Anyway tonight, Becca and I plan to go to a kind of ritzy cocktail bar than we've both wanted to go to all semester before meeting some friends at Lucerna for some 80s tunes. Tomorrow, I should do some real work...

Jeff, my Tufts friend who's in London for the semester, came to visit this weekend. After my unfortunate decision to skip the St. Mikulas celebrations in Old Town Square, I was at least able to see a few people dressed up in costumes on the metro when I went to pick up Jeff at the airport. We met up with his high school friend Hannah who is also studying in Prague, and decided to go out to a pub for a little while. However, we headed out a little late, and as it turns out, half the bars in Prague close at 11:30. After wandering for over an hour, we ended up going to U Sudu, a really cool underground cave-like pub that's open until 4:00 on the weekends. We had a quick jaunt to Lucerna afterwards, which was fun, but I realized that they play the EXACT same music there every night. Jeff also got his first taste of smazeny syr at the very appropriate hour of 3:00 in the morning.

We did out fair share of sighteeing on Saturday and Sunday. We went to the amazing garlic soup restaurant, the TV Tower, Old Town Square (with its Christmas markets), the Jewish Quarter, Prague Castle, Cafe Lourve, and Charles Bridge (twice). On Saturday night, Jeff even went with me to my Czech mom's party, which was maybe a little awkward, but a lot of fun. We went to a pub before the party since we were cold and a little to early, and Jeff got accosted by a very drunk Czech hobo whose only English phrase was, "You speak English?" It was very amusing and of course I got some pictures.

I still need to go to the Mozart Museum and do some Christmas shopping this week.

Instead of constantly analyzing my goals and obsessing about what I’m supposed to get out of “my abroad experience,” I’m really starting to relax and think about what would make me happy at the moment. What do I want to do right now? Although I’m keeping the end of the semester in mind, I’m not worrying much more than one or two days in advance. And you know what? I think things are working out much better.

I made a list a few months ago in the back of one of my Prague guidebooks of a bunch of things I wanted to see/visit before I left. There’s no way I’ll be able to see even half of them, but really, will I be upset when I return home is I haven’t see Museum A or Tourist Attraction B? I think I’ll be happy enough if I look back and know I had fun during the final stretch of my time.

Yesterday, I went to see a gypsy soul concert with Maya and her Czech friend, Stanislav. She suggested it earlier in the day and it sounded interesting, but I thought I’d stay in and get some work done. But later in the evening, I realized I’d done enough work finished during my midday class break, and hey, gypsy soul sounded kind of interesting. Despite being a quite over priced concert (400 CZK, or twice the price of my Don Giovanni ticket), it was a good night. Although the singer was the one who was advertised, she was wayyy overshadowed by her band. I mean, I didn’t exactly understand what she was singing (or even what language she was singing in), but the guitarists and keyboardist were a-m-a-z-i-n-g. The music was very chill and it was a relaxing night. I would definitely consider bringing some gypsy music back home with me. We went to a pub near the concert venue and tried one of Maya’s favorite beers that was pretty good. Unfortunately, I got terribly lost on the way back to the metro on my own and it took forever to get back to the flat. Stanislav, who gave me directions, got lost on his way home too.

This morning I skipped my Czech class and slept in a little. Just as I was getting up, Maya called to ask if I wanted to join her and Julie for lunch at this garlic soup restaurant that she swears by. I was almost too lazy to get dressed and meet them, but I’m glad I did. It was actually the same restaurant I went with Becca to last week for fondue. It’s a little place in this quaint brick basement and its garlic soup did not disappoint. It was creamy and very cheesy and I couldn’t even finish my bowl. Julie and I went back to the flat afterwards and walked by this palacinky (crepe) stand in Narodni Trida that I ALWAYS pass late at night and crave when it’s closed. I decided this weekend that it was one place I was determined to go to before I left Prague. And despite still being full, I fulfilled my goal right then and there. Don’t regret it. A chocolate and coconut crepe made right in front of me for only 30 CZK (ummm… $1.50!).

Back in the flat, I decided to tackle my Alternative Culture final paper that I’ve been putting off for weeks. Then, I spontaneously changed my topic and decided to write about café culture in Prague. Perfect. Tons of history online and I’ve decided to make the second half of my paper a personal account of my café experiences and recommendations on the best lattes and horka cokoladas in the city. It’s already half done, and I plan on doing some more research tomorrow morning, if you know what I mean.

I also cooked my first successful non-pasta, made-from-scratch meal. It was my cooking week for my flatmates and I made chicken quesadillas. They were delicious. I wish I had gotten pictures of me over frying pans on the stove as proof. Alas. Inspired, I made the dough for the chocolate chip cookies I’m baking tomorrow for the party my Czech mom’s throwing for me on Saturday. I actually found brown sugar and spent an hour (literally) chopping up chocolate because they don’t sell chocolate chips here.

Afterwards, Julie, Maya and I went to Kozolna, this bar/restaurant we always pass on our way to class, named after the best dark beer brand in Prague (in our collective opinion). Again, another place we’ve wanted to go to for ages. Turns out they make wonderful light beer too. On our walk there, we also got the idea to create a Svandovo-Andel flat bonding pub crawl next week, to hit up all the bars in our area that we haven’t yet been to. I don’t know why we hadn’t thought of this earlier!

Tomorrow, I’m conducting some café “research,” going to the Mozart Museum, making my cookies, going to the Christmas market in Wenceslas Square, and picking up Jeff from the airport.

You know, I like this new approach of “what will be fun tomorrow?”

Thanksgiving and More Austrian Adventures

I feel like the busy period at the end of the semester is just starting to kick in now. I had a crazy Wednesday and Thursday last week preparing for Thanksgiving here, left for Vienna on Friday morning, got back on Sunday night and had a bunch of things to get done. I've got two weekends left, final exams, and a ton of papers hanging over my head.

So Thanksgiving turned out to be a big success! I definitely got a little homesick missing a real Thanksgiving at home, but Prague "Thanksgiving" was a lot of fun. As Caity and I were way behind on all of the side dishes around 17:30, I started getting really worried, but as people starting showing up around 19:00, we had a little help. We served dinner to about twenty guests around 20:30, and remarkably, everything on the table was warm. Although, we did end up with (delicious!) chicken instead of turkey. A lot of improvising was involved in our feast (chicken, pumpkin pastries instead of pie, and a bunch of ingredient substitutions), but most things tasted pretty good. We even invited some Czech friends, which is funny because we ended up with a "Czech end" of the table.

After going to bed around 3:30, I woke up (miserably) at 6:30. I made it to the bus station about ten minutes before our bus left for Vienna, however Caity wasn't so lucky. Perhaps a result of throwing a big twenty person feast at her flat, but she overslept and missed the bus. Chris and I arrived in Vienna around 12:30, and luckily, Caity was able to catch another bus and met us at 22:00. In the meantime, Chris and I dropped our stuff off, wandered around one of the Christmas markets, went to the Austrian Natural History Museum, and took a short tour of Vienna with a professor from our program who was in the city for the weekend. It was a gorgeous evening, clear and beautiful with the all the city's Christmas lights and markets. The professor who gave us the tour even bought us all hot wine at the end!

Now, Caity, Chris, and I decided to couchsurf in Vienna. You know, the website where people offer to host travellers in their houses/apartments in return for a "cultural experience." I don't think my parents were too thrilled to hear about this... However, it worked out really well. We stayed with Christof, a 27 year old PhD student. He was really cool and a borderline hippie, and his flat was really large and located right near a main metro stop. We slept on beds in his four year old daughter's room the first night and on mattresses in his study the next night when his daughter was visiting. We talked over tea on Friday afternoon and chatted when we came back at night, but we didn't see Christof too much otherwise.

So during our the rest of our Vienna excursion, I saw the new James Bond movie, went to the National Library, saw five of six different Christmas markets, ate ridiculous amounts of candy and sweets, went in City Hall and the famous main Cathedral, heard the Vienna Choir Boys sing at Sunday service, got my pumpkin soup again, and toured the Schonbrunn Palace. We did a lot of things, however, I can't say that anything in particular stood out. I had a really good time (besides being FREEZING COLD the entire time, but my fault), but it was a pretty average travel weekend.

