Nicole and I got back to Prague earlier today, and it's really weird thinking that this is my last day here.
So this is the end of my blog :) It's kind of bittersweet. I'm so sad to be leaving Prague, but I cannot wait to see my family. I'll be home tomorrow!
Nashledanou, Praha. I will miss you, but I will be back!!!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Travel update
Rome was amazing, but we had a very busy day there! Still, we managed to get everything done, and we are very proud of ourselves for doing so :)
We started off by taking the metro from our hostel to the Colosseum. We took some good pictures outside, and then headed over to Palatine Hill and the Forum, where we bought a combination ticket for seeing those two and the inside of the Colosseum. Luckily, because we started our day off early, there wasn't even a line to get in. So we roamed around Palatine Hill and the Forum for a little while, and then made our way over to the Colosseum. Since we bought our tickets at the Forum, we actually got to just walk right in and skip the 2 hour waiting line for tickets to get in- score!! After that, we walked over to the Pantheon, saw the Trevi Fountain (and of course tossed a coin in over our shoulder), and then stopped from some delicious gelato. From there, we walked over to the Vatican, and toured the Vatican Museum, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel. That was definitely my favorite part of the day- I could have sat in the Sistine Chapel marveling at Michelangelo's paintings covering the interior all day long. And that was our day in Rome!
We caught a night train to Florence, and arrived there around 10pm. We walked to our hostel from the train station, and it was such a great way to get introduced to the city- there was hardly anyone out, so it was very quiet, and all the buildings were lit up beautifully! The next morning, we woke up and mainly just wandered around the city, looking at the Duomo, stopping and getting some tasty pasta and Italian red wine (only 1 euro for a giant glass!), and then we checked out the Academia and Uffizi galleries. Luckily, we thought ahead and reserved tickets to get in earlier that day for the two galleries, which did cost us a little extra, but we managed to secure a spot to get in on a very busy weekend. So we were really happy that we got to see two of the biggest sights in Florence! We saw Michelangelo's "David" at the Academia, and Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" at the Uffizi, along with TONS of amazing Renaissance art.
Our next day in Florence, we chose to take a day trip to Cinque Terre, which is a location on the coast of Italy made up of 5 very small towns that are all connected by hiking trails. It was a gorgeous day, and I'm so happy that we decided to take that trip because it ended up being my favorite place we visited while in Italy. Unfortunately, what should have taken us two hours at the most to get there, took us 5 hours because of a train strike with the national railway system. We didn't know about the strike until we had already arrived in Cinque Terre, which caused us some issues with transportations around the villages. We ended up having to spend a lot of money on taking ferries around some of the towns instead of using the free train system, which had been temporarily shut-down because of the strike. But, we didn't let it ruin our day. We hiked one of the toughest trails between the last two villages, got some great pictures of the views from the trail, and then ended it all by jumping into the Mediterranean in all of our clothes at a rock quarry at the end of the trail. What a great day!
We arrived to Venice on Monday evening, and basically just spent our time in the city getting lost- that really is the whole experience of Venice. It was really refreshing and eye-opening to be in a fairly popular city that has absolutely no car traffic. I knew that it was a canal city, but I never realized that that meant the all of their traffic was on boat! It was really cool to see that there were mail boats, "metro" boats, and even garbage boats. Venice was great, and the hostel we stayed in was really nice. They cooked 3-course dinners for us for only 5 euros, and then took everyone out for a few beers afterwards. We met some really great people and got to swap a lot of travel stories, so it was a lot of fun!
And now Nicole and I are in Split, Croatia! We have instantly fallen in love with this place. We came in on an overnight ferry and got here at 8am this morning. It's the off season for tourism here right now, so it's pretty empty all around the city. And our hostel is very empty, but it's so small so it worked our perfectly! There is only one other girl staying here right now, and we are going to go out to dinner with her tonight, so I'm really looking forward to that. It's so nice to be here for so many reasons- (a) we are on the Adriatic Sea and are seeing some of the beautiful coastline I have ever seen, (b) we just get to relax and lounge on the beach all day, everyday that we are here, and (c) we are no longer on the euro!! It's so great to be back on an exchange rate that doesn't completely drain our bank accounts, and we can actually afford things :)
We head out from Split on Sunday afternoon, and then go to Zagreb for one night, then Vienna for a night, and then back to Prague on Tuesday for one more day. I'm so sad that this trip is coming to an end, I really can't believe that I'm finally going to be coming home in less than a week! As sad as I am to be leaving Europe, I am getting so antsy to see everyone. I fly out next Wednesday!
We started off by taking the metro from our hostel to the Colosseum. We took some good pictures outside, and then headed over to Palatine Hill and the Forum, where we bought a combination ticket for seeing those two and the inside of the Colosseum. Luckily, because we started our day off early, there wasn't even a line to get in. So we roamed around Palatine Hill and the Forum for a little while, and then made our way over to the Colosseum. Since we bought our tickets at the Forum, we actually got to just walk right in and skip the 2 hour waiting line for tickets to get in- score!! After that, we walked over to the Pantheon, saw the Trevi Fountain (and of course tossed a coin in over our shoulder), and then stopped from some delicious gelato. From there, we walked over to the Vatican, and toured the Vatican Museum, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel. That was definitely my favorite part of the day- I could have sat in the Sistine Chapel marveling at Michelangelo's paintings covering the interior all day long. And that was our day in Rome!
We caught a night train to Florence, and arrived there around 10pm. We walked to our hostel from the train station, and it was such a great way to get introduced to the city- there was hardly anyone out, so it was very quiet, and all the buildings were lit up beautifully! The next morning, we woke up and mainly just wandered around the city, looking at the Duomo, stopping and getting some tasty pasta and Italian red wine (only 1 euro for a giant glass!), and then we checked out the Academia and Uffizi galleries. Luckily, we thought ahead and reserved tickets to get in earlier that day for the two galleries, which did cost us a little extra, but we managed to secure a spot to get in on a very busy weekend. So we were really happy that we got to see two of the biggest sights in Florence! We saw Michelangelo's "David" at the Academia, and Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" at the Uffizi, along with TONS of amazing Renaissance art.
Our next day in Florence, we chose to take a day trip to Cinque Terre, which is a location on the coast of Italy made up of 5 very small towns that are all connected by hiking trails. It was a gorgeous day, and I'm so happy that we decided to take that trip because it ended up being my favorite place we visited while in Italy. Unfortunately, what should have taken us two hours at the most to get there, took us 5 hours because of a train strike with the national railway system. We didn't know about the strike until we had already arrived in Cinque Terre, which caused us some issues with transportations around the villages. We ended up having to spend a lot of money on taking ferries around some of the towns instead of using the free train system, which had been temporarily shut-down because of the strike. But, we didn't let it ruin our day. We hiked one of the toughest trails between the last two villages, got some great pictures of the views from the trail, and then ended it all by jumping into the Mediterranean in all of our clothes at a rock quarry at the end of the trail. What a great day!
We arrived to Venice on Monday evening, and basically just spent our time in the city getting lost- that really is the whole experience of Venice. It was really refreshing and eye-opening to be in a fairly popular city that has absolutely no car traffic. I knew that it was a canal city, but I never realized that that meant the all of their traffic was on boat! It was really cool to see that there were mail boats, "metro" boats, and even garbage boats. Venice was great, and the hostel we stayed in was really nice. They cooked 3-course dinners for us for only 5 euros, and then took everyone out for a few beers afterwards. We met some really great people and got to swap a lot of travel stories, so it was a lot of fun!
And now Nicole and I are in Split, Croatia! We have instantly fallen in love with this place. We came in on an overnight ferry and got here at 8am this morning. It's the off season for tourism here right now, so it's pretty empty all around the city. And our hostel is very empty, but it's so small so it worked our perfectly! There is only one other girl staying here right now, and we are going to go out to dinner with her tonight, so I'm really looking forward to that. It's so nice to be here for so many reasons- (a) we are on the Adriatic Sea and are seeing some of the beautiful coastline I have ever seen, (b) we just get to relax and lounge on the beach all day, everyday that we are here, and (c) we are no longer on the euro!! It's so great to be back on an exchange rate that doesn't completely drain our bank accounts, and we can actually afford things :)
We head out from Split on Sunday afternoon, and then go to Zagreb for one night, then Vienna for a night, and then back to Prague on Tuesday for one more day. I'm so sad that this trip is coming to an end, I really can't believe that I'm finally going to be coming home in less than a week! As sad as I am to be leaving Europe, I am getting so antsy to see everyone. I fly out next Wednesday!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Traveling really does give you some interesting adventures!
Our overnight ferry from Barcelona to Rome definitely was interesting... Not all bad though!
We decided not to book a cabin because it would be too expensive. So, instead, we opted for the "pullman chair" option (basically just a recliner). Everything was just fine, 'til we were joined by 4 men who snored VERY loudly. And the seats didn't quite recline all the way. I ended up only getting about 2 hours of sleep total last night, but it was worth it to wake up this morning and see the beautiful blue Mediterranean outside our window!
