The Final Day: Reflections

Okkk guys. I know I have been a total deadbeat blogger. These last few weeks have honestly been an insane whirlwind of finals and snow and cramming in last minute shopping! Tonight is our last night in Prague, and it just seems unreal. I have been anticipating and preparing the end of the semester for so long, that it doesn't seem possible that it's really here. After we finished a tough week of finals on Wednesday (yes... real school!), we have been revisiting all out favorite restaurants and coffee shops to say "Na Schlad" to them all. Yesterday, we went on a final walking tour with Z called "Bye Bye Praha" just to say our farewells!

After a very full and tiring semester, it is odd to reflect on life here and everything I have done and learned here. First of all things I will NOT miss...

1. The smells. It is odd how cities have weird smells seem to catch you unaware and make you want to run for cover. The body odor situation has been a lot better since people have been wearing layers and coats in winter, but I still get a whiff even through all that every once and awhile!

2. PDA. I honestly feel like the couples of Praha seem to seek me personally out as their chosen audience for public affection. It seriously drives me bonkers! My last day in coffeeheaven was almost ruined by this couple making out (FAR TOO LOUDLY) for a solid half hour. Seriously people? Get a room!

3. Mullets. Too many mullets. What ever happened to "Have a mullet, go to jail!"??? When will people learn that it just isn't flattering. And dying it multi-colored really doesn't help. Really.

Things I will miss...

1. Walking. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to wander and explore. People don't really utilize their own legs in the US, and it's quite a shame! It can be a very cathartic and wonderful experience to plan out your daily route from place to place and never worry about finding parking.

2. Public Transportation. It's so nice to have a reliable and convenient source of public transportation! The metro is so easy and wonderful.

3. Being lost in translation. The language barrier has been a challenge at times, but it has definitely provided some great and humorous moments. For example, while we were taking our final, our history professor was trying to explain the the last person to finish had to take them to the office. So he told us: "So whoever is the slowest, or who is the most retarded, must take them." HAHA. He also uses the word "normalizators" on a steady basis, and says "I try to survive!" whenever it gets stuffy in the classroom. I will definitely miss those little moments!

Well, those are just some of the things I have thought about in the last couple days. It has definitely been a learning experience, and more challenging than I ever expected. But I am proud that I have finished the semester without any huge debacles and emotionally stable! I am so looking forward to coming home and enjoying the comforts of family, boyfriend, and Christmas. :) I am ready to sleep for approximately one week and watch TV and movies on my couch!!! Can't wait to see you all and give lots of hugs and love to you all. And yes, I know that I still owe you an entry on Berlin... but it will have to wait! I have to finish packing and enjoy my final night in Prague before flying out manana!

Here are just a few pictures from the last couple days...

These fish are the traditional food of Czech Christmas dinners! The carp! You can buy the fish on the street from these big pools, and most people keep them in their bathtubs until Christmas day.

Snow has fallen on beautiful Praha, making the city a winter wonderland. When I walk through the city, I feel like I'm walking in Dicken's "A Christmas Carol." :)

This is Alex and I on our final walk through Prague. It was FREEZING. Approximately 10 degrees (F) with a wind chill that made it feel like 2 degrees. YIKES. I couldn't feel my hands or ears, but it was a beautiful walk!

Heading out tomorrow morning... Na schladenou Praha! <3

This is Julia Miller reporting for The Blague!

A lot to be Thankful for :)

Greetings Readers! Since I tend to fall behind on my updates, I had to make sure I wrote about my wonderful Thanksgiving weekend before leaving for Berlin. That's right! My final trip of the semester will begin tomorrow morning bright and early, as Alex and I take the train to meet Annemarie in Berlin for the weekend. I am very excited, and am sure that I will have a lot to share when I get back!

But more importantly, back to a lovely Thanksgiving weekend. Annemarie and I were so thrilled to be able to spend Thanksgiving together so far from home. It was very strange to be away from home for the first time on Thanksgiving, but it was nice to see a little slice of home (in the form of Annemarie of course!). She arrived on Wednesday while I was in class/napping, and did a little exploring before we met for dinner. After I went back to the dorm to grab some stuff, we had a long night of girl talk and catching up - something we are pros at.

