It was so weird to go to bed when it was still light out at midnight! I woke up around 3:30am and the sun was rising...crazy. My judgement of time is so off because of it.
Today we had breakfast at the hotel which had basically anything you wanted (even lactose free milk, yogurt, and cheese!) We headed out with our jackets and umbrellas expecting a full day of rain. Our first stop was the Vasa museum which displays this huge ship called the Vasa that capsized in the Stockholm harbor in 1628. It was insane how preserved and massive it was! Apparently the Baltic Sea isn't very salty so wood is preserved (or something like that...?) It was interesting to learn about how they found it and brought it to the shore, crazy engineering! There were shoes, rings, and even skeletons that were found in the ship.
Next we walked across multiple islands back to Sodermalm. Stockholm is so beautiful with numerous islands that make it up. The sun was shining and no clouds were in the sky so the weather report was definitely wrong. The water made everything look even more stunning. We had a coffee at this cafe called Mellqvist Kaffebar where apparently the author of the Dragon Tattoo trilogy wrote parts of his book. Pretty cool to see after reading all the books and seeing the movie.
We headed to the Drottingholm Palace which was a bit outside the city. We had to take the subway and apparently got on the wrong line so we were stuk at a terminal station on the metro for 10 minutes and couldn't get out. That was an experience! We eventually got to the palace and it was gorgeous. Right on the water and so green and beautiful. I love this city, probably one of my favorite so far. It's hard to think about what life is like in the winter! I would love to live here but wow I don't think I could handle it.
After dinner it started to pour so hopefully it only rains during the night since tomorrow we have lots of exploring. I can't wait to shop! It's so great to be with family, my aunt and mom are so similar it's quite eerie!
Less than a month left till I head home...so weird to think about.
Love and miss y'all!
Sbohem,
Whit
SFO - Vienna - Prague - Munich - Krakow - Stockholm - Rome - Berlin - Amsterdam - Brugge
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
Stockholm! Friday June 29th
I've arrived in the motherland! I'm partly Swedish so I'm going to count it.
Last night my roommates and I did a pub crawl...in hindsight I shouldn't have done it before having to wake up at 8am! I had to take the metro and a bus to get to the airport (free with my transportation pass) which took around 45 mins. I swear the bus driver was trying to make the ride as uncomfortable as he could make it. Airport security was nothinggg like it is in the US, so much more lax it was weird! And scary!
When I arrived in Stockholm I had to take a train to get to the city center. The train was supppper nice and wifi! I took a taxi to our hotel and met up with my cousins, it's so great to see them! It's nice to see some familiar faces and get away from the people in my program for a bit and be able to relax rather than plan a whole trip.
We walked around Sodermalm, a bohemian part of the city and got dinner. Just walking around, the city is amazing and beautiful! Cities on the water have a certain beauty to them. Off to bed, so tired!
Can't wait to see more of the city tomorrow though it may rain a lot.
Weird that it's still kind of light out and it's almost midnight! I didn't really believe it when people said it would stay light so late. It really trips you up cause you think it's a lot earlier when it's actually pretty late.
Love and miss you all. Wish the rest of my fam was here to experience this together!
Sbohem,
Whit
Last night my roommates and I did a pub crawl...in hindsight I shouldn't have done it before having to wake up at 8am! I had to take the metro and a bus to get to the airport (free with my transportation pass) which took around 45 mins. I swear the bus driver was trying to make the ride as uncomfortable as he could make it. Airport security was nothinggg like it is in the US, so much more lax it was weird! And scary!
When I arrived in Stockholm I had to take a train to get to the city center. The train was supppper nice and wifi! I took a taxi to our hotel and met up with my cousins, it's so great to see them! It's nice to see some familiar faces and get away from the people in my program for a bit and be able to relax rather than plan a whole trip.
We walked around Sodermalm, a bohemian part of the city and got dinner. Just walking around, the city is amazing and beautiful! Cities on the water have a certain beauty to them. Off to bed, so tired!
Can't wait to see more of the city tomorrow though it may rain a lot.
Weird that it's still kind of light out and it's almost midnight! I didn't really believe it when people said it would stay light so late. It really trips you up cause you think it's a lot earlier when it's actually pretty late.
Love and miss you all. Wish the rest of my fam was here to experience this together!
Sbohem,
Whit
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Tuesday June 26th
Man class from 9 to 5 is quite tiring...that's all I can really say about my day haha
After class I grabbed drinks with some of my classmates and then headed on a dinner boat cruise with my roommates Sam and Liz! It was so beautiful to be on the water as the sun was setting and the boat had a really great band playing. We kept talking about how cities on rivers are so amazing. It's so great to have such great friends here, we have great conversations that are interesting and thoughtful which is so relaxing. The cruise put me in such a great mood!
Barely awake as I write this...last night I was up pretty late thinking about where I want to go for my last weekend in Europe (the weekend of July 20th) and I couldn't figure anything out since everyone was giving different ideas. Two of my roommates and a couple other people are going to Paris but since I've already been there, I didn't really want to go again. My roommate Liz didn't have any plans for the weekend so we decided we should find a place to go together. We looked at a map of Europe and thought of all the places we wanted to go to. We've decided on Amsterdam and Brugge for the weekend! Booked it tonight! We're going to be gone from Thursday night till Monday night so we've got some time to enjoy the cities. Really excited but also crazy to think I'll never be spending a weekend in Prague again...oh well! I've got some great trips ahead of me. Stockholm, Rome, Berlin, and then Amsterdam/Brugge! So sick!
Day off tomorrow, I hope to catch some extra zzZzzs!
Love and miss you all sososo much!
Sbohem,
Whit
After class I grabbed drinks with some of my classmates and then headed on a dinner boat cruise with my roommates Sam and Liz! It was so beautiful to be on the water as the sun was setting and the boat had a really great band playing. We kept talking about how cities on rivers are so amazing. It's so great to have such great friends here, we have great conversations that are interesting and thoughtful which is so relaxing. The cruise put me in such a great mood!
Barely awake as I write this...last night I was up pretty late thinking about where I want to go for my last weekend in Europe (the weekend of July 20th) and I couldn't figure anything out since everyone was giving different ideas. Two of my roommates and a couple other people are going to Paris but since I've already been there, I didn't really want to go again. My roommate Liz didn't have any plans for the weekend so we decided we should find a place to go together. We looked at a map of Europe and thought of all the places we wanted to go to. We've decided on Amsterdam and Brugge for the weekend! Booked it tonight! We're going to be gone from Thursday night till Monday night so we've got some time to enjoy the cities. Really excited but also crazy to think I'll never be spending a weekend in Prague again...oh well! I've got some great trips ahead of me. Stockholm, Rome, Berlin, and then Amsterdam/Brugge! So sick!
Day off tomorrow, I hope to catch some extra zzZzzs!
Love and miss you all sososo much!
Sbohem,
Whit
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Sunday June 24th
Going to bed at 4am really throws off my day! I barely got any sleep last night so thank goodness I don't have class tomorrow. We went shopping for a bit after getting Indian food for lunch (so good!) and then lounged around since we were all dead tired.
We went to a movie tonight, trying to take advantage of movies only being $6 here! Pretty funny movie, What to expect when you're expecting. It's nice that the movie is in English with Czech subtitles!
I'm off to read for class, no school tomorrow though. I hope to have a productive day! Weeks are flying by here...
Side note, one of my roommates is going to grad school at Yale for molecular biology (wow) and has been helping me with looking for internships and such. So nice to have someone to talk things out and figure out what I really want to do. Sam and I were talking about maybe trying to do one together next summer! She's been a really great roommate and travel partner. All just talk for now but that'd be sweet.
Here's to the beginning of another week! Friday I'll be in Stockholm with my cousins, cannot wait!
Love and miss you all!
Sbohem,
Whit
We went to a movie tonight, trying to take advantage of movies only being $6 here! Pretty funny movie, What to expect when you're expecting. It's nice that the movie is in English with Czech subtitles!
I'm off to read for class, no school tomorrow though. I hope to have a productive day! Weeks are flying by here...
Side note, one of my roommates is going to grad school at Yale for molecular biology (wow) and has been helping me with looking for internships and such. So nice to have someone to talk things out and figure out what I really want to do. Sam and I were talking about maybe trying to do one together next summer! She's been a really great roommate and travel partner. All just talk for now but that'd be sweet.
Here's to the beginning of another week! Friday I'll be in Stockholm with my cousins, cannot wait!
Love and miss you all!
Sbohem,
Whit
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Saturday June 23rd
Haven't blogged in a while due to lack of action in my life here..didn't want to bore you!
Thursday was the Czech vs. Portugal quarterfinal game in the Euro Cup. A big group of us went to Old Town Square to watch the game on the big screen. The square was packed! We could barely see the game over everyone's heads but it was still awesome to be in the atmosphere. They ended up losing 1-0 in the last 10 minutes which was a bummer! The night would've been crazy if they would've won.