Nicole and I arrived to Civitavicchia (a little port town about an hour outside of Rome) at about 7pm, and then caught a train into Roma Termini. It was a beautiful train ride, and I loved coming into the city at night when all of the old buildings were lit up :)
Unfortunately, we only knew how to get to our hostel by the metro, which we didn't know closed at 9pm. We got to the metro at 9:15. So, then we had to scramble around trying to find a bus that went to our stop- there are about 30 buses that stop at the train station. When we finally got onto our correct bus line, we went down a few stops and then discovered that we had been going the wrong direction. Oopsies! Luckily, a really nice local man helped us find the right stop going the right direction. After going about an hour out of our way, we finally arrived to our hostel, which is beautiful. It's in a really old apartment building and the people that work here are incredible. They recommended this delicious pizzeria to us right around the corner, where we got two large pizzas to fill our empty stomachs (we had only eaten a PB and banana sandwich before then at noon).
Sadly, we only have tomorrow to go exploring all of Rome. We are catching a train to Florence at 7:15, so it'll definitely be a busy day! I can't wait to see the city :)
We decided not to book a cabin because it would be too expensive. So, instead, we opted for the "pullman chair" option (basically just a recliner). Everything was just fine, 'til we were joined by 4 men who snored VERY loudly. And the seats didn't quite recline all the way. I ended up only getting about 2 hours of sleep total last night, but it was worth it to wake up this morning and see the beautiful blue Mediterranean outside our window!
Nicole and I arrived to Civitavicchia (a little port town about an hour outside of Rome) at about 7pm, and then caught a train into Roma Termini. It was a beautiful train ride, and I loved coming into the city at night when all of the old buildings were lit up :)
Unfortunately, we only knew how to get to our hostel by the metro, which we didn't know closed at 9pm. We got to the metro at 9:15. So, then we had to scramble around trying to find a bus that went to our stop- there are about 30 buses that stop at the train station. When we finally got onto our correct bus line, we went down a few stops and then discovered that we had been going the wrong direction. Oopsies! Luckily, a really nice local man helped us find the right stop going the right direction. After going about an hour out of our way, we finally arrived to our hostel, which is beautiful. It's in a really old apartment building and the people that work here are incredible. They recommended this delicious pizzeria to us right around the corner, where we got two large pizzas to fill our empty stomachs (we had only eaten a PB and banana sandwich before then at noon).
Sadly, we only have tomorrow to go exploring all of Rome. We are catching a train to Florence at 7:15, so it'll definitely be a busy day! I can't wait to see the city :)
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Gaudi, beach, and more sangria!
Barcelona has been so amazing! We've lucked out with some really great weather and have even gotten some good beach time in.
Our frist night here, we watched a local band play at the port on the beach and lots of dancing was done. We then went and ate some delicious seafood: lots of calamari and octopus, YUM. After that, we had some sangria on the beach, and enjoyed a nice late night stroll on the beach and through the city.
Yesterday, we walked around the gothic quarter of the city, where our hostel is located and discovered some really cute stores and restaurants. We also checked out La Boqueria, which is the main food market in dowtown Barcelona- they had everything from kiwi-coconut smoothies to fresh seafood. And then the rest of the day was mainly spent at the beach, which I didn't mind at all :)
Today, we spent all day checking out the Gaudi architecture around the city. Our first stop was La Sagrada Familia, which was started in the 1890s, and is still being constructed today! But it was really incredible, and the architecture was mind-blowing. We followed that up with two more Gadui builidings, and then headed off to Parc Guell, where Gaudi's home is located. He also took a big part in creating this park, so of course there were some really great sights to see in there. There was lots of live music throughout the park, too, which gave it and even more fun vibe to it!
Overall, I've had a busy but very relaxing and fun three days here. I have the day tomorrow, and then Nicole and I are taking our overnight ferry to Rome! I can't wait to start eating some gelato in Italy!!
Our frist night here, we watched a local band play at the port on the beach and lots of dancing was done. We then went and ate some delicious seafood: lots of calamari and octopus, YUM. After that, we had some sangria on the beach, and enjoyed a nice late night stroll on the beach and through the city.
Yesterday, we walked around the gothic quarter of the city, where our hostel is located and discovered some really cute stores and restaurants. We also checked out La Boqueria, which is the main food market in dowtown Barcelona- they had everything from kiwi-coconut smoothies to fresh seafood. And then the rest of the day was mainly spent at the beach, which I didn't mind at all :)
Today, we spent all day checking out the Gaudi architecture around the city. Our first stop was La Sagrada Familia, which was started in the 1890s, and is still being constructed today! But it was really incredible, and the architecture was mind-blowing. We followed that up with two more Gadui builidings, and then headed off to Parc Guell, where Gaudi's home is located. He also took a big part in creating this park, so of course there were some really great sights to see in there. There was lots of live music throughout the park, too, which gave it and even more fun vibe to it!
Overall, I've had a busy but very relaxing and fun three days here. I have the day tomorrow, and then Nicole and I are taking our overnight ferry to Rome! I can't wait to start eating some gelato in Italy!!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Mi corazon esta en Espana.
HOLA!
I cannot begin to describe my love for Spain, and I've only been here for three days!
Nicole and I arrived to Madrid with our friend Elly this past Thursday (the 12th) at about 3pm. We spent most of the first day just walking around the city aimlessly and gawking at all of the beautiful parks and buildings. I don't really know exactly what I was expecting from it, but Madrid was much more than I thought it would be! We also got our first taste of real, Spanish sangria- deliciosa! It might be one of my new favorite drinks... We also had some great tapas to go with it: stuffed red peppers with meat, gazpacho, green asparagus salad with almonds, cured ham with melted brie, and provoletta (melted provolone with oregano served with bread). Great first meal in Spain.
The next day, we took a free walking tour around the city, which started in the Plaza Mayor. It was a lot of fun, and we had the perfect weather for it- sunny and 75 degrees. We ate lunch at the Museo de Jamon for 2 euros, complete with a jamon y queso sandwich, cerveza, and a piece of fruit. When in Spain, eat a lot of ham because it is too good to pass up. For dinner, we had a calamari sandwich and cerveza at a restaurant in the Plaza Mayor that was good! And then, of course, we ended the night with some more sangria :)
Yesterday was our last full day in Madrid, so Nicole and I decided to end it with the two famous art museums there: Museo del Prado and the Reina Sofia. We had done about 10 or 11 hours of walking the day before, so we figured it was good timing to just stroll through some air conditioned buildings. At Museo del Prado, we saw some great Goya and Velazquez paintings, including "Las Meninas." It was really cool to see these paintings that I discussed in my AP Spanish class back in high school in real life. At the Reina Sofia, we saw some Dali and Picasso paintings, incuding "Guernica"- I never realized how huge that painting was! We also saw an exhibition by an artist form the 60s, Yayoi Kusama. Her art was so crazy, but really fun and diverse! If you get the chance, I highly recommend Googling her and checking out some of her stuff. After that, we went to the famous Chocolateria de Gines and at some tasty churros and melted chocolate. And then (surprise, surprise) followed it up with some sangria.
We just arrived to Barcelona about 2 hours ago and are going to do a little exploring, but have a lot planned for tomorrow. So, I definitely plan on getting a lot of rest later tonight. Hasta luego!
I cannot begin to describe my love for Spain, and I've only been here for three days!
Nicole and I arrived to Madrid with our friend Elly this past Thursday (the 12th) at about 3pm. We spent most of the first day just walking around the city aimlessly and gawking at all of the beautiful parks and buildings. I don't really know exactly what I was expecting from it, but Madrid was much more than I thought it would be! We also got our first taste of real, Spanish sangria- deliciosa! It might be one of my new favorite drinks... We also had some great tapas to go with it: stuffed red peppers with meat, gazpacho, green asparagus salad with almonds, cured ham with melted brie, and provoletta (melted provolone with oregano served with bread). Great first meal in Spain.
The next day, we took a free walking tour around the city, which started in the Plaza Mayor. It was a lot of fun, and we had the perfect weather for it- sunny and 75 degrees. We ate lunch at the Museo de Jamon for 2 euros, complete with a jamon y queso sandwich, cerveza, and a piece of fruit. When in Spain, eat a lot of ham because it is too good to pass up. For dinner, we had a calamari sandwich and cerveza at a restaurant in the Plaza Mayor that was good! And then, of course, we ended the night with some more sangria :)
Yesterday was our last full day in Madrid, so Nicole and I decided to end it with the two famous art museums there: Museo del Prado and the Reina Sofia. We had done about 10 or 11 hours of walking the day before, so we figured it was good timing to just stroll through some air conditioned buildings. At Museo del Prado, we saw some great Goya and Velazquez paintings, including "Las Meninas." It was really cool to see these paintings that I discussed in my AP Spanish class back in high school in real life. At the Reina Sofia, we saw some Dali and Picasso paintings, incuding "Guernica"- I never realized how huge that painting was! We also saw an exhibition by an artist form the 60s, Yayoi Kusama. Her art was so crazy, but really fun and diverse! If you get the chance, I highly recommend Googling her and checking out some of her stuff. After that, we went to the famous Chocolateria de Gines and at some tasty churros and melted chocolate. And then (surprise, surprise) followed it up with some sangria.
