The Week After

I feel like most people go into a study abroad experience with certain expectations.  These expectations usually include the anticipation of learning about a different culture, or new language, or different government system.  I was no different; going into my semester in Prague, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Prague, but I certainly expected to learn a ton about a new place.  What I found, however, was that I learned as much about myself and being an American as I did about what Europe is actually like.

What makes Europe and America different?  Well, that is obviously a complicated question.  On the surface, both Europe and America are westernized (for the most part), with the key differences being that in America you get free water and ketchup at restaurants, people wear shorts, people are more obese, and you drive a lot more for a lot less money.  Of course, this is not really what I mean when I try to describe the differences.

There are certain expectations people have in America, both of themselves and each other.  People are expected to work more and harder in this country than many places throughout Europe.  Just look at Greece right now, and other countries such as Italy and Spain (where the unemployment rate is 20%...in the country!).  It is a different culture of work and government dependence.  In the UK, even the “conservative” party would be mostly democratic in the U.S., as they are pro-environment, in favor of national healthcare, etc.  Was this brought on by the competition that has developed in the U.S. over the years, as so many immigrants came and competed against each other for a good life?  I don’t know.  I have no idea.

However, I do know that part of the culture gap is due to differences in history, as America hasn’t suffered through two World Wars fought upon its continent (and thus has not had to really “recover” anytime the last 100 years; the stock market crash is one thing, but having 90% of some of your cities bombed out like Germany is another).  America is also a much larger country than any of the individual nations in Europe (duh).

Also, at this point, I have to remind myself that I really shouldn’t consider “Europe” one place anymore.  In America, just like Europe, you can drive across state lines without having your passport checked (in most of Europe you can do this now).  However, the difference between driving from the Czech Republic to Germany is not the same as the differences seen when driving from Pennsylvania to Ohio, where the license plates change, the Governor changes, and, well, that’s about it.  When you drive between countries in Europe, the moment you cross the border everything INSTANTLY changes:  history, language, way of life.  Ten miles into Germany, no one speaks Czech, no one can understand anything about the Czech Republic. 

It is amazing how this unguarded border still signifies such vast differences.  If you’ve ever driven between the U.S. and Canada, it doesn’t compare to driving between European nations.  The U.S. and Canada are still alike in many ways (although I’m not sure either would want to admit).  For one, the language is the same, and that automatically binds places together (such as Germany and Austria).

I don’t know, maybe I’m rambling a bit.

Prague was the most beautiful city I’ve ever been to.  I can’t really imagine how anything man-made can really be that much more spectacular.  Granted, I’ve never seen the Great Wall of China or the Egyptian Pyramids, but I put the city of Prague right on up there with the Old City of Jerusalem or Paris or anywhere.

Czechs are a pretty interesting bunch.  Yes, at first (and usually) they might come across as a little harsh, or even mean, especially older Czechs.  But they have a quiet intelligence through them (minus the cracked out homeless guys, but that is true anywhere).  They are a country smaller than many U.S. states, yet the government and infrastructure and culture is just as extensive as many larger nations.

Integrating to the rest of Europe will be an ongoing and fascinating process to watch, both in terms of the Czech Republic/Central and Eastern Europe and also in relation to the rest of the world.  With the U.S. a dominant power, and large countries such as India and China catching up, Europe will not be as important as it once was without being united.  This is just my opinion, of course, but I think the European Union is here to stay, and even the euro will be around for a while (unless the Germans and French get too frustrated because they have to keep funding bailouts for countries that don’t like to work).

Looking back over these fourish months, integration is just one topic I learned about.  Most of the things I learned I will not be able to put in words.  I know that sometimes, this fall/summer, my friends are going to look at me and go, “What?  Why did you do that?”  There will be parts of me changed from my European experience.

I can’t believe how much I did over four months.  It is true:  once you get to Europe, it is really easy to get around.  In the Czech Republic, I went to Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Litomerice, Kutna Hora, and Plzen.  Outside the CR, I went to (from East to West) Budapest, Krakow, Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Madrid.  Wow.  Learned a lot everywhere I went.  And it was a BLAST!

At the same time, I am more proud now than ever to be an American and to live in this country.   This adventure has reinforced all my goals of getting involved with American government some way or another.  I care about this place a lot, and maybe this is a bit too reflective, but I don’t want to sit back now that I have just a taste of what the world is like.  We can’t take this country for granted or else we will get lazy and fall back in world importance.  It is that simple.

I also realize I’m lucky to have experienced this, but would implore anyone I know to spend some time abroad, even if only for a vacation or a few weeks.  It is guaranteed to impact you, or at least make you realize what you like about your home.

I guess that is it for now.  The blog has been a success, I think.  If anything, I now have about 200 pages of notes and pictures for me to remember my semester in Prague 25 years from now when I tell my kids about it.  Looking forward to discussing every step of the journey with you next time I see you in person!

Good-bye! Adios! Cau! Na shladenou! Au Revior! Pozegnanie! Bucsu! Auf Wiedersehen!

Sitting in the Amsterdam Airport

So I’m sitting in the Amsterdam Airport right now, where I expected to be able to use my one-day pass to Delta’s luxury lounge that I bought.  For some reason, they don’t take the pass here, so Delta’s website lied and I have to find somewhere to hang out (I have a five hour layover and did not go to sleep last night because my flight was so early, so allow me to gripe for just one paragraph).

Anyway, the last few days in Prague were great.  Thursday, my flatmates and friends took a bus trip to Plzen, home of the world famous Pilsner Urquell brewery, the birthplace of pilsner beers.  Unlike the Heineken “Experience” in Amsterdam, this was a tour of an actual working brewery, where the produce up to 60,000 bottles per hour, on only one of two bottle lines plus a line for cans.  It is an impressive brewery, with large modern tanks for the beer to mature in bordering historic buildings of the old brewery.