After we went to this bar called "The Big Lebowski." It was a cool, cozy local bar and the hitch was you paid what you thought your drink was. Pretty sick! The owner is a really chill guy who keeps the bar open late (they close at midnight) because he likes it when people are enjoying themselves.
Friday was a very relaxing day. I went to the farmer's market by my apartment and shopping to get items for our dinner. My roommates and I made fried chicken, fried cheese, and potatoes and it turned out really good!
I went to bed pretty early because we had to be at a location for a bus to take us (about 20 of us went) to Kunta Hora for the day. Kunta Hora is a quaint, UNESCO protected town that began as a silver-mining town. We saw Saint Barbara's Church, the saint for the miners safety, and then headed down on a tour of the silver mine. It was quite different than the salt mine tour in Krakow! It was so wet and TINY. I was bending over the entire time so I wouldn't hit my head (thankfully we were wearing helmets.) But wow you wouldn't be able to do the tour if you were overweight or a giant. Definitely got claustrophobic at some points...so freaky.
We had lunch, wandered throughout the town, and then went to the infamous bone church. The church's cemetery ran out of spots so they dug up graves and took the bones into the church. There were thousands of bones and all arranged in rather odd ways! Chandeliers, shields, streamers of skulls, and candle holders. Really creepy.
Off for a night on the town...so tired from the day though. It's pretty sweet to have a 4 day weekend!
Love and miss you all!
Sbohem,
Whit
Thursday was the Czech vs. Portugal quarterfinal game in the Euro Cup. A big group of us went to Old Town Square to watch the game on the big screen. The square was packed! We could barely see the game over everyone's heads but it was still awesome to be in the atmosphere. They ended up losing 1-0 in the last 10 minutes which was a bummer! The night would've been crazy if they would've won.
After we went to this bar called "The Big Lebowski." It was a cool, cozy local bar and the hitch was you paid what you thought your drink was. Pretty sick! The owner is a really chill guy who keeps the bar open late (they close at midnight) because he likes it when people are enjoying themselves.
Friday was a very relaxing day. I went to the farmer's market by my apartment and shopping to get items for our dinner. My roommates and I made fried chicken, fried cheese, and potatoes and it turned out really good!
I went to bed pretty early because we had to be at a location for a bus to take us (about 20 of us went) to Kunta Hora for the day. Kunta Hora is a quaint, UNESCO protected town that began as a silver-mining town. We saw Saint Barbara's Church, the saint for the miners safety, and then headed down on a tour of the silver mine. It was quite different than the salt mine tour in Krakow! It was so wet and TINY. I was bending over the entire time so I wouldn't hit my head (thankfully we were wearing helmets.) But wow you wouldn't be able to do the tour if you were overweight or a giant. Definitely got claustrophobic at some points...so freaky.
We had lunch, wandered throughout the town, and then went to the infamous bone church. The church's cemetery ran out of spots so they dug up graves and took the bones into the church. There were thousands of bones and all arranged in rather odd ways! Chandeliers, shields, streamers of skulls, and candle holders. Really creepy.
Off for a night on the town...so tired from the day though. It's pretty sweet to have a 4 day weekend!
Love and miss you all!
Sbohem,
Whit
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Wednesday June 20th
It was really refreshing to be able to sleep in for the first time in awhile! I did some reading in the morning for class and then went to the farmer's market with some of my roommates. All the vegetables and fruit are so good! I have to say, the strawberries here may be small but they are soooo incredibly sweet. Definitely comparable to Watsonville berries which is a huge statement. Sam and I bought some local wine that is in a plastic bottle! So weird. For 1.5L we paid like $4!
We then headed to school to meet up with some people from our program to go on a trip to the Starhov Monastery and brewery. It was extremely muggy today which was quite unbearable on a crowded tram with smelly people...The monastery was beautifully decorated and the library connected to it had a huge variety of preserved sea creatures, it was really cool! The monastery also has a brewery (kind of thought that was hypocritical of monks?) which started in the 1300s when the monastery was built. We got a tour of the brewery and were able to try a couple samples! I thought the samples would be pretty small but they were like full glasses...ridiculous but awesome.
Back at home now, reading lots of excerpts for class tomorrow. Class at 9am wouldn't be as painful if I didn't have a commute to school. Can't wait for what the weekend has in store! My roommates and I are going to cook a traditional Czech dinner on Friday with food from our farmer's market. I hope it turns out well! It's going to be nice to have a relaxing 4 day weekend.
5 weeks exactly till I fly home and almost 2 months till I'm back in Ann Arbor...where has the time gone?
Hope you're all doing well!
Sbohem,
Whit
We then headed to school to meet up with some people from our program to go on a trip to the Starhov Monastery and brewery. It was extremely muggy today which was quite unbearable on a crowded tram with smelly people...The monastery was beautifully decorated and the library connected to it had a huge variety of preserved sea creatures, it was really cool! The monastery also has a brewery (kind of thought that was hypocritical of monks?) which started in the 1300s when the monastery was built. We got a tour of the brewery and were able to try a couple samples! I thought the samples would be pretty small but they were like full glasses...ridiculous but awesome.
Back at home now, reading lots of excerpts for class tomorrow. Class at 9am wouldn't be as painful if I didn't have a commute to school. Can't wait for what the weekend has in store! My roommates and I are going to cook a traditional Czech dinner on Friday with food from our farmer's market. I hope it turns out well! It's going to be nice to have a relaxing 4 day weekend.
5 weeks exactly till I fly home and almost 2 months till I'm back in Ann Arbor...where has the time gone?
Hope you're all doing well!
Sbohem,
Whit
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Tuesday June 19th
First day back at class and it was pretty rough. I have more friends in my classes which will be nice but 3 hour long classes of mostly lecturing is quite painful...The material of the classes are going to overlap a lot which will be nice but still lots of reading!
After class, a group of us decided to get on a random tram and get off after 2 stops and find a place to eat. It was a great spontaneous idea and we found a delicious Czech place. Our server really liked one of the guys we were with because he was trying to talk only in Czech (he wasn't very successful) so she gave us a "present." It was 3 slices of brown looking bread with cranberry sauce on the side. Cameron tried it and said it was good so we all started to eat it. I thought it was pretty good but it reminded me of some food I've eaten before but I couldn't put my finger on it. A couple at the table next of us informed us it was liver. YUCK! The taste in my mouth immediately turned sour and I chugged my beer for a bit. Reminded me of the time I had lamb testicles in Lebanon.
Tonight we're going to a Czech film festival for a bit and then heading out on the town. It is held in a park and has no English subtitles or anything so it'll be interesting! Tryin to be all cultured.
No class tomorrow which will be nice to relax for a bit!
Yesterday marked one month of being in Europe! Crazy...kind of seems like I've been here longer but also it feels weird to say I'm "living" here. A month and a week left, time is flying by!
Sbohem,
Whit
After class, a group of us decided to get on a random tram and get off after 2 stops and find a place to eat. It was a great spontaneous idea and we found a delicious Czech place. Our server really liked one of the guys we were with because he was trying to talk only in Czech (he wasn't very successful) so she gave us a "present." It was 3 slices of brown looking bread with cranberry sauce on the side. Cameron tried it and said it was good so we all started to eat it. I thought it was pretty good but it reminded me of some food I've eaten before but I couldn't put my finger on it. A couple at the table next of us informed us it was liver. YUCK! The taste in my mouth immediately turned sour and I chugged my beer for a bit. Reminded me of the time I had lamb testicles in Lebanon.
Tonight we're going to a Czech film festival for a bit and then heading out on the town. It is held in a park and has no English subtitles or anything so it'll be interesting! Tryin to be all cultured.
No class tomorrow which will be nice to relax for a bit!
Yesterday marked one month of being in Europe! Crazy...kind of seems like I've been here longer but also it feels weird to say I'm "living" here. A month and a week left, time is flying by!
Sbohem,
Whit
Monday, June 18, 2012
Sunday June 17th
Our tour to the Wieliczka Salt Mine was at 9 am and we had to move out of our hostel so it was a pretty rough morning. The mine was built in the 1200s, making it one of the oldest salt mines in the world that's still being used! It was nice to be able to go underground for awhile...Krakow was so hot like over 85 degrees! It was insane to be walking down over 60 flights of stairs, just to get to the first level. There were so many amazing sculptures and chapels randomly throughout the mine which was sweet.
They said that the air is very good for you which we were thankful for since of all the second hand smoke we've been getting. That being said, there is a spa down in the mine...crazy. There's also a restaurant, bar, and reception area that people use for weddings!
After the salt mine we had no clue what to do. Our train was leaving at 10pm so we had 9 hours to kill. Everything we tried to go see was closed which we're not used to. Krakow is a lot more religious than Prague so everyone was at mass which was a bummer. We tried to find this museum that showed a hidden city under the main square but couldn't find it (later we found out on the train we were standing right by the entrance...frustrating). We walked around a lot, finding random things to look at and eventually went back to the hostel to rest and get some cool air. It was SO hot and I felt disgusting.