I really liked Vienna overall, in the sense that I feel like it's a city that I could actually live in. It reminded me a lot of Madrid, although probably only because it's more Westernized. If I visited Vienna or Madrid coming straight from the US, I wouldn't notice it at all. But it's a surprising yet comforting reminder of home after being in Prague. Vienna also isn't intimidating or pretentious like other cities. And it's pretty small population-wise and filled with gorgeous buildings, like Prague. I'll be honest though, I went to Vienna expecting to like it because I like Austria so much in general. Coffee and beer especially were expensive however, and that's definitely a pitfall. And the biting cold.

I finally got my hair cut today. The faded purple and general deadness at the tips were starting to drive me crazy, so I walked into a hair salon and took care of business. I don't think I've ever had such a silent haircut before, usually hairdressers are talkative folk. But I only speak a little Czech, and she only a little English. It was so frustrating, sitting there and trying to think of how to say different things. I realized that I don't even know how to say "more" in Czech, and I feel like that kind of basic. I couldn't tell her I wanted to cut "a little more" off, or even the word "purple," so it was kind of a pointing and miming kind of deal. Again, frustrating because as I'm sitting and thinking of all this, and I realize I could have easily gotten by had it have been Spanish. I really underestimated how much I learned over five and a half years. Still though, all the purple is gone and although it's a bit short, it was one of the better haircuts that I've even gotten.

Besides a few class trips and other smaller events, this week is mostly about obsessing over Thanksgiving. Finding a turkey is proving to be very difficult. I wasn't to keen on cooking dinner with some friend, but I agreed and then got pretty excited for it. Except now everyone else has class and other obligations on Thursday and can't help cook. So now I'm a little stressed, seeing as I can barely identify boiling water and now I'm waiting to see if I can order a turkey and cook vegetables... As of today, I can add a new food to my repertoire - Czech bread pizza. Kind of like french bread pizza, except wit Czech chleb and eidam cheese. But oh, do I have a long way to go...

Austria, Part Zwei

So I survived the ski trip with the exception of a few bruises on my butt and hips. As it turns out, the Alps aren't exactly the best place to learn how to ski. There isn't really a German equivalent of a "bunny hill." Alas, I resorted to "skiing" down these tiny little blips at the bottom of the mountain before twice attempting an actual ski trail. Except, I probably did more falling than skiing. Once, I got stuck in a snow drift and couldn't get up for almost five minutes. Embarrassing...

Anyway, it was still a fun trip. We arrived in Sell am See, Austria on Friday night in the middle of a blizzard. There was already a few inches of snow on the ground and it was still coming down as we moved our stuff into our hostel. It was still snowing around 7:00 on Saturday, the ungodly hour of the morning that we had to get up at. In fact, when we arrived at the ski place, we had to wait almost two hours for conditions to "calm down" on the mountain before we were able to buy our ski passes. Finally, we made our way up about 1000 m to the second base where we stayed most of the day. Conditions on the mountain were ridiculous. Something like -13 degrees C, snowing, and super windy. Visibility: six inches. So so cold. But still, I had fun trekking up the tiny hills I tried learning on and enjoyed some more of the pancake soup in the lodge that I had last time in Austria.

A few of us spent Saturday night watching Das Super Talent (German version of America's Got Talent) back in the hostel. Sunday was a lot better. I somehow managed to get worse at skiing since the previous day, despite the fact that the sun came out and the temperature was a little warmer. The mountain was gorgeous. Leah and I took the gondola up to the top base, at over 3000 m up. Here we were, just standing on top of a mountain in the Alps, so high up that we couldn't even see the bottom. We left for Prague right from the ski place. The ride home was pretty much the only time we were driving in daylight, and again, its impossible to explain the beauty of the area. Try to imagine driving through a snowglobe. Snow covered mountains in all directions, the road winding around on the edge, a few cabins here and there glowing as the sun began to set...

Apparently it snowed in Prague while we were gone too. There's still a little left today and the city feels quite welcoming and comfortable. I really can't wait until the Christmas season kicks in.

Less excitement this week. The fact that I have so little homework due on a daily basis because it's all due at the end is only just starting to hit me. So far, I have nine pages done on my ten page history paper (only, it's an organizational mess), and an idea on how to start my media project, culture paper, and Czech immersion project. Yikes.

I'll be honest, I'm still not a huge fan of my classes. Still, while my econ class goes over my head, the professor is a huge nerd who cracks nerdy jokes all during lecture. And what I do understand is interesting. My alternative culture class has had pretty cool field trips and although the professor is so judgmental, it's probably the only class I enjoy attending. On Tuesday, the class got into a huge debate on adoption after our professor brought up Juno. On the other hand, my media class is still taught at a third grade level.

In other news, I got to practice my Spanish skills yet again with my Czech mom's crazy friend's daughter, who is only thirteen and is currently learning three languages in addition to Czech. The crazy friend, since we were at her apartment, also kept trying to feed me. I made the mistake of eating dinner beforehand, but numerous finger sandwiches, unsweetened "Czech cake," pretzel cookies, and two types of pumpkin were foisted upon me. As the crazy friend kept talking about how fat she is (she's only slightly rounder than a toothpick). I'm getting a little sick of finger sandwiches, but the pumpkin was delicious.

In the meantime, I've decided that meeting with my Czech mom and her friends has definitely contributed to my miming skills. Not to say that my Czech comprehension hasn't gotten better, because it totally has, just... let's just say that I'd make an awesome charades partner.

And so for today, mostly just tea and homework. I'm meeting Becca, a friend from Tufts, for dinner, and who knows what I'll do tonight. Probably sleep. Tomorrow morning I leave to go skiing in Austria for the weekend!

Ahhh! I'm in The New York Times website! Okay, only kind of, but I commented on an article and it was picked as an editor's selection!

Check #21:

http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2008/11/17/education/17exchange.html

the week in review...

Most definitely my favorite weekend in Prague, and after writing this, realized it was pretty busy. Prepare yourself, highlights from the week:

- I met up with my Czech mom, Martina, and Small Lukas on Wednesday night at a movie theatre to see Vicky Cristina Barcelona and went to a bar afterwards. I really liked the movie; at first I didn’t like the ending because it wasn’t exactly the happiest thing ever, but I realized afterwards that it was much more real and believable, and therefore more appropriate. Martina liked it too, but more because she loves Woody Allen (who directed it) and the male lead. We went to the same bar as last time, and it was funny because Martina “helped” me with my Czech homework at the table and ordered me another beer in the meantime, after I had already called it quits!

- I agonized about class registration on Thursday, before refreshing the page every two seconds around 14:00 and making my final decisions. So for next semester, I’m taking Experimental Psych, Adv. Engineering Psych, American Film Studies, Entrepreneurship, Intro to Skiing/Snowboarding, and I’m going to audit Intermediate Micro Econ. I’m kind of breaking in the idea of “liberal arts” studies. The film class counts towards my communications minor and my arts requirement, and I’ve never taken a film class, so it sounds interesting. I’m going to keep the skiing class (because it sounds like so much fun!) depending on how my ski trip goes this coming weekend. But, I’m actually pretty excited for my classes and especially since I have Fridays and Thursdays off (except one class on Thursday night), but I’m pretty scared because I have a lot of class hours on my calendar right now…

- Went to Kutna Hora on Friday with Caity. For all of you unfamiliar with Czech tourist-y sites, Kutna Hora is this old village about an hour from Prague that is most famous for its bone church. I’ll upload photos soon, but it was insane. They had so many bodies after the plague hit the Czech lands, that someone (I forget who) decided to take bones and make a chandelier and other creepy statues out of them. The chandelier is made up of every bone in the human body. Think about it. Anyway, we wandered around town for a little while after the bone church and ordered the most stereotypical Czech lunch (fried cheese for Caity, and soup and gulas for me) at a restaurant we found. A half liter of beer in this restaurant was 20 czk, which is $1.00 with the new exchange rate! Then we went to go see another famous church which was drop dead gorgeous from the outside, but closed for the day 15 minutes before we got there. Unfortunately as well, the famous silver mines in town were also closed for the weekdays. Wandered around some more in some of the most intense fog that I have ever seen (my hair was wet, like I had just gotten out of the shower, in only a few minutes!), before ducking into a cute café and catching a train back to Prague.

- On Friday evening, a bunch of us went to Lucerna, a well known club in Prague that plays 80s and 90s hits. It was so much fun! Two of Maya’s friends from home are visiting this weekend, so Caity and I went out with them. I still can’t believe I hadn’t been to Lucerna before, the music was hilarious (I’m Walking on Sunshine, Killing Me Softly (that was weird), YMCA, etc.) and it was a good night.