Our tour took us through the history of the town and beer, through the working factory where we saw beer as it was bottled, through the old cellars where we got to sample fresh, unfiltered Pilsner (pretty amazing), and around the old brewhouses.  It was a great last trip to take with all my friends.

Unfortunately, my camera battery was dead, so I have nothing to show.  Hopefully my friends will put some pictures on facebook and that will be that.  We finished up Thursday night with one last outing at Radost, one of our most popular night spots.  It was extremely late, but a great way to say goodbye to Prague.

Yesterday, our program concluded with a boat cruise on the Vltava River.  Everyone who was still in Prague came, along with some of our Czech partners, including mine, Tereza!  I hadn’t seen her for a long time so it was nice to catch up.

Scenes from the boat cruise, as Seth and I are really thoughtful.

The weather has been awful in Prague through May, but luckily the rain held off for the afternoon as we enjoyed a slightly different view of Prague.  The cruise also made me realize that part of this whole experience had nothing to do with the place of things I was seeing.  It had everything to do with meeting some great people along the way, which is not a huge reason why I wanted to study abroad but something great to come out of it nevertheless.

Me with Hannah, Seth and Ahbra, and Tereza

It was weird saying goodbye to everyone, because I truly don’t know who I will ever see again in my life.  Luckily, there are a lot of Michigan kids on my program, so I will definitely see them.  And because there are a lot of us and we got to the only “big” school in our program, lots of people want to come visit for football games or hockey weekends or just to see us.  So, I’m looking forward to Moses, Dave, Sophie, Rachel, Ben, Drew, and more coming to visit.  Hopefully I’ll see them all before then in NYC or Washington, DC this summer, but you never know.

Thank you to the random man from Curacao who donated his leftover Internet minutes to me (no thank you to Delta/KLM).  Therefore, I can post.  He thought I was from Ireland!  Which I guess I’ll take as a compliment, as I’m wearing the most euro-thing I could so that my family all looks at me strangely when I walk in the door.

The final post is next.

The Best Thing I've Ever Eaten

 Trying a new Korean BBQ place for our last weeks here.

Well, I'm in Prague for 2 1/2 more nights, so this will probably be my last update from the Czech Republic (although we are going to Plzen tomorrow, to visit the famous Pilsner Urquell brewery, where the first pilsner beer was created and where they bottle thousands of bottles a day now).

This week we have been finishing up finals (which have been a pain) and trying to do as much as possible our last week in Prague.  My friends Sam and Brian were visiting for a few days, so it was great to see them, even though I had to study a bit.  I took them around for a little, including over the Charles Bridge where we could barely move.  Have I mentioned how much I hate tourists at all?

Please tell me this:  why do Czechs think it is cool to dedicate a day of the year to a festival where people dress up as Zombies and walk through the streets in a 'Zombie Walk' where they try to convert people in the streets to their cause?  Literally, have google translate www.zombiewalk.cz and see what I'm talking about.  Is this normal?

The one and only...Zombie Walk.

On Monday, ee all headed to the Prague Beer Festival for dinner.  Unlike Munich, they don't even try to hide the fact it is all about the beer.  Munich calls their festival "Springfest," and Prague calls in "Ceska Pivni Festival," literally Czech Beer Festival.  The beers are all from smaller breweries in the country, and with the traditional Czech food, it made for a nice evening.  It was a weeknight and also cold, so it wasn't very crowded, but definitely worth trying out.

Tuesday (yesterday) was my last final exam, so I am officially a senior.  That is just awful, and I don't want to talk about it.  After our exam, Seth and I met Brian and went to see Iron Man 2 at a Czech movie theater.  It was in English with Czech subtitles, and of course you could get beer at the movie theater.  Afterwards, we had our last dinner at Noi Thai across the street, which was delicious as always.  We went out last night to a bar in Prague 3/Zizkov called U Hapu, which I had been meaning to try.  It was a cool cocktail bar, pretty small and cozy but with a great and reasonable selection of drinks.  I actually ended up walking home with Seth, which was great because the city was quiet and we got to see a different side of Prague.

W

We are so Czech.  I ate too much popcorn.

Today my plan had many stages.  First, we had our last Wednesday lunch at the Indian food restaurant near school.  It was sad, because we had really developed a relationship with the guy who works there/owns the place, and he was sad to see us go.  Second, we headed to one of Prague's Vietnamese markets, where you could buy the fake version of everything.  The weather was bad, but it was a big outdoor market I didn't really know existed until recently.  To walk off lunch some more, we strolled around Old Town, buying a few souvenirs along the way.

Then, per my mom's suggestion, we headed to the Choco Cafe.  As soon as we walked in the door, the scent of chocolate filled our noses.  It was a chocolate heaven.  There were all sorts of drinks and food items on the menu, but Seth and I each settled on fruit hot chocolate; he got berry, I got orange.  The chocolate was like melted dark chocolate goodness with whipped cream and oranges and it was the best thing I have ever had in my life.

I was a bit happy, can't you tell?

Mind you, I've had a lot of chocolate, so when I say it was the best, you better listen.

It was a good thing I saved this until the end, because I literally would have gone there every day.  It is just one of the many things I will miss about Prague, and one of the many ideas I have for businesses that would be successful in Ann Arbor.  I'm going to save details of my last couple days for a blog post from either the Amsterdam or Detroit airports most likely, and then have a bigger reflective post next week when I am home.  But it is crazy to say that I leave this Saturday, and I can't say I have any regrets.