We went to dinner around the Main Square at this small Polish place. The service was abnormally rude and bad, the guy tried to put stuff on our bill that we didn't order and then acted like he couldn't speak English when we had just heard him talking to some other Americans. He got so frustrated with us that he eventually took our money and threw the change at us, little did he know he gave us 10 zloty extra (around $3), karma!
After walking around for a bit to absorb our last moments in Krakow, we went to the hostel to freshen up before our train. We got to the train station and had some extra money to spend but the only place around it that was open was a veerrry small news stand so we had to buy like 7 candy bars...let me know if you want any!
Our train to Krakow was called "EuroCity" aka meaning it's nice. This train we were on was called "normal train" and wow was it way worse that our trip to Krakow. The beds were rock solid, it was so hot, smelled like urine everywhere, bugs flying all around. Just grody. We found our beds and Sam and I were with a Singapore couple. We chatted for a long time about their experiences growing up in Singapore and where to travel in South East Asia. They informed us that their favorite shows were "The Voice" and "How I Met Your Mother" hahha though they said that their TV is many seasons behind. They also told us it costs $40,000 just to get a license there! Since it's so small, the government wants to prevent as many cars on the road as possible. Additionally, something I found very interesting, Singapore gives bonuses and incentives for people to have babies because they're an aging population, quite different than China!
It's so interesting to hear about people's lives all around the world.
We arrived at the train station before our station at 7:45am, the time it was supposed to arrive at our station. The conductor said there's a 40 minute delay so we decided to get off and go on the metro since it was close. Finally back in our "home" and I'm so thankful we've made it. So happy I'm not travelling too much this weekend!
Saturday we have a planned day trip to Kunta Hora just outside of Prague. Next Friday will be my first time to the Prague airport as I'll be flying to Stockholm to meet up with my cousins! Really excited for that trip and to see my family!
Off to write my final for my art and architecture class...pure torture...
Love y'all and hope you had a great Father's day!
Sbohem,
Whit
They said that the air is very good for you which we were thankful for since of all the second hand smoke we've been getting. That being said, there is a spa down in the mine...crazy. There's also a restaurant, bar, and reception area that people use for weddings!
After the salt mine we had no clue what to do. Our train was leaving at 10pm so we had 9 hours to kill. Everything we tried to go see was closed which we're not used to. Krakow is a lot more religious than Prague so everyone was at mass which was a bummer. We tried to find this museum that showed a hidden city under the main square but couldn't find it (later we found out on the train we were standing right by the entrance...frustrating). We walked around a lot, finding random things to look at and eventually went back to the hostel to rest and get some cool air. It was SO hot and I felt disgusting.
We went to dinner around the Main Square at this small Polish place. The service was abnormally rude and bad, the guy tried to put stuff on our bill that we didn't order and then acted like he couldn't speak English when we had just heard him talking to some other Americans. He got so frustrated with us that he eventually took our money and threw the change at us, little did he know he gave us 10 zloty extra (around $3), karma!
After walking around for a bit to absorb our last moments in Krakow, we went to the hostel to freshen up before our train. We got to the train station and had some extra money to spend but the only place around it that was open was a veerrry small news stand so we had to buy like 7 candy bars...let me know if you want any!
Our train to Krakow was called "EuroCity" aka meaning it's nice. This train we were on was called "normal train" and wow was it way worse that our trip to Krakow. The beds were rock solid, it was so hot, smelled like urine everywhere, bugs flying all around. Just grody. We found our beds and Sam and I were with a Singapore couple. We chatted for a long time about their experiences growing up in Singapore and where to travel in South East Asia. They informed us that their favorite shows were "The Voice" and "How I Met Your Mother" hahha though they said that their TV is many seasons behind. They also told us it costs $40,000 just to get a license there! Since it's so small, the government wants to prevent as many cars on the road as possible. Additionally, something I found very interesting, Singapore gives bonuses and incentives for people to have babies because they're an aging population, quite different than China!
It's so interesting to hear about people's lives all around the world.
We arrived at the train station before our station at 7:45am, the time it was supposed to arrive at our station. The conductor said there's a 40 minute delay so we decided to get off and go on the metro since it was close. Finally back in our "home" and I'm so thankful we've made it. So happy I'm not travelling too much this weekend!
Saturday we have a planned day trip to Kunta Hora just outside of Prague. Next Friday will be my first time to the Prague airport as I'll be flying to Stockholm to meet up with my cousins! Really excited for that trip and to see my family!
Off to write my final for my art and architecture class...pure torture...
Love y'all and hope you had a great Father's day!
Sbohem,
Whit
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Saturday June 17th
I slept pretty well last night considering our window looks out to the clubbing street! Woke up around 7ish when other people in the room were getting up and then got out of bed at 9. We had free breakfast at our hostel which was cereal with warm milk (yuck), assortment of meats and cheeses, and toast. We went out to explore a bit before our Auschwitz tour and tried the Czech dessert (in Poland?) of honey cake. Sooooo good! It was so nice to see the sun again and soak up some vitamin d (and get a littol color!)
Our bus picked us up and we were off on our 1.5 hour bus ride to Auschwitz! Pretty sure the bus was made for midgets because my legs couldn't...one of the many times I wish I was just a bittt shorter.
We arrived at Auschwitz and began our tour. I was interested to see how this would compare to Dachau and it was totally different. The building were multiple stories and all of brick. It was more of a museum than showing the camp. So incredibly disturbing. I think what really hit me was 230,000 children arrived at Auschwitz and only 650 remained when the camp was liberated. Thousands of lives cut short. There were rooms and I mean rooms full of human hair that the Nazis saved to send to factories, shoes, suitcases, combs, cosmetics and pots and pans. It was so devastating and frustrating to see.
We then got on our bus and headed to Birkenau, the largest camp of Auschwitz that was made by prisoners for 90,000 prisoners. The camp was huge, probably the size of 5 by 10 football fields. It was terrifying to see the train tracks go through the camp and end at the gas chambers. The gas chambers and crematoriums were blown up by the Nazis towards the end of the war and the ruins were creepy to see. It was probably over 80 degrees all day and we were extremely exhausted but there's no way we could complain because these prisoners worked in this heat for months on end and with no food for energy. The barracks were especially difficult to see. Since they were made of brick, the heat radiated inside and having to sleep 10 people to a bunk would be completely unbearable. I'm thankful to see these concentration camps, the images and stories will always be on my mind and remind me that this is still happening today which makes me sick.
We got back to Krakow and had dinner at a traditional Polish place where I had, yet again, pierogies. We also tried the Polish vodka...not so good but very strong! After we went to this chocolate store and had the best desserts of chocolate ice cream and drizzles. We found a pub to watch the Poland vs Czech soccer game, we were told to be careful rooting for our home country since Poland takes their soccer very seriously! Luckily they tied 1-1. I think they did, I was so tired I kept drifting off while watching.
Tomorrow at 9am we have to be moved out of our room and off to the salt mines outside of Krakow! They're apparently beautiful!
Our train back to Prague leaves at 10 pm so we have some sites to see after our tour.
Krakow is more beautiful every day though I have to say, I'm missing Prague and am happy to be staying in town next weekend. Traveling is so stressful and exhausting!
Love y'all!
Sbohem,
Whit
Our bus picked us up and we were off on our 1.5 hour bus ride to Auschwitz! Pretty sure the bus was made for midgets because my legs couldn't...one of the many times I wish I was just a bittt shorter.
We arrived at Auschwitz and began our tour. I was interested to see how this would compare to Dachau and it was totally different. The building were multiple stories and all of brick. It was more of a museum than showing the camp. So incredibly disturbing. I think what really hit me was 230,000 children arrived at Auschwitz and only 650 remained when the camp was liberated. Thousands of lives cut short. There were rooms and I mean rooms full of human hair that the Nazis saved to send to factories, shoes, suitcases, combs, cosmetics and pots and pans. It was so devastating and frustrating to see.
We then got on our bus and headed to Birkenau, the largest camp of Auschwitz that was made by prisoners for 90,000 prisoners. The camp was huge, probably the size of 5 by 10 football fields. It was terrifying to see the train tracks go through the camp and end at the gas chambers. The gas chambers and crematoriums were blown up by the Nazis towards the end of the war and the ruins were creepy to see. It was probably over 80 degrees all day and we were extremely exhausted but there's no way we could complain because these prisoners worked in this heat for months on end and with no food for energy. The barracks were especially difficult to see. Since they were made of brick, the heat radiated inside and having to sleep 10 people to a bunk would be completely unbearable. I'm thankful to see these concentration camps, the images and stories will always be on my mind and remind me that this is still happening today which makes me sick.
We got back to Krakow and had dinner at a traditional Polish place where I had, yet again, pierogies. We also tried the Polish vodka...not so good but very strong! After we went to this chocolate store and had the best desserts of chocolate ice cream and drizzles. We found a pub to watch the Poland vs Czech soccer game, we were told to be careful rooting for our home country since Poland takes their soccer very seriously! Luckily they tied 1-1. I think they did, I was so tired I kept drifting off while watching.
Tomorrow at 9am we have to be moved out of our room and off to the salt mines outside of Krakow! They're apparently beautiful!
