London Calling

This past Thursday morning, I woke up early and headed out to the airport! I was flying into London, Stansted, to visit Heather (my Kappa “big” sister) for the weekend! Heather is currently completing a year-long graduate program at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, Norfolk, England, so once I arrived at Stansted, I boarded a bus headed straight towards the UEA campus! The bus dropped me right into the middle of campus, and then I was finally reunited with Heather! I got to see her town, where she was living, and meet her housemates and her friends. I also discovered they sell Cool Ranch Doritos in England, so all in all, I was a happy camper.

Pretending to be Hermione 

On Friday morning I explored the UEA campus a bit while Heather was in class. While the campus is mostly cement, I managed to find the University of East Anglia Estates which consisted of a pretty pond and a nice walking path. Once Heather was done with class, we headed back to her house, and then went to the Norwich Train Station for our train into London. Our train arrived at the Liverpool station, but the first thing we did was transfer using the Tube and head to Kings Cross Station to visit Platform 9 ¾! They had a professional photographer there, along with the various Harry Potter house scarves you could wear for the perfect photo opportunity. After sadly realizing that we never did get officially accepted into Hogwarts, we headed over to the hostel to check in.

Dad, for your own benefit, please don't check the credit card statement

Later in the afternoon, we went shopping at Harrods! We wandered throughout the entire department store, making sure to stop at every floor. While I did purchase some stereotypical Harrods souvenirs, I also made a real "adult" purchase! I had done some research beforehand, and discovered that Lonchamp Le Pliage bags are cheaper in the UK. I had my eye on a certain bag for awhile, so going to Harrods was the perfect excuse to finally buy my new bag. After shopping at Harrods, we headed over to Covent Garden and ate outside, right next to a street performer! His name was “Dynamike” and he was juggling pirate swords while riding a unicycle. After dinner we walked around the Theatre district and ended up at Trafalgar Square, which was pretty with the fountains lit up at night. As we were walking through the square, all of a sudden I turned my head left and saw Big Ben!

The previous night we had decided on doing a 48-hour hop on/hop off tour, along with tickets for touring the Tower of London. We headed to the main office for the sightseeing tour, collected our tickets, and hopped on the bus. We rode the bus to Buckingham Palace so we could watch the changing of the guard. It is amazing how elaborate the ceremony is! My personal favorite moment of the ceremony was when the Royal band played Queen’s “We Are The Champions.” After the changing of the guard we were planning on getting back onto the bus and continuing on to Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London. However, there was strike in downtown London that shut down much of the city for a good portion of the day. We waited a long time for the bus before deciding to just walk along St. James’s Park towards Parliament and Westminster Pier to take advantage of the boat cruise that was included with our bus ticket! The boat cruise up the Thames River was lovely, and dropped us off right at the Tower of London.

Field of Ceramic Poppies

The Tower of London is currently installing a art/memorial exhibit for 100 year anniversary of World War I. The art exhibit is called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, and consists of 888,246 ceramic poppies filling the moat. We did a free Yeomen Warder tour of the Tower, and learned some of its “darker” history. Then we entered the White Tower, which houses some very old and very cool armor and weaponry. We ended our time at the Tower of London by visiting the Crown Jewels. The queue line was informative, and even had a video loop that showed Queen Elizabeth II's inauguration back in 1953. The crown jewels are so extravagant, it is almost hard to believe they are real!

221B Baker Street

After dinner, we had planned to head to the top of The Shard to get a 360-degree view of the city. We got there easily enough, but the tickets were much more expensive than anticipated, so we decided to pass. We ended up walking down towards the river and finding a series of restaurants that had outside seating and an excellent view of Tower Bridge. We sat down and enjoyed dessert before walking along the river for a bit. We got a nice close view of the HMS Belfast and kept walking for a bit before heading across the London Bridge on foot (unfortunately, we did not walk across the Millennium Footbridge at any point during our stay, but we did ride under it during our boat cruise). We ended the night by making a quick pit stop to see 221B Baker Street, and no, Sherlock and Watson weren't home.

We got up early once again, packed our bags, and headed back to the hop on/hop off tour so we could ride it all the way through. We got back on at Trafalgar Square, and enjoyed a two hour tour throughout the City of Westminster and London (they are technically two different places, it's pretty cool; look it up!). We had lunch at a "traditional" English pub and I finally indulged in some classic fish & chips. We ended our afternoon by riding the Tube over to Waterloo and walking around the bank near the London Eye. After that, I went to the Victoria Station and took the Gatwick Express to the airport for my flight back to Prague.

This weekend was the first time I have ever stayed in a hostel. This one was huge and was located in an old court house. We didn't interact too much with the other guests, and didn't even get a chance to meet all our roommates, but overall it was a good first experience (thankfully, because I will be spending many more weekends in hostels). Overall, my favorites were shopping at Harrods, walking along the Thames River at night, and seeing the Crown Jewels. I also discovered that Big Ben is my favorite London landmark, because as I went through all of my pictures, I realized that approximately a fourth were of Big Ben, and yes, they were all exactly the same. We definitely made the most of our weekend in London, but I have already started a to-do list for the next time I visit!

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik, Croatia; photo credit Jen Park

View from apartment

This past weekend I, along with six other friends from my program, went to Dubrovnik, Croatia. We flew out of Prague Friday morning and arrived in Croatia a little after lunchtime (I was very excited that we got our passports stamped). We had a driver pick us up from the airport and take us to the apartment where we were staying for the weekend. The apartment was in a nice complex, was only a ten minute bus ride away from the city center, and was absolutely huge! We had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen/living space, and multiple balconies, one of the which faced a bay! The first thing we did was go for a swim, since we were only two minutes away from the water. The water was refreshing and we were surrounded by mountains as we swam in the small bay. The water near Dubrovnik is crystal clear- you can see all the way to the bottom! Later that night we walked around the area near our apartment which had a definite “resort” vibe. After dinner we decided that the group would split up, with a couple girls staying behind and the rest of us going to explore the Old Town at night. So we bought a bus ticket and headed into the city.