We just arrived to Barcelona about 2 hours ago and are going to do a little exploring, but have a lot planned for tomorrow. So, I definitely plan on getting a lot of rest later tonight. Hasta luego!
Monday, May 9, 2011
End of the semester
Well, my semester in Prague has unfortunately come to an end :(
Mostly everybody from my program has left and gone back to the states. And it's so weird being here with just 4 other people, after being with 40 others for three months! We had a "final dinner" with all the students and professors this past Friday night, and it was so great. The dinner started off with the fashion studios putting on a show to display our costumes and cocktail dresses. My studio had to put on a small play for everyone, in order to show off our costumes, and it was pretty interesting. We wrote the play two days prior and had one, 5 minute rehearsal. So, needless to say, we weren't very prepared for it. But, it ended up being pretty fun, and everyone seemed to enjoy it!
After our play, we showed off our cocktail dresses, and I have to say that I am very proud of mine. I don't have a picture of the full dress yet, but I will try to get some soon. In the meantime, here is part of the dress:
Overall, it was a great way to have a goodbye party with everyone.
For the rest of the week, Nicole and I are just going to finish up our plans for the trip we start on Thursday. Our friend, Elly, is going to be joining us in Madrid and Barcelona, and I know it's going to be a lot of fun. Now that everyone has started to leave, I am really getting antsy about starting to travel! I can't wait!
I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!!!
Mostly everybody from my program has left and gone back to the states. And it's so weird being here with just 4 other people, after being with 40 others for three months! We had a "final dinner" with all the students and professors this past Friday night, and it was so great. The dinner started off with the fashion studios putting on a show to display our costumes and cocktail dresses. My studio had to put on a small play for everyone, in order to show off our costumes, and it was pretty interesting. We wrote the play two days prior and had one, 5 minute rehearsal. So, needless to say, we weren't very prepared for it. But, it ended up being pretty fun, and everyone seemed to enjoy it!
After our play, we showed off our cocktail dresses, and I have to say that I am very proud of mine. I don't have a picture of the full dress yet, but I will try to get some soon. In the meantime, here is part of the dress:
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| Me and my friend, Xiaodan! |
For the rest of the week, Nicole and I are just going to finish up our plans for the trip we start on Thursday. Our friend, Elly, is going to be joining us in Madrid and Barcelona, and I know it's going to be a lot of fun. Now that everyone has started to leave, I am really getting antsy about starting to travel! I can't wait!
I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!!!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
So it's been a little while... so here's my update!
Last weekend, I went to Český Krumlov with the program, and it was a lot of fun!!
We left on Friday morning, and made a few pit stops along the way, the first being to the Hluboka castle in South Bohemia. It's really crazy to walk through a building that was built 800 years ago- the architecture and the artwork that's within this castle is amazing! Sadly, I wasn't able to take any pictures of the inside of the castle, but I did get one of the outside!
After that, we went to the Budweiser Budvar brewing factory, and got to see how the original Budweiser is made. Did you know that Anheuser-Busch actually stole the Budweiser name? They can't beat the taste, though, of the Czech Budweiser- we got free samples of some freshly brewed beer and it was delicious. I've had plenty of bottled Budweiser Budvar since I've been here, but it never tasted so good as it did when we got at the brewing factory! And, they also gave us the great news that it is actually sold in the US! But, it's under the name "Czechvar" so it isn't confused with the American Budweiser. I'll definitely be buying some of that when I get back home... well, when I'm actually legal to drink again in September. :(
We got to Český Krumlov that afternoon, and it was such a sweet little town. We stayed in a really cute little hostel right by the river, and right outside of the Town Square. After we arrived there on Friday, we mainly just walked around the town a bit, and then rested for the remainder of the day. Saturday, we went horseback riding, and it was my first time ever so I was a little nervous. But, I had so much fun! We went on an hour long horseback ride through some fields outside of the city, and it was so beautiful. I definitely want to try horseback riding again, I really loved it! Later that night, we all got some really delicious dinner, and enjoyed some good beers on the river. It was such a relaxing, and fun weekend.
Český Krumlov is such a cute little town, I really wish I had the chance to go back there! But I've got a lot of other places ahead. In fact, Nicole and I finalized all of our plans for the 3 weeks we'll be traveling after the program is over! We've gotten train tickets and booked our hostels, so now we are all set. Here's the plan:
Fly into Madrid on May 12th, go to Barcelona on the 15th, take an overnight ferry to Rome on the 18th, leave Rome for Florence on the 20th, go to Venice on the 23rd, stop in Ancona to pick up a ferry to Split on the 25th, go to Zagreb on the 29th, then Vienna on the 30th, and back to Prague on the 31st. And then I fly out the morning of June 1st. It's going to be a very busy 3 weeks, but I can't wait!!
Right now, my friends Christine and Leigha are visiting from Paris, and it's really nice having them here. I love doing the sightseeing over again when people come here to visit. But right now, it's really crazy in the Prague! Easter is a huge holiday here, and there are sooooo many tourists right now. You can barely move through some parts in the city. So I'm taking them through the touristy spots very quickly, and then spending more time showing them the nicer spots of the city.
So that's all that is really going on with me right now! We're working on our last project for studio (making a cocktail dress), so I'll try to post some pictures up when I get some more work done on it!
Last weekend, I went to Český Krumlov with the program, and it was a lot of fun!!
We left on Friday morning, and made a few pit stops along the way, the first being to the Hluboka castle in South Bohemia. It's really crazy to walk through a building that was built 800 years ago- the architecture and the artwork that's within this castle is amazing! Sadly, I wasn't able to take any pictures of the inside of the castle, but I did get one of the outside!
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| Front of the castle from the gardens |
We got to Český Krumlov that afternoon, and it was such a sweet little town. We stayed in a really cute little hostel right by the river, and right outside of the Town Square. After we arrived there on Friday, we mainly just walked around the town a bit, and then rested for the remainder of the day. Saturday, we went horseback riding, and it was my first time ever so I was a little nervous. But, I had so much fun! We went on an hour long horseback ride through some fields outside of the city, and it was so beautiful. I definitely want to try horseback riding again, I really loved it! Later that night, we all got some really delicious dinner, and enjoyed some good beers on the river. It was such a relaxing, and fun weekend.
Český Krumlov is such a cute little town, I really wish I had the chance to go back there! But I've got a lot of other places ahead. In fact, Nicole and I finalized all of our plans for the 3 weeks we'll be traveling after the program is over! We've gotten train tickets and booked our hostels, so now we are all set. Here's the plan:
Fly into Madrid on May 12th, go to Barcelona on the 15th, take an overnight ferry to Rome on the 18th, leave Rome for Florence on the 20th, go to Venice on the 23rd, stop in Ancona to pick up a ferry to Split on the 25th, go to Zagreb on the 29th, then Vienna on the 30th, and back to Prague on the 31st. And then I fly out the morning of June 1st. It's going to be a very busy 3 weeks, but I can't wait!!
Right now, my friends Christine and Leigha are visiting from Paris, and it's really nice having them here. I love doing the sightseeing over again when people come here to visit. But right now, it's really crazy in the Prague! Easter is a huge holiday here, and there are sooooo many tourists right now. You can barely move through some parts in the city. So I'm taking them through the touristy spots very quickly, and then spending more time showing them the nicer spots of the city.
So that's all that is really going on with me right now! We're working on our last project for studio (making a cocktail dress), so I'll try to post some pictures up when I get some more work done on it!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Pictures are in!!
... And if I do say so myself, they look AWESOME.
These are the ones that will be sent off for the Art to Wear pre-show slideshow. I'm so excited! If you click on them, the pictures will expand, and you can see more details on the jacket :)
My friend Brooke is in town this week with some of her friends that she is studying abroad with in Swansea. I played tour guide for them on Tuesday, and it was so much fun! It's really great to have her here in town, and I'm glad that she is getting the chance to experience Prague while we are having such great weather. We walked over the Charles Bridge, through Mala Strana to see the Lennon Wall, andup Petrin Hill to see the castle and castle gardens. It's so beautiful here now that everything is in bloom!
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| View of the castle from the gardens. So pretty! |
Yesterday, I went to a beer garden with some girls from class up on Vysehrad, and it was great. It was a wonderful 70 degrees outside, and we were able to sit at a table on the edge of the hill to get a great look over the city, while drinking some really great Czech beer.
And today, I went back up Petrin Hill with some friends to sit and sketch for a while. I have been trying to get out as much as possible here since my work load has finally slowed down a little bit, and so I can enjoy this great weather as much as possible! My love for this city grows more and more each day I'm here, and I can't believe that my semester is almost over :(
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
"Say yes to freedom, peace, dignity and respect for all."
(A quote from a mural at the East Side Gallery...)