- Watched the sunrise on the Charles Bridge. Except, the sun doesn’t really rise in Prague, it only gets lighter… Probably the most anticlimactic sunrise I have ever seen. But still, I “saw the sunrise on the Charles Bridge.” And we talked to a hilarious, drunk Scottish guy for about a half hour. Anyway, Maya and her friends had convinced me at 5:00 in the morning after Lucerna that the sun would really only be up in two hours, so it seemed like a good idea at the time. It was fun, then, we went to bed at 8:00…

- Saw Don Giovanni in the Estates Theatre. Ohmigosh. It was one of my goals, to see Mozart’s famous Prague opera in the theatre where it was originally performed. I didn’t think it was going to happen because I had searched for tickets earlier in the semester and couldn’t find any shows playing during the semester. But Maya, her friends, Caity, and I all got tickets to a matinee on Saturday afternoon for 200 czk ($12)!! The theatre was gorgeous and the show was great, definitely my favorite Mozart opera. Although, midway through the second act, the lack of sleep started to catch up with me…

- Celebrated Maya’s birthday at a middle eastern food restaurant. Delicious, especially the banana shake thing that I ordered. We sat for awhile and shared desert, but passed on hookah because the service was pretty slow and it was getting late.

- On Sunday, Caity and I traveled to Melnik, a small town about 40 minutes from Prague, to go on a wine tasting. It’s the only place in Bohemia known for its wine. We unfortunately forgot that many things close on Sundays in the Czech Republic, so hardly anything in town was open except around the chateau for tourists. The chateau, the main tourist attraction/where you go wine tasting, was actually pretty empty. Caity and I were the only ones on our tour, and we went down into the wine cellars and sampled ten different wines. It was quite different than what I expected; it was pretty quick and involved a lot more wine that I thought. I learned a bit about wine though, and decided that the pinot and riesling were my favorites, probably because they’re the ones I’m most familiar with. Upon returning to Prague though, I practically collapsed into the bed in our living room and took a deep nap.

- I watched When Harry Met Sally with Caity on Sunday night. Obviously it was something I could have done just as easily at home, but I’ve wanted to see that movies again for quite some time. Plus, Caity had never seen it before! I think we were still pretty chilled out from the wine, and it was a nice, relaxing evening.

- And I finally went to a museum today. On a day-date. With a Czech guy I met on Friday night. It was the National Museum, and he suggested it because I had mentioned taking a Czech history class, and there’s a current exhibition taking place on Czech modern history. I really liked the exhibit and was able to connect a lot of dates and stories that I’ve heard to pictures and full explanations. We wandered around some other areas afterward and then grabbed coffee at a café near Lucerna. More, perhaps, on this later…

I had such an awesome time this weekend, but I’m going to have some serious issues getting all of my final papers done now that I’ve been off enjoying myself instead of doing research. Lots of work to do tonight, but a bunch of things to look forward to this week too!

The Return From Madrid

So I am returned from Madrid finally. People have been asking me how my weekend was since I have gotten back, and joke around saying, "Well, I lost my cell phone, got fined 20 Euro on the metro, my friend got pickpocketed, and my flight was canceled coming home. But it was still an awesome weekend!"

Basically, we ran into a bunch of unfortunate situations, but we had enough fun to make up for it. By day, Zach and I saw some of the sights in Madrid and I did a little shopping to make up for my lack in Prague. By night, we ate tons of food and generally enjoyed the nightlife.

On Friday, Zach and I went to El Retiro, a giant park in the city, the botanical gardens, and the Sofia Reina art museum. Saturday, I wandered around Sol on my own to look for some souvenirs/gifts, before me, Zach and his flatmate, Steve tried to go to the zoo. That's when Zach got pickpocketed and both of us got fined on the Metro because we didn't have our tickets... So we went on an adventure to the Madrid police station and headed back to their apartment for the afternoon. And on Sunday, Zach and I went to El Rastro, this huuuuge, ridiculously crowded (see the photo!) weekly flea market and the Royal Palace. The crowds reminded me a lot of Oktoberfest! But it was definitely fun to wander around.

What I thought was funny about Madrid is that you rarely have to eat before going out. A bunch of times I got a pastry thing with my morning espresso. We often got a free plate of tapas when we ordered drinks (and I've never had better sangria, by the way). At the least, we got papas fritas (potatoe chips) with our beers. I am a big fan of tortillas espanolas (I think that's what they're called, it's fried pototoe/egg pancake thing) and churros con chocolada. One night, we wentout out to these restaurants called Los Mesones (they're all on one street and have different themes). One specialized in mushrooms, so I kind of had to try one (photo!). It wasn't terrible...

Anyway, so then my flight got canceled on Sunday after I got to the airport! At first I was pretty upset becaue I had no idea what to do, not to mention, I coudln't call anyone since I lost my phone. But to make a long story short, the airline put us up in a hotel for the night, gave us a pretty good dinner, and we all got on another flight to Prague at 7:30 the next morning. It was a pretty stressful experience though, and it was lonely staying in a hotel alone and eating dinner by myself! Apparently the airline also owes me 400 Euro for all the trouble, but they're being kind of sketchy about it, so I'm not counting on it. We'll see though, that's a lot of money!

I missed a few classes on Monday morning, but it wasn't too bad. I just have a lot of Czech homework to catch up on. It's kind of hard to be back to gesturing with my hands when trying to talk to strangers though, I missed my limited yet much easier communication in Spanish! Anyway, this should be a pretty relaxed week and I'm sticking around Prague for the weekend, so we'll see how things go!

Uggghhh... I lost my cell phone/got it stolen today. Then, I forgot my metro pass and kind of ducked in the turnstile, only to be stopped by the metro security 20 minutes later when they asked to see my nonexistent ticket. Then, Zach realized he had been pickpocketed when he reached for his nonexistent wallet to find his nonexistent metro ticket. And we both got fined 20 euro.

Today was a little rough. Still, Madrid's been awesome (except not for my bank account).

Madrid!

I finally made it to Madrid! Again, it was one of those places that that I really wanted to visit when I came to Prague, but I figured it would be too far away to actually happen. But then, I found out that I have three friends here, one of whom is letting me crash at his apartment, and found a well-timed, direct flight to Madrid for under $200. It was perfect! I tossed some Czech spa wafers in my bag, bought some Becherovka (Czech liquor, tastes like Christmas) at the airport, and brought some of the Czech Republic to my Madrid friends.

So, I'm staying with my friend Zach for the next few days. He's in class until later this afternoon, so I ventured out to wander down Calle Princessa on my own this morning. It's funny because I feel so much less confident in my Spanish than I do with Czech, even though I know Spanish much better. I can't tell you what a surprise it is to be able to walk around and be able to read so many signs! However, I feel like I'm more comfortable with Czech because I know enough to get around (ie. how to order food, greet someone, etc.), whereas I'm a little out of practice with Spanish and I've never used it in a practical setting before. I realized this especially this morning when I asked Zach if I'm supposed to address people in the formal or informal tense!

Anyway, Madrid seems a lot different. Although, I probably feel that way because while walking around, I was subconciously comparing everything I saw to Prague. Right off the bat, Madrid is much larger and much more Western. In fact, walking around this morning, even only for a few hours, I realized how Eastern Europe-like Prague really is. I never really had anything to compare it to before (besides US cities). While Prague feels a lot different to me, walking around here reminds me a lot of NYC, both comforting and disappointing. People are dressed nicely, probably not too different from Boston, but a bit surprising to notice after being in Prague/Krakow/etc. They sell Ben and Jerry's and Oreos here too, which my flatmates have moaned about missing in Prague. I even saw a woman carrying a J Crew bag!

Calle Princessa is kind of a bigger shopping area, which Prague also doesn't have. Besides some of the malls, there aren't any real (read: non-souvenir) shopping areas. I think I've realized why Prague isn't exactly a fashion capital: there are few places to shop, and clothes are so expensive! I've spent a good many hours looking for black boots in Prague only to find a few nice ones that were way over my budget. Despite the Euro here, I've found a whole bunch or reasonable ones in the span of an hour or two of wandering!

While it's a little chilly here (mid 50s), the weather is gorgeous. Bright and sunny (although the high rises block a lot of light) and it seriously feels like the end of summer. There are semi-tropical trees all over the place, and even the temperate-looking ones (although, I'm no tree expert) still have all of there leafs.

I have a feeling that this is going to be a good weekend. Sleeping on a hard wood floor for a few nights isn't the best, but the double espressos are pretty cheap here, so I think I can manage.

