Time goes by when you are having FUN

So sad that Megan and Allan left today. I had been looking forward to their visit for MONTHS and now it passed. I had the greatest time hosting them as I felt like I was a tourist too and got to re-appreciate things while they were here. I did get a bit homesick when Megan and Allan left but I know I only have TWO more months here! AHHH where did time go? I guess I want to say thanks to those who keep reading my blog after such a long time :) You will REALLY enjoy my next blog because on Saturday April 30th I am heading with Sarka to..BARCELONA and COSTA BRAVA! I am so excited hearing from other peoples adventures in Barcelona and the beauty of the Costa Brava coastline. We are going to Begur and Tossa de Mar in Costa Brava and the pictures look incredible. I am so excited and can't wait to share my adventures with you!

Post Easter Blues

I really wanted to go to the Jewish Quarter. Surprisingly, I STILL have not been and it is one of the big things to do here in Prague. On Easter Sunday, the line was so long that we decided we would save it for Monday. You can not believe how quickly the weather here changes. It was so warm and sunny all weekend and come Monday, BAM! Rain and COLD.

I'll mention it again later in my earlier blogs but the day after Easter the men go around and hit women with braided twigs to make them fertile. I heard about this tradition before and was a bit nervous to walk around that day. Although, my friends told me they had never been hit with the twig so it wouldn't be a problem. Ha! That morning we walked outside our apartment and 5 teenage boys were standing outside with twigs. They ran over and started hitting us on our tooshies chanting something in Czech. It was hilarious to see and to laugh that we are now FERTILE! haha.

So after being fertilized, ha get it, we headed to the Jewish Quarter where I was devastated to see that it was CLOSED! It only closes on Saturday's and Jewish holidays so I was baffled and sad. We poked our heads through open areas and saw the famous cemetary and I explained how these temples are the oldest in Europe because they were not destroyed. The Jewish Quarter is so special because the Jewish people were allowed to keep their valuables there and were then executed. :( It was meant to be a Museum of the extinct religion but now it is a memorial of Jewish Czechs and how devastating the Holocaust was.

Everything was going so smoothly on our trip until then but being the quick thinker I am, I decided to take a stroll down the Vltava River. There were great picture opportunities and walked across the Charles Bridge to touch the famous Saint statue so Megan and Allan can make their wish.

We then headed to Cafe Lourve where it was a famous cafe from 1902 that serves great Czech food. I made Megan order the Beef Goulash where I was afraid she would not like it because I have not been its biggest fan. Surprisingly, Megan LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED Beef Goulash! She said it was her favorite meal of the trip thus far! STRANGE! am I related to her? But she loves stews and dense breads so it was a win win situation. We then all shared apple strudle which was a great way to conclude our lunch.

After lunch, the rain started to come down and brr was it cold. We decided to head to the Communist Museum. It was informative and interesting that this country had faced communism for 40 years after the terrorism of Nazis and only became FREE 20 years ago. It really makes you appreciate being an American to have that freedom and that lots of people sacrafice their lives to obtain that freedom. The Czech people have endured the unfathomable and even facing their demise (losing their language, buildings, and freedom) they fought hard for their freedom and are proud strong happy people.

Happy Easter in Prague

I was a bit nervous that everything in Prague would close down on Easter;however, seeing all the tourists there was no way they would close on a day to make a lot of money. Everything was open and it was a bright and sunny day. We started our day by having coffee at a hip gay bar, oops sorry Allan. We then headed to Old Town Square where there was a large spring market full of tourists. We walked around and I explained the history of the square. We then went back to change because that evening we were going to a nice dinner at Cebulska Tabulka and see the ballet Cinderella. The dinner was delicious and ALL our meals were incredible. I got the heart attack dish...Pork tenderlion wrapped in bacon. Although my arteries suffered and it's not very Jewish of me, my stomach had a treat. Allan got a steak and Megan got chicken with risotto. It was a lovely dinner.