I went to Berlin this past weekend, and I had such a great time! I really didn't expect to love Berlin as much as I did. I went on this trip with the landscape architect students, along with 10 other girls from the fashion studios, on Thursday morning and arrived there in the afternoon. We started the day off with exploring the city a little bit, going to the Holocaust Memorial, which was really interesting. You walk around the corner from the Brandenburg Gate and come across this area filled with giant concrete blocks, or as some others call it "a field of stelae." What it basically looks like is a giant concrete maze, with blocks of varying heights. That night, some of us went over to the Turkish Quarter of the city and grabbed some awesome food- a gyro platter with homemade salad and lots and lots of chicken, falafel, pita, and tabouli for only 5 euros. The owner even gave us some dessert tea for free after we finished our meal!
Friday, we went out to the Berlin Wall Memorial, which was really incredible. It's located in the middle section of the former border, and is in memory of the city’s division from the years the wall stood, and of the victims of communist tyranny. There are parts of the wall that are still preserved, as a reminder of what used to exist here, that are covered in graffiti. And across the street from the memorial is a "documentation center," where you can go up on an elevated platform and overlook a preserved area of the Berlin Wall, showing how it used to be back when the wall stood, including a watchtower and the "no man's land" zone separating East and West Berlin. It was really weird to see what used to be there.
After visiting the Berlin Wall Memorial, we hopped on the train and took a visit to Potsdam, which is so cute! We grabbed some lunch and walked around to look at some shops, and then went through a few parks. It was a really relaxing day, and we were lucky to have lots of sunshine and a 65 degree temperature outside.
Saturday, a few of the girls and myself went to the East Side Gallery, which is a strip of the Berlin Wall that is covered in murals (around 100 of them!) from artists all around the world. It was beautiful and really cool. We actually split off from the main group to see this sight, instead of going to some museums. And I'm really glad we did, because it is definitely something I would have been really bummed to have missed out on seeing. I took a TON of pictures of it, so check them out on my online album for Berlin :)
Sunday, we only had a little bit of time, so we went over to Museum Island and strolled around for a little bit. We happened upon this really cool street market and walked through that for a little while. There were some local artists out selling some great paintings, handmade jewelry and clothes, and then lots of people selling antiques, too! It actually made me miss the Raleigh Flea Market a little bit. After that, we went to this restaurant right around the corner from the hostel that we had all been wanting to go to since we saw it for the first time- it was a big outdoor restaurant/cafe with swinging basket chairs and REALLY tasty food. I was really happy that I got to eat lunch there right before we had to leave. I grabbed myself a tomato, basil, fresh mozzarella, with homemade pesto sandwich along with a glass of white wine. It sooooo good! It was the perfect way to end my trip in Berlin, especially since I got to enjoy my delicious meal outside in the 70 degree weather!
We got back to Prague at about 8 pm on Sunday night, and were very pleased to see that a lot of trees and flowers had started to bloom in the short 4 days we were gone. It was a very nice "welcome home" surprise to see springtime approaching! I was sad to leave Berlin, but it was also nice to come back to a beautiful city in bloom :)
And good news: I finished my costume! I took some pictures today for the Art To Wear fashion show back at NCSU for their pre-show, so I'll try and get my hands on some of the pictures to post up here later. I do, however, have some pictures from the photoshoot we did last with Robert Vano of my jacket for my costume...
I'm so happy with it! I can't wait to see how the pictures we took today turned out!
I went to Berlin this past weekend, and I had such a great time! I really didn't expect to love Berlin as much as I did. I went on this trip with the landscape architect students, along with 10 other girls from the fashion studios, on Thursday morning and arrived there in the afternoon. We started the day off with exploring the city a little bit, going to the Holocaust Memorial, which was really interesting. You walk around the corner from the Brandenburg Gate and come across this area filled with giant concrete blocks, or as some others call it "a field of stelae." What it basically looks like is a giant concrete maze, with blocks of varying heights. That night, some of us went over to the Turkish Quarter of the city and grabbed some awesome food- a gyro platter with homemade salad and lots and lots of chicken, falafel, pita, and tabouli for only 5 euros. The owner even gave us some dessert tea for free after we finished our meal!
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| Holocaust Memorial |
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| View of the "original" wall from the documentation center |
Saturday, a few of the girls and myself went to the East Side Gallery, which is a strip of the Berlin Wall that is covered in murals (around 100 of them!) from artists all around the world. It was beautiful and really cool. We actually split off from the main group to see this sight, instead of going to some museums. And I'm really glad we did, because it is definitely something I would have been really bummed to have missed out on seeing. I took a TON of pictures of it, so check them out on my online album for Berlin :)
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| So cool! |
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| Having fun in the basket swing |
And good news: I finished my costume! I took some pictures today for the Art To Wear fashion show back at NCSU for their pre-show, so I'll try and get my hands on some of the pictures to post up here later. I do, however, have some pictures from the photoshoot we did last with Robert Vano of my jacket for my costume...
I'm so happy with it! I can't wait to see how the pictures we took today turned out!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
"Let's get you photographed!"
Today, we had a special visitor, and it was very exciting! Robert Vano, a very successful and well-known Czech photographer, came and gave us a little presentation on fashion photography. He has worked for Elle, Harper's Bazaar, shot editorials for Vogue, and many other famous fashion magazines. Right now, he's here giving us tips on how to take good pictures of our costumes we are working on so we can send in some photos for the Art-to-Wear pre-show at NC State. Now, all I need to do is actually finish my costume before I go to Berlin this weekend! But so far, things are turning out really well:
I've got the coat ALMOST finished (all I have left is the lining), pants are ALMOST done, and my top hat is ALMOST done. So I guess I'm almost there... I'll post some pictures later today :)
Tomorrow, we are working with the photography students in the program on a little fashion shoot with Robert Vano, and I can't wait. The fashion students get to be models for the day, and we're even having make-up artists come in! It's really awesome to be having a really experienced professional giving us great advice and insider tips on "the business." So if I can get my hands on some pictures, I'll be sure to post one on here!
I've got the coat ALMOST finished (all I have left is the lining), pants are ALMOST done, and my top hat is ALMOST done. So I guess I'm almost there... I'll post some pictures later today :)
Tomorrow, we are working with the photography students in the program on a little fashion shoot with Robert Vano, and I can't wait. The fashion students get to be models for the day, and we're even having make-up artists come in! It's really awesome to be having a really experienced professional giving us great advice and insider tips on "the business." So if I can get my hands on some pictures, I'll be sure to post one on here!
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| A photograph from Robert Vano's The Platinum Collection |
Friday, March 25, 2011
Busy bee
Today was so great- it's a day that I will ever forget!
A group of us went to a bee institute about 30 minutes outside of Prague (in a very small town, Dol) to see how bees behave, produce honey, wax, etc. It was really interesting, and I definitely enjoyed the free samples of honey we got :)
We left Prague at about 10am, and rolled through the countryside by train over to Dol- it was a gorgeous train ride along the Vltava River, and I got some pretty good pictures, which you can see on my online photo album!
When we arrived to the institute, we started right off by going up to see the hives. I will admit, I was a little bit nervous because I didn't want to be stung and attacked by thousands of bees (after all, we were about to go approach the homes of almost 1 million bees). But we were reassured by our guide that everything would be okay, as long as we stayed calm and didn't get "aggressive" with the bees. And it actually turned out to be a lot of fun! We were able to see up close how bees produce honey, feed on honey, the eggs they produce in the honeycombs, and even seeing bees "hatching" from the honeycombs. It was amazing! I even got to hold some of the honeycombs, and pet the bees.
After that, we got to eat lunch, complete with bread and lots of different flavors of honey! There were so many different types: sunflower, lime, buckwheat, honeydew honey, and others that I can't remember. My favorite was the sunflower honey :) We also got a taste of honey wine. Honey wine is VERY strong, as in 18% strong... so we only had very small glasses to try. It was good, but it kind of reminded me of Robitussin cough medicine. Maybe it's an acquired taste. In addition to all these delicious honey treats, we also tried honey chocolate. That was by far my favorite thing I ate today, maybe even on this entire trip. I bought a bar to bring home with me, but I ended up eating it on the train back to Prague- oopsies.
The rest of the weekend, I plan on spending in the studio to get some good work done on my costume. Wish me luck!! I'm going to be very busy trying to get this done within the next week!
A group of us went to a bee institute about 30 minutes outside of Prague (in a very small town, Dol) to see how bees behave, produce honey, wax, etc. It was really interesting, and I definitely enjoyed the free samples of honey we got :)
We left Prague at about 10am, and rolled through the countryside by train over to Dol- it was a gorgeous train ride along the Vltava River, and I got some pretty good pictures, which you can see on my online photo album!
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| Looky looky! |
The rest of the weekend, I plan on spending in the studio to get some good work done on my costume. Wish me luck!! I'm going to be very busy trying to get this done within the next week!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
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| Making progress! |
Not a whole lot has happened this week, besides working in studio and going to class. I did get a 100 on a test in my Czech Language class, which I was really surprised by. But it's nice to know that I'm actually not half bad at speaking and understanding Czech. I still feel really confused when I attempt talking with the locals, but I'm learning at least!