Our train back to Prague leaves at 10 pm so we have some sites to see after our tour.
Krakow is more beautiful every day though I have to say, I'm missing Prague and am happy to be staying in town next weekend. Traveling is so stressful and exhausting!
Love y'all!
Sbohem,
Whit
Friday, June 15, 2012
Krakow! Friday June 15th
We've arrived and it has been a loooong day.
Last night when we got to the train station, we couldn't figure out where our sleeping car was on the train since our ticket was in Czech. We figured out we were wagon 353 so we counted the numbers and figured it was towards the front since the numbers were going up. Turns out ours was one of the last cars and not all the wagon numbers were in order...so annoying we had to sprint all the way to the end. We got on the train and a minute later it left! Whew!
We didn't reserve seats (it costed 4 extra euros) so we were all in different rooms but thankfully we asked people to switch so we had our own 3 person sleeping couchette. It was probably 6 feet by 4 feet with 3 beds on top of each other...so claustrophobic! We attempted to busy ourselves to make ourselves tired so we'd sleep well. We played cards and then went to the dining car and had some desserts. We got back around 11:30 and got in bed, hoping the next 7 hours would go by quickly. I had a sleeping pill and immediately fell asleep and the next thing I knew, a train attendant was yelling at us to wake up and get off! We checked our clock and we had gotten in 30 minutes early so we were not prepared. We scrambled to grab all our stuff and headed off to Krakow!
The town was so quiet and empty, quite eerie. We found our hostel pretty quickly, left our stuff, and headed out to a bagel shop my friend had heard about. Gotta have bagels in Poland! We got to the store and it wasn't going to open for another hour...so we walked around to random sites we had on our map. We eventually had our bagel (definitely wasn't a traditional Polish bagel) and then started walking to the Wawel Castle.
Sidenote: finally beautiful weather! It was sunny and warm all day, so thankful it made the day so much more enjoyable!
It was refreshing to see a castle after so many palaces! We walked up this huge tower which had stunnning views of Krakow. I never thought it'd be so green and naturey! We then took a tour of the royal private apartments which was disappointing but eye-opening because there wasn't much to see because it was looted over the years by the various people and armies that used it. We went into an exhibit called the "Lost Wewal" which had archaeological discoveries that were found during the restoration of the castle. There were also ruins of a Rotunda and burial site dating back to the Middle Ages. Really awesome to see. Then we went to the dragon's den, a cave that was formed 12 million years ago at the bottom of the Wawel Castle. It was sick! So crazy to think about how old it was.
After we got lunch at a local Polish place a friend recommended and I got the traditional perogies. They were so delicious and cheap! By then we were able to check into our hostel and make our beds, we're in a 9 bed mixed dorm with bunk beds. Our hostel is pretty sweet and swanky with really nice bathrooms and common areas.
We then went on a walking tour of the Jewish Quarter. We thought it'd be an hour long but it ended up being over 3 hours. It was a really interesting tour but mind you, we had already been up for so long and walking all day so we were crashing fast.
We found dinner at an Italian place (made sure there was a TV so we could watch the Euro Cup!) and then grabbed dessert. We're back at our hostel, exhausted from our travels and full day of walking. Tomorrow afternoon we have a scheduled tour at Auschwitz.
After walking around basically all of Krakow, it's just a beautiful city and I'm so happy we made the trip out here. All day we had to keep asking each other, "wait what? Are we in Poland?" It's amazing how close European countries are and yet they're so incredibly different! If you ever get the chance to visit Krakow, I highly recommend making the trip for a few days!
Off to shower and sleep soon...first night ever in a hostel! Hopefully we'll experience the night life tomorrow, currently can't move my legs so I don't think it'd be a good idea tonight!
Love and miss you guys!
Sbohem,
Whit
Miss
Last night when we got to the train station, we couldn't figure out where our sleeping car was on the train since our ticket was in Czech. We figured out we were wagon 353 so we counted the numbers and figured it was towards the front since the numbers were going up. Turns out ours was one of the last cars and not all the wagon numbers were in order...so annoying we had to sprint all the way to the end. We got on the train and a minute later it left! Whew!
We didn't reserve seats (it costed 4 extra euros) so we were all in different rooms but thankfully we asked people to switch so we had our own 3 person sleeping couchette. It was probably 6 feet by 4 feet with 3 beds on top of each other...so claustrophobic! We attempted to busy ourselves to make ourselves tired so we'd sleep well. We played cards and then went to the dining car and had some desserts. We got back around 11:30 and got in bed, hoping the next 7 hours would go by quickly. I had a sleeping pill and immediately fell asleep and the next thing I knew, a train attendant was yelling at us to wake up and get off! We checked our clock and we had gotten in 30 minutes early so we were not prepared. We scrambled to grab all our stuff and headed off to Krakow!
The town was so quiet and empty, quite eerie. We found our hostel pretty quickly, left our stuff, and headed out to a bagel shop my friend had heard about. Gotta have bagels in Poland! We got to the store and it wasn't going to open for another hour...so we walked around to random sites we had on our map. We eventually had our bagel (definitely wasn't a traditional Polish bagel) and then started walking to the Wawel Castle.
Sidenote: finally beautiful weather! It was sunny and warm all day, so thankful it made the day so much more enjoyable!
It was refreshing to see a castle after so many palaces! We walked up this huge tower which had stunnning views of Krakow. I never thought it'd be so green and naturey! We then took a tour of the royal private apartments which was disappointing but eye-opening because there wasn't much to see because it was looted over the years by the various people and armies that used it. We went into an exhibit called the "Lost Wewal" which had archaeological discoveries that were found during the restoration of the castle. There were also ruins of a Rotunda and burial site dating back to the Middle Ages. Really awesome to see. Then we went to the dragon's den, a cave that was formed 12 million years ago at the bottom of the Wawel Castle. It was sick! So crazy to think about how old it was.
After we got lunch at a local Polish place a friend recommended and I got the traditional perogies. They were so delicious and cheap! By then we were able to check into our hostel and make our beds, we're in a 9 bed mixed dorm with bunk beds. Our hostel is pretty sweet and swanky with really nice bathrooms and common areas.
We then went on a walking tour of the Jewish Quarter. We thought it'd be an hour long but it ended up being over 3 hours. It was a really interesting tour but mind you, we had already been up for so long and walking all day so we were crashing fast.
We found dinner at an Italian place (made sure there was a TV so we could watch the Euro Cup!) and then grabbed dessert. We're back at our hostel, exhausted from our travels and full day of walking. Tomorrow afternoon we have a scheduled tour at Auschwitz.
After walking around basically all of Krakow, it's just a beautiful city and I'm so happy we made the trip out here. All day we had to keep asking each other, "wait what? Are we in Poland?" It's amazing how close European countries are and yet they're so incredibly different! If you ever get the chance to visit Krakow, I highly recommend making the trip for a few days!
Off to shower and sleep soon...first night ever in a hostel! Hopefully we'll experience the night life tomorrow, currently can't move my legs so I don't think it'd be a good idea tonight!
Love and miss you guys!
Sbohem,
Whit
Miss
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Thursday June 14th
Remind me to never go out the night before I have 9am class...felt the consequences all day.
My first class is Jewish Experience in Central Europe and consists of 4 people including me, not something I'm used to coming from Michigan! My teacher is really passionate and fun so that'll be nice at 9am to wake me up. On the other hand, she is expecting a lot from us so hopefully it's not too much work.
My next class is Holocaust and the destruction of Jewish Culture. The class is like 20 people and our teacher is really chill and wants us to enjoy learning and to explore Prague and Europe so he's not assigning much work.
Heading on my overnight train to Krakow! Leaves at 8pm and we get in around 7am. Our hostel is really sweet free breakfast, free wifi, cable tv, free locks, and seems really nice!
Hopefully I sleep better than I did on my overnight bus to Munich!
Can't wait to explore Krakow, I've only heard great things about it and how it's an up and coming city. Let me know if there's anything you think I should see!
Love and miss y'all
Sbohem,
Whit
Go Giants!! Cain with the 22nd perfect game in MLB history!!
My first class is Jewish Experience in Central Europe and consists of 4 people including me, not something I'm used to coming from Michigan! My teacher is really passionate and fun so that'll be nice at 9am to wake me up. On the other hand, she is expecting a lot from us so hopefully it's not too much work.
My next class is Holocaust and the destruction of Jewish Culture. The class is like 20 people and our teacher is really chill and wants us to enjoy learning and to explore Prague and Europe so he's not assigning much work.
Heading on my overnight train to Krakow! Leaves at 8pm and we get in around 7am. Our hostel is really sweet free breakfast, free wifi, cable tv, free locks, and seems really nice!
Hopefully I sleep better than I did on my overnight bus to Munich!
Can't wait to explore Krakow, I've only heard great things about it and how it's an up and coming city. Let me know if there's anything you think I should see!
Love and miss y'all
Sbohem,
Whit
Go Giants!! Cain with the 22nd perfect game in MLB history!!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Wednesday June 13th
I promised myself I'd blog twice a week and here I am blogging almost every day...I hope I'm not too boring!