We then headed to the ballet Cinderella at the National Opera House. Our seats were superb although it was 2 together and 1. I, being the generous host I am, sat alone. Ok, fine, really because it was located in a top knotch booth. Megan and Allan sat straight across from me and they enjoyed their seats as well. The performance was ok. It wasn't as divine as Swan Lake but still enjoyable. It was a ballet with a Lady Gaga twist. Allan only fell asleep a few times but it was the only estrogen thing we made him do.

VIP tours

The next day, we went to the Prague Castle. Allan brought his heavy duty Canon camera where he was in a photographers paradise. It was another beautiful day at the castle. We first climbed the 300+ stairs of the tower to get a 360 degree view of Prague. I did this climb with my mom and remember it was a lot of huffing and puffing.PHEW! But when we bought our ticket to climb to the top, they gave us a Easter egg ornament! The views from the tower are incredible and in fact, I even spotted and took a picture of my school from the view. If you look at my photos, there is a close up and that is my school! Look left. It is the yellow building on the top right!

After the morning work out, we came back down to see in just an hour how CRAZY busy it was. I had never seen so many tourists before. We were on our way to see the Cathedral but the line wrapped around the corner! WHAT?! I then remembered that at noon, the guards put on a show to switch all guards. I did this with my mother as well so I knew exactly where to go and where to line up. We had a great view of the ceremony and after headed to the Lobswice Palace for first lunch on the outside terrace and then the tour of the palace.

The Prague castle is not just one building. It's a bunch of palaces placed together and is very large. Lunch was great at the Lobswice Palace where we enjoyed a nice view overlooking Prague. Anyone who travels to Prague, I would recommend this restaurant.

After the castle, we did some souvenir shopping where Megan bought some postcards and a christmas ornament. Then off to the Smetana Museum. Smetana is the famous Czech composer who created the Vltava. It is basically the Czech Republics national anthem. If you heard it you would recognize it as it is famous all over the world. The museum was a bit dull but right outside of it was a restaurant overlooking the castle. So we sat outside and enjoyed that delicious local beer.

That night for dinner, I heard of a famous brewery called U Flecku which is a 500 year old brewery. We sat in the beer garden and immediately there was a dark beer placed in front of us. I particularly do not like dark beer but I have to admit this one was tasty. So tasty that we had 12 of them ;) tee hee. Also we ordered sausages with mustard, horseradish, and ketchup. It was the real deal as the meat was heavy but it tasted so good with beer. YUM. We then went to USUDU which is another old beer that used to be a wine cellar. You might think we had a lot of beer but there is no such thing here in the Czech Republic. Czechs are known to be huge beer drinkers and they love it. Like I said, being jet lagged and consuming as much beer as we did, they are troopers!

VIP tour guide....ME

I wanted to make sure that Allan and Megan had an amazing time in Prague so I started it off right by taking them to Namesti Miru's Spring Market. While walking down to the market, a brilliant idea popped into my head. I wanted to show them that it's ok to drink in public here so we stopped in the market and I bought 3 chilled Czech beers. We arrived at the spring market where we walked around the little booths admiring the Czech goods. Earlier that week, I saw a man selling beautiful pictures of places in Prague. They were exactly what I was looking for to put up in my house one day to always remind me of my experience here.

It is Czech tradition that the day after Easter, men go around and hit (gently of course) women with braided twigs with colorful ribbons tied to the ends. The tradition goes that they are hitting you so that you are fertile while they sing a song. Megan and I purchased one as a souvenir.

We then headed to dinner at Cafe de Paris which was a place my mother and I went to twice. It was simple and delicious considering they were both Jet Lagged. I have to say I was very impressed how they dealt with jet lag. They are troopers. Although Megan bought a stencil drawing of Prague and the man asked for 400ck and Megan gave him 100 asking if that was enough. So cute....aw sorry megs had to put it in.

It was such a nice night, we decided to walk across the Charles Bridge and see Prague at night. Megan said it perfectly, "This is magical!" I even was shocked of how beautiful it was and how happy I was feeling. Prague is magical.