Tomorrow, we are taking a trip to a bee farm to see how honey is made, and also get FREE HONEY! Homemade honey, for free- I couldn't ask for anything better. It's going to be a perfect day for it, too, with sun sun sun and 65 degrees! So excited!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Here comes the sun!
It was a pretty dreary week for weather, but it has finally started to clear up today! And it looks like the weather is going to be pretty nice the rest of the week- high 40s to low 50s and sunny everyday :) That always sounds good to me.
Not a whole lot happened this week, just finished up some sketches for my costume design so I can go buy fabric for it on Monday! I promise that I will actually put some pictures up of the process, instead of just continually saying that. I'm hoping to get a lot done this coming week on my costume, so hopefully there will be some good progress to show is some blog posts later...
Yesterday, the fashion studios had a day trip to a little town called Jablonec in northern Bohemia, about an hour and a half outside of Prague. The town is mainly known for it's production of glass and jewelry, hence the whole reason we went there. We went there to get beads for decorations on our costumes, and I got some really pretty black glass beads that are very sparkly, so I'm excited to see how it'll turn out on top of white fabric- hopefully it will stand out well! Unfortunately, it was a terrible day to see the town. Because it's up on the mountains of the Czech Republic, Jablonec tends to be about 15 degrees colder than it is Prague. It was 35, and raining/snowing ALL day long. Not the best walking weather.
It was still a really fun day, despite the weather. We also got the chance to go to a well-known and very successful producer of cut crystal, Preciosa. They're mainly known for producing beads and fashion jewelry, but also make chandeliers and art pieces- they've actually done a lot of work for casinos in Las Vegas, which I thought was really cool! They even gave us a free pair of crystal earrings for visiting their headquarters. Score!
Tonight, most of us are going out to a masquerade-themed dance to celebrate some birthdays from earlier in the week. It should be a lot of fun, and I'm all set with my gold sparkly mask!
Not a whole lot happened this week, just finished up some sketches for my costume design so I can go buy fabric for it on Monday! I promise that I will actually put some pictures up of the process, instead of just continually saying that. I'm hoping to get a lot done this coming week on my costume, so hopefully there will be some good progress to show is some blog posts later...
Yesterday, the fashion studios had a day trip to a little town called Jablonec in northern Bohemia, about an hour and a half outside of Prague. The town is mainly known for it's production of glass and jewelry, hence the whole reason we went there. We went there to get beads for decorations on our costumes, and I got some really pretty black glass beads that are very sparkly, so I'm excited to see how it'll turn out on top of white fabric- hopefully it will stand out well! Unfortunately, it was a terrible day to see the town. Because it's up on the mountains of the Czech Republic, Jablonec tends to be about 15 degrees colder than it is Prague. It was 35, and raining/snowing ALL day long. Not the best walking weather.
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| Crystal art sculpture in the lobby of Preciosa headquarters- so pretty! |
Sunday, March 13, 2011
The time has come...
... for spring break to end :(
I had a really great break from school, and I'm sad for it to be over. My mom and Tony left early Friday morning, and I miss them so much already! We had a lot of fun together, and I'm really glad that I got the chance to show them around this amazing city, and that they enjoyed it so much.
On Wednesday, I took them up Petrin Hill and to the Observation Tower, so I could show off the breathtaking view of this gorgeous city. From there, we went to the Strahov Monestary where they brew their own beer- had a good lunch of Sv. Norbert beer with beer-onion soup, YUM! And because it was such a nice day outside (50 degrees!), we decided to walk down the hill to drop by the castle grounds and walk around for a little while. At night, we happened upon a little festival in the middle of Old Town Square, complete with ham and sausage stands, a folk band, and trdelnik stands! Trdelniks are a traditional Slavic pastry made from rolled dough, wrapped around a stick, which is then grilled and covered in a glaze and a sugar-walnut mix. Needless to say, we ate some delicious food. We ended the night drinking some good beer, and having good family bonding time- to describe the night, I'll quote Tony: "Czech beer is so good, ya can't just stop at one!" and "It isn't a party at the Maxwell/Kings without dancing!" :)
Thursday, we took a quick train ride to Kutna Hora. The day started off very dreary and gloomy, so it was the perfect time to make a trip to the eerie old Bone Church. It was something that I couldn't let Mommy and Tony miss out on, since they had flown all the way out here! Upon our return to Prague, we were pleased to see the sun start to peek from the overcast skies. As the day went on, the weather continued to get much better, so we just walked around the city for the remainder of the day. Overall, it was a pretty busy week, but still lots of fun and relaxing at the same time.
I spent the rest of the weekend enjoying the quiet time back at the pension by reading, watching some movies, and taking some nice walks by myself through some parks around the city. I was also very productive and finally did some laundry!
I had a really great break from school, and I'm sad for it to be over. My mom and Tony left early Friday morning, and I miss them so much already! We had a lot of fun together, and I'm really glad that I got the chance to show them around this amazing city, and that they enjoyed it so much.
On Wednesday, I took them up Petrin Hill and to the Observation Tower, so I could show off the breathtaking view of this gorgeous city. From there, we went to the Strahov Monestary where they brew their own beer- had a good lunch of Sv. Norbert beer with beer-onion soup, YUM! And because it was such a nice day outside (50 degrees!), we decided to walk down the hill to drop by the castle grounds and walk around for a little while. At night, we happened upon a little festival in the middle of Old Town Square, complete with ham and sausage stands, a folk band, and trdelnik stands! Trdelniks are a traditional Slavic pastry made from rolled dough, wrapped around a stick, which is then grilled and covered in a glaze and a sugar-walnut mix. Needless to say, we ate some delicious food. We ended the night drinking some good beer, and having good family bonding time- to describe the night, I'll quote Tony: "Czech beer is so good, ya can't just stop at one!" and "It isn't a party at the Maxwell/Kings without dancing!" :)
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| See what I mean? And, yes, that is a bowl on top of my head... |
I spent the rest of the weekend enjoying the quiet time back at the pension by reading, watching some movies, and taking some nice walks by myself through some parks around the city. I was also very productive and finally did some laundry!
Oh, and some news: I had a Skype interview with Nordstrom in San Francisco about a summer internship! It seemed to go really well, and I should be hearing back from them within the next few weeks. So, keep your fingers crossed for me- I really hope that I get it!
So that's all I have going on at the moment. As sad as I am that break is over, I am pretty excited to get back into the studio to start work on our insect costume project! If I get some good things accomplished this week, I'll be sure to post some pictures to keep you all posted on the process.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Back in Praha... with visitors!
Paris was awesome! I was able to cram in a lot in two (very short) days.
Friday, I started my day off with eating the best croissant and baguette I've ever had in my life. I wish I could've taken a million of them back with me to Prague. After breakfast, I headed over with the group to the Paris Sur Mode Atelier and Atmosphere trade shows. Basically, we just walked around and saw a bunch of different designers new collections for the spring- the show was intended for buyers, and not really for students. But, it was still a really great experience and it was definitely motivating to see several independent designers work and how they started up their business. From there, I started my sightseeing for the day! I walked over to Notre Dame, went to an amazing crepe stand in the Latin Quarter, and then to the Eiffel Tower to meet up with my friend Christine! It was so great to see her, and I'm really glad that I got the chance to gallivant around Paris with her, it was a nice reunion :)
I also went up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe to get a beautiful view of the city.
I ended Friday night with a visit to the Louvre, and I never knew how big the museum actually was! It was overwhelming how much art was in there, and I got the chance to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo- very cool.
Saturday, I went and revisited some of the same sights I saw Friday, and also made a stop at the Luxembourg Gardens. It was really nice outside that day, so I had a picnic in the gardens with Christine and Nicole, complete with baguette paninis and delicious raspberry tarts. It was a great way to end the weekend in Paris. I've posted pics from Paris on my online photo album, so check 'em out!
So, now I'm back in Prague, and I have to say that I'm very glad to be back "home." Mainly because I came back with visitors! My mom and Tony came to visit for the week, and so far we've gotten a lot done. Yesterday, we went through Old Town, New Town and Wenceslas Square, over to the Charles Bridge, and up to the Letna Gardens. I love having them here, and it's been nice being the guide around town.
Today we're heading up Petrin Hill. I can't wait for them to see the view from the Observation Tower, especially since it's supposed to be a gorgeous day- sunny and clear skies with a temp of 50 degrees. It should be a great day!
Friday, I started my day off with eating the best croissant and baguette I've ever had in my life. I wish I could've taken a million of them back with me to Prague. After breakfast, I headed over with the group to the Paris Sur Mode Atelier and Atmosphere trade shows. Basically, we just walked around and saw a bunch of different designers new collections for the spring- the show was intended for buyers, and not really for students. But, it was still a really great experience and it was definitely motivating to see several independent designers work and how they started up their business. From there, I started my sightseeing for the day! I walked over to Notre Dame, went to an amazing crepe stand in the Latin Quarter, and then to the Eiffel Tower to meet up with my friend Christine! It was so great to see her, and I'm really glad that I got the chance to gallivant around Paris with her, it was a nice reunion :)
I also went up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe to get a beautiful view of the city.