Last day of class! Too excited to start a new schedule. Class was quite interesting today because it made me realize a lot about my life and how I want to live when I'm older. Our teacher told us to do what we love and the money will come. I agree that everyone should do what they love regardless of how much money they're making but why do we have to base everything on money? It's incredible how much my mentality has changed over the past two years in the sense that I'm beginning to realize what actually makes me happy. I've been embracing change more than I used to because I am so thankful and fortunate enough to be able to make changes in my life.
Years ago I would never expect to be going to school in Michigan, 2000 miles away from my home, nor would I think I'd be studying abroad over 4000 miles away, in the Czech Republic of all places. I've always been independent but I think I'm becoming more independent in a different sense. I'm realizing how I need to take full advantages of all these opportunities because I'm so fortunate enough to be able to have them. Although I've only been here for 3 weeks now, it's been such a humbling experience and it really is life-changing.
Just a bit of reflection!
Heading to Krakow tomorrow night! The overnight train should be interesting...definitely taking a sleeping pill!
Thanks for reading and caring!
Sbohem,
Whit
Last day of class! Too excited to start a new schedule. Class was quite interesting today because it made me realize a lot about my life and how I want to live when I'm older. Our teacher told us to do what we love and the money will come. I agree that everyone should do what they love regardless of how much money they're making but why do we have to base everything on money? It's incredible how much my mentality has changed over the past two years in the sense that I'm beginning to realize what actually makes me happy. I've been embracing change more than I used to because I am so thankful and fortunate enough to be able to make changes in my life.
Years ago I would never expect to be going to school in Michigan, 2000 miles away from my home, nor would I think I'd be studying abroad over 4000 miles away, in the Czech Republic of all places. I've always been independent but I think I'm becoming more independent in a different sense. I'm realizing how I need to take full advantages of all these opportunities because I'm so fortunate enough to be able to have them. Although I've only been here for 3 weeks now, it's been such a humbling experience and it really is life-changing.
Just a bit of reflection!
Heading to Krakow tomorrow night! The overnight train should be interesting...definitely taking a sleeping pill!
Thanks for reading and caring!
Sbohem,
Whit
Tuesday June 12th
Lying in bed as I blog so forgive me for being brief
We went to the MEET factory in class today which is a contemporary art gallery and studio. We were able to meet several artists in their environment and talk about their inspirations and such. It was really amazing to see how much thought and work and even emotions go into creating art, made me appreciate it a lot more!
After class we headed home to work on our final projects (I can't believe I actually have school work to do here...) and then headed to Old Town Square to watch the Euro Cup with new people in our program. It was so awesome to meet all the new people and I can't wait to get to know them better. A lot of them live near us so that'll be nice since we've been on the other side of town as everyone else! It was fun to be a tour guide and help them out as we've been here for over 2 weeks now. It sucks we're headed to Krakow this weekend when it's their first weekend here but I'll be in Prague next weekend so that'll be fun!
Tomorrow is my last day of my art and architecture class! (Goooood riddance) I enjoyed the class for the most part but definitely ready to move onto other subjects since art is not my specialty. Quite happy to only have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays from now on!
Love y'all
Sbohem,
Whit
We went to the MEET factory in class today which is a contemporary art gallery and studio. We were able to meet several artists in their environment and talk about their inspirations and such. It was really amazing to see how much thought and work and even emotions go into creating art, made me appreciate it a lot more!
After class we headed home to work on our final projects (I can't believe I actually have school work to do here...) and then headed to Old Town Square to watch the Euro Cup with new people in our program. It was so awesome to meet all the new people and I can't wait to get to know them better. A lot of them live near us so that'll be nice since we've been on the other side of town as everyone else! It was fun to be a tour guide and help them out as we've been here for over 2 weeks now. It sucks we're headed to Krakow this weekend when it's their first weekend here but I'll be in Prague next weekend so that'll be fun!
Tomorrow is my last day of my art and architecture class! (Goooood riddance) I enjoyed the class for the most part but definitely ready to move onto other subjects since art is not my specialty. Quite happy to only have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays from now on!
Love y'all
Sbohem,
Whit
Monday, June 11, 2012
Monday June 11th
Woken up today early by an electrician since a lot of the lights in our apartment were out. Quite odd to wake up to a middle aged Czech man on a ladder in your room!
Today I had a lot of school work to do believe it or not! One of my final projects was to find all my favorite pictures of Prague and explain what they mean to me which was nice to go through and remember every place. My other project is about an artist's career before, during, and after Communism in Czechoslovakia. Reading about the oppression during Communism made me thankful that I grew up I the US.
Finally we have a day of good weather and I was stuck inside doing homework! After while I decided to explore my neighborhood a bit more and I found lots of cool places. There's this beautiful park a couple blocks away that has a direct view of the Prague Castle, Charles River, and Charles Bridge. The park also has a track which I'll definitely put to use since running on cobblestone is actually quite dangerous and I've been eating such rich food and so much beer...no bueno.
The park was full of people and dogs, dogs are everywhere here and always off leash! They follow their owners and don't go up to anyone else. It's crazy, I'd like to know how they train them to be so obedient!
My roommate Jesse and I went to Old Town Square to watch the Euro Cup game of France vs. England on this huge screen they have set up there. It was pretty sweet! Crazy to have a massive screen in the middle of a historical square. It was raining during most of it...this weather needs to shape up ASAP!
Tomorrow the Czech Republic plays Greece so we can't wait to watch that! The Czech Republic plays Poland when we're in Krakow this weekend so that'll be insane.
The rest of our program arrived today and I can't wait to get to know more people. Hard to believe I was in their shoes just 2 weeks ago!
Love and miss y'all
Sbohem,
Whit
Today I had a lot of school work to do believe it or not! One of my final projects was to find all my favorite pictures of Prague and explain what they mean to me which was nice to go through and remember every place. My other project is about an artist's career before, during, and after Communism in Czechoslovakia. Reading about the oppression during Communism made me thankful that I grew up I the US.
Finally we have a day of good weather and I was stuck inside doing homework! After while I decided to explore my neighborhood a bit more and I found lots of cool places. There's this beautiful park a couple blocks away that has a direct view of the Prague Castle, Charles River, and Charles Bridge. The park also has a track which I'll definitely put to use since running on cobblestone is actually quite dangerous and I've been eating such rich food and so much beer...no bueno.
The park was full of people and dogs, dogs are everywhere here and always off leash! They follow their owners and don't go up to anyone else. It's crazy, I'd like to know how they train them to be so obedient!
My roommate Jesse and I went to Old Town Square to watch the Euro Cup game of France vs. England on this huge screen they have set up there. It was pretty sweet! Crazy to have a massive screen in the middle of a historical square. It was raining during most of it...this weather needs to shape up ASAP!
Tomorrow the Czech Republic plays Greece so we can't wait to watch that! The Czech Republic plays Poland when we're in Krakow this weekend so that'll be insane.
The rest of our program arrived today and I can't wait to get to know more people. Hard to believe I was in their shoes just 2 weeks ago!
Love and miss y'all
Sbohem,
Whit
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Weekend in Munich
Lots to write so bare with me!
Saturday morning our group woke up early to catch a tour at Dachau. While we were waiting for it, my roommate saw one of her good friends who is studying abroad in Germany and coming to visit Prague in a couple weeks. SUCH a small world. We ran into him two more times on Saturday, so random.
We didn't think Dachau would take all day but it did and none of us were complaining. No words or pictures can really explain the emotions I felt there. It was a huge life-changing experience and I'm thankful I was able to see it. Our tour guide knew so much history which made the day really enjoyable, I definitely wouldn't have felt the same way if we hadn't had a guide. Each place on the site made me shiver in horror. I was so angry and disgusted by what the Nazis did to the people in the concentration camp. I can't believe the torture, both physical and mental, that they came up with, so sickening.
Our guide made a good point at the end though, Germany is the only country that has really accepted and is open about their past. German schools teach about Hitler starting in kindergarten and by 3rd grade, children have already been to multiple concentration camps. He also mentioned how everyone is disgusted by the Nazis but we fail to realize that genocides are still occurring in history even after the 1940s, and some are even worse. Definitely makes you think.
After Dachau, we all felt emotional but decided to head to Hofbrauhaus, an infamous beer hall. It was such an amazing and fun atmosphere, we stayed for over 5 hours! The only size beer you could buy was 1 liter, which at first I thought was ridiculous but then we kept ordering more throughout the night! They also had the bessst pretzels. We met some Italians and hung out with them for a bit. It was fun (and sometimes frustrating) to attempt to talk to them because they barely spoke English and none of us knew Italian! I think lots was lost in translation. One of our friends is from New Jersey and they screamed Jersey Shore!!! and proceeded to take multiple pictures with him. We think they thought he was on the show...hahha
We moved on to a sports bar (Hofbrauhaus beers were 8 euros each!) and met a group from SMU there. One of them knew two people I grew up with! Soo random! The girls went back to our hotel while the guys stayed out...their bus was at 7am so they didn't book a hostel!
