Lidice.

June 9, 2011

Thursday was another good day (Everyday in Prague is a good day haha). After class and resting up we went to meet up with some other students to go see the film Lidice. It was based off the tragedy that happened in a small Czech town during World War II. All the men were shot, the children gased, and the women sent to concentration camps. Not many people survived. It was in response to the assassination of Hitler’s third in command. Watching this movie was just, well words can’t describe. There were English subtitles so we could follow but there were parts of the movie I was just shaking and had knots in my stomach. To think people could just kill in cold blood was sickening. There were a few scenes that really stood out that really stuck with you. One scene was when the father was getting back from prison to find the town he lived in…completely flattened. It was covered in snow and there was a wide panoramic shot that showed flat, white snow. Nothing was left of the town. The other was the carriages carrying the children that weren’t blond haired, blue-eyed and you see hands up against the glass as banging to get out as they start to die. This movie didn’t over do it…didn’t dramatize it the story. They gave it to you straight up. I liked that because it is such a delicate subject to make a film about and I think they did an excellent job with it. After the movie was over, the audience just sat there. Frozen watching the credits. I am pretty sure everyone in the theater was just trying to absorb the magnitude of this horrible crime. A group of us afterwards just sat there outside the theater in silence because we couldn’t think, couldn’t fathom because while that movie did a great job, it was nothing I’m sure compared to the real thing. So after all of that, we headed a place up the road from the institute to meet up with others to chill out which is what we needed after that movie. Next up, ROAD TRIP!

Lions, Tigers, Bears...Oh My!

June 7-June 8, 2011

Tuesday we went to the Kafka museum and that was really awesome to see. There was a reference to Michel Foucault...he’s everywhere. The museum was set up really Kafkaesque which was really cool. The reason we were visiting this is because our first paper was due Thursday on his novel The Trial. Our first paper due since we started and let me tell you…doing homework while in Prague is so hard. It takes a lot of discipline since there is so much to see and do in the city! But it got done, don’t worry.

Wednesday…THE ZOO. HECK YES. It was an awesome zoo. It had a bat cave. Awesome? Duh. Adrienne and I saw lions, tigers, apes, bats, snakes, giraffes, elephants, hippos, monkey’s, peacocks, and much much more. It was quite an impressive zoo. We took our time and went at our pace which was nice. My favorites were the tigers, apes, flamingos, and giraffes. Oh and the bat cave…seriously cool. Oh and the wolves…I am part of the wolfpack you know. Haha. The rest of the day wasn’t too exciting. We went out that night for a bit and chilled at a local place which was nice.

Yes, I have been in Prague for two weeks...here's some photos to prove it.

"Ice, ice, baby..."

June 2, 2011-June 3, 2011

The week is almost over and I can’t believe it. That morning a small group of us went and saw the Salvador Dali exhibit which was really cool. We were able to take our time going through the rooms and really enjoying the paintings. Adrienne and I then headed to get a crepe (so good!) and to class at 1. We watched a movie called Wildflowers which was kind of weird, it had a slight Tim Burton/Wonderland/Brothers’ Grimm feel to it. It was good though. We then started The Trial based off the book by Frank Kafka which was good but we didn’t have time to finish it. Now for the exciting part…CATCHING A TRAIN TO SWITZERLAND! Sarah and I are doing this…it’s a surreal feeling doing something like this on your own, by yourself…independent. And we did it. We met some nice Canadians before hand while waiting on the train and luckily one of our cabin mates was really nice (a guy named Ben from Australia), I won’t mention the other couple who came in who weren’t the nicest…but it all worked out and we woke up in Germany to catch our train to Switzerland! I couldn’t believe it…after 15 hours on a train we were here. 

Sarah and I were off…we had to find Outdoor Interlaken because we wanted to go canyoning…

We finally found the tourism office and booked a trip for that afternoon. We found our hostel…background behind us? MOUNTAINS…WITH SNOW…no big deal ;)

We found Outdoor Adventure, met our guides (Matt from New Zealand and Silva from France), changed into skin tight wet suites…added a few more layers, picked our helmets…mine was “COOL”…what else would I be? Duh. Haha Our group consisted of only 4 other people. Two girls on study abroad in Lusanne and one in Germany and a girl and guy doing a Europe trip after grad school. Good group? Heck yes.

