Budapest- Day 3

Last day of the best week of my life!

We woke up, checked out, and hit the town. Stacy was sad to see the Unity Hostel go because she said it felt like home. Our first stop was the city to show Stacy everything she missed the day before because she was sick.

We were greeted in Budapest by the whole population that was celebrating. I had read that it was a national holiday on March 15 but I had totally forgotten. It is meant to commemorate the 1849 Revolution and seemed like our Independence Day. A lot of families were out celebrating and the Chain Bridge was shut down to traffic so everyone could just walk along it. There were a lot of people on horseback in uniform riding about there too. I thought it was just about the coolest thing that we could see another country celebrating their national holiday.

We then headed over to St. Stephen’s because Jen was going to meet yet another friend from home to catch up. The rest of us headed over to the Szechenyi Baths for another authentic Hungarian experience. I was so glad that we went there and I could literally soak up the culture.

After much confusion at the baths we finally figured out what we needed to pay and went into the changing rooms that were co-ed. After getting changed (Stacy actually just wore her underwear because she did not bring a bathing suit) we hit the outdoor baths. Although it was still kind of chilly outside the baths themselves were very warm, about 34-38 degrees Celsius to be exact. It was very cold when I was walking outside the baths wet, but otherwise I was perfectly comfortable, especially since it was nice and sunny. There were maybe different parts of the pools including a whirlpool, jets, and chessboards for the old men who want to play chess in the baths. Indoor they also had sulfur baths and saunas, although I only spent a very brief time in the sulfur baths. We spent most of our time just soaking up the sun and relaxing after an exhausting ten days of travel.

Beautiful. And how blue is that sky?

The hot water was steaming in the cold air.

Jen surprised us there and we hung out with her a little while before getting out and showering because we had a plane to catch. We attempted to find the place where Jen had lunch with her friend Olivia but we were unsuccessful and ended up just going to an Italian place for a quick lunch before our minibus came to bring us to the airport.

We got to the airport successfully with plenty of time to spare. Good thing too because Aer Lingus was experiencing “technical difficulties” so we ended up waiting in the airport for quite a long time (about an hour). While checking in they tried to weigh my bag to make sure it was under 10 kg. I’m pretty sure it was well over the weight limit but I kind of lifted it off the scale ever so slightly while she was weighing it. It also seemed like every place we visited had various egg shaped souvenirs, so I literally had five different eggs in my suitcase. Random I know.

Once we made it through Hungarian security we took time to reflect about the trip, giving overall pits and peaks for the last ten days. Most of the pits were very minor and involved having cold weather. Everyone had the same heartwarming peak- the Wolf Pack. I love those girls and the group just meshed in a way that worked. We are all very different and yet we formed a great travel group that conquered four capital cities in ten days. I will always look back on it with the warmest memories.

The trip went as perfectly as we could have hoped. We had good accommodations, didn’t miss any trains, didn’t get pick pocketed, everyone kept their dignity intact, and we came back with the same number we started with.

Budapest- Day 2

Beautiful Budapest

Our second day in Budapest (first full day) started like every other before it. We woke up (we actually slept in a little for the first time) and headed downstairs to get the free hostel breakfast. At breakfast we met two girls named Cory and Melody who go to USC and they asked if they could come with us for the free walking tour we planned on going to. The more the merrier!

We left the hostel and took the subway to Vorosmarty Ter to meet the tour, hosted by the one and only Gabor. Gabor was a funny little Hungarian man with a love of spandex flair pants and colourful scarfs who referred to us as “travelers,” at one time even yelling “Godamnit travelers, hurry up!” Gabor grew up in communist Hungary and had a lot of passion for the city, not to mention he was very entertaining. We saw a lot of architecture in Hungary as well as statues. Here are the highlights:

Gabor (far right) in all his glory

Palace

Padlock Tree. When you are in love you write your initials on a lock, lock it here, and then throw the key in the Danube River.

St. Stephen's Basilica

It is actually not a true basilica but the Pope called it one when he saw it and no one argues with the Pope.

Chain Bridge which connects Buda and Pest

Hungarian Parliament= very impressive

View of Fisherman's Bastion

Hilly Buda

Steeple of Matyas Church on Castle Hill. The colourful tiles weren't added until 1950-1970.