In the morning, Sam and I went to Nymphenburg Palace, the summer palace just outside Munich. It was incredibly beautiful and so much land! We walked around the forest for bit, finding small palaces along the way. It's crazy all these royal people had palaces within their palaces...
We headed back to catch our bus at the main train station, Hauptbahnhof. The train station is so clean and so many shops and people. It was a really fun atmosphere.
We got back to Prague after 5 hours on a bus...so done with travelling for a bit! Bitter sweet to be back in Prague. I'm so happy I was able to go to Munich and it's probably my favorite city I've been to ever! Germany exceeded my expectations and I can't wait to head to Berlin in mid-July!
No school tomorrow which will be nice, except I have two presentations due Tuesday and Wednesday because my class is over on Wednesday and new classes start Thursday!
DONE! Thanks for reading! Time is flying here, heading to Krakow Thursday night!
Love and miss everyone and hope you're doing well!
Sbohem,
Whit
Saturday morning our group woke up early to catch a tour at Dachau. While we were waiting for it, my roommate saw one of her good friends who is studying abroad in Germany and coming to visit Prague in a couple weeks. SUCH a small world. We ran into him two more times on Saturday, so random.
We didn't think Dachau would take all day but it did and none of us were complaining. No words or pictures can really explain the emotions I felt there. It was a huge life-changing experience and I'm thankful I was able to see it. Our tour guide knew so much history which made the day really enjoyable, I definitely wouldn't have felt the same way if we hadn't had a guide. Each place on the site made me shiver in horror. I was so angry and disgusted by what the Nazis did to the people in the concentration camp. I can't believe the torture, both physical and mental, that they came up with, so sickening.
Our guide made a good point at the end though, Germany is the only country that has really accepted and is open about their past. German schools teach about Hitler starting in kindergarten and by 3rd grade, children have already been to multiple concentration camps. He also mentioned how everyone is disgusted by the Nazis but we fail to realize that genocides are still occurring in history even after the 1940s, and some are even worse. Definitely makes you think.
After Dachau, we all felt emotional but decided to head to Hofbrauhaus, an infamous beer hall. It was such an amazing and fun atmosphere, we stayed for over 5 hours! The only size beer you could buy was 1 liter, which at first I thought was ridiculous but then we kept ordering more throughout the night! They also had the bessst pretzels. We met some Italians and hung out with them for a bit. It was fun (and sometimes frustrating) to attempt to talk to them because they barely spoke English and none of us knew Italian! I think lots was lost in translation. One of our friends is from New Jersey and they screamed Jersey Shore!!! and proceeded to take multiple pictures with him. We think they thought he was on the show...hahha
We moved on to a sports bar (Hofbrauhaus beers were 8 euros each!) and met a group from SMU there. One of them knew two people I grew up with! Soo random! The girls went back to our hotel while the guys stayed out...their bus was at 7am so they didn't book a hostel!
In the morning, Sam and I went to Nymphenburg Palace, the summer palace just outside Munich. It was incredibly beautiful and so much land! We walked around the forest for bit, finding small palaces along the way. It's crazy all these royal people had palaces within their palaces...
We headed back to catch our bus at the main train station, Hauptbahnhof. The train station is so clean and so many shops and people. It was a really fun atmosphere.
We got back to Prague after 5 hours on a bus...so done with travelling for a bit! Bitter sweet to be back in Prague. I'm so happy I was able to go to Munich and it's probably my favorite city I've been to ever! Germany exceeded my expectations and I can't wait to head to Berlin in mid-July!
No school tomorrow which will be nice, except I have two presentations due Tuesday and Wednesday because my class is over on Wednesday and new classes start Thursday!
DONE! Thanks for reading! Time is flying here, heading to Krakow Thursday night!
Love and miss everyone and hope you're doing well!
Sbohem,
Whit
Friday, June 8, 2012
Munich! Friday June 8th
The bus ride from Prague was quite rough...very tight quarters and so hot. Our bus was stopped twice for the local police to check our passports, once in the Czech Republic and once in Germany.
We arrived in Munich after barely sleeping at 4:30am. Our bus station was outside of the city so we had to take the U-Bahn to get to our hotel. When we got to the U-Bahn, it said it would be 40 more minutes till the next subway...we were so tired and annoyed. Luckily they sent another one that came 10 minutes later! I don't know how we would've made it because we were so exhausted.
We finally arrived at our hotel (thanks dad!) and it is sooo nice so we were happy to get to sleep. We got to our room at 6am and closed the curtains, put up the do not disturb sign, and made an alarm for 1pm.
Needless to say I didn't sleep much but once we started moving in the morning, we felt ok.
Sam and I walked all around the city, it's pretty compact and walkable which is nice and saves a lot of money! We saw St. Martin's Church, Freunkirche, St. Peter's, Marienplatz (the main square), Old Town Hall, New Town Hall, Hoftagarden, and the English Gardens. Everything was so close and we already saw a lot of sites we were planning on going to! It started pouring rain as we were walking which was such a bummer because we wanted to see a lot more. We went into a restaurant and ordered white sausage (veal), pretzels, and beers, a traditional German meal. It was realllly good but the sausages came in a bowl of water...kind of put us off for a moment but it was good nonetheless.
We eventually met up with our other friends in Munich once the weather got better and did basically the same tour because they had just gotten there. Munich is so beautiful, but in a different way than Prague. It reminded me a lot of Vienna of how it was modern yet had lots of amazing old architecture.
We walked to the English Gardens and found a beer garden that was huge, had a hundred people there, and everyone was watching a Euro Cup game on a large screen. We all grabbed a beer and a masssive (I mean massive) pretzel. Right when the game ended it started pouring again so we walked back into the city. It was so light out that we didn't even realize it was 9:30 already! The rain kept coming and going so we stopped for a drink at a lounge. It was a restaurant but had a dj playing dance music...it was rather strange. Once it got to 11 we were all exhausted from walking around all day and didn't want to attempt to find a club.
Early tomorrow morning we head to Dachau! Definitely excited to see it. Our friends decided not to book a hostel for tomorrow night since their bus leaves at 8am so it'll be an interesting night tomorrow! I hope we can find some Munich night life!
I'm so blessed to be able to travel and it's surreal that I'm finally in Germany! It's been a country I've wanted to go to for some time now. Days keep going by quicker so I hope I can take advantage of every moment!
Sbohem,
Whit
We arrived in Munich after barely sleeping at 4:30am. Our bus station was outside of the city so we had to take the U-Bahn to get to our hotel. When we got to the U-Bahn, it said it would be 40 more minutes till the next subway...we were so tired and annoyed. Luckily they sent another one that came 10 minutes later! I don't know how we would've made it because we were so exhausted.
We finally arrived at our hotel (thanks dad!) and it is sooo nice so we were happy to get to sleep. We got to our room at 6am and closed the curtains, put up the do not disturb sign, and made an alarm for 1pm.
Needless to say I didn't sleep much but once we started moving in the morning, we felt ok.
Sam and I walked all around the city, it's pretty compact and walkable which is nice and saves a lot of money! We saw St. Martin's Church, Freunkirche, St. Peter's, Marienplatz (the main square), Old Town Hall, New Town Hall, Hoftagarden, and the English Gardens. Everything was so close and we already saw a lot of sites we were planning on going to! It started pouring rain as we were walking which was such a bummer because we wanted to see a lot more. We went into a restaurant and ordered white sausage (veal), pretzels, and beers, a traditional German meal. It was realllly good but the sausages came in a bowl of water...kind of put us off for a moment but it was good nonetheless.
We eventually met up with our other friends in Munich once the weather got better and did basically the same tour because they had just gotten there. Munich is so beautiful, but in a different way than Prague. It reminded me a lot of Vienna of how it was modern yet had lots of amazing old architecture.
We walked to the English Gardens and found a beer garden that was huge, had a hundred people there, and everyone was watching a Euro Cup game on a large screen. We all grabbed a beer and a masssive (I mean massive) pretzel. Right when the game ended it started pouring again so we walked back into the city. It was so light out that we didn't even realize it was 9:30 already! The rain kept coming and going so we stopped for a drink at a lounge. It was a restaurant but had a dj playing dance music...it was rather strange. Once it got to 11 we were all exhausted from walking around all day and didn't want to attempt to find a club.
Early tomorrow morning we head to Dachau! Definitely excited to see it. Our friends decided not to book a hostel for tomorrow night since their bus leaves at 8am so it'll be an interesting night tomorrow! I hope we can find some Munich night life!
I'm so blessed to be able to travel and it's surreal that I'm finally in Germany! It's been a country I've wanted to go to for some time now. Days keep going by quicker so I hope I can take advantage of every moment!
Sbohem,
Whit
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Thursday June 7th
When people said the days would fly by here, I didn't really believe them but now I do because I have no idea how it is already Thursday and I only have a month and a half left!
Today our class went to the Jewish Quarter and it was probably one of the more fascinating classes we've had so far. We focused more on the history than the art and architecture which was an enjoyable break. It was amazing to see the various synagogues and areas that Jewish people occupied during the late 1800s and 1900s.