10 Days

With only 10 days left in the Czech Republic, the last thing I want to be thinking about is work and finals and papers.  Unfortunately, that is what this week has mostly consisted of.

Yesterday, we took our finals exams for Czech language and our walking tour class (okay, the latter one really can't be considered too much of an exam).  It is weird to think that I came here without knowing a word of Czech, and while certainly not anywhere close to fluent or knowing enough vocabulary to hold a real conversation, I can get around now and ask the basic questions.  Going to the grocery store is no longer daunting either!

For the next 10 days, my roommates and I have come up with a "bucket list" of sorts, though Doug is unfortunately having to leave early due to the impending British Airways strike.  Things on this list include a trip to Plzen to see the brewery, going to the Choco Cafe (which my mom said was the best chocolate she's ever had), getting a cool pair of European shoes/sneakers, getting some sort of souvenirs or shot glasses to take back with me, etc.  We are sad Doug is leaving.  With all the social welfare benefits of these "rich" European democracies it is amazing how much they strike.  They strike just because they want to sometimes it seems.  The French don't even know what they strike about, they just don't want to work (okay, a bit of a generalization and stereotype, but they strike a TON).

As it turns out, I have a couple friends touring Europe through May, between being in Michigan last semester and starting summer jobs, and they will be swinging by Prague early next week.  So I will get to do a final loop of all the touristy/famous places with them, which should be nice.

Don't get me wrong, we've still seen some weird stuff lately to remind us we are not in Western Europe or the U.S., including:  two girls carrying a coffin down the street (not sure why), running past a bootleg photo-shoot for some Czech version of Maxim magazine, our bizarre tour guide at Kutna Hora, the fight on the metro (from the zoo, I think I mentioned that), and millions of tourists fumbling with maps.  That's not so strange, just kind of funny.

With my time wrapping up here, I'm starting to think about, "What's next?"  Probably I shouldn't, but the summer will be busy with a new job, a different city, preparing for law school, and even turning 21.  It also scares me that I don't know when I'll be coming back.  Yes, it's definitely "when" and not "if."  But most of my sadness for leaving isn't because I don't want to go home; I just know that the next time I'm in Prague it will be different.

Thinking about these things and realizing my time is ending here, combined with staying up to watch the Cavs get thrashed by the Celtics, has caused me to not sleep much this week.  Just don't want to waste any time I guess.  I should get back to writing about Bulgaria and the Euro and Hungary and other random EU stuff.  If anyone wants to Skype I will no doubt be watching Cleveland again tonight as they fight to hold off elimination.  Oh well.

Strange Times at Kutna Hora

Before I came to Prague, I had lunch with my Rabbi in Erie.  He told me about a few things in Prague I should see, and we talked a lot about Europe generally.  But, one thing I remember him telling me that I should see, that he saw when he was here, is the city of Kutna Hora.  He described it as bizarre, and after our program's day trip there today, I think he was pretty much dead on.

Kutna Hora is a small town about an hour outside of Prague.  It was important centuries ago after silver ore was discovered beneath the city.  We left Prague about 8 am, although we were all a few minutes late as we struggled to wake up after going to a foam party the night before.  But that's a story for another time.  Only a small portion of my program actual made this trip, but my whole apartment went, because, well, why not?

We arrived in the city about 9:30 and started our 3 hourish tour.  To be honest, hardly anyone was paying attention because it was early and we just wanted to look around.  But, the first place we visited was very strange and worth talking about.  It was called the Church of St. James or St. Barbara officially (I think), but it is really known as "the bone church."

The bone church; a pyramid in the bone church.

This church employs bones from some 40,000 people who died during the Plague-ish era to make pyramids, chandeliers, sculptures, and general decorative pieces throughout the small church.  The pyramids were the first things built, in the 15th century I believe, by a blind man who was basically bored and looking for ways to use the people in the graves to make room for more dead people.  Seriously.  During the Hapsburg monarchy in the 19th century, the bones were expanded to form many other decorative structures to complete the church.

Skulls with injuries from medieval injuries; me next to a bone sculpture; the crest of the famous Schwarzenberg family made up of bones.

Why would someone think this is a good idea?  Apparently it is spiritual to be surrounded by reminders of death, so that we live our lives well, etc. etc.  It was just kind of creepy.  And we all thought we were going to be haunted.

For most of the rest of the tour through the rival cathedral, the royal palace, and parts of the town, and more, I hung near the back and talked to our program directors for a while, because that was frankly a bit more interesting.  Lunch was good, at a typical Czech style place.  I couldn't resist getting one last pork knee before heading back to the U.S.  Can't really get this at home (probably a good thing too).

Dad would be proud.

After lunch, we went to get a tour of the silver mine.  We were warned that there were some extremely tight spaces, so if you were claustrophobic not to go.  Luckily, I am not, but a bunch of people I was with opted not to go.  Turns out if was probably a good decision, as the mine did get cramped in many places.

The whole tour was one of the most ridiculous situations I've experienced in Europe so far.  Why?  The tour guide, mostly.  He was an old Czech man who had probably lived in Kutna Hora his whole life.  He was dressed in slacks, a couple layers and a sweater, a hard hat, a white lab coat, and Crocs for shoes.  Yes, Crocs.  He had one eye that was cross-eyed and one more normal eye.  Surprisingly, he actually spoke English.  We were all taking pictures of him and he actually got mad at that.

Our tour guide and his attire.

To go in the mine, we were all required to wear hard hats and white coats (to protect against mud and slime) and carry flashlights.  This was not like the touristy salt mines we had visited in Poland, this was hardcore.  We put on our coats and were paraded through a couple streets (so that other people could laugh at us) and then headed down some 179 steps or something to the mine.

Through the mines.