Fisherman's Bastion

Interesting facts about Hungary:

1. Hungary claims the most nobel prize winners, although most of them were not in Hungary when they did their work.
2. Yoda from Star Wars speaks Hungarian. The script was written in English, translated into Hungarian, and then back in English word by word. The Hungarian language is very hard and unique. If you want to say “I am good” you could say “am I good,” “good I am, or “good am I.”
3. Hungarians are good inventors and invented the Rubix Cube and the ballpoint pen.

After the tour Gabor gave us the down-low on other places to go in Budapest, including the public baths which we hit up the next day. After his little lecture we went to get some lunch and then met up with Stacy who had stayed home from the tour to recuperate. We did some more shopping, and went in the inside of St. Stephen’s Basilica to see the mummified arm of St. Stephen, the first Christian king of Hungary in 1000 AD. For those of you keeping score at home, that is the second mumified arm I have seen while in Central Europe.
 

Outside the church there is a square and on this day there were children singing and performing there, probably in celebration of the national holiday tomorrow. We sat on the steps, soaking up the sun and the culture. What a slice of life to hear young Hungarian children singing “Ode to Joy.”

We headed back to the hostel to relax for a bit before heading to dinner with our new friends Melody and Cory. Diana unfortunately had to go back to Vienna in order to head to Bratislava to catch a flight to Dublin for a St. Patrick’s Day. Here we jet set like nobody’s business.

Dinner was ok and after dinner we headed back to the hostel. The girls asked me to perform my monologue because I think they desperately needed entertainment, and I don’t need to be strong armed into performing. I gave the Anton monologue and I think everyone was fairly impressed. Afterwards we shared stories of Gabor with Stacy who missed out and journalled together. We then did pits and peaks for the day. Here’s everyone’s peaks (except for Laura who had already fallen asleep):

• Stevie- choosing between going to a spa and shopping
• Brittany- listening to the music outside St. Stephen’s
• Jen- Gabor and my monologue
• Stacy- being able to eat at dinner (she had the stomach flu)
• Me- journaling with everyone

And so ends another day. Only one more to go!

Budapest- Night 1

Welcome to Budapest!

As I mentioned before, I was pretty nervous about getting to Budapest. When we got there I soon realized it was the least touristy place we had visited. No worries because Brittany and I were determined to lead everyone safely to the hostel. We knew which subway line to take but we first had to get money and subway tickets. When we found the ATM (or Bankomat) and tried to do the Hungarian exchange rate in our heads (it’s about 200 HUFs to 1 US dollar), taking out 1,000 forints. I have to say, exchange rates have made me a pro at mental math. We tried buying a subway ticket but it was harder than you would think until a Hungarian boy about our age asked if we needed help. He told us how to get the ticket and when we went to the counter downstairs and asked the lady if she spoke English she just held her fingers an inch apart to show she only spoke a little. If I wasn't out of my comfort zone already I was now.

We got our tickets, got on the subway that seemed to be older than that ones we were accustomed to riding, and got off at the Opera stop. We trekked along the streets of Budapest and I carried Stacy’s bag because she was feeling sick. I was super nervous about finding the Unity Hostel because a lot of the street names were similar and foreign but we found it without a problem.  We opened the door and the stairway up to the third floor smelled like decomposing bodies. The paint was peeling off the walls and like looked like a crime scene. We even spotted some bloody handprints on the walls. If I had not been with five other girls I would have probably run away crying and spraying my mace at anything that moved (I actually couldn't bring my mace to Europe. It's against the law in Dublin and I would never get it past airport security.) At this point I was ready to cry but instead took the nervous laughter approach (I was the one who booked it). We got to the door of the hostel and I was hoping that it was going to be better than the stairwell, after all I had researched it and knew that I would never have booked a hostel that was also on CSI: Budapest. We opened the door and it was the biggest relief. The place was so warm and cozy and maybe the best place we stayed while on Spring Break. After we got to the room I remarked that I was afraid the Wolf Pack would eat me alive and Stevie said, “Honey, the Wolf Pack doesn’t eat its own.”

Loved the Unity Hostel!

Stacy was still feeling under the weather so the six of us (we had gained Diana) headed out in search of food and came across a restaurant called Bohemia. This was probably my favorite dinner throughout the whole trip, not because of the food, but because we were all relaxed and enjoying each other’s company. I had the Hungarian pork, which was served with plenty of paprika and potatoes. A bachelor party sat next to us and the bachelor was dressed up as a duck. Naturally we took a picture with him.