So after a loooong day of classes/getting my midterms back, I went to my Czech family's flat for what I thought was supposed to be dinner. I went over around 19:00, but Martina, my Czech mom pulled out a plate of those weird Czech finger sandwiches and told me that we were just waiting for her friend down the street before we would head out to a bar. I watched a little of the news in Czech on TV and talked with another of Martina's friends. She knew Martina from a theatre they both work at (Martina is a costume designer), and she is also in school studying for her master's degree. Afterwards, we went to the apartment building next door to meet up with Martina's other friend.

So the four of us went to the bar down the road. And all of a sudden, it was 23:45 and I realized that the trams were going to stop running in a few minutes. It was a hilarious evening; I was only planning on staying an hour or so, but I don't know where the whole evening went! Around 21:00, we were joined by three more of Martina's friends, "Velky Lukas" (Big Lucas), "Maly Lukas (Little Lukas), and one fo the women's boyfriends. Martina's friend from the other apartment, Ivana, was having some boyfriend problems, so she she was joking around about calling one of her other boyfriends (she have about five!) and seeking advice from both Lukass (who are a couple, by the way).

We spent most of the night laughing, between Ivana's crazy men situations and the fact that Maly Lukas was the only one who had a good command of English. Martina always apologizes for not knowing English very well, but I'm always like, "Seriously, I'm in your country and I don't speak your language; I should be the one apologizing!" Also, it's not like she had the option of learning English in school back during the Communist regime anyway... But anyway, the more she drank, the better her English got, so we joked about that. They would also talk in rapid Czech, then someone would try to translate for me (usually Maly Lukas). Still sometimes, I kind of have to *assume* what they're saying in broken English, and I probably knod and smile more that I should, haha. I can understand a few words when they talk in Czech, but they just talk so quickly, the general message goes over my head!

But by the end of night, they decided to throw a party in Martina's flat in December so they can cook some different kinds of Czech food for me. I think I'm going to pull out my chocolate chip cookies recipe again. I'm going to miss the bar culture when I go home, especially when a night's worth of beer sets me back only $5.50...

Retrospective

So, about Prague... Apparently we've just crossed the halfway point of our semester. Mixed feelings, obviously, but I've been thinking about this experience as a whole over the past few days. I think I have to air some grieviences to sort out thoughts out.

Things are more relaxed now than they were in September, but I feel like I'm preoccupied by how much I'm really "enjoying" my time here. Don't get me wrong off the bat, I'm really glad I've gone through all of the trouble to study abroad here and adjust to living in a new place. I've asked many more questions and learned so much here that I would never have back at Tufts for another semester. I can't believe that I spent a weekend making apple cider in Austria or that I'm just jetting off to Madrid on Wednesday. I love wandering through new neighborhoods, passing Prague Castle on a daily basis, and trying out new bars. I feel good practicing Czech despite all of my stuttering, and I know it's good to challenge myself and that I would never get this chance if I stayed in Medford for four straight years. In other words, I'm having a good time.

But let me say this outright - I honestly don't feel more attached to Prague than I would to any other city that you randomly plopped me down in in Europe.

I feel as though you're almost prohibited to say that as a study abroad student, like I'm not allowed to feel that way. In fact, it's hard for me to even admit it here, and I'll be honest, I've consciously omitted some negative stories and feelings because it seems like I'm supposed to. And again, it doesn't mean that I don't like it here by any means or even that the majority of my experiences have been bad (quite the opposite). I just feel as though before going abroad, all I heard was "Ohmigosh, Paris was AMAAAAAAZING! I can't stand being back in the States anymore." And a friend of mine here said that after a weekend of traveling, she always feels relieved "to come home to Prague." I don't really feel that passionately.

I'm ambivalent about this past weekend, and I feel like it's representative of a lot of my Prague experiences. Wednesday evening with my class's open mic night was a lot of fun. I enjoyed wandering around the city on my own on Thursday, and we went out to a few bars on Thursday evening. But we wandered around aimlessly in the cold before deciding where to go, before ending up at a mediocre bar and going to our usual cafe, ending the evening around one. Halloween was similar, I went to a party thrown by some students in my program, then we all tried to go out afterwards. Again, my night ended after a lot of wandering and giving up around 1:30 or 2. It didn't help that Prague doesn't really celebrate Halloween, so it was awkward to go anywhere all dressed up in costume. Saturday, I went to a mediterranean/middle eastern food restaurant with Maya, Caity, and Chris, toured Prague Castle (one of two days a year that it's open to the public), then went to a jazz club later that night. Sunday was more or less a lie-around-the-apartment-in-my-pjs sort of day. All day... I tried to get some of my homework done in advance so I won't have to worry about in next weekend. And I learned how to make french toast.

So overall, it was a nice weekend. But there are two thoughts that keep clouding my perception of weekends like this:

1) What would I be doing at Tufts this weekend? It's a form of self torture when I check photos on facebook from back at school. It's selfish, but most people I know here feel like it's hard to accept that life goes on back on campus without them. This weekend was especially bad with Halloween. At Tufts, it's pretty much a three night long affair, and I saw all the pictures of my friends and their parties, which was awful after such a disappointing Halloween here. I miss curling up on Sundays with my homework on the third floor on the campus center for hours, with cup after cup of coffee or tea. And I could go out to a jazz club or try mediterranean food back in Boston too. Not to mention, back at school, my body would actually allow me to sleep in until noon and cath up, instead of waking up around 8 AM after not falling asleep until really late.

At the end of the day, I find myself subconsciously/consciously asking myself if I could have done the same activities had I been back at school. After a night out, would I have enjoyed myself more at a party with my friends back at school? I feel as though I constantly need to be having a better time than I would back home, which is not only really hard because Tufts is such a great environment for me, but also, it's a really silly thing to be worrying about as it is.

2) The obligation of what I *should* be doing, broken down into two specifics:

A) Cultural adaptation, or figuring out what Prague is really about. I only have three weekends left in Prague, maybe two. I still can't really order food at a restaurant in Czech. I haven't been to a single museum. I haven't really figured out what it's like to be Czech, or found the best goulash in the city. I don't have much time left to get my laundry list of Czech things done, and I feel like I've wasted my weekend because my lagging cultural obligations haven't been filled. I was too tired and apathetic on Saturday and Sunday to go to the Mozart Museum or National Museum, although I guess I feel a little better about seeing Prague Castle.

But then, I sit back and think, "If I don't see every museum or finally settle on my "favorite cafe," am I really going to be upset about this when I get home?" I guess probably not... And trying to see all of these things is a pretty tourist-y notion. I don't obsess about how I've never gone on a Duck Tour back in Boston. I'm preoccupied with trying to figure out how a normal Czech student lives, and they don't stress about lounging around the house for a few hours, just as I wouldn't as a student back home. But then, I'll always have Boston, and may not be back in Prague for a long time.

Also, I constantly feel guilty when I hear about friends' crazy adventures in rural China and Chile, crazy clubbing in Madrid, and living with host families. Am I supposed to be doing that? And how much "culture" can I really expect to comprehend while living in a city? After spending that weekend in Austria, I half just want to stay there. Live with a family, escape the pressures of having to see everything in the city, experience what it's like to live like a normal person in a different country...

B) And, the obligation of having to have fun at every moment. I feel like I constantly have to live up to all the great study abroad stories I heard before I left. Also, sitting down in Czech class today, a bunch of the girls were talking about how awesome of a weekend they had and how they plan on going out again tonight. I'm already crabby from sleeping so terribly this weekend, I can't imagine going out again tonight and waking up at 7:30 the next morning. And my weekend was nothing special. But then I feel bad for not "having the time of my life" and partying all the time because we're studying abroad and it's what we're supposed to do.

I've talked about this one or two times with other people, and found that they often feel similarly. The fact that people think that they can't talk about negative experiences only perpetuates the worry about being the only one not having fun all the time.

***

Alright, so all of this is getting pretty intense. Often, I worry that I worry too much about all of this. Part of me also tells my brain to stop obsessing and just relax, travel, and not set goals for myself. I'm in Prague, after all, why not just enjoy what's around me when I feel like it, and celebrate that plane tickets are so cheap to so many of the cities I've been wanting to visit. And this includes not worrying about traveling too much or even not being able to travel enough. Yes, I worry about both.

I'm going to focus on this week instead of being so retrospective. I'm trying to get all of my shambles under control before I leave to Madrid (in two days!!), so unfortunately (or fortunately?), tackling Czech culture is going to have to go on the back burner for a few days.