On Thursday morning, we grabbed some delicious coffee at one of my favorite little cafes near school, and then walked across the river to the castle. The square behind St. Vitus even had a Christmas tree! It was oh so festive.

Then we went to one of my favorite little restaurants for lunch, and Annemarie was so infatuated with the decor that I'm not sure she even noticed the food! Hehe. After lunch, we walked a short way to the John Lennon Peace Wall where I jumped for JOY!

It was such a beautiful day that we didn't even touch the public transportation system, and we continued to walk around the city. After visiting the wall, we walked through Mala Strana and back across the Charles Bridge to Old Town. This is beautiful Annemarie on the bridge with the gorgeous Prague Castle in the background!

For Thanksgiving dinner, our program reserved seat at the Marriot Hotel here in Prague. Everyone dressed up and looked very fancy indeed. Most of the Czechs don't even know what Thanksgiving is, so we were glad to have our own little enclave of Americans to eat with. They had a delicious spread of food and desserts. Only two things missing in my book - green beans and mashed potatoes! I couldn't believe it! But the food we did have was very good, and we even got to have some pumpkin pie! Yummmm. This is my plate for the evening!

I was really diggin' the turkey. It was delicious!

Haha, Annemarie also enjoyed the festive centerpiece - complete with leaves and gourds!

On Friday, we began the day by visiting the Jewish Quarter. Although it is one of the more expensive entry fees in the city, I promised Annemarie it would be worth the price of admission. We went into Pinkas Synagogue, the Old Cemetery, and the Spanish synagogue as well. I even told Annemarie some of the legends and ghost stories I learned about while we were walking through the cemetery. Then we lunched at one of my most favorite places, Bohemia Bagel, before setting out to the Alfons Mucha Museum. I went to this museum once before with Alex, and I knew I had to take Annemarie back there! Mucha is a Czech Art Nouveau artist, but he spent a lot of his professional life in Paris. What a nice little connection between our two cities! It's a very small and interesting museum, so we both really enjoyed it. Plus I am writing a paper on Mucha's art for one of my classes, henceforth doing some research at the same time! After the museum, we went up Petrin Hill to the Viewing Tower (think mini-Eiffel Tower) for the wonderful views of the city. Annemarie has a much better picture of us on the tower, but here is mine - with the beautiful city in the background!

We were famished after a busy day, and met up with Alex and her younger sister (also visiting for Thanksgiving) for a traditional Czech meal of goulash and beer - Pilsner of course. That evening was also the official start of the Christmas markets, and we wandered and ate our way through the beautifully lit up square after dinner.

Annemarie tried one of my favorite treat - a trdlenik! I have no idea how to properly pronounce it, but it sure is yummy!

Annemarie's final day in Prague was fairly low-key, because we had done all of the tourist attractions I had planned for us. In the morning, we joined Alex and her sister for brunch at The Globe and ate delicious crepes and eggs and orange juice. We settled in for a little caffeine fix at Costa Coffee and then met up with Alex, her sister, and our two suite mates to go see a movie. I know what you're thinking... "A movie? In Prague? Why?" Well I'll tell you! Because they released the newest Twilight movie "New Moon" on Thanksgiving!!! And being across the world could not stop us from getting our Twilight fix! It was a much better movie than the first one - as in, I only burst out laughing at inappropriate moments once or twice. And thank goodness someone finally got Kristen Stewart an acting class and Robert Pattinson a dialect coach. Anyway, we loved the movie and had a great little girls outing! That night, I took Annemarie to my favorite restaurant in Prague called "Lekha Hlava," which translated to "Clear Head" in English. It is a vegetarian restaurant with a great atmosphere and amazing food. It was a wonderful way to end a wonderful weekend!

Annemarie left early the next morning, which probably would have been much more upsetting if she wasn't going to be with us in Berlin this weekend! Haha. Speaking of which... I should probably get to bed so I don't miss the train. Much love to all my readers. I'm so thankful for all of you!

This is Julia Miller reporting for The Blague!