Wolf Pack at Bohemia in Budapest

After dinner we walked back to our cozy cabin of a hostel arm in arm. We're so cute. And we hit up yet another foreign KFC for Stacy.

Vienna- Day 3

Just another day in Vienna.

March 13^th was our last day in Vienna so we made the most of it. Brittany and I woke up early to see Alyssa before she had to head off to class all day on a Saturday, which was a bummer. After she was gone we packed for what seemed like the thousandth time and I researched how to get to our hostel in Budapest. We then went over to Diana’s room to drop our luggage off there before taking on Vienna.

Unfortunately Stacy had a new illness, this time the stomach flu, so she couldn’t spend the day with us. The five of us (Brittany, Laura, Stevie, Diana, and I) then headed over to meet Jen and her family friend Cynthia, who was going to show us around for the day. Cynthia showed us her apartment, which was a super cute studio apartment, and then we headed over to the Saturday market.

Our first stop in the market was a small restaurant for breakfast which had phenomenal fresh orange juice. Unfortunately every restaurant in Vienna has to either declare itself smoking or non-smoking and to get the most business most restaurants say they are smoking and this restaurant was no different.

After a nice breakfast we hit the market itself and it was my favorite activity in Austria. I loved looking at all the varieties of vegetables, breads, and olives they had and even got myself some garlic stuffed green olives for a snack (I'm sure my breath was fresh as a daisy). The various stands would also give you samples which was fun. I decided to get some dried fruit and the vendor said that I could make my own mix. I got so excited that I was in Vienna picking out a variety of dried fruit that I started giggling and jumping up and down in five year-old fashion and the vendor started laughing in joy too.

After the food section there was a flea market section that we browsed. I engaged in haggling again and got a ten euro scarf for five. They also had jewelry and antiques which were fun to look through. One has to be careful in the market because there are pickpockets. I am a fan of the ever stylish Swiss Army pouch that can be worn under clothes, although I usually just wear it like a messenger bag.

After our time at the market was finished we had to go back and get our luggage. I suggested that Diana come to Budapest with us and she did! We got our bags, met up with Stacy, and headed over to the bus station. For some reason I was very worried about getting to Budapest. Maybe it was the fatigue or the foreignness of Hungary but I thought we were going to miss our bus or not be able to find the hostel or the hostel would be gross, but in the end everything turned out. More on that in the next post.

Vienna- Day 2

Me and Laura at the Palace outside Vienna

It seems like we did the least in Vienna but we still saw a lot.

We woke up and hung out with Alyssa for a little while but unfortunately she had class during the day and had some homework to do. We met up with Laura and Stacy at the subway station and then took the subway over to Stephenplatz which is a giant cathedral that is like the center of town. We walked around for a little bit and then decided it was a good idea to have dessert for breakfast and stopping in Aida, which is a coffee place that had an amazing array of tortes and cakes. I opted for the schokobombe while Britt and Stacy got sacher torte. My father is a fantastic chef and makes both schokobombe and sacher torte at home and I have to say that I don’t have to travel all the way to Vienna for the best because I can have it in my own kitchen.

After our delicious desserts we shopped more. One of the big things about Austria is its ties to Mozart so every shop had Mozart this and Mozart that. Another novelty they had were items that said “No kangaroos in Austria.” I guess they are saying the people get confused between Austria and Australia, but Laura did not find that funny.

I wish I could have this every day of my life.

After getting our fill of browsing the shops we took the subway over to the palace outside of Vienna. Like a lot of the other palaces we saw it would have been more beautiful when things are in bloom but it was a nice sight nonetheless. Laura also had many new experiences at the palace which included making a snowball, seeing a squirrel, and touching frozen water. If she wants to see more squirrels she should really make a trip to the University of Illinois. Jen also met up with us at the palace and we took more group pictures. It was very windy there and after spending time walking the grounds we decided to head back into the city for a late lunch.