A more positive update soon, I just needed to get that out there :)

After such a nice, relaxing weekend, it was hard to come back to Prague for midterms. But almost everyone from my program came back on Monday evening or Tuesday, so we swapped stories as we sat around with all the reading we've neglected over the semester. Apparently Budapest is amazing, so I'm definitely going to add that to my list of places to go.

But anyway, my exams are over, for better or worse. For my Alternative Culture class, we had an open mike performance as our midterm, in addition to a four page paper about our performance/whatever we wanted to write about. Our teacher suggested a "cut-up" poem if we couldn't think of anything creative, so after studying for three other exams earlier that day, I decided to just go with it and get it over with. I took paragraphs from this blog where I talked about Prague, "cut out" phrases, and haphazardly linked a bunch together by fooling with the grammer. According to some old "rebels," these types of poems are supposed to tell the future or give insights on your writings. I'm pretty skeptical, but it was pretty funny to say the least. My first line went something like, "The circus culture is about how we've tried to assimilate..."

The open mike session itself was hilarious. We went to this very hipster cafe in a back alley and up about six flights of stairs, and packed in about 40 students (two classes plus friends who wanted to watch). I was one of the first on the list to perform, and although I realized my little poem wasn't very original, I read it with a joking kind of tone, and it seemed to go over pretty well. My roommate did stand up comedy which was hysterical, especially about how to mime honey to Tesco workers when she didn't know the name for it in Czech. Another group formed a gag band called Smazeny Syr-ious (a play off of friend cheese in Czech, an ongoing joke in my study abroad program), and sang about assimilating into Czech culture, interspeced by some of the funny, basic phrases we learn in intro Czech. They followed it up with an encore of Stand By Me.

Yesterday was pretty nice too, since midterms were over and my last class of the week ended at 10:30. I bought a ton of groceries at Tesco (in hopes that I will actually try to cook for myself) and a pumpkin. Afterwards, I fulfilled my civic duty by going to the US Embassy to vote (because CT never got around to sending my absentee ballot) and wandered around Mala Strana for a little while. I finally caved and went to Starbucks for the first time. My roommate shock her head when she heard this, although seriously, what's so wrong with a little familiarity once and a while? Although it was ridiculously over priced (almost $5!!), it's hard to get coffee to go anywhere in Prague and I was really craving a mocha latte. It'll probably be my first and last Starbucks visit, I'll be honest, but I managed to make up for it by *almost* completing my entire order in Czech.

Post Starbucks, I went back to my flat to carve my pumpkin (very very hard without pumpkin tools) and cook some dinner (pasta, but hey, I'm working on it). It's hard to believe that it's finally Halloween here, especially since the Czech Republic doesn't really recognize it. Tonight I'm dressing up as Sarah Palin, circa her beauty pagaent days (or should I say, hopefully-not-our-vice-president?). One of the other flats is throwing a costume party, but I'm not quite sure what else is going on beyond that. I'm a little jealous that back at school, Halloween is a weekend-long affair.

Awesome Austrian Adventure

**from Monday

So I’m a little in love with Austria right now. I know I never got around to describing my birthday party (11 empty bottles of wine, 20-odd grilled cheeses) or meeting my Czech family last week (awkward, kind of), but I really just want to jump into my fabulous long weekend.

Okay, so I didn’t tell my parents (or really anyone back home) until after I got back to Prague, because I didn’t want anyone to worry. But, I spent my weekend in living with a family in rural Austria, farming/gardening (kind of) with my friend Caity. Random? Well, over the summer, I read the Frugal Traveler column in the New York Times, and for one week, the writer decided to go WWOOFing in France. It was this amazing article about how the writer contacted this family, and lived and worked with them for a week.

So two weeks ago when my Tunisia plans fell through, Caity and I were kind of joking around WWOOFing over our long break instead. Except this turned into a “Hey, that’s not such a bad idea.” Soon enough, we found a different program on the internet (WWOOF was difficult to sign up for) and sent out a few emails to families that sounded interesting. A few hours later, we received an email from Eliza, a student in Vienna whose family lives in Rohr, Austria. Her description on the internet was one of our favorites (probably because it mentioned making apple cider!), so we jumped at the chance and bought our tickets to Linz a few days later.

Fast forward to Thursday morning: Caity and I took our Czech midterm (ughh) and ran to catch our train from Prague. We even made chocolate chip cookies for the family, an American sort of welcoming gift. Somehow we managed to catch all three of our connecting trains (even with 4 minute layovers!). It was a long ride, and I’ll be honest, we definitely noticed a difference crossing the border from the Czech Republic to Austria. We had non-sketchy modern trains, the landscape was greener, and there were far fewer abandoned old buildings. The Austrian countryside was beautiful!

We didn’t really know what to expect when we got off the train in Rohr Bad Hall. But a small, smiling woman came up to us and asked if we were Emily and Caitlin, so we followed her. She was Eliza’s mom, Cathy; she walked us back to her house about 2 min. from the train stop, showed us where to drop our bags, and immediately began feeding us (little did we know, the theme of our weekend.)

Although it was a little awkward at first, complete strangers and a little bit of a language barrier, it was a great first night. Cathy made us pumpkin soup, fried mushrooms, potatoes, and even pulled out some homemade apple cider (sus most, in German). One of her sons, Elias, came home from high school, and we met Christian, her husband, as well. We spent most of the night talking about different things (the US election, if Americans are fat, haha) but mainly we poured over their German atlas book, pointing out different things. Cathy and Christian were shocked at the lack of mountains where Caity lives in Indiana. Christian also brought different types of nuts from their farmhouse a few kilometers away and a bottle of Austrian red wine. I had a feeling it was going to be a long weekend forcing myself to eat new foods; which ended up being true, but not too bad. The pumpkin soup was delicious, the hazelnuts okay, although I hate mushrooms and don’t like red wine. I must say that while the mushrooms were really well cooked, I just couldn’t get over the fact that I was eating mushrooms. I decided, kind of as a joke, to keep tabs on all the new foods I tried over the four days.

The next morning, we ate delicious musli mix (granola, yogurt, fruit, etc.) and went with Christian to their farmhouse in Schliebham. It was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The house had no modern heating system, only two woodstoves. Caity and I gathered walnuts in the back yard and picked apples before Christian showed us how to make most, the alcoholic version of the cider we had for dinner the previous night. Caity and I had a trip picking apples, as we realized that we were standing on top of a hill in Austria, using this old wagon that seriously would be an antique decoration back home in the US. The most machine was crazy too, another thing I can imagine being on display in the historic Hyland House back in Guilford as some farming machine.

Now, we slept in Eliza’s room on our first night, but Cathy and Christian kept asking if we would rather sleep in Schliebham or in Rohr for the rest of the week. We ended up gathering our stuff and bringing it with us to Schliebham that morning. Later that afternoon, it kind of dawned on me that we were staying in this freezing cold, rural farmhouse for the night. When Christian left us with a box of spaghetti, sauce, and bread for the next morning, I was kind of like, “Woah, did this really just happen? Is he really leaving us here alone in this house?”

Caity and I barely had a grasp on how to light the woodstoves when he left, and we needed showers, despite the fact that the bathroom was not heated and the hot water wasn’t working in the bathtub. I’ll be honest, I was getting pretty nervous after neither Caity or I could relight the bedroom stove, even though Christian said it would probably stay warm all night (it was the awesome clay heater that stayed warm for HOURS after the fire went out, amazing). Caity washed her hair in the kitchen sink, but I chickened out because the kitchen was still really cold even with the stove on. We cooked our spaghetti and watched Pride and Prejudice on my computer before going to bed early. Although scary and uncomfortable at first, we ended up having a cozy, quiet evening. Plus, the super thick, heavy, down blankets we had were amazing.

On Saturday, both Cathy and Christian met us back at the house in the morning with a big breakfast in tow. Caity and I sheepishly explained how we couldn’t get either stove to light earlier in the morning, but soon, Cathy got it going and started cooking again, so the house was warm and cozy. We bundled up again (did I mention that I wore 3-4 layers most of the weekend?) and gathered some more nuts and cleared leaves. We had a third (!) meal of grilled chicken, potatoes, cheese, and salad and Christian showed us his studio (he’s an artist) upstairs before we packed up our things again and went back to Rohr.