Hello Everyone! I know, I know. I am a total Blague delinquent! It has been such a crazy few weeks, especially since the professors here have started assigning actual work... weird. Anyway - I will get right to the point of the European adventuring! (Which is obviously much more exciting than me sitting at my desk writing papers...UGH)

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I went to Vienna with our AIFS group! I have to been to Vienna once before, but I was so young that I really didn't remember much of it at all. It really is just a beautiful and classy city, as well as really expensive! Although my bank account suffered a little from this particular boondoggle (that's for you Mama!), it was a really great trip. My definite favorite part was the newly set-up Christmas Markets! This is a European tradition that I had absolutely NO idea about before this trip, but I have fallen in love with it. Essentially, there are tons of booths set up selling a multitude of goodies, including hot wine, desserts, sausages, ornaments, candles, spiced nuts, and pretty much anything that has a holiday theme! From the list, I'm sure you guessed that the main reason I love the markets so much is the food. And you would be right. The markets are just lovely to walk around at night, and it really got me in the holiday spirit! :)

We arrived in Vienna on Friday afternoon, and we were given a free evening to eat, drink, and be merry. So what did Alex and I do? Go to a museum of course! Because we are very cultured and sophisticate ladies, if you didn't already know. We went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in the Hofburg area, which is the museum of art history. We saw some great work by Raphael, Titian, Rubens, Vermeer, and Breughel. We got there only an hour before it closed, so we did a quick tour and even squeezed in the Egyptian exhibit. Then we, of course, spent the rest of the evening eating and shopping our way through the Christmas markets. The next day, the entire group went on an official Viennese tour with an official Viennese tour guide (she had a badge and everything!). Then Alex and I went to Demel (a place I would categorize it as the Laduree of Vienna) for coffee and cake. Honestly, it was so good that I can't even describe it! We split a lemon tart and truffle chocolate cake. We then joined the group again for a walk to the Belvedere Palace, and Z gave us some useful directions to the Military Museum. A group of us girls REALLY wanted to see this museum. Why, you ask? Well because we love history. And guess what is at the Military Museum... the car that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot in, sparking the first World War. It blew my history nerd mind right through the roof! After this, we went to the Christmas Markets (yes... again...) for a delicious dinner, and then went to the famous Hotel Sacher for dessert. Sacher Torte is supposedly the first chocolate cake, so of course we had to try it - even though we had already had cake that day. We went to bed quite happy and full, only to have to say bye-bye to Vienna the next morning. On the way out of town we stopped at the gorgeous Schonbronne Palace (the only place I remembered from my previous trip!). We ended the weekend completely exhausted, on a sugar high, and still a little full from all the cake. :)

Here are some pics!

Horse drawn carriages may be very romantic, but they will set you back 60 euros! They sure do make for a nice atmosphere though!

Me proudly displaying the delicious Sacher torte. Yummmmm

On the left - best lemon tart ever in the history of mankind.

On the right - delectable truffle chocolate cake.

The main streets of Vienna were all lit up for Christmas. Doesn't it just make you smile?

St. Stephen Cathedral was very cool!

The Belvedere Palace in the fog. Please note: the man in the foreground on the left looked very much like Stalin. Although it could have just been the mustache!

Vienna's Parliament building - based on the Parthenon or something like that :)

Schonbronne Palace with a giant Christmas tree in front! Are you feeling that holiday spirit yet?

This is Julia Miller reporting for the Blague. :)

Video Addendum

Here are some of the videos I took today!

This first one is awesome and a little bit awkward. The band was playing a really cool song, so I was just takin' a video. No big deal. But then the old guy next to me starts singing along! It was so cute that I had to capture it on video, but then I got worried he saw me so I pan all over the place. Anyway, listen a look for the patriotic man who knows all the Czech words and ignore the ghastly cinematography.

This is a video of the free concert on Narodni Trida! I don't know what was going on with my camera, but it is REALLY out of focus. It is actually Joan Baez singing "We Shall Overcome" and the little man on the right in the white scarf is Vaclav Havel! Just listen to her melodious voice. :)

Viva la Velvet Revolution!!!