Stevie, Brittany, Laura, Stacy

After our food we decided to search for a place for dessert but we ran out of time and had to meet Alyssa before heading over to the opera. I had never seen opera before but what a better place to start than in Vienna. The show was Medea and we bought standing room tickets for only three euro. We found a place on the SL balcony and I had a trouble seeing the stage but it was still a great experience. Although the show was in German they had small screens in front of you with subtitles that you could switch from German to English. The show itself was interesting and even if I spoke German I don’t think I could follow it because a single word can stretch out for what seemed like minutes. There was also a man I couldn’t see while he was singing and thought he was a girl until he came into view. I don't know if that is impressive or creepy or both.

A Night at the Opera

After the first act the rest of my comrades were getting tired of standing after a day of sightseeing so we headed out of the opera to a late dinner. We met up with Jen at the café downstairs due to the fact she couldn’t get into the show because it was sold out. I felt so bad for her.

Stacy’s friend had told her that she must go to the restaurant Centimeter before leaving Vienna so that was our destination for dinner.  I really liked going there because it was a local dive and I like to soak in the atmosphere like the locals. Another great thing about dinner was it wasn’t just the Wolf Pack but a couple other girls that go to school in Vienna with Alyssa and Diana so we had a nice group to chat with. Like dinner every night we had a toast to Vienna, old friends, and new friends and then went around the table doing “pits and peaks” which I think the other Vienna girls enjoyed. As for food (I never forget a meal), Britt, Laura, and I got a sampler of finger foods which was basically deep fried everything. Alyssa and Diana got “mish mash” which was basically all sorts of various foods served together in a giant metal scoop. Talk about local dive food! I was sausage-like pieces with noodle-like pieces and maybe some bean-like things. Stevie got a bunch of apple donuts which she shared because the small size apparently serves at least eight people. The rest of the girls had schnitzel which is typical fair in Austria. I had such a good time at dinner talking with the other girls and hearing about their study abroad experience. It was also nice having a taste of home along with a hearty helping of Austria.

The whole Vienna gang at Centimeter

After dinner in a very smoky Centimeter we took the tram back to Alyssa’s dorm and hung out for a bit talking. We also met her roommate who major in the recorder. Yes, the musical instrument that you master in about a week during second grade. She was nice enough for letting us crash on her floor though. We also got to use Alyssa’s computer which was nice considering we had been using the ones with the funky keyboards ever since getting to Central Europe; the problem with Alyssa’s was that it didn’t have a “u” key because it had fallen off. It still worked fine for gchatting and emailing. After that it was time for another night on the floor.

Vienna- Night 1

Time to conquer another world capital!

After a very pleasant train ride we arrived in Vienna to have my frat brother Alyssa waiting for me with another Illini Diana. I was so happy to see them and they were sweet enough to write directions to Stacy and Laura’s hostel for them. Jen was going to stay in a hostel but instead reconnected with a family friend from the Yukon who is now living in Vienna.

Alyssa, Brittany, me- Brothers

Brittany and I headed with Alyssa back to her dorm and on the way stopped for a döner sandwich, which is like a kebab, at a cart. There is nothing better than food from a stand in the city and the sandwich was seriously good. We settled in to Alyssa’s place and caught up a bit before I had to go pick Stacy and Laura up from the subway station. Once they got there we headed over to another dorm room and hung out with some of the other U of I kids before heading to Alyssa’s favorite club, The Prater Dome. It was Lady’s Night and we had a great time. It also hit me for the first time while I was dancing and the DJ talked in German that I was having the most unbelievable week of my life doing things I never thought I would do.

We took a taxi back to the dorms around 2 and quickly fell asleep after having a busy last couple of days. Brittany and I both slept on the floor with a blanket and our towels stuffed in pillow cases for our heads. Talk about roughing it, but I couldn’t complain because I was having the best Spring Break ever (and now I can brag about how rough and tough I am). 

Prague- Day 3

My new favorite city? A view from Prague Castle.

Sorry for the lack of new posts the past few days but Kristina Connolly and Carolyn Wott are here visiting and I have been gallivanting around Ireland with them, but more on that in the future.

Our last day in Prague we woke up and were down for breakfast by 9 o’clock. We then checked out and started our day. Stacy was feeling good enough to leave the room by not quite ready to take the hike up to Prague Castle so she went to the Communist Museum while we started our trek. (Afterwards she went shopping and likes to quip that she did the best of communism and capitalism back-to-back.) Prague Castle overlooks the whole city because it is on a hill above the river and there were some wonderful sights to see when we finally got to the top. It was a long walk uphill and after climbing it we knew that Stacy would not have wanted to climb that way feeling as sick as she did.

