Oktoberfest, and All That Jazz

I have made some enhancements to my blog page! The slideshow at the top of the page is an album of pictures I have taken so far. I have set the slideshow to play randomly, but if you click on the image, it will take you to the album, and you can look through all my pictures. I also added a feature that allows you to get email notifications whenever I post a new blog, all you need to do is enter your email into the bar on the righthand side of the website.

I finally have my laptop back! There are no official Apple stores in the Czech Republic, so I had to drop my computer off at a premium retailer. It was a slightly stressful experience to try and get my computer fixed in a foreign country, especially since the receptionist at the repair shop only spoke Czech, so she always put me on the phone with an English speaker. My laptop is running just like new, and I even have a new battery.

Jakub, on the right, playing the drums

This past week I attended a jazz club with my Czech buddy, Jakub. The club was called Blues Sklep, and it is an improv jazz club. The club was in an underground cave and completely filled with local Czech people. Jakub is a musician, so he and his band were on the lineup to play a few songs. We hung around for about an hour and then it was his turn to play! The place was very cool and definitely a great way to experience "traditional Czech culture."

Setting up for Oktoberfest

Friday morning we boarded a bus and left for Munich at 6:55 in the morning. The bus ride took a little over five hours, so we arrived around lunchtime. After trying for over half an hour to figure out the public transportation system, we gave up and took a taxi to the apartment where we were staying. Once we dropped everything off, we decided to go walk around and explore the city for a bit. We wandered around Munich rather aimlessly for a couple of hours. German people are very nice! They are willing to give us directions and were very helpful. We walked through the English Gardens before deciding to go check out the Oktoberfest campground. The Oktoberfest grounds are like a fair: there are amusement park rides and multiple food vendors outside in between the tents! Everyone was still setting up since Oktoberfest officially started on Saturday, so we were able to wander around and look inside some of the empty tents (these "tents" are massive, basically the size of an aircraft hanger). It was a unique experience to be able to see all the tents completely empty the day before Oktoberfest started. Afterwards, we found a shop that sold dirndls and bought “traditional” dresses for the big day.

The calm before the storm; photo credit Daniela Falvo

Saturday was the day! We got up at 6:00am, since we knew we had to be there early if we wanted to find a table for five people. Getting dressed in our costumes was quite a production since there were three pieces and lots of tying involved. But finally we were all ready and headed towards the metro stop. Admittedly, we were "riding light" and did not have tickets; we had heard they don't stop anyone to check them since the crowds are so large, the officers are more concerned about safety. To our credit, we did attempt to buy metro tickets the day before, but I’m pretty sure we only bought a one-way, one-zone ticket.

We weren't sure which was the best way to get to Oktoberfest, but our problem was solved for us; all we had to do was follow the lederhosen! The metro stop let us out directly into the Oktoberfest grounds. We practically ran to the tent we had decided to go to, the Hofbräu Festhalle, which is popular amongst Americans and Australians. We waited outside for about an hour before people were allowed to go inside. The five of us grabbed each other's hands, and thankfully we did, because I have never been in a crowd that surged forward and pushed so much. After about five minutes of suffocating, claustrophobic closeness, we were finally inside. We ran around for a few minutes until somehow we managed to find an open table, and we sat down immediately.

Little did we know, on the first day they do not tap the keg until noon, so we sat at our table for three hours playing the iPhone app “Heads Up.” At 11:30 things finally started to get interesting when the house band began to file in. Shortly after, there was a little parade, consisting bands and all the members of the brewer’s family in our tent, which in our case was the Hofbräu München brewery! There was a countdown as the first keg was tapped at noon, and the tent erupted in cheers. The atmosphere was indescribable, I don't think I have ever been in a place where so many thousands of people are instantaneously happy (our tent could seat 6,896 people inside), and I don't think I ever will be in the same situation again. Shortly after, three Australians came over to our table and hung out with us for a few hours, and I have to say, they were hilarious.

On our way out, I noticed I had lost my camera and ran back to the table to look for it, but didn't see it. Luckily, I had some pictures on my iPhone, and all my friends had many pictures on their phones. But hey, do you really experience Oktoberfest (or any trip/adventure for that matter) if you don't lose something? In actuality, one of our new Australian friends had grabbed my camera and lost us in the crowd, so my camera is currently safe, but in London. What a small world afterall. It was a long, crazy, weekend, but if I am ever presented with the opportunity to go to Oktoberfest, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat (and on the plus side, I already have the outfit)!