It was tight quarters.  We had to tuck and twist and be generally squeezed together a lot.  Our guide told us a few interesting stories about past tourists, and they went something like this:

"I had a Denmark family.  The man he was quite fat.  He had trouble getting through part of cave.  His kids came behind him and they push.  Eventually, he break free and I say he was liberated."

"There was a Swedish woman, and she was quite beautiful.  When going through skinny part of cave, she had a tight fit, and on other side, she tell me, 'I lost my breast.'  Let us move on now."

"An American family came, and the man was heavy, about 140 kg [which is approaching 300 lbs].  He get to small part of cave, and has to swim through the opening to keep going."

No joke, actual quotes.  One of our program directors was laughing so hard at the whole situation before we even got in the mines that she had to step out and compose herself.  It was hilarious.  And he was wearing Crocs!

Me and Henrieta, one of our program directors.

The rest of the day was uneventful.  I am currently waiting nervously for Game 3 of the Cavs-Celtics to start.  One thing I will look forward to upon returning is the ability to watch sports on regular tv, i.e. not on bootleg websites.

Can you believe I come home in two weeks?  I sure can't.

Here's just a weird picture I came across in Prague this week:

My Last Trip Outside the CZ: Budapest and Vienna

Have I really been here over 3 months?  That just blows my mind.  This past weekend, I took my final trip outside the Czech Republic, to Budapest, Hungary, and Vienna, Austria.  These were both on my list of places to see when studying in Prague, so luckily I made it to the two cities.

My friend Sophie and I started our journey with an overnight train from Prague to Budapest.  This was an experience in and of itself.  We had a nice little sleeper car, complete with sink, towels, and power outlets.  Believe me, power outlets on trains are great so you can watch movies on computers.  I didn't sleep well because I'm a light sleeper, but we woke up in Budapest relatively fresh and ready to tour.

After checking into our hostel, Gabe, the hostel manager, basically spelled out exactly how to see Budapest in a day and a half.  He was excellent.  We had a huge circle to cover that day, so we started walking straight away.  Over the course of the day, we had to have walked close to 8ish miles, but it was great.

Budapest, despite trying to be a central or more western European country, is eastern.  The saying that the only country in central Europe is the Czech Republic seems to be true.  Of the four possible candidates, the V4 "Visegrad" countries of Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary, I can strongly say that Poland and Hungary are definitely eastern, and I haven't spent time in Slovakia but would guess it is similar to Czech Republic with a slightly eastern tint.

The old and huge Jewish synagogue; the huge indoor market; Sophie and I overlooking the city.

It is hard to qualify exactly why it felt so eastern.  The people just act slightly different, slightly stranger.  The way things run do not work the same.  And in Hungary, the language is also bizarre.  It is distantly related to Finnish, but unrelated to any of the languages of the surrounding countries.  It is nothing like a Slovak language.  And it was very strange to listen to.  The way the city looks is just not a western European city.

Anyway, on our circuit we walked through things like the big Jewish synagogue, the flee market, and Chain Bridge, Parliament, and we hiked up two different mountains.  One had great views of the city, the other held the castle district.

I won't bore you with too many details about my itinerary, except to say that the city was beautiful.  It was not quite as beautiful as Prague, but I don't think anywhere is.  The Danube river was really cool to see because it is so famous.  Of course, we tried the Hungarian street snack specialty called Langos (pronounced Langosh, all the "s" are "sh), which is basically a fried pastry covered with garlic, onion, cheese, sour cream, or whatever toppings you would like.  What's not to enjoy about that?

Me eating a Langos; Parliament.

I also saw one of the weirdest "attractions" I've seen in Europe.  Underneath the castle, in the limestone, is an underground hospital.  It was built during WWII and expanded during the Cold War, and at the time was one modern both technologically and medically (according to the tour).  Upon entering the lobby area, which was previously used for ambulance drop off, I could already see it was kind of bizarre from the fact you could buy "civilian defense equipment" in the "gift shop" such as gas masks, Geiger counters, radiation suits, guns, and more.

The tour was fascinating.  This hospital had been dug out and constructed through the naturally occurring caves in the rock, so was more secure from bombings and later nuclear radiation.  The hospital was almost completely self-sustaining, although it relied on the main hospital building for most of the food because the in-house kitchen was so small.  But, there was a power generator, air heaters and coolers, and "modern" medical equipment from the 50s.  There were several wards to the hospital, including an operating room and emergency center.

In an attempt to make the exhibit realistic, the museum set up wax figures throughout to show what the hospital would have looked like.  These wax figures were the creepiest things I've ever seen.  Besides being covered with fake blood and wounds, they had the strangest facial expressions of pain.  Most of the equipment and first aid kits were all original, which made it pretty authentic.  The tour guide alternated between English and Hungarian.  The smell and the lighting were all creepy, but what really put it over the top was the mushroom-cloud-shaped lamp.

That's right, it looked like a mushroom cloud.  It was sitting next to radiation detectors and air raid sirens, which we were able to try.  Next to that were decontamination showers and hospital gowns, and procedures for how to handle radiation scares.  We were shown where the filters were that changed the air inside the hospital extremely frequently.  I wish we could have taken pictures, but I'll just say that it is worth the visit.

At the end of our walking circuit, we visited the Budapest mall, which showed us the other end of the spectrum of culture.  It was very Westernized, but also convenient because I had to buy a belt and flip flops.  There were more shoe stores than I could count.

That night, Sophie's friend Alexas took us around because she was studying in Budapest.  We had a nice meal at a good local restaurant, where I had my Hungarian Goulash of course.  We went to a couple interesting bars also.  The first one was hidden away in some old building, and was very authentic, as in we were probably the only Americans there.  The center courtyard had a roof that could be opened, with a weird collection of wooden fish hanging from it, next to the vines.  The rooms throughout the bar were strange, ranging from old sitting rooms to a room that looked like a communist dentist office.  Seriously.

