Photos

I am standing in the doorway of one of the homes on Golden Lane.  This house is next door to the house that Franz Kafka lived and wrote in.  These doors would be the perfect size for my Mom and my Sister (haha).

This is a picture of my roommate Nicole and I in front of the John Lennon Wall.  This wall is connected to our school and its absolutely beautiful.

This is a picture from Beer Factory and I am drinking some Pilsner beer in honor of the Czech Republic.

Another Weekend, Another Adventure

Ahoj-

I am entering my third week of classes and I cannot believe how quickly time has flown by.  Classes are not that difficult, but resources are limited and expectations are very vague.  I have learned a lot from my professors here about what I will NOT do when I have my own classroom.  Professors do not have grading scales, do not tell you when things are due, and provide little outline on what to expect during the course.  This is frustrating to me because of the perfectionist expectations I place upon myself, but I am hoping this will make me more acceptable to going with the flow and not stressing about the little things.

  I spent the last week exploring Prague with my amazing roommates.  On thursday and friday we walked around, did some tourist shopping, and discovered an amazing outdoor market near Wenselclas Square.  Thursday we hit up our pub of choice, Beer Factory, and ended up making some friends and doing some dancing.  On Saturday I went to Tyn Church and the Cubist Museum.  Saturday night we hung out with our neighbors (Kaela - One of my neighbors was a rower at Madison her freshman year, here name is brigid, let me know if you know her) and went to a bar called Chapeau Rouge; it was three floors and packed, so I was happy to be home before 1 am.  People here in Prague like to stay out late, most pubs and clubs do not get hopping until 1 am and stay open until 5 am.  My body is not up for that, so making it an early night is fine by me.  Sunday I spent inside, it was cold and rainy, and did my homework for the week and continued making plans for my spring break adventure to Italy and the south of France.  The plan as of now is for Maja and I to fly to Milan, then train to Florence, then Rome, then Nice (in the south of France).  This adventure will be 11 days, but lucky for us Maja has family in Nice and Milan so we have a free place to stay!

Two of my friends here have their 21st birthdays this week and there is a Mardi Gras celebration on tuesday night that all of us are going to.  It should be a fun weekend.  Some roommates are leaving for Vienna, other Munich, so the house may be a little more quiet than usual (which I will not complain about).  Sarah Johnson, a friend from high school, will be in Prague this weekend so I am excited to show her around and meet the friends she has made while studying abroad in London.

I hope all is well.

Anna

Hello Again!

Dobry Den!
Well, according to my mother and father, its time for an update.  My long weekend here in Praha has been a lot of fun.  Wednesday night all my roommates and I, along with many other Americans, wandered to a local club for some dancing.  The dancing was fun but the smoke was not.  Everyone in this city smokes and no matter where you go you cannot seem to get away from it.  Thursday was full of rearranging furniture, cleaning, and dealing with random things around the flat.  That evening, my roommates Renata, Amanda, Kate and I picked a restaurant out of one of our books and went to eat.  Our choice was phenomenal.  The restaurant was in a cave under a church down a small street.  The servers were extremely friendly and the food was good and cheap.  I cannot wait to go back.  Mom and Dad will definitely love it when they come to visit.  Friday I did some sightseeing with my roommates.  We spent a good 6 hours walking around the city.  We wandered to Prague Castle and took a tour of Golden Lane.  Golden Lane is a small street near Prague Castle which used to home the famous author Franz Kafka.  The homes are so tiny that I had to duck my head to enter any of the doors.  All the homes on this land are now privately owned shops with very unique souvenirs.  All the walking was exhausting and I ended the day with a movie.  Many of my roommates are sick right now and I am worried I will be next.  I have been extremely tired, but I think that has to do with adjusting to this new city and time zone.  My roommates are on the mend, particularly Amanda who has bronchitis, due to the amazing health care in this country.  We, as students, can to the doctor and get drugs free of charge; that would never happen in the states.  

Some of my roommates are going to Budapest next weekend, but I am going to stay behind and take a day trip to the countryside to see the church made of bones.  My roommate Maja and I have decided to spend our spring break traveling Italy.  We bought our plane tickets a few days ago and are in the midst of planning out 11 day adventure.  As of now we are flying into Milan, then going to Venice, Florence and Rome.  If we have time we may try to get to Nice in the south of France where Maja has family.  I am so excited for the weeks to come, but I want time to slow down.  Tomorrow I will spend my time reading and doing homework.  I wish you all the best.  I send my love.