We hiked a small hill and we were there. Oh and it was gorgeous. Clear, rushing water over rocks and such was amazing. We started off small and then came repelling! What!?!? I leaned a little too far back but at least I wasn’t hanging on for dear life to the rope. It was awesome. And luckily we had the wet suite, boots, two jackets, vest, and helmet because the water was freezing! But refreshing! We then preceded to jumps and slides which were awesome! No one got swept away though there were a few close calls. Haha It was great time and I am so glad we did it. The experience was once in a lifetime. I just am amazed that we did it. We got here in one piece and stuck together. We just checked into our hostel…the name? Funny Farm…yup you hear me right…weird name but it’s pretty nice! Off to explore the town some more! 

We had a nice dinner in town…I had some homemade lasagna oh so good. Afterwards we headed back to the hostel to skype the parents to let them know we got there okay and chill out. We decided to go to bed early since we had to be up at 5:30am the next morning…yes 5:30. Oh bless. 

June 4, 2011

Bright and early we woke up…but not before the sun surprisingly! Switzerland is so pretty in the morning, cool, crisp, and clean…just like the water we were in the day before. Haha We went and purchased our Jungfrau tickets to go to the “Top of Europe”. The train left at 6:35am and we weren’t the only ones on it! Other people were up at this hour. The ride up was gorgeous. As we got higher, we could see farther…and we could see snow! It got colder and colder and we kept adding clothes. We made a couple of train changes and stopped along the way to get pictures of the view…oh how amazing it was. If you have never had your breath taken away…please go to Switzerland and see the views. I was in constant amazement…this is in people’s backyards. How crazy!?? AWESOME. We got to the top and were able to see the Ice Palace, the Plateau, and the Sphinx (research tower) before the clouds. Unfortunately there was a lot of cloud cover and even when we got to the bottom later on in the day there was still quite a bit of cloud cover. Just the luck of the draw but oh it was a great experience. I loved being that high up and seeing the views on the way up and down. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Maybe one day I can do research there because it is so high up and at great vantage point, a lot of research goes on up there in the Sphinx tower. After getting back down to the bottom, we did a little more shopping and picked up our videos from our canyoning trip…then back to trains, trains, and more trains…

The ride back wasn’t so bad…we only had one change and we are overnighting from Basel to Prague. I kept calling Prague home while in Switzerland. Weird. While I absolutely LOVED Switzerland, I am happy to be going back to the place where my home is…for now. It was a great weekend in Switzerland and one day I will go back. I’ve got some skiing and hiking to do! Until we are back in Praha!

"If you're too school for cool..."

May 30, 2011

Classes were back at again today. I didn’t have class until 4 so I just lounged around a bit then went to the institute to make pasta! Adrianne and I then found a park to go read Kafka’s The Trial since it’s a book we need for both the literature and philosophy class. After class, we make our way back to the institute where we had dinner and just hung out with everyone. Pretty chill day but a good one!

May 31, 2011

Today was absolutely gorgeous! It was just beautiful weather! I got up and got ready… they had donuts for breakfast (it’s gonna be a good day). Adrianne and I then went to the grocery store near the institute and we cooked spaghetti for lunch. Then because it was such a beautiful day we decided to get GELATTO! And was it some good gelato...no joke. It was a cinnamon flavor and oh so good. Class was good, part of the time we were in lecture and then FIELD TRIP! Best class ever. We went to the Comenius Museum which was interesting; it was about the institutionalization of education the evolvement of it in the Czech Republic. After class, I made train reservations! For Switzerland! I was so proud of myself for doing that! I did it all by myself and it sounds like a small thing but it’s nerve wracking the first time you do travel plans and such by yourself. But I did it and I felt great afterwards. And I’m going to SWITZERLAND! Heck yes. Sarah and I are going to Interlaken Thursday night and returning sometime Sunday. I’m so excited. I’m keeping an eye out for chocolate and a Swiss flag. Anyway nothing else exciting really happened today. We went to a new restaurant up the street which was really good and that was a good time.

June 1, 2011

Another adventurous day! We started off the day at the Indian restaurant up the road from the pension and then I made my way to the doctor’s office. And boy was this a challenge little did I know. Luckily I gave myself plenty of time to get there…like and hour and a half. And it took that whole time. Little did I know from the directions that I was supposed to get off on one stop before than the one stated. I did meet this really nice father named Michael and he had a little baby boy John Paul and his wife was able to help me out as well as a few other people who luckily spoke English along the way. I am so grateful for nice people like that because this doctor’s office was way on the outskirts. I finally found it and the appointment took no time. Now here is the impressive part…appointment at 3…back in time for class at 4. WHAT?!? Yea. I was able to find my way back a lot easier than getting there. After class, we tried to go see the new Pirates movie but that was a bust as it was in all Czech. Oh well, we got a bite to eat and just hung out. Update soon…Switzerland this weekend!