We then went to the cheapest bar ever, and took the tram to this outdoor bar/club area next to the Danube.  It was a great time, although not a scene I'm used to.  Besides getting elbowed every five seconds, the atmosphere was fantastic.  The place was packed, as people gathered in the center pit of what was probably a bunch of outdoor bars and a DJ table.  It was hard to really see what was going on because there were so many people.

Exhausted, Sophie and I eventually took a cab back towards the hostel and tried to sleep.  I say "tried" because we were woken up in the middle of the night due to one of our roommates snoring, and then falling out of bed (at least I'm pretty sure).  Luckily, the next morning was relaxing, as we hit the Hungarian baths.

We walked through heroes square and entered Szecheny Bath, probably Budapest's biggest and most famous bath.  We quickly changed into our bathing suits, and explored the vast collection of hot and cold baths, inside and outside.  There were many old and large Hungarian men and women mixed in with tourists and some regular Hungarians.  It was pretty funny to watch some of the people.  It was such a warm and beautiful day outside that we spent most of our time by the outdoor pools.

The famous baths in Budapest.

The whole experience was extremely soothing, and I could see why the Hungarians have embraced this Turkish tradition (although it wasn't cheap, though nothing in Budapest was expensive).  On the way back, we grabbed a quick bite to eat in what appeared to be a drained lake in a park where a bunch of shops had set up, and headed to the train station, Budapest-Keleti.

Although I never got used to the currency, the Florint, which is about 200 to 1 USD, things were very reasonable in Hungary.  The people in touristy areas were very friendly.  The market was great, full of an awesome selection of fruits, vegetables, meats, bizarre meats, paprika (they loved spices), juices (amazing fresh blood orange juice), and flea market stuff.  The food was similar to Prague, but more flavorful.  The beer, not as good, of course.

It was hard to really understand a city in less than 48 hours, but the history and importance of Budapest was obvious the entire time.  It was also a larger city than Prague, both in population (by a little bit) and by feel (felt a lot bigger).  It is also important to understand Budapest in the context of Hungary's political and economic situation (which I am writing about in my classes).

They are struggling from the international financial crisis, a lot.  Their currency is highly volatile, but to get on the Euro they are having to make some drastic changes.  As a result of unhappiness with government, the Conservatives just won a huge political victory, beating the Socialists for the first time in 8 years with over 2/3 of the seats in Parliament.  A right and extremist party also won seats in Parliament, which is scary because they are nationalist, anti-Semitic, and, well, extreme.  Hungary faces an uphill battle the next five years for sure.

Our next stop on this trip was Vienna, Austria.  In Vienna, we were to meet up with some other friends from our program, Hannah, Rachel, and Drew.  I have traveled with them before, so we were all pretty close.  Pulling into Vienna, I headed to the hostel and immediately felt back in the West, and while it was not "normal" by American standards it was certainly more of what I was used to.

Outside the Imperial Palace in the heart of Vienna; the famous silver collection.

The buildings were pretty modern, the tram system was well run, and while everything was in German I felt like most people spoke English.  At one point in history, Vienna was arguably the capital of the world, the most important city in Europe.  This was because the Hapsburg monarchy was seated in Vienna, and we saw both their winter and summer palaces.

In the center city, the architecture was just massive, with palaces and government buildings and museums and the opera and the cathedral making up the skyline.  I got there Friday night, so we pretty much went straight to dinner at a place around the corner with cheap, delicious, Weiner Schnitzel, an Austrian favorite.  The restaurant people were so nice, and showed us the best things to get on the menu.  And compared to other places on the Euro, it was pretty reasonable.

We hung out at the hostel bar that night, but were all pretty tired so went to bed early in order to get up early the next day and see as much as possible.

And we did see a lot.  We started with the Winter Palace, the Hofburg Imperial Palace.  What a sight it was.  The history and the massive size and the art and beauty of the place was astounding.  It was almost too lavish to appreciate, as was the Summer Palace the next day.  We walked through the silver collection, which included hundreds upon hundreds of dinner plates and silverwear.  To think that there were poor people in the Hapsburg Empire while the royal family had so much is absurd.  We saw the living quarters of the family, and also saw an exhibit about Sisi, the last Queen who was assassinated.  Most of the palace was still set up/catered to Franz Joseph, who ruled the Empire for almost 70 years and died during WWI.

The gardens were beautiful, although I wish more things had been in bloom because they had something like 100 different variety of roses.  Everything was so impressive though, and as Mel Brooks said very well, "It's good to be da king."  Thank you Napolean, thank you Hapsburgs, thank you History of the World Part I.  If I had to pick a theme from Vienna, that would be it.  Everything was geared towards making the Hapsburgs happy.

From the garden to the cake shop...

That day we also visited Cafe Demel for afternoon cake and coffee (very European, right?).  The Austrians take their cakes very seriously, as in there was recently a huge lawsuit between Cafe Demel and another cafe called Sacher Ek to settle who could use the title, "The Original Sacher Torte."  Sachertorte is a type of chocolate cake, with a slightly different consistency than normal cake.  It is hard to describe, but was very delicious.  They had many varieties of cakes, sweets, and even some appetizers.  As a food guy, this was one of the highlights of my trip.  I like to think it is a big part of the culture as well.

We finished the afternoon by climbing almost 400 steps to the top of the famous cathedral, which was cool but I'm not sure the dizziness was worth the view.  After, we rushed back to our hostel to shower, put on clean clothes, and go to the opera!