Not only were the views great but St. Vitus Cathedral was a sight to see as well; we spent a lot of time getting the perfect picture of us with the cathedral in the background. Unfortunately we could not stay up there very long because we were on a schedule and had to finish everything before our 2:30 train to Vienna.

One of the things that we needed to accomplish was buying the garnet jewelry I had been after since I first read about it in my travel guide. Laura, Brittany, and I had already scoped out some of the jewelry stores and we were ready to start spending Czech crowns.  We went to the first shop we had scoped out and Stevie bought some pieces and Brittany bought a pendent but Laura was keen to go another shop so they are left me while I pondered which pieces liked best. I am a very indecisive shopper and kept going back and forth so after a while of trying to figure it out on my own I decided to leave the store to try and find the others. I could not find then but I succeeded in freaking the sales clerk out which probably helped me with haggling (my new favorite hobby).

After getting back I got down to business of getting the best deal as possible. I had taken out 3000 Czech crowns (about 160 USD) and was not going to spend more than that (and I couldn’t because that was the only Czech currency I had). Once I had picked out three pieces that I was going to give as gifts I picked out a pair of small garnet earrings that I wanted for myself and was at 2880 crowns so naturally I asked how much it would be if I got the bigger earrings that I saw on display. The clerk told me that it would be 3500 Czech but I said that I only had 3000 in cash so I couldn’t do that. She said that the lowest she could go was 3300. At this point I was getting nervous about finding the other girls and catching the train so I told her that I had to try and get a hold of them. She then offered me 3200 but I told her that I couldn’t pay that. I knew that I had here where I wanted her and picked up my phone to try and call them. As soon as I open the phone she says 3000 and I handed the money over. I can attribute part of my success at haggling to the fact that I almost walked away because I was so worried about finding the other girls but I think that my determination to get the most for my money helped as well. I might have also worn her down because it took my about an hour to decide what I wanted. The moral of the story: don’t mess with Claire when it comes to jewelry. Now I hope that every time I wear my new garnet earrings people compliment me so that I can tell them the story of bargaining in Prague.

After paying for the jewelry I was able to locate Stevie who was shopping in Wenceslas Square with some of the other girls. I walked over there and then we all met up at the hostel at 1:30 to check out and head over to the train station, which was very close. Trains are my new favorite way to travel. As I’m writing this I am actually on a train to Dublin from Galway after spending the weekend with Kristina and Carolyn. Who would have thought that the girl who first rode a train alone to the city at age 19 would be riding across Ireland and international borders? Trains are more spacious than buses and the ride is so much smoother. You can also move around a lot, which came in handy when Jen wanted to do lunges down the aisle. One of the people on the train also brought their dog, which did not have leash and was free to roam around the train. Good thing none of us are allergic to dogs.

Travel Warriors

Prague- Night 2

Touring Prague and Terezin made us work up an appetite and lucky for me the others were on board when I said I wanted some authentic Czech food.

We got off the bus and ended up going to a small restaurant that was serving only one other party. As we looked over the menu Jen bought us all drinks; by the way, she is the sweetest girl ever. I decided to get something that may or may not have been called the Prague Feast which included: bacon dumplings, potato dumplings, bread dumplings, duck, pork, smoked meat, and forcemeat with sauerkraut. Needless to say I still get made fun of for ordering a plate of meat but it was a good decision. The bacon dumpings were especially tasty.

As I was leaving the restaurant I spotted none other than…

A LAMB CAKE MOLD!

For those of you who don’t know, every Easter my family has a spice cake that is shaped like a lamb. When I was younger my great-aunt Lola used to make it but now my mother has the sacred duty. I never thought of lamb cakes as a Bohemian thing but it seems like my mom’s side of the family would fit right in living in Prague, which of course makes sense because they are Bohemian.

A couple nights in a row we put in a little too much for dinner and we had taken that excess to form a dessert fund which we used in Prague. We went over to Bohemia Bagel, a place we had gone on the walking tour, and got some delicious cheesecake and carrot cake with our seven euro. While sharing it we went around the tables and shared our “pits and peaks” for the day and the trip. This quickly became a tradition and every night we shared the best and the worst part of the day. We then talked about how amazing it was to be traveling and sharing this once in a lifetime experience with one another. Wolf pack love!