Megan and Allan come to PRAHA

I was so excited for this Spring Break because Megan and Allan were coming to Czech me out in Prague! They flew out here to Prague on April 21 and landed here in Prague April 22nd Friday. I unfortunately could not greet them at the airport because I had my last day of school before break. But, being the great hostess I am, I sent Megan a copy of my apartment key so when she arrived she can just go straight to my apartment and relax from the long journey. I remember I called Megan when she landed in New York and she was like, "dang, you live really far away". They flew Delta International where she said while on board, "If there was a hell, this would be it!" YIKES. I guess it was a small cramped airplane where they didn't have their own tv monitors in their seats. She was also in the middle seat which is never a good time. After the long 10 hour flight, they arrived here and that's all they had to take care of, getting here.

In my room, they had two large bottle waters and two fresh croissants from a delicious bakery here. They said that saved their lives.

They couldn't have come here in a better time. It is spring here in Prague and the flowers are in full bloom. The trees finally have their leaves back and people are friendly again (yay). But MOST important was how AMAZING the weather had been all week and would continue to be nice all weekend.

I was so excited to see them I counted down the hours til work was done and RUSHED home. It was a strange feeling knowing my sister would experience what I had been living for almost a year. I was so happy for all the adventures we would share together.

Pictures

Pictures

Pictures

SPRING BREAK

Thank you all who voted for my spring break trip. It was a lot of fun and interesting to see where most of my readers want me to go. I had to book my flight soon and went with the winner...SPAIN!

I am heading to Barcelona, Spain with my roommate Sarka for 8 days. We are so excited and researching places to go. I can already taste the Sangria on my lips :) O'le

It wasn't culture shock...more like WEATHER shock!

One of my student's parents told me, "When I saw we had a girl from California come teach in Prague, we were like, 'oh boy, how is this going to turn out for her". Let's just say I have experienced what the majority of people in the world experience in weather and I feel terrible for them. It was fun for awhile living in snow. How pretty things look when it's fresh snow on trees, buildings, cars. Wearing heavy jackets, gloves, colorful scarves, and snow boots for the first time. This all lasts about a week or two then you just try to remember warmth, flip flops, t-shirts, happy people, sunshine, flowers....oye, it was a long winter.

Finally, SPRING IS HERE! One interesting thing about Prague is that we do not get all the same fruits and vegetables all year long. In the winter, be prepared for potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, and oranges. They only have seasonal fruits and if they had a rare item be prepared to pay a lot. I remember walking into the market recently and seeing a carton of strawberries. Oh strawberries, how they are delicious, colorful, and wonderful all in one. My spirits instantly got brighter and I was ready to welcome spring with open arms.

The snow is gone and the weather getting warmer. I dont have to wear my snow gear anymore and I do not see my own breath. This week, the trees and plants are beginning to bloom. Some trees are just covered with beautiful white flowers and wild flowers growing everywhere. In town centers, like Namesti Miru, they planted tulips and set up a Spring market (similar to Christmas market, but warmer).

People are being SO FRIENDLY! It's amusing to see how people just sit in the sun now that winter is gone. They will sit in the parks, on the lawn, on benches, on stairs just to soak up the sun. And being Czech, you know they are downing a Gambrinus or Strapromen beer. You can tell people are more lively and happier now that the cold is gone. They are putting outside seating once again, the sun is out til 7pm, and you can dress comfortably without a million layers. Another great thing is the beer gardens are open again and I can not wait to sit in the warm sun and drink the world's finest beer.

There is ONE problem with the weather getting warmer and that is B.O! I take public transportation everywhere and unfortunately some people still need to learn the concept of deodorant. It sometimes can be the tram ride from hell and I'm tempted to buy a little perfume bottle to spray on stinky people. As they say in Czech for "ew" is "foey!"

I am so happy winter is over and SO HAPPY I will never live in snow again. Sure it's great to visit but to live in...no thanks ;)