I have never been to an opera before, so seeing one in German was certainly an interesting experience.  It was opening night for a traditional German opera, so the house was packed with everyone from Vienna's finest in suits and tuxedos to the tourists standing in the back in the standing seats for four Euro.  It was definitely worth the ticket though, as we saw a pretty real Viennese tradition.

At the Vienna Opera.

As much as we enjoyed listening to a play while watching the subtitles and sweating profusely in the back, we had seen enough after the second of three acts.  We headed out to wander around town, go down towards the big nightlife areas near the Danube (also runs threw Vienna), and grab a quick drink before sleep.  We were all worn out again, so went back to sleep relatively early to try to see the summer palace the next day.

I must say, the summer palace was one of the most impressive and luxurious things I've seen in Europe.  On the grounds of the castle were the living quarters itself, surrounded by a massive park that included fountains, a zoo, greenhouses, and more.  It was pretty crowded, but it was so huge that outside was relatively quiet.  Again, "It's good to be da king."

Throughout the summer palace in Vienna.

Unfortunately, we didn't realize we needed timed tickets to go inside the palace, so we poorly planned our visit and ended up not being able to see the inside.  Nevertheless, it was amazing to walk around and think about the history and royalty that was with us.  Talk about living history.

I went with the group to the Leopold Museum, which showcased many of Austria's famous artists, but quickly had to head back to the hostel and train station because I was on an earlier train than everyone else.  The ride back was nice, and it was so weird realizing that the next time I would travel outside the Czech Republic I would be going home.

I enjoyed Vienna a lot, even though I was only there a short time like Budapest.  It was not as big or as important as it once was, but it still had the feeling of a regal city.  Some things were closed on Saturday for May Day/ Labor Day, so we didn't get to see some things such as the Nachmarket (big outdoor market), but I think we got a pretty good feel for things.  Austrians seemed nice enough also.

As with every single place I've traveled (with the possible exception of Spain), I was more than ready to come back "home" to Prague by the end.  I am thrilled with my choice, but also feel so lucky to be able to have traveled to so many different countries.  I'm sure I'll reflect more on this later, but I've traveled to Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Austria, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic of course, going to 1-2 major cities in each place.  This doesn't even count the travel with the CZ.

One thing is for sure:  I will be far less daunted with travel to new places than I was before.  Public transportation is easily masterable now (especially in America, where they speak English).  It is sad because I'm not sure when if ever I will be back in some of these places, but am thrilled to have had the chance to see it all.

My blogs from now on may start to get a bit more reflective because my time in Europe is winding down, but I'll try to share my experiences from day-to-day as well.  As always, please e-mail or facebook me with comments or questions!

Bye for now.

An actual post about the Czech Republic!

Because I actually am studying in Prague, and ALL of my previous posts have been about travel, I thought it was about time to say a thing or two about Prague and my experience here overall.  After being here for almost 3 months now (wow, that's crazy), I feel like there are a few things that I can say that I wasn't sure if I was allowed to say before.

First of all, I like speaking English.  Americans and British people are spoiled because so much of the world and most of Europe speaks some degree of English.  But, I think that I recognize this fact, which helps when I don't "expect" everyone else to speak English and realize that when I am in another country, they are really accommodating me by speaking my language.

Second, although I love Europe and can appreciate so much of the culture, I love America and think it's the best country in the world and would never want to live anywhere else.  I was really nervous about displaying the "arrogant America" stereotype while here, and while by no means have I completed avoided this, I think I have learned to appreciate other cultures while still holding onto the fact that I like my home culture the best.  This, of course, is a "duh" moment and makes sense.

Doug, Rachel, and I overlooking a scenic part of the Vltava River on our walking tour class.

Third, European culture is sometimes strange.  I take that back immediately:  there is no "European" culture per say, as every country is really different.  But each country's culture has small little quirks that sometimes make me turn my head and wonder why this is happening.  For example, Czechs are pretty quiet and reserved in almost every area of life, yet they are not shy to engage in public displays of affection.

I think that Americans sometimes view Europe as one big United States, with the countries as different states.  This is at least partly how I viewed it before coming here.  However, though moving from Czech Republic to Germany is as easy as going from Pennsylvania to Ohio, as soon as you cross the border EVERYTHING changes.  It's not like changing from Penn St fans to Ohio St fans, it is much more drastic.  Language, currency, history, culture, government, work ethic...literally everything changes.  Even degree of religiosity and sense of nationalism change immediately.

Fourth, I think I've learned to appreciate nature more recently.  Prague boasts a wide and varied array of parks, from Petrin Hill across the street with amazing views of the city to a park called Stromovka where we went just this week, which is enormous and has great green spaces and natural wildlife.  Not to mention crazy ducks that were feeling spring fever and mating season while we were there.  Part of this could appreciate could be the fact that Erie, PA, has very few city parks outside of the peninsula, but I think that for a city of Prague's size they have excellent caretaking of green spaces.

Another thing to note is that every day it gets warmer, and every day more tourists come.  The temperature is directly proportional to the amount of people in this city, and it is so irritating.  Prague is not a big city.  Old Town's streets are not wide.  So when thousands upon thousands of people are added to the mix it is impossible to get around these areas without running into someone every five seconds.  The amount of people wandering around with maps in front of their faces, even near my apartment (which is slightly less touristy), has gotten to be a bit much for my liking.

Do I sound snobby?  Perhaps, as this was me just a few months ago.  But, as I've said before, I really don't consider myself a tourist here.  By now, I know too much of the language and culture to feel like a true outsider, though by no means am I a permanent resident or native Czech person.