Hello All! I know you must all be so thrilled right now because this is my second update in a week! Woohoo! But I absolutely had to update you on my very culturally and historically significant day. Today - November 17, 2009 - is the twentieth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the nonviolent end of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. As the last country under the Iron Curtain to break free of their Soviet ties, this is seen as the end of communism in the 20th century! Hurrah! For this important holiday, we all had the day off of classes and we were encouraged to participate in the various activities going on in Prague. It was an exhausting day (that miiiight have included a necessary nap in coffeeheaven) but really interesting and FUN. Old Town square was set up with a band and food stands, while Wenceslas Square was outfitted with some outdoor exhibitions. Thousands of people reenacted the students march (it took almost 3 hrs) from the outskirts of the city to the National Theatre, and then there was a free concert!

This is part of the exhibition set up around the city to celebrate the anniversary. Shown in the pictures are some of the first student protests in Prague. (That took place in the actual square where these placards were set up!)

This is a guy who was speaking to the crowd from the top of a car. He was VERY worked up about something, but as I don't speak Czech, I have no idea what that something is.

This is the plaque dedicated to Jan Palach, a student martyr of the late 1960s that was decorated for the occasion. People also lit candles and put them on the statue of St. Wenceslas, killed in 935. They love their history over here! I can dig it.

Alex in the sea of umbrellas in Old Town Square!

This is me after Alex and I got our totally official Czech ribbons! SO patriotic. :)

The sun did make a brief appearance to light up Tyne Church!

We attended a free concert following the reenactment of the student march. Although we couldn't see any of the march because we were way too short, we did get a great view of the stage for the concert. In the picture above is Vaclav Havel, the first president of the democratic Czechoslovakia. He is QUITE famous over here, and was very involved in the activism that led to the Velvet Revolution in 1989. About 30 seconds after I took this picture, he introduced Joan Baez! She sang a wonderful rendition of "We Shall Overcome," and although I was the only person of my age group to appreciate this (thanks Mom and Dad hehe), we all sang along.

Sooooo to sum up - HAPPY 20th ANNIVERSARY TO THE VELVET REVOLUTION!!! Now you all have a reason to celebrate! Now go drink a Pilsner Urquell.

This is Julia Miller reporting for the Blague!

A day trip to Dresden!

Please see the previous post for my apologies on the lateness of my updates!

This weekend was the first in quite awhile that I was actually in Prague for the weekend. After hearing many people rave about Dresden, Alex and I planned a day trip! Dresden, Germany is about two hours away from Prague by train, so we pulled our hineys out of bed veryyyy early to get on the train before 9 am. Dresden is a fascinating place, as most of it has been rebuilt from the overload of bombings during WWII. The city was almost destroyed, and most of the historical buildings have been rebuilt in the last decade or so. Alex and I walked around the city's historic center and saw most of the main buildings and a lot of really neat churches. One of the most famous parts of the city is the Master's Gallery, which is home to the paintings of Titian, Rafael, Rembrandt, and many more. The most famous painting of the exhibition is Rafael's Madonna, which has the famous cherubs leaning on their elbows. Perhaps that is not the best description, but if you google Rafael's Cherubs you will recognize them immediately, I promise! Interestingly, they are at the very bottom of a very large painting and not the focal point of the piece at all. It makes you wonder how those little angel babies got so darn famous... :)

After a day of walking and being historical, Alex and I spent a little bit of time in Dresden's nice shopping district, where I may or may not have paid a visit to American Apparel and overpaid for a V-neck. I saw it as necessary. We then took the train back to Prague and hit the hay early after a day of travel and adventure!

Here are some pics of Dresden...

Inner courtyard of the old palace that now houses the Masters' Gallery and other museums.
Front view of the Masters' Gallery!

Famous mural of the Prince's Procession. Or something of that nature. It was made of painted tiles and really neat-o!

Main square of reconstructed Dresden

This is Our Lady Church, which was almost completely demolished in the bombings of WWII. It has been rebuilt with some of the old stones, but is mostly a new building. Still very cool though!

This is Julia Miller reporting for The Blague.

Poland: Krakow and Auschwitz

First of all, allow me to apologize for the long absence of updates on the Blague. Life has been just crazy over here in past couple weeks! The weekend after the Parisian adventure, all of the AIFS group was off to Krakow, Poland. This was followed by a week of midterms (UGH SCHOOL) and a weekend here in Prague with lots to do!