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| Nicole, Me, and Christine on top of the Arc de Triomphe |
Saturday, I went and revisited some of the same sights I saw Friday, and also made a stop at the Luxembourg Gardens. It was really nice outside that day, so I had a picnic in the gardens with Christine and Nicole, complete with baguette paninis and delicious raspberry tarts. It was a great way to end the weekend in Paris. I've posted pics from Paris on my online photo album, so check 'em out!
So, now I'm back in Prague, and I have to say that I'm very glad to be back "home." Mainly because I came back with visitors! My mom and Tony came to visit for the week, and so far we've gotten a lot done. Yesterday, we went through Old Town, New Town and Wenceslas Square, over to the Charles Bridge, and up to the Letna Gardens. I love having them here, and it's been nice being the guide around town.
Today we're heading up Petrin Hill. I can't wait for them to see the view from the Observation Tower, especially since it's supposed to be a gorgeous day- sunny and clear skies with a temp of 50 degrees. It should be a great day!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Un, deux, trois... Off to Paris!
I'm about to head out to the airport to go Paris for the weekend, and I am so excited!! Our flight leaves at about 8:30 tonight, but I'm giving myself PLENTY of time to get myself over to the airport. It's on the very outside part of the city here, and it takes a least an hour to get out there on the tram. But, we have to change trams at least twice, and then hop on a bus, and knowing myself I'll probably get lost at least once...
The only thing I'm nervous about upon arriving in Paris is figuring out the metro there. It looks crazy!
I've gotten pretty spoiled with the very basic public transportation system in Prague. There are only three different metro lines in Prague, compared to the three billion lines in Paris! I'm ready for the challenge.
My plans for tomorrow are as follows:
-Wake up, eat breakfast
-Paris Sur Mode (a fashion tradeshow and exhibition for Paris Fashion Week)
-SIGHTSEEING!
Be expecting some pictures up within the next couple of days! Au revoir!
The only thing I'm nervous about upon arriving in Paris is figuring out the metro there. It looks crazy!
My plans for tomorrow are as follows:
-Wake up, eat breakfast
-Paris Sur Mode (a fashion tradeshow and exhibition for Paris Fashion Week)
-SIGHTSEEING!
Be expecting some pictures up within the next couple of days! Au revoir!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
"Everywhere you look, a story can be told"
I spent all of today walking around the city, and it was the perfect way to spend the day. My roommate, Jenny, and I woke up early, grabbed some breakfast at the pension, and headed out at 10:30am to start our productive exploration day. We really lucked out with the weather today- 37 degrees and not a cloud in the sky!
We started off by taking the tram to Ujezd Street, to make our way towards Petřín Hill. On our way over, we came across this sculpture:
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| "The Disappearer" |
These statues are of a man walking down a set of stairs, and are supposed to represent the negative effects of Communism on the people of the Czech Republic. This was one of the things that I was looking to check off of my "czech list" so I'm really glad that I got to see it. From there, we took another tram up to the top of Petřín Hill to visit the observation tower, which is just like a mini version of the Eiffel Tower. The view from the top of the tower was breathtaking- you get a 360° view of the entire city, and it's definitely worth the 50 kronas it cost to see it. The city is so colorful from a sky view, and I didn't realize until then how much more of it I have to see!
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| Jenny and Me, on the observation tower |
For lunch, we were lucky enough to come across a small Czech BBQ-type festival happening on Petřín Hill, complete with whole roasting pigs and Czech sausages sizzling on the grill. So, of course, I had to get a sausage, and it was SO GOOD! After that, we walked all the way down the hill to check out Cafe Savoy to try some of their famous (and expensive) hot chocolate. It tasted just like a melted candy bar, and it was so delicious! We then ended our day walking over to the Charles Bridge to watch the sun begin to set. I'm going to have to make that part of my weekly routine, because seeing the sun set on the river is just too gorgeous to pass up.
An even better part of my day was getting to Skype with a lot of my family back home tonight! I'm sad that I'm missing out on Momu's birthday celebration with everyone, but I'm so happy that I got the chance to talk to everybody and catch up :)
Friday, February 25, 2011
Friday, already?
This week has flown by so quickly, and I can't believe it's already the weekend. Some people went to Krakow this weekend, last minute trip, but I decided to hang back in Prague and do a little more exploring. I've still got a whole "czech list" of places that I want to visit and restaurants I want to eat at! Plus, I figured that I should save my cash for when I go to Paris next weekend with the program. I'm so excited to be going, and I might even get the chance to see my friend, Christine, who is studying abroad there right now. I've already started scoping out some little crepe stands and coffee shops that I want to check out while I'm there.
As far as this week goes, not a whole lot happened. Tuesday was National Margarita Day back in the US, so I went out after dinner with some people to grab a few drinks, of course getting one margarita. Wednesday, I went to go see The Magic Flute at the Estates Theater with some people from my studio and I really enjoyed it! This opera was much better, in my opinion, than Cosi Fan Tutte. It was really funny, the music was incredible, and the costumes and set design were so great! Thursday, I was in class all day and then I ended the day going out to dinner with a bunch of people from the program. One of the landscape architecture professors and one of the grad students are returning to the US today, so we all decided to go out and have one last celebration with them. We ate at this little Czech restaurant, U medvídků, which had some of the best goulash and beer cheese that I have ever tasted. I was stuffed to the point that my pants unzipped themselves when I sat down- I was practically busting out of my jeans because of all the food and beer I consumed. I guess it's time to go shop for some bigger pants!
My plan for the day is to go walk around a little bit, and maybe check out the Communism Museum. It's a gorgeous day here- FINALLY a temperature above 32 degrees, and lots of sunshine! And from the forecast this morning, it looks like the weather is only going to get better, with temperatures going up to almost 40 degrees and sunshine everyday :)
Oh, and I finally finished my beret, so now I'm fully ready to go to Paris.
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| Is it glamorous enough for me to blend in with the Parisians? |
Monday, February 21, 2011
"Miluji Praha!"
(that means "I love Prague!" Just trying to practice...)
This weekend was really nice! It was weird having half the group gone, but at the same time it was great having a lot of space and quiet time. Friday night, I went out with some of the people that didn't go to Vienna to a bar down the street from the pension and hung out for a little bit- overall, a pretty easy-going night. Saturday, I planned on walking around the city a lot, just to explore, but I ended up not being able to tolerate the 30 degree temp outside. So, I only made it to the Charles Bridge and then headed back to the pension to finish my book and snack all day long.
Sunday, however, was a much more productive day! It was still pretty chilly out (about 32 degrees), but I decided to tough it out and go walking anyways. I walked over to Mala Strana, on the other side of the Charles Bridge, and just explored the shops and sights. I ended up walking down towards the shore of the Vltava River and found my new favorite spot in the city.
I found this little park right down the street from the Kafka Museum in Mala Strana that sits right next to the river. It was so peaceful, and I know it's going to be even more beautiful during the spring time with the great view of the Charles Bridge and the city. I can't wait to go back there when it's a little warmer!
Later that night, I went to go see Swan Lake with some of the people in the other fashion studio and I loved it. I enjoyed every single part of the ballet- the dancing, music, costumes, set design. I actually got goosebumps watching the dancing. I'm just blown away by how graceful ballerinas can be while dancing on their toes, because I would be tripping and falling on my face all over the stage.
The more things I experience with this program, the more I realize how fortunate I am to be getting this opportunity. And everyday I grow fonder of this city, even if it is freezing outside. Now I realize why it has picked up the nickname of the "Golden City"- I LOVE PRAGUE!
This weekend was really nice! It was weird having half the group gone, but at the same time it was great having a lot of space and quiet time. Friday night, I went out with some of the people that didn't go to Vienna to a bar down the street from the pension and hung out for a little bit- overall, a pretty easy-going night. Saturday, I planned on walking around the city a lot, just to explore, but I ended up not being able to tolerate the 30 degree temp outside. So, I only made it to the Charles Bridge and then headed back to the pension to finish my book and snack all day long.
Sunday, however, was a much more productive day! It was still pretty chilly out (about 32 degrees), but I decided to tough it out and go walking anyways. I walked over to Mala Strana, on the other side of the Charles Bridge, and just explored the shops and sights. I ended up walking down towards the shore of the Vltava River and found my new favorite spot in the city.
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| View of the Charles Bridge |
Later that night, I went to go see Swan Lake with some of the people in the other fashion studio and I loved it. I enjoyed every single part of the ballet- the dancing, music, costumes, set design. I actually got goosebumps watching the dancing. I'm just blown away by how graceful ballerinas can be while dancing on their toes, because I would be tripping and falling on my face all over the stage.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Studio time
I'm on a roll with this beret project!