Just as we arrived back in Rohr, we met another family member. There are six people in the family, by the way; Cathy, Christian, Elias (17), Julian (18), David (21), and Eliza (23). In Austria, everyone has to either serve the military for six months, or do civil service for a slightly longer time. Julian just joined the military in Linz, and he came home on Saturday for the weekend.

Then, Christian asked us if we wanted to go for a walk to “see the sun” (the sun became another theme of our weekend). We had pretty gross weather on our entire trip – cold, damp air and very cloudy skies. Christian said that we could drive part way up a mountain and break past the low fog (fog being his and Cathy’s new favorite English word). I remained unconvinced, but it sounded like fun.

So, Caity, Christian, Cathy, Elias, Julian, and I drove to a mountain nearby. Julian just has the equivalent of his driver’s permit (driving age is older in Austria), so he decided to practice, and Caity and I teased him after the car stalled, despite that we can’t drive stick shifts at all. But anyway, the mountain was ridiculous. We parked about halfway (maybe) up, but we hadn’t reached the cloud level yet. Christian, however, was convinced that we would if we just did a little hiking. So hiking we went. Not kidding, the MOST INTENSE hike I have ever gone on. Again, I was still wearing two pairs of pants, two shirts, a sweatshirt, and my jacket because it was so cold. By the time we got to the top, I was ready to pass out and was sweating profusely, as was Caity. The “trail” was crazy steep and I was breathing at my normal running pace, but for 45 min. of solid hiking. Despite taking a break on heavy exercise in Prague, I still thought I was in pretty good shape too. The rest of the family more or less took it in stride, and Caity and I laughed in between gasps as realized that we were owned by two middle-aged adults. Unfortunately, even at 1100 m (3300ish ft?), we didn’t break the fog.

Coming down was almost worse. It was easier effort wise, but again, this was no well-traveled trail from back in the US. We could barely find our way back down, and the whole way was coated with slippery, wet leaves. I was happy that I didn’t slip on the way down, almost everyone else did. Still, Caity and I were good sports and laughed about it most of the way. Christian joked about how only two crazy American girls would join the family on their adventures. Afterwards, we returned to Rohr for (hot) showers and another big dinner with the family.

It was such a nice evening too. Caity and I talked for a long time (instead of studying for our midterms) about tons of different issues that come up when you’re in a radically different environment. Both of us felt really refreshed after we had recovered from our hike, and just realized how good this trip had been for us. I had been pretty tired over the past few weeks and even getting a little homesick. I kept wishing that I could go home to Connecticut for a weekend for some peace and quiet in my own house. Rohr was the next best thing. Caity and I were able to de-stress in a real house, detox from the polluted Prague air, sleep a lot, eat real, unprocessed, good meals, have a family around (even if it wasn’t our own!), exercise, and basically get all the good things our body had been missing. Staying with the family in Rohr was like getting a tune up after getting so worn down.

But anyway, Cathy and Christian had been telling us that we didn’t have to “work” on Sunday because they were taking us to meet Eliza and go hiking. Eliza had been hiking and staying with friends for the weekend about an hour from Rohr. We enjoyed another big family breakfast and watched a skiing competition on TV before driving out to a bunch of mountains by the deepest lake in Austria. The surrounding village was one of the most gorgeous towns that I have ever seen. As in, I want to move there someday. Pictures don’t capture the beauty of this place. Anyway, we finally found a parking spot (seriously, every Austrian was out hiking with their family) and started up one of the mountains to meet Eliza. Caity and I were still sore from the night before!

The weather was pretty intense too. The sun finally came out (more Austrian jokes here), but it was freezing cold in the shade and warm in the sun. Caity and I spent most of the hike burning hot and panting, yet faces freezing. The hike we went on similar to the previous night’s, but was longer and had more up and down areas towards the top. I still wanted to pass out. But the top was amazing. Wonderful view of the giant lake and surrounding mountains and villages. We ate bread and cheese for lunch, along with some tea and coffee (surprisingly no water…) and took some photos. Caity and I marveled at how some little children seemed to have taken the hiking in stride as we almost died on the way up. We have decided that it’s a mixture of some crazy Austrian hiking genes and the fact that they start hiking at the age of two.

But again, the trip down was out of control. We took a more direct route down the mountain, and let’s just say we didn’t pass any other hikers on that trail for a reason. I thought the previous night’s hike down was bad, but it didn’t compare. I fell four times in the span of five minutes in one particularly slippery part and sustained some intense bruises and scrapes. After that, I was shaking the entire rest of the way down, and we had a long way to go from that point. It took about two hours to climb all the way down! Even Caity admitted that she had never been so scared in her entire life. Anyway, we collapsed into the car and went back to Rohr.

For our last dinner, Cathy went all out. She cooked weiner snitzel, potatoes, carrots, salad, rice; played a traditional Austrian music CD; and brought out more cider and Austrian beer. Did you know, by the way, that the drinking age in Austria is 16? Anyway, Eliza, Elias, and Julian all teased her about her efforts and why she wasn’t wearing her traditional Austrian dress. It was a fun, delicious, relaxing last meal. Afterwards, Christian gave us some of the photos he took over the weekend (he’s an amateur photographer) and we looked up the chocolate chip cookie recipe we used online because they liked our cookies so much. We said goodbye to Julian, who was heading back to the military, and Cathy who was going to bed early before going to work the next morning.

This morning, Christian showed us how to make the delicious musli mix before we packed up. Eliza also showed us some of her pictures from rock climbing in Greece and from Istanbul over breakfast. We packed up our things, and before we left, Christian filled the kitchen table with apples from the tree outside their window, some fresh tea leaves, and a bunch of vegetables and pumpkins for us to take home.

It was really hard for us to say goodbye, especially with the impending doom known as midterms that wait for us back in Prague. Caity and I really felt like 5th and 6th children in their home for the weekend and it was hard to thank their family enough in the note we left behind. I can’t wait to go back to Austria in November, even if it will be a totally different area.

More photos soon!

So, unrelated to Prague, but I turn twenty tomorrow.

I sort of remember being excited to become a teenager around my 13th birthday. Like, "woah... teenagers are cool and... old," sort of thing. Now it seems to carry slightly more negative connotations. But hmmm, am I cool and old enough to be a twenty-something? Is twenty-zero even considered to be a twenty-something? Can I think of it as my "roaring twenties"?

Today I went grocery shopping for myself again. I realized at the cash register that there wasn't a single chocolate-y thing in basket. A sign of getting older? Or did I just have too much chocolate this weekend?

Krakow

I originally intended to do most of my traveling in Eastern Europe while I was here, with the expectation that I would always be lured back to larger Western cities in the future. I figured I would travel to Bucharest and Bratislava because I might never be in the area again. However, with flights to smaller cities being more expensive and the draw of cities like Amsterdam, Krakow, I've realized, it probably one of the few Eastern destinations I'm going to get around to.

I was actually surprised at how much it reminded me of Prague, on a smaller scale. Krakow has its own Old Town Square (photo above), a Jewish quarter, and looks similar to Prague on the outskirts. I was also shocked at much Polish I could read/understand because the two languages are so closely related (ie. Stare Mesto vs. Stare Miasto).

Food at restaurants is a little cheaper, but beer a little more expensive. We ate really well while we were there, a nice Polish restaurant by the main market square on the first night, cheap Georgian food for lunch, delicious Polish apple pie, and I finally got some pierogis on the last night (photo number two, and yeah, forgot to mention that I dyed the tips of my hair purple). I thought the exchange rate in Poland would be worse for us (they’re on the zloty), but I don’t think it was.

Backtracking a little, we actually didn't arrive in Krakow until Friday evening after leaving Thursday at midnight. Now, the trip was a semi-pre-organized trip by CIEE, about 30 of us went. I was really dreading the 7 hour overnight bus ride, but I actually slept more than I thought I would. We stopped for breakfast at a youth center in Poland around 7:00 and arrived to Auschwitz around 8:00. We had a great tour, but it wasn't the easiest after a long night, especially since it was freezing cold and rainy as we walked around. I don't really want to reflect upon everything here, but let's say that our cold, wet, miserable selves probably appreciated the conditions of the concentration camp a lot more, especially as we realized that we were lucky to be there in October with coats and mittens and a warm bus to return to, and our inner complaints seemed a lot quieter. I feel like a lot of what our tour guide said wouldn't have really impacted us in the same way in June.

We checked into our hotel around 14:00, more somber than usual. A few people napped, but most of us went out to explore a little bit and ate an early dinner. We did a little bar hopping around the main city center before getting back to the hotel around 23:30 (!). Now, one of the bars we went to wouldn't serve us because they said we had to be 21. We left a little confused, but moved on.

