Our Action Packed Week in Prague

Dobry den! (Hello!) This is a guest post to the blague from Allan. Linda and I are just completing our week-long visit with Julia in Prague. Julia has been an incredibly knowledgeable tour guide showing us the sights of the city including the Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Town Square, St. Agnes’s Convent, Wenceslas Square, the John Lennon Wall, the National Theatre (saw Carmen!), and the Jewish Quarter, to name a few. Getting around Prague is very easy as they have a very extensive subway and tram system. We bought 5 day passes for 500 kronen (less than $30). However, despite the extensive subway/tram system, we have been “hoofing it” a minimum of 10Km every day. By the end of the day, “the dogs are barking”.

People here are friendly and most places people speak some English, although you get extra credit for attempting to speak Czech. The most essential (and easiest) Czech saying I have found is “Pilsner Urquell prosim” (Pilsner Urquell please). This (The original lager) is good at home, but comes in a distant second to a half liter draft served anywhere in the Czech Republic.

One adventure we took outside of Prague was to Karlovy Vary. This is an ancient spa town which legend proclaims was discovered by Charles IV (the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia) while on a hunting trip. Over the centuries, the who’s who of royalty, the arts, and the powerful have spent time here to partake of the curative waters. This includes the likes of Goethe, Beethoven, Peter the Great. Apparently the Russians have particularly liked it here as they never went home. Along the Tepla River are a series springs bubbling forth a salty mineral water that is claimed to have curative powers for just about everything. As the picture of Julia sampling the waters shows, it is definitely an acquired taste. We almost had too much adventure as we were incorrectly told that our return bus left from the same terminal as we were dropped off. Wrong! Fortunately, we got this sorted out and were able to catch the last bus back to Prague (at a different terminal).

Part of our Prague adventure has been the food. We have visited many of Julia’s favorite spots including Bohemia Bagel, The Globe, Coffee Heaven, Café Marcel (a spot that Alex Carr, Julia’s friend and room mate frequented often with her family when she lived here before) and Lehka Hlava (Clear Head) vegetarian restaurant. We also discovered the ultimate iced coffee (Julia and Linda), and the perfectly poured Pilsner Urquell (Allan) at the Franz Kafka Café. We did not find this either absurd or meaningless, so I’m not sure we really got the full existentialist experience at this café.

Today we put in our usual 10Km with a walking tour of the “Gardens of Mala Strana” including the Palace Gardens, Wallenstein Gardens, Vrtba Gardens (a hidden gem), and the Kampa. For our last night in Prague, we took Julia and Alex to the restaurant Kampa Park, located right on the Vitava river and adjacent to the Charles Bridge - great meal with great company. We will savor this for the rest of the evening and try not to think about the alarm going off at 5AM to head back stateside. Na shedanou (Goodbye) for now!

Adventuring in England (NOT London)

Hello All! I'm sorry it has been so long since my last post. I heard a few grumblings about the frequency of my updates, but this is the best I can do! Plus, you guys don't want to hear about my boring days filled with hours of classes and coffee breaks. You want the fun stuff! So here is the latest.

This weekend, Alex and I flew up to the Northeast of England to visit her Mum and family. The Carrs have a "flat" (British language for apartment for those confused Americans) in South Shields, which is near the bigger city of Newcastle! That's right everyone, there actually exists a part of England other than London! Who would have thought... I suggest looking at a map, that's what I did! We left Prague on Thursday morning, and took a flight to Heathrow and then another short flight to Newcastle. I have to admit I wasn't that sad to leave Prague, as it was snowing and about 30 degrees when we left. Thursday evening, Alex's wonderful mum Viv took us out to one of the multitude of Indian restaurants for dinner. I'm pretty sure that every other shop was a different Indian restaurant, but they took me to their favorite and we had delicious curries and the best naan bread I've ever had in my life. Seriously. The next day, we went to the main street of South Shields for more excellent food. But this time it was authentically English - FISH AND CHIPS! And it did not disappoint. Coleman's Fish and Chips was pure deep-fried goodness, and the fries (aka chips) were some of the best I've ever had. After I was stuffed with delicious cod, Alex and I went with here mum and aunt to Alnwick (pronounced Annick) Castle, about half an hour away. There were many wonderful things about this castle. 1) It's a castle. 2) Alex and I had truly delish mochas at their cafe. 3) We had one of the most cheerful tour guides I've ever met. And last but not least, 4) parts of the first Harry Potter movie were filmed there!!!! EEEEAaahhhh! It was a truly great afternoon, and was followed by my first English "take-away" meal from the supermarket. The Brits do refrigerator meals so differently, and they are made fresh and refrigerated for you to eat at your leisure (pronounced leh-zure of course). I really wish this trend would cross the pond, because it really is quite civilized. The following day, we had lunch at the Marsden Grotto, which is a really neat restaurant at the base of a cliff on the beach. And after that we went shopping in Newcastle! I spent far too much money, but it was all on practical things like warm hats and a jacket and rainbow ear muffs. :) And then we went to a pub and Italian restaurant for more good food and drink, before settling in for the evening with a movie. It was so nice to have a couch and TV and curl up and relax with a movie! I didn't really realize how much I missed it. It was a truly great and relaxing weekend. Although I was a little sad to leave the coziest part of England, I couldn't be happier that my parents are coming this week!!! Now, this post has rambled on for far too long, and has far too many parentheses. On to the pictures!

