03 | 27 | 2018
P R A G U E.
Ahoy BABES! Oh Boyyyyyy! Do I have lots to catch you guys up on! Can I just say before I start in on my past weekend, that all of you have been SO amazing! I've received so much positive feedback on these blogs. So, i'm glad you're all enjoying reading these entries as much as i'm enjoying writing them!
This past weekend on Thursday morning we left bright and early from the train station in Olomouc to ride 3 hours into to Prague. I'd never taken a train before (subways dont count) so this was actually a lot better than I expected. The trains were nice and clean and roomie. A short 3 hours later, our big ol school group was hopping off the train one by one to start our field trip in Prague and Dresden, Germany. Only problem, right when we got there our head count was one short because Hannah got off the train too early and tried to rush and get back on! She couldn't get in before the doors closed. Dont worry, she figured it out! ;) Whoops! Little did all of us know that this was just the beginning of the series of mishaps our group would experience in Prague…
After trudging through the city with all of our luggage, complaining about how heavy it was, our group finally arrived to our Hostel. Ughhhhhhh. Just the word "Hostel" I hate it.
H O S T I L E. Just sayin. Blame my mother, blame my expensive taste, or blame privileged ways, but YUCK! The place was less than okay. The smell of smoke, sweat, and indian food guided me to my 8 girl room where the bunks were complete with faded orange sheets and the bathrooms that looked like I was 9 years old and at summer camp again. I had no other choice but to suck it up and get over it, but not without voicing my options of course. Hehehe ;) Girl cant help it. After getting settled in, our group went to a famous church that was apart of a huge battle that took place during WWII. If you've ever seen the movie "Anthropoid", this is the place where the men hid before the big gun fight at the end. We watched the movie "Anthropoid" (would recommend) the night before and I thought it was really violent and scary, but after visiting the church it was soooo surreal. And I was glad I knew what had took place there. Our professors, Jan's and Martin were really informative and good about giving us an accurate visual about what happened. It was really saddening and sickening to think we were standing in the place where all of these horrible things happened.
After we left the Church, we walked through prague to the main square where we saw all of the fun Easter festivities taking place! The Easter decorations were so colorful and all of the pop up stands filled with traditional Czech foods and desserts smelled so yummy! Me and a few other girls wandered around and took pictures, and found ourselves in and out of bakeries and traditional Bohemian glass shops! After all that walking we were hungry and decided we were going to go to dinner at a Mexican restaurant! Even though it was a bit expensive, the service was wonderful and the food was A1!! Us 5 girls (Emily, Lacey, Claire, Hannah, and I) laughed, and talked about all our experiences thus far! So fun!
After walking back to our hostel, we learned that a girl Jess in our group had gone to a McDonalds right around the corner to use their wifi. She messaged Makayla, another girl in our group, and was frantic and told her she needed to come to McDonalds right away because she was in some sort of trouble. I went with Makayla, and we ran there to find Jess shaking and in tears because two homeless men had approached her, harassed her, and attempted to steal her stuff. We got back to our hostel with her only to run into more foreign men following girls around, knocking on their doors, and trying to lure the girls in our group into their rooms to drink. SCARY!!! I thought, boy we are NOT in America anymore and I better watch my back.
After a rough night of sleep given our creepy night, I woke up groggy on Friday morning and quickly got ready to meet the group. We headed over to the famous Charles Bridge in Prague and it was SOOOO beautiful. A little too beautiful maybe? Because I got caught up in my selfies and got left. Hah! There I was not paying attention, wandering around looking for my group and couldn't find one single person I recognized. Noooo! What did I do? Well, I tried to call everyone (no ones phone works unless they're on wifi) I posted on our FB page, then I walked my happy butt over to Starbucks and got breakfast. LOL! I was freezing and over it. I got ahold of our host mama, Tereza (bless her) and she called the professors to come retrieve me! When I was finally reunited with the group I think everyone was a tad annoyed but hey, not like I meant too. *eye roll*
Our group made our way up the hill to the Prague Castle! Before going in, Makayla in our group noticed she was the culprit of pickpocketing and she got her wallet stolen straight from her purse. I felt terrible for her and it seemed like it was just one thing after another. But back to the castle, It was sooooooo beautiful! It overlooks the whole city of Prague and it is filled with history and amazing Gothic and Roman architecture. We toured it in and out, as we listed to our knowledgeable professors and snapped our photos. It was freezing cold outside and I was starting to get tired. After the tour was finally done, we were free for the night and we were starving! The girls and I made our way back down the hill and hunted down, you guessed it, PASTA. Whyyyyy am I like this? Lol. Idk but it was SO good. After heading to the mall with Emily to knock out any Prague merch we couldn't live without, we met back up with the group and our professors later that night. I was exhausted and ready for bed!
The next day, Saturday, we woke up to the sun shining and our train to Dresden waiting for us! I think everyone was pretty excited to see what Germany was like! It was cool that it was so close! When we got to Dresden, a short walk led us to the main town square where the buildings were soooo cute! You see, everything in Dresden was bombed at the end of the War, so even though the buildings were rebuilt to look old, they're relatively new! We had a bit of free time so we stopped for post cards and than of course Cara and I snuck off the mall! I found a pair of CUTE high waisted jeans for only $24 and this little german store that looked like Urban Outfitters! Score!