I shall start with a quick bit on Krakow! I had absolutely no expectations for this trip, because I had no idea what to expect from a place I had never been and never really heard about. And as I had no expectations, I could not be disappointed! Nobody was in the best mood upon arrival, because we spent nine hours on a cramped bus to get there. However, once we got into the city center (which was conveniently close to our hotel) everyone brightened up a bit - including me! We did not get there until Friday evening, so we had just enough time for a dinner of traditional Polish food and a cocktail before resting up for the next day of tours. For dinner, we had perogies which are stuffed little dumplings! Very delicious indeed. Alex and I split a platter that had some with meat, cheese, and veggies. The next day we did two different city tours. The first was around the town center and main square, where Z showed us countless old churches and things. After a lunch break, we saw the castle area and the old Jewish Quarter. It was pretty gloomy and rainy, but I still really enjoyed the tours and thought Krakow was very cool.

Here's some pictures!

This is the main church in the castle area (equivalent to Prague's St. Vitus).

Just another view of the castle area!
Statue of St. Andrew in the main square of Krakow.
Old fortification right outside the city center! Fun stuffs.

On our long journey back to Prague the next day, the whole group stopped at Auschwitz for a few hours. I didn't realize before, but there are actually multiple Auschwitz Camps - Auschwitz II or Birkenau being the most famous and recognizable of the bunch. At this extermination camp, historians estimate that over 1 1/2 million people were murdered. I have decided not to put up any pictures of Auschwitz, because it was a very difficult experience for me. I did take some pictures, but there is no way they can express the feeling of overwhelming sadness and hopelessness that lives in the air there. To be in a place that knew such horror and saw the ultimate low of humanity is a very sobering experience. As we walked around Auschwitz I, almost no one spoke a word for the whole two hours we were there. There is no way I can describe the feeling of such a truly horrible place. One of the most disturbing exhibits was a room just filled with human hair, more than you can imagine. It was shaved off most of the women before they were sent to the gas chambers, and the Nazis kept it with the intention of making various materials out of it. Now, however, it simply stands alone as evidence of the atrocities committed at Auschwitz. After a very emotionally draining day, we all returned to Prague not quite ready to face midterms.

Although the experience was very difficult, it is important to pay respects and keep the memory of Holocaust victims alive. The historian in me rejoices in the salvage of places like this - a place that forgos entrance fees and gift shops, and had the sole aim of preserving the memory of Auschwitz. It was a very difficult experience, but I am very glad to say I have done it.

So that was my trip to Poland! Very fun and interesting, as well as sobering. But all in all a great trip before I was off to the next adventure!

This is Julia Miller reporting for the Blague!

Happy Halloween!

We recorded this festive video from underneath the Eiffel Tower! Happy (belated) Halloween everyone!

A Gastronomic Tour of Paris

Bonjour Blagueies! I have just returned from a wonderful reunion weekend in Paris! Alex and I flew out on Thursday, and we had one connecting flight in Dusseldorf, Germany. Apparently the weather in Dusseldorf was dicey (fog ya know), so our flight from Prague was delayed, and we actually had to run through the airport to catch our connecting flight to Paris! I found this strangle exhilarating and couldn't stop giggling. But we did make in onto the plane! And we arrived, albeit a bit late, in Paris in time to meet Annemarie and Breanna for a late lunch. Breanna arrived a day earlier, and had already walked the entire geography of the left bank by the time we arrived! Haha.

Annemarie and I were reunited at last! We had delicious salads - by far the healthiest meal of the whole weekend. Afterwords, we walked quite a ways through the center of the city past Notre Dam and other large and imposing historic buildings.

Notre Dam remains a constant on the Paris landscape, and we even had some friendly American tourists take a group picture of us ladies. (Please see Annemarie Everett's blog!)

We walked across the River Seine and into Annemarie's neighborhood. She lives in the Latin Quarter, which was on the opposite side of the River from our hotel. We had a long, lovely walk over to Annemarie's apartment, where we relaxed for a bit and made some plans for the weekend while sipping a lovely Bordeaux purchased from the corner wine store. ;) Keepin' it classy!