This is a picture of the Newcastle Millennium Bridge, with the bulbous concert hall in the distance. Newcastle and South Shields are located on the River Tyne, also featured in this photo.

Alex and I outside the Marsden Grotto. Pardon my windswept look. It was... well, windy.

Alex and I at Alnwick Castle! This picture was taken by a friendly Canadian, in fact.

Alnwick castle from the outside. The statues on top of the towers were put there to scare away invading Scots from the north!

Delicioso fish and chips. :)

One of the very first life boats! Proudly displayed on the main street of South Shields.

The coast in South Shields, with an adorable red light house. The ruins across the river there are of an old monastery.

The skies of South Shields!

Hope you all enjoyed the update. I had a great weekend, and there will be more to come!

This is Julia Miller reporting for The Blague.

This Week's Grand Chronicle

Hello my loyal audience! I am so excited to have 8 followers - and only one is a parental! So this week was filled with more classes, reading (mostly for pleasure), castles, pastries, and just a little beer. After making it through my long and arduous 3-day school week, Alex and I found ourselves almost the only people NOT traveling outside Prague this weekend. On Friday, we went with a tour group to Konopiste Castle, which is about 45 mins outside of Prague. It is a very old castle (like pretty much everything over here), but was modernized by its final and most famous inhabitant Archduke Franz Ferdinand! It was situated on a beautiful hill overlooking a big lake, which is a popular swimming and ice-skating destination - in their respective seasons of course. One thing quite unique about this castle is the sheer amount of hunting trophies and weapons collections. According to the tour guide, only 4,000 of Franz Ferdinand's 300,000 hunting trophies are on display!!! So let's just say that the man like to kill him some animals. Also, the castle has the 3rd largest armory in all of Europe, including one armor set worth over 5 million Euros. Very swanky indeed! On the way back to Prague, the tour stopped at the Kozel Brewery, where we went on a tour and tasting. It was definitely not as fancy as the Pilsner Urquell Brewery, but it was very cool nonetheless. Plus they had a goat (their mascot) who was trying to lick us through the fence!

The next day Alex and I set out for Petrin Park, situated on the highest hill in Prague. We had planned to take the funicular railway up the hill, but of course it is out of service! So we hiked up this hill, switchback after switchback, and eventually got totally lost trying to find the tower at the top. But we ran into some other lost American students, and we managed to find our way to Petrin Tower, sort of a miniature Eiffel Tower. And luckily, we happened upon the tower on a free day! The views were spectacular, and could have only been better if the clouds hadn't been so... well, cloudy. Then we went into the House of Mirrors, where Alex and I had quite a good laugh as the oldest people in there (parents and grandparents aside). After our unexpected hiking experience, Alex and I hunkered down in Coffeeheaven with warm drinks and read for almost 2 hours. It was truly delightful, and at the moment I am quite thoroughly enjoying the second Bridget Jones' diary. I have been known to laugh out loud! Haha, but at least I didn't fall asleep this time!

And today was just your typical lazy Sunday, and it is the last one I will have in quite awhile. Next weekend Alex and I are off to England, and I am soooo looking forward to a nice weekend at pubs with Viv and Alex! And two days after I get back my parents are coming to stay for a week. I am so thrilled to have them coming! I have already written up a preliminary itinerary in true Miller-style, and am planning on showing them around my favorite Prague spots. And then right after they leave, Alex and I leave to meet Breanna and Annemarie in romantic Paris! Honestly, the next three weekends are going to absolutely amazing and full of wonderful people and places. I am so excited!!!