I'm not sure this post made sense, but I guess the bottom line, what I'm trying to say, is that a theme of acceptance has more or less fallen over me.  I can accept that Europe is strange sometimes and that I love America, while understanding that not everyone is the same.  I accept that I am lucky to be a native English speaker but that I should try to learn a little bit of the language in other places I go.

To wrap up this post, I'll just briefly share that we went on a wine tasting trip yesterday to Litomerice, a city about an hour north of Prague, close to Terezin (concentration camp).  We visited the town, had one of the best meals I've had in Europe at this great restaurant there (where we were pleasantly surprised to learn we did not have to pay; apparently our UPCES fee covered this, and it was a pretty extravagant lunch for the Czech Republic), and also visited a castle where Anna, one of our program directors, grew up.  That's right, her family was responsible for maintaining the castle, so from birth until 20ish she grew up in a castle.  Talk about fun house parties.

 

Drew and I hanging out on one of the Hapsburg's sofas; a peacock at the palace..

We then went to the oldest wine cellar in the country and got to sample 7 different wines over cheese, bread, and some ham.  It was really really fun, and one of the cool moments I'll remember from abroad.  I liked some of the wine, others not so much, but it was all a good experience.  Wine does not hold the same place of importance as beer in this country.  But, I also won a bottle of white, so I'm going to see if I can take it back to the U.S. with me to share with my family.

The wine cellar; me and Ahbra at wine tasting.

This weekend is gorgeous, so I'm going to go back outside or figure out evening plans.  My friend Jaime is visiting with some friends from Florence, so it has been fun to show them around with such nice weather (even though the tram is under construction and has made getting around difficult).

Look for another post Monday or Tuesdayish, before my last trip of the semester to Budapest/Vienna.  Until then-

Deky Na schlad, Ahoj, Cao!

Munich, Ein Prosit, Prost!

If you have never seen the movie "Beerfest" before, I would encourage you to either go rent it or find some clips on youtube from the movie before reading this post.  Because basically, that is what I just witnessed in Munich (although apparently on a smaller scale than the Oktoberfest featured in the movie).

As one of the final trips of my semester (geez, am I really saying that already?), I felt that a trip to Munich for the kickoff of its annual "Frulingsfest" was definitely in order.  Springfest is a carnival in Munich, and also a beer festival.  The bigger and more expensive beer festival comes with Oktoberfest in the fall, which evolved out of a royal tradition (so we learned).  But, Springfest was going to have to do.  And yes, it sure met expectations.

Although Berlin was not my favorite city I've been to, I thought I would give Germany one more shot, as the train is just so easy to use and Germany is a very important country.  Munich is different from Berlin in almost every aspect.  Just like New York and California are different states with vastly different cultures, Munich is the capital of the German state of Bavaria, home to some of Europe's richest traditions and best beer.  Berlin is one of Germany's poorest cities, and Munich is one of the richest.  Both cities experienced some heaving bombing during WWII, but Munich has been rebuilt in a much more "cozy" fashion, without the huge avenues and fast open spaces that make Berlin seem windy and lonely at times.  Munich is also a smaller city, about the same size as Prague, so have a smaller city/town attitude with the people.

The "famous" clock in Munich called the Glockenspiel, which according to our tour guide is rated the number 2 worst tourist attraction behind Prague's astronomical clock; a market in Munich.

Bavarians are also much different from the few Berliners I met.  That sentence should give you a clue as to the fact that we met many more Bavarians/ Munich people than in our previous time in Germany, as they were more friendly, welcoming, and warm than before.  Everywhere we went, they did their best to speak English and help us out.  Granted, it was a beer festival, so people were pretty cheerful to begin with.  But nevertheless, it was nice to see.

Alright now, on with the weekend.  Two of my roommates, Seth and Ahbra, and I took a later train Thursday night from Prague to Munich.  Luckily for us, Munich is a train ride away, because the air traffic in Europe right now is in chaos due to the volcano.  I have many friends who were planning on coming to Munich, but couldn't make it; there were also hundreds of American college students who made it to Germany from Florence, Barcelona, etc., but then had to scramble and pay lots of money to find alternative ways home.  So yes, European flights are as messed up right now as you see on the news.

Anyway, we got to Munich pretty late, so we went to our hostel, where we had a really nice room for just the three of us, and hung out there before going to sleep.  The next day, we wanted to do something educational on this trip (aka, not just the beer festival), so we found our old reliable free tour and visited the city.

Munich has a clock that is almost as overrated as Prague's is when it goes off.  Like Berlin, many of the buildings were heavily damaged during  WWII, so much of what we saw looked older or was made to look older than it actually was.  It was definitely a western town, but still felt very cutesy or cozy.  We saw many of Munich's important sites, from the old church that supposedly the devil helped build, to the tower where Hitler and Goebbels celebrated the Beer Hall Putsch by instigating Kristallnacht (the night of the broken glass - one of the worst pogroms in Jewish history), to the famous Hofbrauhus, a "royal" beer hall that is one of the most famous places in Munich (and that place is enormous).

The streets of Munich, and the famous Hofbrauhus logo on the side of the building.

I also learned something that I had been wondering since Munich, which was the question of how German schools deal with their past, especially when teaching history in the last 100 years.  According to our tour guide, German history education is unequaled anywhere in the world.  Besides knowing more about your own country's history than you do, he said that a recent poll showed 4 out of 5 German 10-year olds could have an intelligent conversation about Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.  So, rather than shun their past, they spend more time in school talking about it than how long it took to happen.  There are small memorials scattered throughout the city as well, reminding the Germans what happened to ensure it will never get that bad again.

By mid-afternoon, we grabbed a quick bite, then headed back to the Therienwiess, the park near our hostel where the festival was being held.  It was a great carnival, complete with all the rides that make you throw-up because they spin so much, food and sweets galor, and lots of families during the day.  We  found the largest tent in the back of the fair, run by a beer company called Augustiner, and sat down just in time to watch the first keg being tapped (equivalent to throwing out the first pitch in baseball).