The next morning, we had a bus/walking tour of Krakow, mostly in the Jewish Quarter, Wawel Castle, and in churches around Old Town. Schindler's List was filmed in Krakow, and basically, the movie restored Krakow. It was a pretty big city with a large Jewish population, but WWII destroyed the Jewish Quarter (there are very few Jews still living there). It was a pretty rough neighborhood before the movie was produced, but it drew in a lot of tourists to the city, and provided a big incentive to restore the area. In fact, Krakow would be nothing like it is today without the movie. We saw a bunch of scenes from the movie on the tour, and the neighborhood was pretty lively with restaurants and cool looking cafes. I really wanted to go back and explore the area more, especially with the local weekend market going on, but we ran out of time.

Anyway, I'll post some pictures soon. The tour dropped us back in Old Town Square, and Kelley and I went shopping on our own for a while. Shopping was so much nicer in Krakow than back in Prague, actual stores in the main district instead of a million touristy shops. I bought a few souvenirs to take home which was nice. Unfortunately, I've had a bit of a cold over the past few days, and it really started to hit on Saturday afternoon. We ate a late dinner and I called it a night after we returned to Camera Cafe for a second apple pie. Apparently I didn't miss much though, since again, people ran into difficulties with the age-21 issue. I still don't understand that!


On Sunday, we checked out early and visited these famous salt mines a few miles outside of Krakow. At first, most of us didn't want to leave Krakow early to tour some lame salt mines, but they were interesting. We went really deep underground, had a historical tour of the mines, saw these crazy salt statues/cathedral/chandeliers, and even got to lick the walls.

The ride back was another long affair, but driving through the Polish and Czech countryside was gorgeous. Perhaps I’m a little biased, but I do think the Czech lands are a little prettier. And driving through Moravia (eastern CR) is much more scenic than Bohemia (back from Cesky Krumlov and Karlovy Vary). We passed all of these small villages with signs for castles, Freud’s birthplace, and two zoos. Fall is in full force here, so all the trees were changing colors and the sun was setting behind these rolling hills… The only things that really gets me is the number of abandoned buildings that we always drive by, I can’t believe how many old buildings with fallen in roofs and missing windows I always see. But still, I can’t help but wonder what my study abroad experience would be like if I was studying in some small Moravian village, mulling cider, and sitting by the fireplace. But then, I’d probably be bored and wonder about life in Prague, who knows…

Saturday was a bit of a let down. I spent an hour or two cleaning out filthy kitchen (we never really picked up after our Thursday evening dinner party) before meeting Leah to do some shoe shopping. We met at Narodni Trida and wandered in and out of shops from around the tram stop, to Vaclavski Namesti, to IP Pavlova. There are TONS of shoe shops here; many cheap shops packed with metal racks covered with boots and heels (around $20), as well as Bata (famous Czech shoe chain), Humanic (another chain), and sporty stores (like North Face, etc.) that have wayyyy over priced sneakers. I've been looking for a good pair of black boots for ages, but I keep having problems find good looking ones in my size and price range. Alas, neither Leah and I ended up buying shoes - we spent our money on some soup and beer (to quell our disappointment) instead.

I went out to dinner with Maya and her father who was visiting Prague before his business trip. Shockingly, I think it was the first time I had had goulash in a real restaurant here! We tried to a jazz club, but we arrived late and couldn't eve get into the room where the band was playing. Instead, we walked across Charles Bridge which was very eerie looking, blanketed in the thickest fog I've seen in Prague. We ended our night in a pub called Hany Bany (I think) and enjoyed our last glasses Burcak. The wine can technically be sold through November, but already, it tastes different since it's started to ferment more.

On Sunday, I more or less camped out for most of the day in our flat with a pot of tea and a week's worth of homework to catch up on. I was doing pretty well for awhile, but I could see the sun come out through my window and started getting restless. Around 3:30, I called my friend, Caity, and we both abandoned our work to enjoy the gorgeous weather and go to the traveling World Press Photo exhibit at charles University (it was the last day it was in Prague).

Now, while I was doing my homework, I recieved an email from Emma, one of the girls who lived in the apartment above my friends at Tufts who I visited over the summer. I've probably only talked to her once or twice before, but she said she was visiting Prague for the weekend (she's studying in Paris for the semester) and my friend Eric (who lived below her) told her to get in contact with me. She said she forgot until last minute to email, but hoped I was having a good time and joked that we'd run into each other. Anyway, as I'm going up the escalator in the metro to meet Caity, I look up and see a familiar face... I think you can see where this is going, but while it took me a few seconds to recognize her, it was Emma! We talked for a couple seconds as we passed each other on the escalator, but she was going to the airport while I was running late. Crazy coincidence though, a big city, in the biggest metro stop, at the same exit, same time, and both of us happened to look up at just the right time...

But anyways, the World Press Photo exhibit was AMAZING. It was super crowded (we went two hours before it closed on the last day), but the photos and topics they covered were excellent. On the news side, they covered the Iraq War and Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, to more obscure issues like the mining dangers in Russia and the dissolution of circus culture in Eastern Europe. There were also photos explaining how drilling in Alaska affects native tribes and how the introduction of guns to narwhal hunting has impacted the species. I enjoyed the photo stories (series of photos) telling stories about news issues and daily life the most, although I have to admit that the sports photography was incredible. I could literally go on for hours about the exhibit, but really, check out (some of it) for yourself.

So Caity and I left the exhibit just as it was about to close and move on to the next city. We ended up talking outside for a long time, first about the photos and stories, but then more about being in Prague and what we planned to get out of our semester. I think it's so odd, in retrospect, that CIEE asked us to write down some academic, personal, cultural, etc. goals at the beginning of the semester, because I feel like someone entering a period like this (studying abroad, moving, etc.) really has no idea what to expect. My "goals" seem kind of silly now. But what do we expect to get out of this experience? I keep bouncing back and forth. On one hand, I want to get to know Prague and Czech culture more, and almost wish I had chosen to study abroad with a host family somewhere where I wasn't tempted to plan away all my weekend visiting other countries. But if I was in Chile practicing my Spanish, I know I'd seeing all of my European friends' travel photos and wish for that instead. Not to mention that while it's hard to separate city culture from traditional Czech culture, learning to live on my own in a city has been a big learning experience.

I realize now that it's near impossible to explore every cafe and museum, find the best goulash, become fluent in Czech while still traveling most weekends. But I have many more cities to visit than I have free weekends, and I may never have such an easy launching pad to visit them from again. Caity and I debated the merits of our choice to come to Prague and how we've tried to "assimilate" here for the past month. We really can't define what it means to have a "good study abroad experience" because everyone is looking for different things. Some want to be totally immersed in rural village. Others want learn the in and outs of the best clubs like European socialites. The art history major simply wants to see the places they've seen in pictures, and others just want to try out city life and perfect their language skills.

Again, neither I or Caity know where we fall, besides wanting a little more "cultural immersion" than we've been getting. For now, we've vowed to drag each other out to more concerts and visit areas of the Czech Republic outside of Prague. We both also signed up to meet with Czech families (I meet mine on Tuesday, but she knows so little English, I'm nervous). We also have the most AMAZING sounding trip planned for our five day break next weekend. However, I've had a terrible pattern of trips falling through lately, so I'm going to hold back so I don't jinx it.

In the meantime, I am STILL not completely up-to-date with this blog, but I'm leaving for the weekend in about an hour, so I'm just going to lay out the SparkNotes. I went to FORUM 2000 (an international human rights conference held in Prague every year) with my classes on Monday and Tuesday. Too bad the Dalai Lama got sick last week and couldn't attend... But I went to an awesome econ panel on the financial crisis, which mentioned a lot of terms that I just learned in class and cleared up a lot of my confusion on the issues. It was held in a building that was portrayed as the Vatican in a few movies, it was so pretty! But Tuesdays panels on the "age of fear" and civil disobedience took place in Zorfin Palace on an island in the Vltava. The panels weren't as good (in my opinion), but again PALACE. I cannot even begin to describe how ornate this building was. Perfect for an over the top wedding. And delicious free lunch with Prague's most popular beer on tap. I left early for an internship interview at The Prague Post, the english newspaper in Prague. Great interview, but my schedule is virtually the exact opposite of what they're looking for. The editor is going to get back to me, but honestly, I'm not sure if I have time, as much as I would love write for them. Tuesday evening I saw the famous Czech opera, The Bartered Bride (Czech with English subtitles), which had good music, but the longest, most cliche last act ever. Wednesday was all class, followed with a ridiculously dissappointing end to my original 5 day break plans to go to a resort in Tunisia (so cheap, but you can't book for only 4/5 days!). Today, a couple of us went to The Globe Cafe (ex-pat cafe/bookstore) after mornign class where they were replaying the presedential debate on a big screen. It was pretty fun to watch it with a cafe full of people booing McCain and a plate of American-style french toast, but it was really hard to hear and pay attention, actually. Afterwards, Caity and I launched new trip plans for our 5 day (which should be even better than a beach in Tunisia, if not the exact opposite). I also went on a date to a surprising good Mexican restaurant (and realized how much I miss Anna's Taqueria and Boloco back at Tufts!). For now, I am just about finished packing before I meet said date and a few friends at a bar and leave for Krakow at midnight! Back on Sunday night!