Hopefully I'll be done with it this weekend :)
Last night, we all went out to the opera at the Estates Theater and it was pretty fun. The opera itself, I have to say, was not so great. But, according to a random woman I spoke to during intermission, this one was really "flat and bland." So, I'm not going to judge all operas from this one... we went and saw Cosi Fan Tutte. The music was beautiful, and I really enjoyed the orchestra- the story was very slow-moving and boring, though. Oh well! But, it was made a lot more fun by all of the people there, and the drinks served to us during intermission...
Tonight, I went with some of the girls from the other fashion studio to go see Jesus Christ Superstar. It was all in Czech so it was definitely interesting to try and keep up with what was going on. I've never seen the play the before, so I didn't quite understand what was going on in certain parts... for example, there was this guy dancing around in a glittery robe with a horribly orange tan and a blonde afro and a little leaf crown on his head, and I'm not sure what his role was because they never said his name. I think he might've been the king? I don't know, it might just remain a mystery. But it was A LOT of fun, and a lot different from the other plays that I usually see!
This weekend, about half of the group here is going to Vienna. And since I've already been, I'll be hanging out here in the city this weekend, relaxing. I'm planning on sleeping in, wandering around, and getting in a little more studio time- sounds like a good weekend to me!
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| I haven't showered yet and i've been up since 7am, so don't judge my looks... |
Last night, we all went out to the opera at the Estates Theater and it was pretty fun. The opera itself, I have to say, was not so great. But, according to a random woman I spoke to during intermission, this one was really "flat and bland." So, I'm not going to judge all operas from this one... we went and saw Cosi Fan Tutte. The music was beautiful, and I really enjoyed the orchestra- the story was very slow-moving and boring, though. Oh well! But, it was made a lot more fun by all of the people there, and the drinks served to us during intermission...
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| Part of the group and me (middle) during intermission |
This weekend, about half of the group here is going to Vienna. And since I've already been, I'll be hanging out here in the city this weekend, relaxing. I'm planning on sleeping in, wandering around, and getting in a little more studio time- sounds like a good weekend to me!
Monday, February 14, 2011
First Day of Classes
I can already tell that this is going to be a great semester, just after two classes today!
I started off with my Intro to Czech Language class at 9:30am, and my professor seems really amazing. She's a very happy and outgoing person, and understands that because Czech is a REALLY difficult language to learn, not all of us are going to pick it up right away. I was kind of just expecting that we would just do the usual "Tell me your name and three things about you" deal that usually happens on the first day of classes. But, I was pleasantly surprised when she started right off with a pronunciation and vocabulary lesson! I already feel like I'm more comfortable now to go places and order food or try to communicate with the locals :)
My next class was my fashion studio, and I love it already. They assigned us our play today that we'll be designing costumes for this semester: The Insect Play by Josef + Karel Čapek. I had never heard about it before, but we read a little about it, and it seems really interesting. I'm most excited to begin the process of picking the characters we'll be designing for- I'm hoping to get the ant or cricket costumes, but we'll see what happens!
We were also given our first project of the semester today- we get to embroider and embellish a beret given to us in any way we want. That way, when we all go to Paris in two weeks, we'll all be stylin'! I've already started sketching out some ideas and messing around with some fabric to see what I'm gonna do. I'm so glad to be getting back into sewing again!
Oh, and to make our Valentine's Day complete, one of our studio professors brought us to a local chocolate museum for a tour, some free samples, and they even bought us some little chocolate treats afterwards. It was such a sweet surprise!
Happy Valentine's Day everybody!
I started off with my Intro to Czech Language class at 9:30am, and my professor seems really amazing. She's a very happy and outgoing person, and understands that because Czech is a REALLY difficult language to learn, not all of us are going to pick it up right away. I was kind of just expecting that we would just do the usual "Tell me your name and three things about you" deal that usually happens on the first day of classes. But, I was pleasantly surprised when she started right off with a pronunciation and vocabulary lesson! I already feel like I'm more comfortable now to go places and order food or try to communicate with the locals :)
My next class was my fashion studio, and I love it already. They assigned us our play today that we'll be designing costumes for this semester: The Insect Play by Josef + Karel Čapek. I had never heard about it before, but we read a little about it, and it seems really interesting. I'm most excited to begin the process of picking the characters we'll be designing for- I'm hoping to get the ant or cricket costumes, but we'll see what happens!
We were also given our first project of the semester today- we get to embroider and embellish a beret given to us in any way we want. That way, when we all go to Paris in two weeks, we'll all be stylin'! I've already started sketching out some ideas and messing around with some fabric to see what I'm gonna do. I'm so glad to be getting back into sewing again!
Oh, and to make our Valentine's Day complete, one of our studio professors brought us to a local chocolate museum for a tour, some free samples, and they even bought us some little chocolate treats afterwards. It was such a sweet surprise!
Happy Valentine's Day everybody!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
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| The Bone Church in Kutná Hora |
Since we were out of internet for the past day or two, we only had one person who knew the directions of getting over there and what train to catch. Needless to say, it was a challenge. We had some people purchase the wrong tickets, myself included, about 15 minutes before the train left, so we had to quickly exchange them and then sprint for the train right before it departed. And we made it just in time- definitely an experience!
Once we got there, we went to visit our first destination: the very morbid Bone Church, also known as the Sedlec Ossuary. It is ridiculous how many skeletons are packed into this one little church in a town stuck in the middle of nowhere- around 40,000 skeletons, all belonging to people who died of the bubonic plague. It was really overwhelming to enter the church and immediately see thousands of skulls greeting you as you walk in! I put up some more pictures of it all on my online photo album, I definitely recommend checking them out.
After that, we all split up for lunch and some of the group took the next train back to Prague. I decided to hang back with some of the other people to check out the rest of the town since we had the rest of the day left. We basically just wandered around, walked up to the St. Barbara Church, ventured down some roads where we didn't know where they went... it was a really nice way to spend the day. There was a lot more to the town than I expected, so I'm really glad that I stuck around for the rest of the day to check it out.
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| Very picturesque, right? |
Friday, February 11, 2011
Motor Cafe
My new favorite place- an internet cafe right up the street from the pension. Free internet with the purchase of a beverage, I can handle that!
Tonight we've got a group dinner with everyone in the program and some of the program directors out at a traditional Czech restaurant. And tomorrow, the plan is to go to the Bone Church in Kutna Hora with some people. I'm really excited about it, it'll definitely be an interesting day trip! I'll post some pics when I'm able to :)
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| The writing is backwards on the cup? |
Thursday, February 10, 2011
FINALLY getting started!
We had orientation yesterday and it's making me even more antsy to get this semester started! Yesterday, we took a small walking tour around the area right by the institute, so we know where the cheap markets are, and more good stuff like that. We also stopped by the local public library to check it out and found this, as we walked through the front door:
We just got done with our studio orientations, and I can't wait to start the projects that we'll be working on. My professors are really nice, and they are hilarious, so it's definitely going to be a lot of fun. Our studio space is really nice- very spacious and we've all got our own designated tables and working space, which makes things so much easier! So, that's all I really have to update on so far- basically I'm just getting prepped for classes.
The internet here is not so great, but I'll still try to keep posting pictures on my online albums (you can get to them by looking the right side bar of this blog and clicking on "Photo Albums").
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| A giant tunnel/tower of books!! SO COOL! |
The internet here is not so great, but I'll still try to keep posting pictures on my online albums (you can get to them by looking the right side bar of this blog and clicking on "Photo Albums").
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
I moved into the pension today, and I am so excited about this semester! Nicole and I are rooming together, and also with her friend, Jenny, who she knows from working at the school radio station. Our room is HUGE, and I feel really lucky that we have so much space- there are some other girls who have three to a room with much smaller rooms. We've got lots of space and even an extra bed, I guess just in case someone comes and visits. It's finally sinking in that I'm here for school, and not just on a really long vacation. I've met some really cool students so far and I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better as the semester goes on. I haven't really done too much today, basically just moved in and then went out to dinner with some girls I met in the pension.
We all have orientation at 9:30 am tomorrow, so I'm going to have an early night and try to go to bed at a decent hour. I'm really excited to get school started, as surprising as that may sound. But, after having 2.5 months off from any routine at all, I'm really glad to finally be getting back into the swing of things :)
I'll post some pictures up of our room in the pension soon, once we get situated here. "Dobrou noc!" (goodnight!)
We all have orientation at 9:30 am tomorrow, so I'm going to have an early night and try to go to bed at a decent hour. I'm really excited to get school started, as surprising as that may sound. But, after having 2.5 months off from any routine at all, I'm really glad to finally be getting back into the swing of things :)
I'll post some pictures up of our room in the pension soon, once we get situated here. "Dobrou noc!" (goodnight!)
Monday, February 7, 2011
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| Wall of locks, right down the street from the Lennon Wall. |
We also decided to try fried cheese sandwiches today. As horrible as they might sound, they were really pretty tasty, especially with some good beer to go along with it :)
We move into the pension tomorrow, and I can't wait to get there. Unfortunately, that means that I have to repack all of the clothes that I have thrown out of my suitcase while staying here the past week... I probably should have tried to be a little bit neater.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Weekend getaway
Just got back from a quick weekend trip to Vienna about 2 hours ago, and I am exhausted. It was such a fun and busy trip! We left for Vienna on Saturday morning at about 6:30 am, and arrived there at about 11:30 am. Nicole's friend, Claudia, was nice enough to let us stay with her for the weekend at her apartment, which was only a few blocks away from the city center. It was perfect!