Seth and I in front of the Muchner Fruhlingfest, Munich Springfest, sign.

Honestly, during the first hour we were there, the three of us were intoxicated not by any liquid, but by the surroundings we were in.  Maybe that sounds cliche, but it was so true.  The atmosphere was so cheerful, as old and young Germans were simply enjoying their culture while listening to a German polka band.  Plenty of food was being served; I'm still not sure how they were able to cook so many half-chickens and soft pretzels as to keep the place going.

And yes, the beer was probably the best one I had ever tasted.  Fresh, cold, delicious...obviously there is a reason Munich is known for this.

A slowly rotating bar in the festival; a view of the Augustiner tent; most importantly, the pretzels and chicken.

We stayed for a while longer, then decided to check out other parts of the fair.  But, we knew too many people who were back that the original tent, so after a while we went back to see them.  A couple things were different by this point:  first, it was dark out, so many families had gone home and instead it was more of a party atmosphere.  Second, we actually had to wait in line to go in, because the place was so packed.  Third, upon entering the tent, we could see tons and tons and people dancing on tables, singing, and being merry.

Me, Seth, and Ahbra at Fruhlingfest; very traditional Germans wait to serve beer from the first keg; I'm still not sure if this little girl was drinking beer or apple juice, but I'm thinking beer.

This wasn't just a case of American college kids going on a spring break-like trip to party (though there was an element of that, which added to the overall atmosphere I thought).  Germans were living this up!  Men and women were dressed in the traditional Lederhosen or old-fashioned German dress.  There were all ages there, from kids my age to older Bavarians who had to be in their 70s or 80s.

The band had switched from traditional German music to a mix of German drinking songs and American pop music from today and oldies.  They played everything from "Ein Prosit," a toast, to "Sweet Caroline" and the Black Eyed Peas.  To be blunt, it is really hard to describe everything unless you were there.

As it got later, it got more and more crowded and rowdy.

That night, and also Saturday, were easily the highest average levels of drunkenness I will ever be around in my life.  Seriously, ever.  When you ordered beer, you ordered in LITERS.  That is about 3 American beers per order.  But, the thing about Bavarians (and Europeans in general it seems), is that they know how to handle themselves, drink, and have a good time.  We rarely saw anyone who was "too" drunk that they couldn't stand or speak or function normally.

The tent closed at 11pm, so our original plan was to take a short rest at the hostel and then go out to explore some other nightlife.  However, after our nap, Ahbra and I ended up going to another hostel and seeing my friend Jamie, who was in town also, and just hanging out there for a while.  We were pretty tired, and wanted to be able to celebrate the full day in Munich Saturday.  Unfortunately, my friend Carl's flight was cancelled from Barcelona.  So, even though he was supposed to stay with us Friday-Saturday, he didn't make it.

Since we had seen most of the good sights of Munich the previous day, we decided to sleep in Saturday and just relax at the Frulingsfest all day.  We went to a different tent first, about 1 pm, to have some lunch and pretzels and enjoy the music.  I must say, the chicken and potatoes were excellent.  And of course, the pretzels were amazing.  I have a slight obsession with soft pretzels at home.

The Hippodrom tent, where we had lunch and listened to traditional Bavarian music.

Since springfest is smaller than Oktoberfest, there were really only the two main tents.  So eventually, mid-afternoon, we went back to the other one.  Though it was early, there were already hundreds of people on tables (the tent could hold several thousand, it was enormous) dancing and having fun.  When we got closer, we realized that it was a huge reunion of Big Ten students from Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Penn State.  During breaks in the music, school cheers broke out.  Almost every American studying abroad in Florence seemed to be there, many from Barca whose flights weren't cancelled, and a few from Prague.

So, that was an interesting experience I'll have in my head from the trip.  Since it was really crowded, none of us really wanted to give up our table once we finally found one, so we took turns sitting and having food and drink and walking around the festival or town.

Soon enough, it got dark again, and things got crazy just like the night before.  It was one of the most fun nights I've ever had, as literally not a single person was sad or in a bad mood.  We met too many Germans too remember all their names that night, who taught us everything from Bavarian customs to German toasts.

Dancing on tables was so fun!

We saw some of the most random things ever as well.  One guy was moving around on roller skates (which security wasn't too happy about, but whatever).  People were dressed up as both a chicken and a cow, and also super mario.  One of the waiters, who we assumed were all German, turned out to be from Connecticut; he must have German parents or something.  The band played the Beach Boys, and Seven Nation Army a lot (which is a Big Ten football staple).  I saw people from Michigan who I didn't even know were studying abroad.

You can see the band, and also the people dancing in a mix of "regular" and traditional Bavarian clothes.

Such was Frulingsfest in Munich.

Sadly, we departed back for Prague early Sunday (though again, extremely lucky we could take a train). If it seems like this post is all about one big party in Munich, I'd like to say you are wrong, but nope, it basically was.  I'm allowed to have a weekend like this once in a while, plus the cultural traditions we witnessed were astounding.

It's not that we went looking to simply party.  The Germans/Bavarians have this as a HUGE part of their lives.  They all know every single drinking song the band played, and probably have known them from an early age.  Bavaria is a special place, and definitely worth visiting sometime (Oktoberfest, yes, if you can book a hotel room early enough or are willing to pay the jacked-up prices as hostels).

I'm back in Prague now for two weeks, with one more trip planned to Vienna and Budapest the last weekend in April.  Again, feel free to make comments or send me an email/facebook.  Until then-

PROST!