Now my blog will officially be named correctly, because I am actually in Prague! So much has already happened, but I will start by finishing up London. Because, of course, you are all dying to see a picture of the creepy yet wonderful British man we all know as Uncle Timmy. Well here he is in all his glory! With him is me, Elaine, Alex C, and Alex M - all of us loving every minute of it.
I will skip most of Munich, because as wonderful as it was, I was totally exhausted the entire time. We took a bus tour and I was fighting to stay awake. But to no avail! I'm sure the tour guide was confused as to why everyone on the bus was asleep, but there was just no fighting it.
The next part of my journey of course is: arrival in Prague! The first couple days consisted of meetings and short tours of places we would need to get to in the city. But the real adventuring began when my roommates and I ventured to Tesco (think Walmart) to get much needed accessories for our dorm rooms. The ultimate goal was a decent pillow, which of course, they did not have. We did, however, manage to get dishes and notebooks and toiletries. All of which we somehow had to carry back on the metro. There were quite a few moments of awkwardness as we bumped and jostled our way onto the subway car with all our bags.
One of the greatest experiences thus far in Prague was a "Boat Party" put on by the academic program for study abroad students at Charles University, called ECES (East and Central European Studies. We floated up and down the Vltava River just laughing, sipping wine, and taking in the beautiful sites.
The next big trip was a trip to Pilsen (or Plzen in Cezch), where the brewery of the Pilsner Urquell Beer is located. We learned a lot about the history of the town and climbed a VERY high tower. Lots and lots of stairs. But I did eventually make it to the top! After touring the synagogue and main town square, we went on a tour of the Pilsner Urquell brewery. Which is where I realized that beer is almost a religion in this country! Seriously, they LOVE their beer and relish the history and tradition of it. As a non-beerlover myself, I never knew there were such beer enthusiasts out there. And even though I'm not the biggest fan of beer, I did get a chance to taste the unfiltered, unpasteurized Pilsner straight from the oak barrel in the cellar. I also received my own beer glass from the brewery for free!
Yesterday, we journeyed to Telc (actually pronounced Telch) which is a medieval town in southern Bohemia. Telc is 2 hours away by bus, so I enjoyed a nap on the bus and woke up to beautiful rolling green hills and ponds. The town is quaint and beautiful, and is on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Their castle, or chateau, is small and beautiful. We even saw two weddings about to take place in the castle!
I haven't met the Czech equivalent of Uncle Timmy yet, but I hope to find him before I leave. Next on the list is a trip to Moravia (eastern Czech Republic) this weekend and the start of Czech language classes next week. More pictures to come.
This is Julia Miller reporting for The Blague.
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