After some lovely wine and catching up, the four of us walked over to Rue Mouffetard which is lined with small food vendors and restaurants. For dinner, we had savory crepes and let our stomachs recover for about 10 minutes before getting rose-shaped gelato. Twas quite delicious! I had coffee and stracciatella flavor - both of which I would highly recommend! After all this traveling and walking and eating, we were all quite exhausted and headed home to rest up for the next day.

The next morning Alex, Breanna, and I walked by this funny looking statue on our way to Annemarie's neighborhood to start the day! She took us to her favorite neighborhood baker (a very friendly curly-haired Frenchman) for pastries. I had the classic Pains au Chocolate, which was not the healthiest breakfast, but quite delicious.

We then walked through Luxembourg Gardens to Annemarie's school, and visited her favorite cafe for coffee. We stopped in a couple churches (can't remember the names... bad Julia) as well, and attempted to find all the best bakeries and pastry shops in the area.

The most amazing place we went to was Laduree - very famous for their delicious macaroons! We took these macaroons and other goodies to the Eiffel Tower, and ate them with a wonderful view of one of the world's most famous landmarks!

French macaroons are not at all like the gross coconut balls we get in the States! No no. The are delicious cookies with ganache in the middle. (For a technical definition of ganache, please see Annemarie Everett.) Actually, the taking of the above picture almost led directly to the theft of my camera. Two gypsy girls came up and were begging us for food and grabbing at our macaroons, and we're thinking, "For what we paid for these macaroons? You're gonna have to pry them from my cold dead hands." And as they start reaching for our food, I see one of them go for my camera! The nerve! So I snatched it up and said, "I saw you try to steal my camera!" Of course she denied it, but I was so angry that I just grabbed up all my things and said, "I saw what you tried to do, and we're not giving you any of our food!" And we made a scene and stormed away. If shame was their only punishment, I am satisfied.

(We missed you Marissa!!!)

We took oodles of pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower, we took the Metro (finallyyyy my legs were killing me) to the Mosque in Paris for mint tea and bakhlava. And then it was off to the Louvre!

We did just a quick highlights tour of the Louvre, because we were all pretty zonked at this point. I'm pretty sure we walked through most of the city - or at least from one famous pastry shop to another.

After The Louvre, we found a great sushi boat place and had a quite tasty and economical dinner! By that night, we were dead to the world and I thought my feet would never recover. So we all passed out in our hotel room and tried to get as much sleep as humanly possible.

The next day we met again for guess what - more walking! We saw some more amazing buildings, including the Garnier Opera (above), the Madeleine, and the Centre Pompidou. We were waiting in line for some falafel (below) when we decided that we would rather pay twice as much to sit down inside. And it was worth it! Easily the best falafel I've ever had - although I have to say I'm not the world's most knowledgeable falafel consumer, I was reassured of its goodness by Alex, who has much more sophisticated falafel knowledge.

After falafel, we returned to the amazing Laduree for tea and pastries. We spent a solid chunk of the afternoon being very girly over expensive tea and relishing the Parisian experience. Apparently I was having too much fun, because Parisians like to give me the stink-eye of disapproval when I laugh loudly. Who needs 'em? Then we had a lovely Middle-Eastern cuisine dinner in the neighborhood and then trekked over to the Eiffel Tower one last time to drink wine and watch the lights show!

Aaaahhh, isn't she beautiful all lit up at night? :) We saw a few exuberant ex-pats in Halloween garb, but definitely not the all-out costumes that I was used to! At least I didn't injure myself this year...

Anyway, we crashed again Saturday night after a long day, and met Annemarie this morning for breakfast before heading back to our respective host countries. It was so nice to be reunited with old friends and share this experience with them. There was lots of hugs and catching up over food. I should probably mention at this point that I was in a constant state of fullness the entire trip. (Wish this was an exaggeration...) But other than feeling like I had to waddle back to Prague, it was a truly great weekend!

Next weekend: Krakow, Poland. NOT known for its delicious pastries, so I should be safe!

This is Julia Miller reporting for the Blague!