We had be bugged on numerous occasions to go out on the Prague Pub Crawl by guy that runs it and although we were feeling tired we decided to head out anyway; it was a great decision! The pub crawl started at Bohemia Bagel (I know, bagel places don’t usually make the best clubs) and then went over to the club across the street. The club wasn’t too crowded so we had plenty of room to bust a move. We had a great time just letting loose and dancing.

On the way back to our hotel another tradition was started- walking arm and arm. It must be a sight to see to see five girls strutting down the streets of Prague with their arms linked and it is a fond memory.

Prague- Day 2

I loved being in Prague!

After a tiring first day we woke up in the Hotel Musketyr and headed down to breakfast which was in the restaurant downstairs. It was a nice restaurant in what looked like a cellar. It had a pretty good selection so we filled up before our big day. Stacy, unfortunately, was very sick so it was best for her to just take it easy so she could be in great health for the rest of the trip.

After breakfast we decided to go and take pictures at all the beautiful places that we saw yesterday. It was a sunny day and we exchanged cameras so we would actually have pictures of ourselves. Our first stop was Old Town Square and then we made our way over to Charles Bridge. We were in great moods just loving life and frequently bursting out into song. Life is good.

Once we got to Charles Bridge we headed over to the statue of St. Vitus, a unfortunate priest who got pushed off Charles Bridge. It is good luck to rub the eching of St. Vitus, but the locals also played a prank on every tourist because one night they came and polished off the picture of a dog as well so it looks like it has been rubbed for centuries too. James told us that rubbing the dog was bad luck, but, sure enough, every person we saw on the bridge first went up and rubbed St. Vitus, then immediately rubbed the dog. Guess the bad luck will cancel out the good.

Charles Bridge

Brittany rubbing St.Vitus

(By the way that is Jen's hat that she wore the entire trip)

After playing around on the bridge we headed to a small cafe to get some hot chocolate, and then divided and conquered. I have been talking about getting Czech garnets for the longest time now and Brittany, Laura, and I used the time before our trip to Terezin concentration camp to look over the merchandise. I love jewelry shopping and we had a lot of fun playing with all the garnets.

Before meeting up with the tour guide for Terezin we got home sausages in Wenceslas Square. I personally like the Wenceslas sausage but I also tried the Prague sausage and that was delicious as well. We then headed over to the Grey Line Tours kiosk to catch the bus to Terezin, the only concentration camp in the Czech Republic.

We took the bus to the Small Fortress of Terezin and on the way I bonded with our Czech tour guide. It started when she talked about how the locals go looking for mushrooms in that area but the tourists think it is weird and I let her know that I go mushroom hunting as well and that I am Bohemian. She was beyond excited to hear this and wanted to know all about my family, including my family name, which is Nejedly. She asked if any of my family spoke Czech but I told her that the only words I knew were the ones for butt and bellybutton, and she acted as though the word for butt was a dirty word, and for all I know it is. It was an exciting time because I was actually in the homeland talking with the locals about my roots and mushrooms.

The concentration camp itself was not so fun. It was located in what used to be a fortress and near a ghetto. It was everything that you would expect from a concentration camp and hearing about the living conditions and the prisoners' treatment was heartbreaking. Our tour guide's father had even lived and died in the ghetto.

After getting the full tour we headed over to what used to be the boys' dormitory which has been turned into a museum. There we watched movies on Nazi propaganda whcih depicted the ghetto as a great place to live. Against these idyllic scenes were voice-overs of how many were transported out of Terezin and executed. They also showed drawings that were made by the prisoners that depicted the far less than ideal conditions.

The most heartbreaking part of the day when we saw the pictures that the children drew while in Terezin. During their stay the teachers gave them art therapy and they were allowed to draw whatever they felt. There are pictures of their homes as well as scenes from the concentration camp. They also had their dates of death and the one silver lining is that some of them survived. If you have ever met me you can probably guessed that I began to cry.

The next stop was the women’s dorms which had displays of drawings created by prisoners there as well as information about the operas that were put on by the children. Boys in one of the dorms also put out their own magazine. It’s very inspiring that these people chose to go on living their lives and making the best of it even though they were in the worst conditions imaginable. There was also a recreation of a dormitory which used all authentic “props” that were actually brought by the prisoners.

