Czech Switzerland

Recreation in the CR

Happy Czech Statehood Day to you and happy day off of school to me.  Today marks the anniversary of Saint Wenceslas' death and is therefore a national holiday in the Czech Republic.  This past week has been filled with a number of recreational activities.  First off was a jaunt to the park Divorka Sarka, a vast natural area with forests, rock formations, and a lake right in Prague.  For those of you coming to visit, you'll see it from the window of your plane as you're landing in Prague.  This place was beautiful, relatively untouched, and felt like the wilderness even in the city.  The next day was an excursion to Czech Switzerland.  For the not-so-geographically-minded folk (like myself), this does not mean the Czech-Switzerland border...because that doesn't exist.  It's a national park on the Czech-German border (which does exist)  Apparently one keen Swiss man found it reminiscent of his homeland and decided to forevermore confuse hikers when he named it.  Anyway, this was a beautiful hike up the mountains culminating with breathtaking views and a wonderful rock arch (see photos).  From the top the entire Czech countryside was visible.  The hike was no 14er, but was still a little bit of a workout.  The weekend culminated with a trip to a modern art museum on the river.  Today I finally got around to paddle boating on the Vlatava; so great!  The weather has been gorgeous and my roommates and I relaxed and paddled around in the sun.  It's such a nice way to see the city.  Off to camp in the metropolis of Munich tomorrow.

Stay tuned.

We built this city...on Wenceslas and sausage

Classes are in full swing here at Charles University in Prague.  So far the piece of knowledge that has been most fervently impressed upon me by my professors is that I know absolutely nothing about history...so here goes an informative and necessary semester learning about Eastern Europe.  On the upside, I only have class two days each week and my professors are enlightening people who have traveled all over the world and who are truly passionate about their respective subjects.  The other days are spent exploring Prague, which in many cases means setting off for an under-appreciated park and doing it justice by oohing and ahhing at the miraculous views it humbly provides.  Another big part of my free time has been, and will continue to be, occupied by travel through Europe.  I went to Munich last weekend to the world-renowned Oktoberfest. This was quite the place, let me tell you.  The festival is akin to McDonald's only in the way that everything is super-sized:  from the roller coasters to the beer to the lederhosen.  I tried on a number of lederhosen dresses and thoroughly enjoyed the experience but in the end found it fiscally irresponsible to drop 150 euro on a very fanciful apron (especially when I don't even cook).  The ambiance at Oktoberfest is so lively and high-spirited.  We were fortunate enough to find a table in the Hofbrau tent next to some fascinating Swiss people and a number of rowdy Italians.  German chants, cheers, and songs abounded sprinkled with rousing renditions of the American "Will you be my girl?"  The next day was spent exploring Munich in what can only be described as a complete downpour...and I'm from Seattle.  It's a very impressive city filled with old buildings and heritage.  Miles of city streets were blocked off to make room for the Oktoberfest parade, the largest I've ever seen.  In a strange way, Munich gave me an ever greater appreciation for Prague.  I love the set up, size, and accessibility Prague offers, definitely the right place to choose to study.  The only thing that would have made the Munich trip better was if I had gotten a seat on the train; standing in the cramped hallway of a train car for six hours will make a massage sound like heaven.  But the silver lining is that I met a number of traveling Aussies and a nice cop from Seattle (so I guess I've got a good person to call in case anything ever goes awry in the Emerald City).  Future trips are being planned and booked.  Look for upcoming blog posts about Czech Switzerland, Berlin, another trip to Munich, Budapest, Vienna, surrounding areas of Prague, and Amsterdam!

Thanks for reading :)

View from Prague Castle

Beach on the Vlatava River

In the Kutna Hora Silver Mine (helmets necessary!)