Old Town at night; photo credit Tina Cho

When we stepped off the bus, we were bombarded with kiosks and tables advertising different activities and excursions to take part in while in Dubrovnik. We ended up talking to one saleswoman, Nikoleta, about the possibility of doing a kayak tour around the bay and Lokrum Island, and decided that it was something we wanted to do the following day. After taking down all of Nikoleta’s information, we headed into the historic Old Town. The Old Town portion of Dubrovnik is the part of the city within a fort. At night, the fort walls and the streets inside are spectacularly lit up. We wandered around inside the fort for quite awhile, just exploring the winding streets, and of course, eating gelato.

The layout and feel of Old Town definitely reminded me of Venice.

Kayaking in the Adriatic Sea;
photo credit Jen Park

Saturday morning we woke up early to get ready for the day ahead of us. We packed our bags, put on our swimsuits, and headed out the door. We went back to kayak kiosk and found Nikoleta, who lead us to landing where we would start our kayak tour. We ended up having a private tour, with all seven of us and only one other person, along with our tour guide. After leaving the start point, we headed out around the city walls and towards Lokrum Island. We kayaked all around Lokrum Island, stopping every 15 minutes while our tour guide explained some history of Dubrovnik. The popular HBO show Game of Thrones typically films some scenes in Dubrovnik, and they were actually filming while we were on our kayak tour! We were told to stay out of the shot, but later as we were kayaking back to Dubrovnik, we could see where they were filming. About halfway through our kayak tour we stopped at a small beach and were able to go swimming and snorkeling for 45 minutes, before getting back in our kayaks and finishing up the tour.

Aerial view of Dubrovnik and Lokrum Island

After the tour we walked around inside the Old Town for awhile. We stopped for lunch a seafood place that had been recommended to us, and I had clams for the very first time! There were many little art and souvenir stands, so we did some shopping before heading to walk along the top of the city walls. The entire length of the walls is two kilometers, so we were walking along the top for over an hour! The views of the rooftops and the Adriatic Sea were gorgeous! The sun was starting to set towards the end of our walk, and the lighting of the Old Town was so picturesque; almost like a fairytale.

After walking the walls, we took a cablecar to the top the mountain so we could see the city from above. Again, our timing was perfect! We could see Old Town and Lokrum Island at dusk. Since this particular portion of Croatia is very narrow, we were able to see the mountain ranges of Bosnia and Herzegovina that were located on the other side of the valley from where we were located.

Looking over to Bosnia and Herzegovina

The next morning, we woke up early so we could ride the ferry over to Lokrum Island. We wanted to explore the island, since the previous day we had only kayaked around it. We made the first ferry over at 9:00am, so we were some of the only people on the island. We walked around the botanical garden, which had some ginormous plant species! Then we wandered through the old monastery (where they have filmed a few Game of Thrones scenes). We made our way over to see the Dead Sea cove, and climbed over the huge outcropping of rocks facing out to wide open sea. I could have easily spent a day on Lokrum Island, but since we had a plane to catch, we were sadly only there for an hour and a half.

Rock formations on Lokrum Island; photo credit Tina Cho

Dubrovnik is one of the prettiest places I have ever visited, and I had a fantastic time. I hope that one day I will be able to go back and have more than 48 hours to explore the city and surrounding islands. It is a weird feeling to leave a place and wonder when, if ever, you will be back. I was sad to leave, but I guess it means that I had a great time!

Walking the city walls of Dubrovnik!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighorhood

View from Petřín Observation Tower

Námestí Jirího z Podebrad

I live in the Vinohrady neighborhood of Prague. The neighborhood is home to a lot of expatriates, and is considered very trendy (almost like the Brooklyn of Prague). The square nearest to my house, Náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad, has a farmer’s market every Wednesday-Saturday and a church. I have also been trying some coffee places around my neighborhood. To order something “with milk” you would say “kavu s mlekem”. In theory you would think they would add at most a few tablespoons of milk or cream to your coffee. WRONG. Every time I have ordered anything with milk, it turns out to be a cup of warm/steamed milk with a faint hint of coffee, or as I like to call it, coffee flavored milk. Clearly, I will have to start foregoing any amount of milk whenever I order coffee.

Žižkov Television Tower

The Prague landmark the Žižkov Television Tower is also relatively close to my apartment. The tower is from the communist era, and yes, those are sculptures of giant babies crawling up and down the tower. Some Czechs are fans of the tower and others think that it ruins the Prague skyline; I, personally, do not care for the TV tower and think it makes for a jarring comparison between the old and the modern. I admit that in a way, it does make you appreciate the beauty of the colorful, historical buildings of Prague when compared with the space age TV Tower.

Petrín Oberservation Tower

I see London, I see France… just kidding! This past weekend I went to visit Petřín Hill, which houses Prague’s miniature version of the Eiffel Tower. Even though the Petřín Lookout Tower is smaller than the actual Eiffel Tower, since it sits atop a hill, it technically rises taller than the Eiffel Tower! The observation deck from the top of the tower gives a fantastic, 360 degree panorama of the city of Prague. Admittedly, after making our way up the hill, we couldn't stomach the idea of climbing the stairs all the way up the tower, so we paid a little extra to ride the elevator up. I also went to an exhibit that portrayed works of Alfons Mucha and Salvador Dalí. Mucha especially is a big deal here because he was born in the Czech Republic. There are many galleries and museums in Prague that showcase more of his works, including the massive Slav Epic pieces, that I have not seen, but am saving for a rainy day.

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.