It was a tough and unforgettable afternoon. Even after seeing these places in person it is hard to believe something this awful could have happened.

Prague- Day 1

Onto Prague, my ancestral homeland.

The Wolf Pack woke up at 4:45 am to get ready for the train which was leaving Berlin at 6:30. We got out of the hostel by 5:20 and we stumbled over to the train station. Once we got there we got some food at the food court and every popped a Dramamine to insure that we would sleep during the train ride and be refreshed for our first day in Prague. I slept about three hours and eventually ended up moving to a row of seats of my own to stretch out. When Brittany awoke and saw that I wasn’t sitting next to her she was worried I was kidnapped. It’s nice to know she cares.

View from the train

Trains are really the way to travel and the scenery was gorgeous. Unfortunately our train was an hour and a half late so we really had to hustle to drop our stuff off at the hotel and make the 2 pm walking tour. We did meet up with the tour and our guide, James from Belfast, at Old Town Square just in time to hear the history of Prague. The tour was nice because Prague is the most fairytale city I have ever been in. Every street has so much character and all the buildings literally have faces that look back at you.

Here is the clock in Old Town Square that shows not only the time but the date, moon, stars, zodiac sign, and whether it is night or day. The clock also does a little routine on the hour and a man comes out of the top and blows a trumpet. The designer of the clock was blinded after creating it so that he could never share the secrets of the clock to anyone but he cursed it so that it would not operate for one hundred years, and it didn’t.

Around the edges of the clock are all the names that a Czech boy or girl can be given. Each of these names corresponds with a nameday which is when that boy or girl has to buy drinks for all their friends. Needless to say people don’t broadcast their namedays.

On the other side of the square is the Tyn Church which is simply beautiful and a symbol of Prague. It is also pretty when it is lit up at night. And how blue is that sky?

The Estates Theatre was our next stop because this is where Mozart premiered don Gionvanni and performed The Marriage of Figaro. It is the only theatre left standing that Mozart played in.

Wenceslas Square is a nice and busy part of town and right by our hotel. There is a statue of Good King Wenceslas on a horse in the center that is supposed to come to life when the Czech need him. As you might I have guessed I also sang “Good King Wenceslas” about three thousand times during our stay at Prague. It’s a catchy tune.

The Powder Tower where the gun powder was stored.

This church has a severed arm hanging from the wall for an unknown reason. The common story is that there was this one priest who carried an axe under his robe and one day caught a thief in the church and cut off his arm, then to make him a lesson to others he hung it from the wall. And believe it or not, this is the first of two mummified arms I saw in churches while on vacation.

Franz Kafka was from the Jewish Quarter of Prague and this is a statue commemorating him and his odd dream.

The Jewish Quarter of Prague was meant to be a museum about the Jewish people after they were all exterminated so it was kept in good shape by the Nazis. One of the synagogues is now a memorial where the names of all the Czech Jews who were murdered are written on the walls.

The Rudolfinium is the arts center of Prague and has statues of composers on the top. When the Nazis came through they were told to push off Mendelssohn because he was Jewish but they pushed off Wagner, Hitler’s favorite composer, by mistake. I would not want to be them when Adolf found out.

After the tour we got back in Old Town Square just in time to see the Astronomical Clock chime 5 pm and then headed back to the Musketyr Hotel. Stacy really wasn’t feeling well and Jen called her parents who suggested we find Stacy a doctor. Easier said than done because although my trusty guidebook had a doctor listed the cab driver could not find the clinic. Instead Stacy, accompanied by Brittany and Jen, went to the Prague Hospital, which I understand was quite the adventure. Of course, while they were having this new experience Laura, Stevie, and I were shopping and eating cake; there was no point for all six of us to go to the hospital.

Discussing what to do about Stacy

After Stacy got back to the hotel we had to find somewhere to fill her prescription, like a 24 hour pharmacy. I made it my job to find one, and after receiving no help from the front desk I did. For future reference, pharmacy is “lekarna” in Czech. Jen, Brittany, and I headed to fill the prescription at the 24 hour pharmacy while Laura and Stevie got Stacy some good comfort food at KFC (there are about 12 KCFs in metropolitan Prague.) Taking care of Stacy proved to be a bonding experience for the Wolf Pack and now we know we can handle anything.