These pictures did not upload in chronological order (grrr), but I will caption them!

This is hands-down the most delicious pastry I have ever had. Alex and I have been eyeing them at a booth in Old Town Square, and finally broke down and bought them after our hike up Petrin Hill. We totally deserved it. They are hollow and covered in sugar... and still doughy on the inside. Deliciousssss yummmmmmmmm :)

Alex and I in the Hall of Mirrors on Petrin Hill! I've always wanted to have long legs!

This is me (obviously) and the view of Prague from Petrin Tower. Those two pointy spires in the distance are St. Vitus Cathedral. Just lovely!

Old Town Square from far far away... looks like a fairy tale land, doesn't it?

This is "The Disappearing Man," a memorial to those who died under the Communist Regime, and those who suffered under "tyrannical despotism."

Fall is beginning at last! Our cute shoes in the fall leaves outside Konopiste Castle.

This is the bear who lives in the moat outside Konopiste! His name is Kazamir, and he is very friendly and cute. We also meet his wife Masha - who is stuffed inside the castle. Lovely.

This is best view I could get of the castle, as it was surrounded mostly by trees. This is the side garden - home to a very odd-looking peacock!

Next up: England and my likely struggles understanding the accents of Alex's relatives. :)

This is Julia Miller reporting for the Blague!

I have to go to class??? Also, Prague Castle!

Good evening Blagueies! Well, it is actually about noon for you. But you get the general idea of salutation. I have just completed my first week of classes in Prague, and it is a very different learning experience from good ole Puget Sound. It is definitely a more independent and self-motivated system of learning, with a lot of lecture. For example, lecture for three hours in a row! I have enjoyed all my classes so far, but I have not enjoyed the fact that I have homework. I was so excited for class - and then I remembered I actually have to work. Man, it's such a tough life.

Speaking of tough life, I drink beer now! Not very often mind you, because it fills me up quite quickly. I never really liked beer before, but THE Czech beer Pilsner Urquell is pretty good. This is a picture of Alex and I with our "small" beers. And yes, this is what you get when you order a small beer. And how much did this set me back? 22 crowns, or about $1.25. :)

Apart from classes beginning, this week also marked my first trips to Prague Castle! Now let me enlighten you all on something that quite confused me until I asked my personal Prague tour guide Alex. There isn't actually one particular "Prague Castle." The name Prague Castle refers to the area where all the royal buildings, palaces, president's residence, and St. Vitus Cathedral are. Or at least that is my understanding of the matter. The famous spires on the skyline of Prague are actually those of the breathtaking St.Vitus Cathedral! Fancy that. Anyway, Alex, another friend, and I explored this area last weekend, and then I went on an AIFS group tour yesterday. Then I actually learned something about what I had already seen! Haha. Earlier in the semester, Alex and I had already signed up for an event after the walking tour at Lobkovitz Palace, which is the only privately owned building in the castle complex. They led us to a beautifully decorated room with a magnificent view of Prague, and gave us delicious coffee and giant slices of apple strudel! It was amazing. Then, we got to go on a free audio tour of the Palace galleries, which had everything from ancient family portraits to original Beethoven and Mozart music scores. It was a really great and interesting audio tour, and it was actually narrated by the current Lobkovitz owner, who happens to be from America. And I was especially interested because I had two cups of very strong coffee beforehand and was pretty jazzed on caffeine!

There is so much to do and see here in Prague, it is blowing my mind. It is a fairly small city, but I have been here a month and still have so much to see! I've posted some of my favorite recent pictures below, so you can enjoy the sights of Praha along with me.

Well of course I had to take a picture of the delicious apple strudel!

Alex and our suitemates, Lauren and Laurie, having coffee at Lobkovitz Palace.

View of St. Vitus and the castle complex from the Royal Gardens.

This is Alex and I at a view point of the city! It is soooo beautiful. :)

These are some of the amazing stained glass windows inside the cathedral.

I absolutely HAD to photo document this amazing salad. It is the first legitimate salad that I have had since I got here! Mine had peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and olives. And Alex's in the background had goat cheese, apples, and walnuts. (Note to parents and Annemarie - I am taking you to this restaurant!!!)

This is a video I took of the view of the city form Prague Castle. Hopefully it will give a little better impression of how gorgeous the city is!

This is Julia Miller reporting for the Blague.