We spent all Saturday sightseeing, using our handy Rick Steves' travel book. Although it was extremely windy (I was almost blown over a few times), it was the perfect day for being out-and-about all day, with a temp of about 50 and lots of sunshine! We started off walking towards the city center, making a stop at the Belvedere Palace to snap a few pics. From there, we went to the Opera house and into Kärntner Strasse, which is basically a big shopping square- a very busy area that definitely gave off the "big city" vibe. Right at the end of Kärntner Strasse is Stephenplatz, where St. Stephen's Cathedral is located. It's impossible to miss this massive cathedral...
Discovering that it was free entry (a very rare thing to find here), we went in only to be put in more awe of this church. You walk in and immediately look down the nave, said to be more than a football field long and nine stories tall. It's lined with pillars covered in statues and decorated with paintings all over. I was blown away by how ornate the structure of this cathedral is.
After the cathedral, we went down Graben, another big shopping area in the city. Fun fact: Graben means ditch, which this street used to be- it was originally a moat for the Roman military camp back in the day! Around the corner is Hofburg Palace, where the Habsburg emperors lived most of the year. And that's where our tour ended on Saturday. After seeing all the tourist sights, we went out to dinner and a party with Claudia and some of her friends who live in the city. It was tons of fun, but I definitely wore myself out after such a long day!
After sleeping in a little bit this morning, we saw our last sight of the city at Schönbrunn Palace, the former summer residence of the Habsburgs. Not only is the palace itself massive, but it is on an immense amount of land! The gardens were very impressive, and I can't imagine how beautiful they must be when everything is in bloom during the spring and summer. I might have to make another visit just to see that again later on in the year...
Fun fact: Schönbrunn's park has been open to the public since 1779, while the monarchy was still going strong- pretty cool of Maria Theresa to allow that! At the top of the hill at the end of the gardens is the Gloriette, supposedly a monument to the idea of "just war." The most amazing part about the Gloriette, though, is the view overlooking the palace grounds from its balcony.
Okay, I think I've said enough about Vienna for the night. I just realized that it's 1 am here, so it's definitely time for bed. But, if you're interested in seeing some more photos from this trip, go here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50374522@N02/
The album is on the right side of the page, along with my Prague album I started.
We spent all Saturday sightseeing, using our handy Rick Steves' travel book. Although it was extremely windy (I was almost blown over a few times), it was the perfect day for being out-and-about all day, with a temp of about 50 and lots of sunshine! We started off walking towards the city center, making a stop at the Belvedere Palace to snap a few pics. From there, we went to the Opera house and into Kärntner Strasse, which is basically a big shopping square- a very busy area that definitely gave off the "big city" vibe. Right at the end of Kärntner Strasse is Stephenplatz, where St. Stephen's Cathedral is located. It's impossible to miss this massive cathedral...
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| It definitely stands out, right? |
After the cathedral, we went down Graben, another big shopping area in the city. Fun fact: Graben means ditch, which this street used to be- it was originally a moat for the Roman military camp back in the day! Around the corner is Hofburg Palace, where the Habsburg emperors lived most of the year. And that's where our tour ended on Saturday. After seeing all the tourist sights, we went out to dinner and a party with Claudia and some of her friends who live in the city. It was tons of fun, but I definitely wore myself out after such a long day!
After sleeping in a little bit this morning, we saw our last sight of the city at Schönbrunn Palace, the former summer residence of the Habsburgs. Not only is the palace itself massive, but it is on an immense amount of land! The gardens were very impressive, and I can't imagine how beautiful they must be when everything is in bloom during the spring and summer. I might have to make another visit just to see that again later on in the year...
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| View of the gardens from the back of the palace. |
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| Ahhhhhmazing. |
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50374522@N02/
The album is on the right side of the page, along with my Prague album I started.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Free tour- OK!
Today was amazing. Nicole found out about some free tours around the city on Facebook, so we decided to check it out. The tour was great, I think we definitely had the best tour guide around. Basically how the tour works is that it's completely free, but the guides work on a tip-paid basis. I can honestly say that our guide, Michael, definitely earned a good tip- he taught us a lot about the city.
We started off at the Astronomical Clock at 2pm for "the show." I never really realized why the clock was such a big deal until now! At the hour, it chimes, and then two little doors open above the clock where the 12 apostles rotate. On the sides of the clock, there are four wooden figurines, the most important being Death, who shakes his time teller indicating "It's time to die!" Pretty creepy if I do say so myself. Then at the end of all of that, a trumpet player begins playing a little tune to indicate the change of the hour. It was pretty cool.
Oh, and one more thing we learned about the history behind the clock: the man who made the clock had both of his eyes speared by a hot iron rod to blind him, and his tongue cut off so he couldn't share his secrets of making this unique clock for any other cities. So to get his revenge, he went up into the clock tower, reached his hand into the clock, and pulled out a tiny coil that broke it. And it's said that right as he did this, he passed away, leaving the clock broken and no one knowing how to fix it for the next 100 years. Fun fact!
After the clock, we strolled through Old Town Square, and from there went to New Town, then Wenceslas Square (located in New Town, and the main shopping area of the city), the Jewish Quarter, and ended the tour right on the other side of the Vltava river from the Prague Castle. The tour ended perfectly with a view of the Prague Castle lit up as the sun went down.
It was a great day, and I must say I am exhausted from the 4.5 hours of walking we did around the city. But it was amazing to learn so many things about this magnificent city I'm in, FOR FREE! I won't include all of the stuff I learned today in here, because it would go on for about another three pages. But if you're interested in getting a brief history on Prague, send me an email and I'll be willing to share.
Tomorrow, Nicole and I are heading to Vienna very early in the morning. We're staying with her friend who lives in the city, and plan on sight-seeing all day tomorrow, and make our return on Sunday evening. I will take plenty of pictures to share, and I will be sure to make a post on here once I'm back!
If you want to see more pictures of my trip so far, check out the album I put up online:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50374522@N02/
If that doesn't work, comment on this post and let me know! I've got lots of pics on there that I want to share!
We started off at the Astronomical Clock at 2pm for "the show." I never really realized why the clock was such a big deal until now! At the hour, it chimes, and then two little doors open above the clock where the 12 apostles rotate. On the sides of the clock, there are four wooden figurines, the most important being Death, who shakes his time teller indicating "It's time to die!" Pretty creepy if I do say so myself. Then at the end of all of that, a trumpet player begins playing a little tune to indicate the change of the hour. It was pretty cool.
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| Can you see the apostles in the windows above the clock? And if you look hard, you can see the little figurines to the left and right of the clock... |
After the clock, we strolled through Old Town Square, and from there went to New Town, then Wenceslas Square (located in New Town, and the main shopping area of the city), the Jewish Quarter, and ended the tour right on the other side of the Vltava river from the Prague Castle. The tour ended perfectly with a view of the Prague Castle lit up as the sun went down.
It was a great day, and I must say I am exhausted from the 4.5 hours of walking we did around the city. But it was amazing to learn so many things about this magnificent city I'm in, FOR FREE! I won't include all of the stuff I learned today in here, because it would go on for about another three pages. But if you're interested in getting a brief history on Prague, send me an email and I'll be willing to share.
Tomorrow, Nicole and I are heading to Vienna very early in the morning. We're staying with her friend who lives in the city, and plan on sight-seeing all day tomorrow, and make our return on Sunday evening. I will take plenty of pictures to share, and I will be sure to make a post on here once I'm back!
If you want to see more pictures of my trip so far, check out the album I put up online:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50374522@N02/
If that doesn't work, comment on this post and let me know! I've got lots of pics on there that I want to share!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Snow in the city!
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| Dancing in the snow! |
Our friends Ella and Brittany came in this morning so we met up with them and got on the metro to head out towards the Prague Castle. We skipped the tour through the castle and opted to walk through the St. Vitus Cathedral instead, which was unbelievable. It was huge, and the stained glass windows were gorgeous.
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| Entrance to the cathedral |
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| Inside of the cathderal |
After that, we decided to walk over to a monastery only a few blocks down the road and grab some lunch. At this monastery, they have their own brewery and restaurant, where they brew all of their own beer. We tried the house brew and it was SO GOOD. If I get the chance, I definitely think I'll be returning for some more. Following that, we headed back into the main part of town to check out some shopping sites and walked into a thrift store where we served some free wine while shopping. What a nice surprise! Needless to say, I was feeling pretty well by the end of that shopping trip. Overall, this was a pretty perfect day! Eventful, but still kind of relaxing.
So, at the moment, I'm back at the apartment relaxing on the couch and enjoying being inside. I'm really starting to notice how all of the walking I've been doing catches up to me by the end of the day!
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