Jsem z Americky

Adventures in Prague continue along with the list of Czech words I am able to say.  However, my nationalism is still abundantly apparent, hence the title of today's post.  Much of the last week has been spent in Czech class and exploring the city, of which I have much more to do.  Fun fact: Prague has a beach!  Yes, my geographically-minded friends, the Czech Republic is landlocked, but sandy beaches abound if one takes the time to travel by tram down the Vlatava River.  The water is cold, yet refreshing, and the site of beach volleyball courts, palm trees, and straw huts deceive one into thinking he is in Hawaii, not Central Europe.  My first time outside of Prague since I arrived came on Saturday, when our program traveled to the mining town of Kutna Hora, about one hour outside of Prague.  This very old, sleepy town draws tourist for the veracity of its silver mines.  We were fortunate enough to travel 2,100 feet underground and explore the world of the brave miners who worked there in the 14th century.  I was never, and am still not, under the impression that mining was a glamorous occupation, but I have come to be both shocked and impressed by the horrible conditions under which these men worked.  We were lucky enough to have lamps, but when we turned them off, it was total darkness.  Never before have I been in such a situation.  The miners were forced to use touch and sound to distinguish silver from rock, something I have no doubt takes much concentration and training.  The tunnels we walked through in the mines were so small that even the smallest of us had to crouch and turn sideways just to get through them.  If you have claustrophobia, these mines are your nightmare, not to mention the tiny chutes the miners slid down in order to descend into the mines.  Despite the wet slime of the walls, I found this experience fascinating and feel very gratified to know that I will never have to call mining my occupation.  When we resurfaced, we went to visit the famous Bone Church.  As silver mining became increasingly demanded, more and more land was needed.  In one such instance the land of choice contained a mass grave.  Instead of disposing of these bodies, one man decided to make art out of them.  The bone church is the canvas upon which these bones are displayed.  They are amazing and haunting; I found them beautiful but was then hit with the fact that these bones once belonged to actual people.  Thousands of skulls and other bones sit in heaps or in artistic formations throughout the church, truly a sight.  So much more to see in the coming months!

Dekuju!

Prague - week 1

Dobry den!  I have arrived in Prague and finally have working internet.  This city is beautiful in every sense of the word, from the buildings to the people to the food.  So far I am beyond exhausted but trying to keep up.  Our group consists of about 48 students who go to school all over the U.S., but many are from Colorado (one girl used to hire my cousin as her tutor - small world).  They're all really great people who are excited to be here.  We're working our way through one of the toughest languages and attempting to say words like jmeunjues and dekeujme (even harder with all the accents).  I would kill for a vowel about now.  But, however hard we try, I feel as though I have a giant stamp on my head that reads "I'm an American, duh".  Hopefully we'll start to blend in the coming months; it doesn't help that we've been herded around in tour groups throughout the city.  In the past six days I've explored Prague Castle three times: once at sunrise (truly spectacular and devoid of other tourists), once with a few friends after class, and once on a tour through our program.  From the castle one can see the entire city of Prague including the Vlatava River and the Communist "creepy baby" Tower by which I live.  Our flat is wonderful and is starting to feel like home.  In order to enter our building we have to go through an amazing pizzeria (there are worse things in life) across from which is a nice park.  Public transportation is efficient and easy; I'm feeling like a real city girl taking the metro to class each day.  I have so much to explore that I'm not sure if four months will be enough - don't worry, parents, I'll come home :).  I'm beginning to work on plans for my upcoming travels, so stay tuned.

Na shledanou,

Kinsey

SEA - FRA

I recently spent ten hours in a 3 foot by 3 foot space with a very old, sweet, Russian man on my way from Seattle, WA to Frankfurt, Germany.  He knew about a total of 8 words in English which included "tomato juice" and "I love you" (which he told me as we began our descent).  Albeit, this is by far more than the 0 words I know in Russian.  We kept to ourselves for the first few hours while I watched movies and he read the Bible.  I was starting to fall asleep when he jabbed me in the stomach and then proceeded to slap his shoulder as if to say "sleeping on my shoulder will be more comfortable for you".  I politely gestured and smiled in an attempt to say "thank you but no".  He continued to slap himself until I obligingly rested on his arm.  Unfortunately, this was extremely straining on my neck, so I waited it out for a minute and then slowly went back to my own chair.  Just as I was starting to fell asleep again, then next jab came.  Again, I tried to get out of laying on this stranger, hoping our communication gap would be enough for him to leave me alone.  Apparently the Russians are persistent folk.  George (I think that's what he said his name was) proceeded to grab the top of my head lay it on his shoulder.  At this point I gave in did my best to fall asleep.  And so, my stereotypical American "space bubble" has already begun to shrink.