Photo credit Daniela Falvo

Game of Bones

Myself and friends in Kutna Hora

St. Vitus Cathedral at the 
Prague Castle

My program arranged for us to take a guided tour the Pražský hrad (Prague Castle). The castle is actually a compound consisting of St. Vitus Cathedral surrounded by courtyards that are used as political offices, including housing for the president of the Czech Republic. We did not go into any of the buildings, but rather walked around outside, admiring and learning about the architecture. The Prague Castle incorporates almost all of the architectural styles from the last millennium. The stained glass used in the cathedral windows is particularly interesting because when the castle was built, spinach was used to make green-colored glass since they did not have colored dyes! In addition, many of the glass pieces are plated with real gold.

The Bartered Bride at the National Theatre

Last Friday I attended my first opera at Narodni divaldo (The National Theatre)! The opera house was incredibly beautiful and ornate. I saw Bedřich Smetana's Prodana nevesta, also known as The Bartered Bride. The opera was staged in the original Czech version, but thankfully English subtitles were used during the performance. Overall, the performance was quite impressive, and there is possibility I will have a chance to go see another opera before my time here is over.

On Saturday I went on a field trip to Kutna Hora, which is an old silver mining town about an hour east of Prague. Kutna Hora is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site because examples of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture have been preserved. Our first stop was the Church of Bones, where there are huge displays made out of human bones! The church is the Sedlec Ossuary, and the interior is decorated with sculptures of bones (bet they you haven't seen that on HGTV!). The focal piece is the bone chandelier, which contains at least one of every bone type in the human body. We also visited the Italian Court where they used to mint silver coins a couple hundred year ago. We had a traditional Czech meal for lunch, so it consisted of lots of meat, potatoes, and heavy sauce! Strangely, the beef was served with a little bit of whipped cream and jelly, and even weirder, it was actually pretty good. We finished our time in Kutna Hora by touring the gothic St. Barbara Cathedral.

Chandelier made out of human bones!

Today was the last day of my intensive Czech course, and I finished with a final exam. I will continue Czech classes throughout the semester, but I am grateful to no longer have Czech class five hours a day. I also am pleased to announce that I have accepted an internship position with the Czech non-governmental, non-profit organization People in Need, and you can check them out here. I will start classes and work with my internship next week. Until then, I will be spending the weekend in Munich attending Oktoberfest!

View from the Prague Castle

Ahoj Praha!

View of the Prague Castle from my orientation building

Ahoj! I have been in the beautiful city of Prague for a little over a week. So far I have had a week of orientation, free time, and yesterday I started the intensive Czech language course. I still have two more weeks until the rest of my classes start. Orientation mainly focused on the cultural differences, and how Czechs perceive Americans. The main take away: the Czech people have a "sensitive ear" and think we are loud. We are loud. Very loud. You cannot talk on the metro without getting the occasional stink-eye. Czech people can throw shade; it is impressive.

There are two main things I have noticed while walking around the city, the first being that Czech people avoid eye contact at all cost, and the second being that dogs walk around without leashes. Yes, the dogs are so well trained they just stay by their owner and walk as they please without barking! If any of you know Cooper, you know that would never be a possibilty. I should have brought him along and taken him to some sort of Czech dog class.

Burgerfest 2014 held at U Výstaviště 170 00, Praha

I have had only a few traditional Czech meals so far, but that is not uncommon because Czechs typically eat the "traditional" meals on Sundays. So far my favorite has been roasted duck with the popular potato dumplings. I have also tried a traditional Czech cinnamon-almond pastry called Trdelník from the food vendors, which was delicious, albeit a total tourist move. In addition, I also attended the Prague Burgerfest 2014, where it was great to have a little taste of home.



I live in large flat in Praha 3, in an ex-patriate neighborhood. I have both a tram stop and metro stop nearby (the public transportation system is fantastic, and a semester-long metropass was included in my program). My flat is huge, even for four people: tall ceilings, lots of natural light, and our own washer (but no dryer)! I also have a Czech buddy, Jakub (who is actually Slovak); he lives next door and is available anytime we need help. So far my roommate and I have cooked a few meals and tonight I even made banana bread! We have a grocery store on other side of the block, which I have frequented almost everyday, with today's purchase being sour cream and onion chips.

Powder Tower

Somehow I keep ending up at Václavské náměstí (Wenceslas Square) as I wander around the city, so clearly it is time I look closer at the map so I can discover other parts of Prague. The GoogleMap app has been a lifesaver! If you load the address and select your route while still connected to wifi, you can use the map offline; the app can still track your location and it has great directions for using the public transportation. I have only gotten lost once, but I was able to take this great picture, so it wasn't all that bad.

However, my week has not been struggle free by any means. I have ordered sparkling water from the vending machine instead of flat water. My feet are sore because I am unaccustomed to all the walking. I made a long and exhausting trek to IKEA and only returned with a few cups. My laptop decided to stop working, but more on that later. This week I will continue my intensive Czech language course, along with going to two internship interviews, attending the opera, and taking a field trip to Kutná Hora! Until next time, ahoj!

Blog title credit goes to the one and only Natalie Hall.