The first synagogue, Pinkas Synagogue, made me speechless. The walls were covered by the names of all the Jewish people killed or missing from the Holocaust and their last known location. We weren't able to take pictures but imagine names from floor to ceiling in 4 large rooms. One of the rooms also had drawings made by children that were in Terezin, a concentration camp just outside of Prague. Each drawing had a little card that stated the name of the child, their birth date, the day they were sent to Terezin, and the day they died. It was so shocking to know that these children went through so much horror and only lived very short lives. It moved me so much that I know I'll be even more emotional when I visit Dachau this weekend and Auschwitz next weekend.
Beyond the Pinkas Synagogue was the Old Jewish Cemetery. Since the Jews only had a certain section of the city that they could occupy, they only had a few cemeteries. The area was so small and yet 100,000 people were buried here and there were 12,000 headstones. I was in awe seeing head stone after head stone, all sunken into the ground. They say there are 12 levels down of people. What was especially emotional was once you walked into the cemetery, the air was so thick and made it hard to breathe. Very eerie.
For lunch my roommate and I had the besssst pizza I've ever had. Probably the best meal I've had here. I'll definitely be going there again.
The next synagogue was the Spanish Synagogue which had amazing decorations and painted walls. Every wall had it's own design which created such an enjoyable view. It also held silver items and various books and photographs that Hitler took from the Czech Jews because he wanted to make a museum of the "extinct race", that being Jewish people. So creepy.
Tonight my roommate, Sam, and I head to Munich at 11pm! We're really excited to get out of Prague for a bit but also nervous about the bus ride and getting to our hotel at 5am...will be an interesting experience.
Love and miss y'all and can't wait to report back about Munich!
Sbohem,
Whit
Today our class went to the Jewish Quarter and it was probably one of the more fascinating classes we've had so far. We focused more on the history than the art and architecture which was an enjoyable break. It was amazing to see the various synagogues and areas that Jewish people occupied during the late 1800s and 1900s.
The first synagogue, Pinkas Synagogue, made me speechless. The walls were covered by the names of all the Jewish people killed or missing from the Holocaust and their last known location. We weren't able to take pictures but imagine names from floor to ceiling in 4 large rooms. One of the rooms also had drawings made by children that were in Terezin, a concentration camp just outside of Prague. Each drawing had a little card that stated the name of the child, their birth date, the day they were sent to Terezin, and the day they died. It was so shocking to know that these children went through so much horror and only lived very short lives. It moved me so much that I know I'll be even more emotional when I visit Dachau this weekend and Auschwitz next weekend.
Beyond the Pinkas Synagogue was the Old Jewish Cemetery. Since the Jews only had a certain section of the city that they could occupy, they only had a few cemeteries. The area was so small and yet 100,000 people were buried here and there were 12,000 headstones. I was in awe seeing head stone after head stone, all sunken into the ground. They say there are 12 levels down of people. What was especially emotional was once you walked into the cemetery, the air was so thick and made it hard to breathe. Very eerie.
For lunch my roommate and I had the besssst pizza I've ever had. Probably the best meal I've had here. I'll definitely be going there again.
The next synagogue was the Spanish Synagogue which had amazing decorations and painted walls. Every wall had it's own design which created such an enjoyable view. It also held silver items and various books and photographs that Hitler took from the Czech Jews because he wanted to make a museum of the "extinct race", that being Jewish people. So creepy.
Tonight my roommate, Sam, and I head to Munich at 11pm! We're really excited to get out of Prague for a bit but also nervous about the bus ride and getting to our hotel at 5am...will be an interesting experience.
Love and miss y'all and can't wait to report back about Munich!
Sbohem,
Whit
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Wednesday June 6th
Today our class visited the Veletrniz Palace which contained the national gallery of Czech contemporary and modern art. It's actually been extremely interesting to see the progression of art over the past centuries and how different styles have evolved due to what was happening in the world during that time.
After class my roommate and I went shopping...had to get my fix. I got some great stuff and feel very European! We grabbed a sausage at a local stand just to see what it'd taste like...not so great but I'm glad I tried it!
Last night my dad booked a hotel for my roommate, Sam, and I while we're in Munich. Definitely takes a load off our backs because booking hostels has become a pain since it's the peak travelling season! Our group is planning to hang around Munich on Friday and go to Dachau on Saturday and then we leave Sunday afternoon.
Tonight we've booked our trip to Krakow for next weekend, we leave Thursday night via train and arrive Friday morning and we're staying till Sunday night and then getting back to Prague on Monday morning. I'm so excited to see Krakow and Auschwitz, especially now that I'm in the Holocaust class. We've looked up sites to see in Krakow and there's a lot more than I was expecting so that should be interesting. The hostel we booked seems like a really fun, clean place so I'm excited to stay there!
My roommates and I also booked our hostel in Rome for July...I have to say it's one of my trips that I'm most excited for!
I can't believe it's already Wednesday night and we leave for Munich tomorrow night...an overnight bus ride should be interesting and when we arrive at 4:30am on Friday, we have to take the subway to our hotel. Can't wait!
It's amazing to think that before coming Prague, I had only been to 3 countries in Europe and now I'm about to explore so much more and experience very diverse cultures. This experience is truly eye-opening and life-changing.
Side note: In Europe, you can't turn on your shower head and have your washing machine running at the same time...had to take a bath tonight because the washing machine takes over 2 hours to complete a cycle!
Love and miss you guys very much!
Sbohem,
Whit
After class my roommate and I went shopping...had to get my fix. I got some great stuff and feel very European! We grabbed a sausage at a local stand just to see what it'd taste like...not so great but I'm glad I tried it!
Last night my dad booked a hotel for my roommate, Sam, and I while we're in Munich. Definitely takes a load off our backs because booking hostels has become a pain since it's the peak travelling season! Our group is planning to hang around Munich on Friday and go to Dachau on Saturday and then we leave Sunday afternoon.
Tonight we've booked our trip to Krakow for next weekend, we leave Thursday night via train and arrive Friday morning and we're staying till Sunday night and then getting back to Prague on Monday morning. I'm so excited to see Krakow and Auschwitz, especially now that I'm in the Holocaust class. We've looked up sites to see in Krakow and there's a lot more than I was expecting so that should be interesting. The hostel we booked seems like a really fun, clean place so I'm excited to stay there!
My roommates and I also booked our hostel in Rome for July...I have to say it's one of my trips that I'm most excited for!
I can't believe it's already Wednesday night and we leave for Munich tomorrow night...an overnight bus ride should be interesting and when we arrive at 4:30am on Friday, we have to take the subway to our hotel. Can't wait!
It's amazing to think that before coming Prague, I had only been to 3 countries in Europe and now I'm about to explore so much more and experience very diverse cultures. This experience is truly eye-opening and life-changing.
Side note: In Europe, you can't turn on your shower head and have your washing machine running at the same time...had to take a bath tonight because the washing machine takes over 2 hours to complete a cycle!
Love and miss you guys very much!
Sbohem,
Whit
Tuesday June 5th
Woke up the earliest I have in Prague since my parents were here and wow do I feel it. The food we cooked was amazzzzing. I actually haven't had a Czech meal since I've been here so I was excited to try it! Lots of fried stuff though which made me feel sluggish the rest of the day. The fried cheese was probably the best part which I was surprised by! Though making the food kind of took away from how yaummy it was because everything was covered in batter and oil...
Today in class we went to the House of the Black Madonna to focus on Czech Cubist art and architecture. I've always been interested in cubism so it was enjoyable for the most part. This whole being lectured for 3 hours at a time is getting rather old...almost fell asleep in class today so I'm hopefully going to sleep well tonight.
After class my roommates and I went to TESCO to find baking mixes because we want to take advantage of our oven. We were so lost and ended up finding brownie mix but we only have cookie sheets and we couldn't find all the ingredients for that either sooo that was a fail.
Today I switched one of my classes for the next term to a Holocaust class and thankfully my advisor back at Michigan said he'd approve it as a humanities class (shout out to Tim Webb, best advisor ever!) Now I'll have class Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-12 and 2-5. I'm hoping it won't be too bad seeing as I'll have 4 day weekends and a break in between.
Sbohem,
Whit
Today in class we went to the House of the Black Madonna to focus on Czech Cubist art and architecture. I've always been interested in cubism so it was enjoyable for the most part. This whole being lectured for 3 hours at a time is getting rather old...almost fell asleep in class today so I'm hopefully going to sleep well tonight.
After class my roommates and I went to TESCO to find baking mixes because we want to take advantage of our oven. We were so lost and ended up finding brownie mix but we only have cookie sheets and we couldn't find all the ingredients for that either sooo that was a fail.
Today I switched one of my classes for the next term to a Holocaust class and thankfully my advisor back at Michigan said he'd approve it as a humanities class (shout out to Tim Webb, best advisor ever!) Now I'll have class Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-12 and 2-5. I'm hoping it won't be too bad seeing as I'll have 4 day weekends and a break in between.