This is a picture of my roommates in front of a home on Golden Lane.  The girls from left to right are Joanne (from Chicago), Maja (from Bosnia via Kentucky), Nicole (from Puerto Rico) Renata (from Bosnia via Kentucky), and Kristen (from Tosa).
This is a picture of Golden Lane.  The blue home above was once inhabited by the author Franz Kafka.  You would be amazed how tiny these homes are.  They were often used by single men who guarded the castle.  Once married, many would move to other locations.

This is the front view of Prague Castle.  The grounds are extensive and include many buildings, including the Cathedral pictured below.

St. Vitus Cathedral...located behind Prague Castle looking over the entire city of Prague.  The inside is even more magnificent.

Pictures

This is a picture from a bridge over the Vltava.   Its at dusk and all the buildings look so beautiful.
This is in New Town.  I am standing on the Hunger Wall looking towards the Vltava River and Old Town (where my apartment is)

This is Old Town Square.  The random guy is looking at the Astronomical Clock.

First Weekend in Prague!

Well, I cannot believe I have already spent four days in this beautiful city.  So far everything is working out fabulously.  My roommates are all very cool and outgoing.  There is always someone who wants to do the same thing as you and you are never in the house alone.  I have already completed my first successful grocery shop, which was not an easy feat.  Buying groceries in a language you don't understand is much harder than one may think.  This country does not have much variety in their foods and packaging is extremely small.  Since we are in the heart of the city food is not extremely cheap, but manageable.  Some of my roommates have bought things and realized that it was not what they expected upon arriving home.  For example, my roommate Amanda thought she bought regular milk but it was buttermilk and my roommate Kate thought she bought wheat bread and it was pumpernickle.  In all, the nine of us have done a pretty good job.  We had a family dinner on Friday night and met up with other American students to do a pub crawl.  It was a great time and I met tons of new people.  School starts on Monday and I cannot wait.  Our school is in an amazing location in the heart of New Town and I am so lucky to be close enough to walk.  The city appears to be large but is extremely walkable.  Today, a group of us took a walk around and did not get lost.  Although I don't understand street signs, I always seem to find my way back.  Its an easy city to get lost in, but if you just walk in one direction you are bound to find a familiar landmark.  I am loving this city and this experience.  I cannot believe I am only a few days in.  

Some roommates and I are planning a long weekend to Paris and we are working on spring break plans too.  Our program has a two days trips planned for us and a long weekend in the beginning of May where we go to Krakow and Auschwitz in Poland.  

I hope all is well.  

Here are some pictures of my apartment in Prague.  I am less than 5 minutes walking from the Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock.  Charles Bridge is less than 10 minutes walk and my school, which is in an awesome building, is no more than 20 minutes.  The tribute graffiti wall to John Lennon is actually on the wall connected to the back of my building.  How cool?

This is our living room.  Its not nearly as big as the three bedrooms but it is still really nice.  We have satellite tv, but we don't know how to use it.  We have two leather chairs and one leather couch.  We also have a CD/Radio player so we can listen to Czech music and such.  This room is off my room and I know it will be my study lounge once classes begin on Monday.  

Here is the picture of my kitchen.  It is really nice and everything is relatively new.  Our fridge, which you cannot see is small so it should be interesting to see 9 girls attempt to share it. :)

This is the view from outside my second story window.  Our building looks a lot like this one.  

This is of my bedroom.  I am sharing it with two girls, Kristen and Kate.  Both go to Colorado-Boulder.  Kristen is from Tosa and Kate is from Seattle.  Our ceilings are probably 18 feet high.  We have three dresssers, one desk, two nightstands, and one closet.  My bed is one the left and on the floor.  My bed frame was being fussy so I just put my bed on the floor.

Love you all.  

I will post new pictures of all the site as I capture them.  

PRAHA!

Ahoj!

I have finally arrived in Praha!  The travel to this amazing city was not an easy one.  First off, my flight out of Chicago was delayed.  Once I landed in London I had 30 minutes to make my connection.  Luckily I ran across Heathrow airport and was one of the last passengers allowed onboard.  Sadly, my luggage did not have two legs and failed to make the plane in time.  After being delayed, rushing, and losing my luggage I was hoping something positive would happen, and it did.  I walked into my new apartment with 8 new roommates on a beautiful downtown street bustling with cars, taxis, trams, and Czech people.  

My luggage arrived at 1:00am in Prague, about 6pm your time, but I had already been awake for at least 24 hours and was exhausted.  I went to bed and woke up 11 hours later.  This morning I took a walk, found a grocery store, ate lunch at the cafe next door to my apartment and am now on my way to orientation at my new school.  

I hope this finds you well and I will post pictures of my apartment asap.

love from praha