** post from 10/11/08

So after Oktoberfest, I spent last week running between classes and meeting my family who arrived in Prague on Tuesday.

Tuesday evening was pretty uneventful, as my family was pretty tired. We went to an American-like Czech restaurant (read: modern, English menus, served cheeseburgers and goulash) that was near their hotel and called it an early night.

On Wednesday, my family wandered around the city in the morning while I went to class, and we met up for lunch at Karvarna Slavia, a famous cafe in Prague on the edge of the Vltava river with views of Prague Castle. Many dissidents, including Vaclav Havel, used to frequent the cafe during the revolution. Today, the cafe is pretty touristy, but they make mean apple strudel and have good hot chocolate and lattes. I ran a few errands and went back to class while my family went on a few tours of Prague. We met up again in Andel for dinner. My original plans were to take my family out to an authentic Czech restaurant nearby, but plans fell through. Earlier in the day, I tried to make reservation for six, but the only guy who spoke English there told me that they were "all full" for the evening. Again, it was a Wednesday night... My family ended up coming back to see my flat for a little while (sorry, no pictures of Grandma in the tub, she was too tired after walking up the stairs!). I made Aidan try a few Czech things, like Cofola (licorice tasting Coke), spa wafer cookies, and Kinder Bueno (an amazing chocolate bar). Afterwards, we went to Meduzzy, a pasta restaurant near my flat.

Unfortunately, the trip back to their hotel was a nightmare... The 6 tram, which normally runs directly from my apartment to their hotel, stops running at 20:00. The trip otherwise involves a lot of tram-transfering and Grandma didn't like climbing the tram steps to get on. So, my *brillant* idea involved us taking metro part way instead. It was a disaster. I misjudged the metro transfer stops, and instead of accepting the error and going back up to take the trams, I decided to just go with it since we were already in the metro station. Sooo... to make a long story short, the metro was a terrible decision that had few escalators, lots of stairs, and difficult-to-find tram stops. It took over an hour to get back, and honestly was probably the worst metro/tram trip I've had here in Prague! And this was as I was trying to demonstrate my knowledge of the public transport in Prague to my family!

I ended up staying at the hotel with my family that night because we had gotten back so late and skipped my Czech class the following morning. We went to Old Town Square first, went to the top of the astronomical clock tower, and did some souvenir and garnet shopping. Afterwards, we walked across the Charles Bridge into Mala Strana where I interduced Aidan to the wonders of gyro/doner kebab.

While waiting for the metro to go back to the hotel, Grandma asked me if they will still be speaking Czech in Prague in a few years. I jokingly said that all of Europe plans to adopt a new European language soon, but Grandma didn't get it and believed me. She thought it was a good idea. A few seconds later, she asked what langauge that would be. "English," I said. "Oh, of course," she replied. I'm not sure if she ever figured it out. Perhaps it worked out better that the Czech restuarant on Wednesday was full, because they don't have any English menus and I'm not sure if Grandma could have dealt with that...

I went back to my flat later that evening where Maya was throwing a break-the-fast party with a bunch of other Jews/people-who-love-Jewish-food. She made delicious kugel, challah bread, and fruit plates and we sat and ate for a while. One of the clubs in Prague was hosting an international student night, so we decided to go out and dance despite still being stuffed from dinner. I still can't get over being an "international student" here, at Tufts, the international kids always hang out together, super well dressed and everything. Here in Prague, we're finally part of the minority. As I was walking through the crowded dancing area, a guy suddenly grabs my hand and kisses me on each cheek before making me guess where he was from. It was a little weird, and of course, he was from Spain. My friend, Watson, who was behind me said afterwards, "Wait, did you know him?!" Anyway, it was a fun night, although I ended up leaving early because my dad was worried that I wasn't going to be able to get into the hotel if I came back too late.

Anyways, we all went out to Cesky Krumlov yesterday, a small, medieval, tourist town in southern Bohemia. We didn't have any set plan on what to do once we got there, but we ended up wandering around the castle for most of the morning. My parents and Aidan and I all climbed up to the top of the tower that had an amazing view of the entire town and surrounding mountains. Mom and I joked around about how to chill Grandma out. We walked though the castle gardens a little and saw the "revolving theatre" before walking down into town. We poked into a few shops and had a relaxing lunch in a cafe behind the main street. After heading back to Prague, we ate dinner at a cheap and delicious italian restaurant that I will definitely remember for a later date.

This morning, I said goodbye to my family as they headed out to the airport. Overall, I think it was a pretty good trip. The hardest part was planning out things for everyone to do. I had this relatively flexible plan of what to do each day, but it really fell by the wayside. From the Czech restaurant being "full," to Grandma and Grandpa not wanting to walk too much, to the hotel being far away... there was a lot of things I had planned that we just never got around to doing. But I guess that's just how trips go. I'm pretty tired now just from showing everyone around, but we did get to see a lot. I'm just not looking forward to the rest of the weekend and catching up on everything I've neglected while "traveling" around Prague with my family!

**post from 10/6

Ironically, I don’t think I could have had a drier experience at Oktoberfest. Yes, I mean alcohol-wise. You’ll see.

I woke up on Saturday morning around 5:30 before catching my 7:00 bus to Munich (or Munchen, whichever you prefer). Julie, being crazy, went to Oktoberfest on Friday and took the midnight bus back to Prague. She actually arrived home just as I was inhaling a quick cup of coffee. It’s about a 5 hour ride on a cheap, but surprising unsketchy bus. I ended up sitting near a bunch of American students studying in Prague through another program, and we talked for a little while. Apparently we drove on the Autobahn (I never saw any sign evidence of this, but then, I also can’t read a word of German). The German countryside is beautiful, by the way.

I met my parents at the airport and we attempted to conquer the crazy ticketing system for the metro so we could get to the hotel (success, on account of a special ticket-buying assistant). Being terribly jetlagged, my family more or less collapsed at the hotel. We had a questionable dinner at the hotel bar and went to bed at like, 8:30.

Post breakfast, my parents, grandparents, younger brother, and I decided to give Oktoberfest hell, and followed the steady stream of Germans in the metro. I honestly thought that Oktoberfest was going to be some capitalist, tourist trap, but it really wasn’t too bad. Sure, there were terribly over priced carnival rides and a bunch of trashy souvenirs, but it was just full of German families, decked out in traditional costumes. I’ve never seen anything like it, just tons and tons of people in lederhosen and beer maiden (?) dresses. It kind of made me realize how the US lacks a cultural background. We have the whole “arriving off the boat and raising yourself up by your bootstraps” kind of history, but nothing like a nationality/ethnicity in common like the Germans, Czech, etc. I guess it’s something obvious that I just never really thought about before. But that’s another conversation.

We wandered around for an hour or so, went on the giant ferris wheel, ate some chocolate covered fruit, and tried to hit up the beer tents. They were RIDICULOUSLY crowded. Full of German families in costume and drunk tourists – apparently you either needed to make a reservation a year in advance or arrive to the beer halls very early in the morning and wait for a table. We gave up after an hour or so of looking for a table and went back into Munich, towards our hotel. We ended up getting a nice early dinner in Marianplatz Square, a traditional-seeming German meal, and a beer or two.

This morning, after failing at using the Metro ticket machine once again, I headed back to the bus station and waited around for the bus which ended up being almost an hour late. I talked with a Czech student for awhile, she was in Munich for an annual meeting of some old friends from her study abroad program in the US two years ago. For now though, I’m relaxing on my long ride back to Prague, before I finally get to check my email and realize all I’ve missed over the weekend!