Sbohem,
Whit
Monday, June 4, 2012
Monday June 4th
Wow this day went by surprisingly fast!
My roommates and I woke up this morning and got a great breakfast at a local cafe. A littol pricey but it was definitely worth it.
In class today we visited some gardens that were really beautiful. It was amazing to be in the center of the city and find these hidden gardens that were absolutely quiet. It was so peaceful to not hear people yelling, trams going by, or cars honking. It was so calming to be able to look for miles across the city. I become more amazed and in love with this city every day.
We then went to the Church of our Lady Victorious. This church holds a relic of baby Jesus which from my previous understanding of a relic, I thought it was going to be something he had or wore as a child. Instead it was a wooden baby Jesus that was dressed up in a fur cape and gown that was passed down through Hapsburg emperors. I was extremely appalled to see something that people idolize to be dressed up, they actually change the gown every so often. It's interesting to see so many Catholic churches but I'm definitely confused, I believed they were against idols but I guess it is different here.
After class my roommate, Sam, and I booked bus tickets to Munich this weekend though our bus to Munich leaves at 11pm Thursday night and we get in at 5 in the morning...that'll be interesting. Four of our other friends are going so it should be a fun time!
The weather is supposed to be bad for just one more week which I hope is true! It's not cold, it will just randomly rain so hard and then stop so you never know when it's coming.
My roommates and I went to another show tonight, tryin to be cultured and all and wow was it weird. Don't really have much to say about it haha I'm not a huge play person so it was rather interesting.
Off to bed! Waking up early to head to our program's office to cook a traditional Czech meal, schneitzel, fried cheese, potatoes, and a cucumber salad!
Sbohem,
Whit
My roommates and I woke up this morning and got a great breakfast at a local cafe. A littol pricey but it was definitely worth it.
In class today we visited some gardens that were really beautiful. It was amazing to be in the center of the city and find these hidden gardens that were absolutely quiet. It was so peaceful to not hear people yelling, trams going by, or cars honking. It was so calming to be able to look for miles across the city. I become more amazed and in love with this city every day.
We then went to the Church of our Lady Victorious. This church holds a relic of baby Jesus which from my previous understanding of a relic, I thought it was going to be something he had or wore as a child. Instead it was a wooden baby Jesus that was dressed up in a fur cape and gown that was passed down through Hapsburg emperors. I was extremely appalled to see something that people idolize to be dressed up, they actually change the gown every so often. It's interesting to see so many Catholic churches but I'm definitely confused, I believed they were against idols but I guess it is different here.
After class my roommate, Sam, and I booked bus tickets to Munich this weekend though our bus to Munich leaves at 11pm Thursday night and we get in at 5 in the morning...that'll be interesting. Four of our other friends are going so it should be a fun time!
The weather is supposed to be bad for just one more week which I hope is true! It's not cold, it will just randomly rain so hard and then stop so you never know when it's coming.
My roommates and I went to another show tonight, tryin to be cultured and all and wow was it weird. Don't really have much to say about it haha I'm not a huge play person so it was rather interesting.
Off to bed! Waking up early to head to our program's office to cook a traditional Czech meal, schneitzel, fried cheese, potatoes, and a cucumber salad!
Sbohem,
Whit
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Sunday June 3rd
I had literally one of the better nights of my life at Karlovy last night. It was so awesome to be able to go up and down to hear different types of music and the music was so good!
My roommates and I thought the metro closed at 12:30am...definitely closes at 12 so we had to figure out how to get to the club. We ended up getting on the correct tram but a Canadian guy told us how to get there (we thought we could trust English speakers...) but he ended up taking us miles past the club so we had to walk all the way back, and the stop we were going to get off at was perfect so never trusting anyone else again with directions.
When we first got to the club, there were sooo many guys and very creepy ones but we ended up finding a good floor. It's funny how Americans stick together and try to find more Americans while we're out. I actually met someone who knew someone from my high school because they go to USC together...so random.
It was getting towards 4 am and most of us were ready to go but we stayed a bit longer and that's when it got weird. So many men would just come up to me and stare at me and not leave, all of the guys we were with had to keep pushing the creepy guys away. We finally left (as the sun was coming up) which I can say was definitely a true going-out experience in Europe.
I woke up around 1:30 today and had a rather lazy day. It was nice to catch up with the fam and such! My roommates and I met up with 2 other girls and saw an improv show night. Quite hilarious actually! It's really amazing to be in a city and have so many things to do like shows or festivals or farmers markets. Originally when I applied to colleges I wanted to be in a big city hence my love towards the Boston schools so it's awesome to be able to experience the life I once dreamed of. (Though big cities have nothing on the greatness that is Ann Arbor!)
As we were walking back, it started to pour and of course I happened to be wearing sandals, no jacket, and had no umbrella. Such a rough life. The weather looks pretty dreary for awhile which is a huge bummer!
Tomorrow I'm forcing myself to wake up early and have breakfast at a cafe before class. I sincerely hope I stick to this plan because I'm wasting so much of my days here sleeping!
I'm also planning a trip with some friends to Munich next weekend so hopefully everything gets figure out soon. Can't wait to start travelling around!
Love and miss y'all
Sbohem,
Whit
As we were walking back, it started to pour and of course I happened to be wearing sandals, no jacket, and had no umbrella. Such a rough life. The weather looks pretty dreary for awhile which is a huge bummer!
Tomorrow I'm forcing myself to wake up early and have breakfast at a cafe before class. I sincerely hope I stick to this plan because I'm wasting so much of my days here sleeping!
I'm also planning a trip with some friends to Munich next weekend so hopefully everything gets figure out soon. Can't wait to start travelling around!
Love and miss y'all
Sbohem,
Whit
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Saturday June 2nd
Barely slept last night because of waking up so late yesterday so I've felt tired all day. Today my roommate, Jesse, and I walked around Wenceslas Square, a historical main square, and went to Palladium, the largest mall in Central Europe. I wasn't really in the mood for shopping but the weather was so dreary. The mall wasn't that great...large but no stores that were interesting.
After we came back and set up dinner with some friends at a pub near our apartment. I'm finally beginning to feel like myself here after warming up to people. I am soooo tired of going into restaurants and seeing a haze from all the smoke...everything I wear smells like it and so does my hair, it's getting ridiculous. I can't imagine how much second hand smoke I'm getting here!
Tonight we're meeting up with friends and going to Karlovy Lazane, the infamous 5 story club in Prague. Each floor has a different set up and style of music playing so I can't wait to experience it!
Hope your weekend is treating you well and thank you for reading!
Sbohem,
Whit
Friday, June 1, 2012
Rainy Day Friday June 1st
How is it June already?
Last night was a lot of fun, went out with a big group to a pub and club. It was pouring rain which sucked with walking everywhere! We figured out the night tram system and were waiting for 30 mins...quite annoying. Got home at 4am, not sure how I'm going to do this every weekend!
We had a planned trip to the Prague Zoo with our program but it was cancelled due to the weather which I was bummed about but I definitely needed the extra hours of sleep. I eventually woke up around 1pm and we had no clue what to do for the day. One of my roommates, Sam, and I decided to go to the CEA office to get travel books for Europe and sit at Starbucks to read them.
After awhile we decided to check out a communist museum. It was so incredibly interesting. I cannot imagine living in such fear of doing something against what the government wants you to believe in. It was insane to see these riots of so much violence in the places we walk around every day here. It made me value growing up in the US so much more. It also made me remember how my friend Michelle's parents left during the rioting in the late 1980s so it will be interesting to talk to them about their experience after learning more.
Tonight I'm going to see a movie with my roommates at a mall near us. Ticket is only $6.60!! Insane. Hopefully we chose the right one that's in English...
Finally got my Czech phone! Not like I really need it but it'll be good to have.
Miss y'all, the time change sucks with staying in touch with people.
Sbohem,
Whit
Last night was a lot of fun, went out with a big group to a pub and club. It was pouring rain which sucked with walking everywhere! We figured out the night tram system and were waiting for 30 mins...quite annoying. Got home at 4am, not sure how I'm going to do this every weekend!
We had a planned trip to the Prague Zoo with our program but it was cancelled due to the weather which I was bummed about but I definitely needed the extra hours of sleep. I eventually woke up around 1pm and we had no clue what to do for the day. One of my roommates, Sam, and I decided to go to the CEA office to get travel books for Europe and sit at Starbucks to read them.
After awhile we decided to check out a communist museum. It was so incredibly interesting. I cannot imagine living in such fear of doing something against what the government wants you to believe in. It was insane to see these riots of so much violence in the places we walk around every day here. It made me value growing up in the US so much more. It also made me remember how my friend Michelle's parents left during the rioting in the late 1980s so it will be interesting to talk to them about their experience after learning more.
Tonight I'm going to see a movie with my roommates at a mall near us. Ticket is only $6.60!! Insane. Hopefully we chose the right one that's in English...
Finally got my Czech phone! Not like I really need it but it'll be good to have.
Miss y'all, the time change sucks with staying in touch with people.
Sbohem,
Whit
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