After we made our way back, the group visited a Church in the heart of Dresden that was bombed in the War and reconstructed. It was big and beautiful! We also went to a medieval museum that held lots of artifacts from that time period! It was low key kind of funny to see and read about the things these people did and wore. We headed back to the "Martin Luther" statue (not before getting ice cream of course) and waited for the rest of the group to return, right before our departure…we turn around to see a group of around 100ish protestors, chanting and singing violent things in German. Our professors informed us these people were Neonazis protesting immigrants and they were also singing the German Anthem how Hitlers Nazis used to sing it. Ew. I was so freaked out. I was ready to leave Germany at that point…
After getting the hell outta nam, (felt like it) we got back to Prague and the girls and I went to dinner at Ramen! If you've never had real ramen I would highly recommend. (its not like the $1 sodium cup that you microwave) I had it for the first time in L.A. with my brother Zach and was not disappointed. The girls were a little hesitant and confused on what to order but our food was AMAZING! Everyone was a fan and dinner was really fun! It was a great end to our busy day!
On Sunday we all woke up exhausted, broke and ready to be back in Olomouc. We went and visited the Jewish Quarters of Prague and it was really interesting to see how the Jews live. The names of every jew who died in the holocaust lined the walls of the quarter like wallpaper. We also walked through the jewish cemetery that was massive and held 8 layers worth of bodies. It was somber and erie. We ended our morning with brunch (hannah ordered shrimp and they came complete with their eyes and legs still. LOL!) and we headed back to the Hostel to check out. We grabbed our luggage, and slowly made our way back to the station to board our train.
Overall, Prague did us dirty. Most Czech citizens are ruthless and have really have no remorse for Americans. (I have a theory that they're all jealous because they know we're the best country, so they're just mean) Even after an attempted mugging, a missed train, a lost soul, a stolen wallet, and a Neo Nazi parade. We made it back in one piece, with missing pieces. ;') Though Prague came with its downfalls, I really appreciate the time shared with the group there and the close friendships and memories that were made.
Off to Barcelona this weekend for Easter!! Here we go!!!
Abigayle
Do to others as you would have them do to you. | Luke 6:31
P R A G U E.
Ahoy BABES! Oh Boyyyyyy! Do I have lots to catch you guys up on! Can I just say before I start in on my past weekend, that all of you have been SO amazing! I've received so much positive feedback on these blogs. So, i'm glad you're all enjoying reading these entries as much as i'm enjoying writing them!
This past weekend on Thursday morning we left bright and early from the train station in Olomouc to ride 3 hours into to Prague. I'd never taken a train before (subways dont count) so this was actually a lot better than I expected. The trains were nice and clean and roomie. A short 3 hours later, our big ol school group was hopping off the train one by one to start our field trip in Prague and Dresden, Germany. Only problem, right when we got there our head count was one short because Hannah got off the train too early and tried to rush and get back on! She couldn't get in before the doors closed. Dont worry, she figured it out! ;) Whoops! Little did all of us know that this was just the beginning of the series of mishaps our group would experience in Prague…
After trudging through the city with all of our luggage, complaining about how heavy it was, our group finally arrived to our Hostel. Ughhhhhhh. Just the word "Hostel" I hate it.
H O S T I L E. Just sayin. Blame my mother, blame my expensive taste, or blame privileged ways, but YUCK! The place was less than okay. The smell of smoke, sweat, and indian food guided me to my 8 girl room where the bunks were complete with faded orange sheets and the bathrooms that looked like I was 9 years old and at summer camp again. I had no other choice but to suck it up and get over it, but not without voicing my options of course. Hehehe ;) Girl cant help it. After getting settled in, our group went to a famous church that was apart of a huge battle that took place during WWII. If you've ever seen the movie "Anthropoid", this is the place where the men hid before the big gun fight at the end. We watched the movie "Anthropoid" (would recommend) the night before and I thought it was really violent and scary, but after visiting the church it was soooo surreal. And I was glad I knew what had took place there. Our professors, Jan's and Martin were really informative and good about giving us an accurate visual about what happened. It was really saddening and sickening to think we were standing in the place where all of these horrible things happened.
After we left the Church, we walked through prague to the main square where we saw all of the fun Easter festivities taking place! The Easter decorations were so colorful and all of the pop up stands filled with traditional Czech foods and desserts smelled so yummy! Me and a few other girls wandered around and took pictures, and found ourselves in and out of bakeries and traditional Bohemian glass shops! After all that walking we were hungry and decided we were going to go to dinner at a Mexican restaurant! Even though it was a bit expensive, the service was wonderful and the food was A1!! Us 5 girls (Emily, Lacey, Claire, Hannah, and I) laughed, and talked about all our experiences thus far! So fun!
After walking back to our hostel, we learned that a girl Jess in our group had gone to a McDonalds right around the corner to use their wifi. She messaged Makayla, another girl in our group, and was frantic and told her she needed to come to McDonalds right away because she was in some sort of trouble. I went with Makayla, and we ran there to find Jess shaking and in tears because two homeless men had approached her, harassed her, and attempted to steal her stuff. We got back to our hostel with her only to run into more foreign men following girls around, knocking on their doors, and trying to lure the girls in our group into their rooms to drink. SCARY!!! I thought, boy we are NOT in America anymore and I better watch my back.
After a rough night of sleep given our creepy night, I woke up groggy on Friday morning and quickly got ready to meet the group. We headed over to the famous Charles Bridge in Prague and it was SOOOO beautiful. A little too beautiful maybe? Because I got caught up in my selfies and got left. Hah! There I was not paying attention, wandering around looking for my group and couldn't find one single person I recognized. Noooo! What did I do? Well, I tried to call everyone (no ones phone works unless they're on wifi) I posted on our FB page, then I walked my happy butt over to Starbucks and got breakfast. LOL! I was freezing and over it. I got ahold of our host mama, Tereza (bless her) and she called the professors to come retrieve me! When I was finally reunited with the group I think everyone was a tad annoyed but hey, not like I meant too. *eye roll*
Our group made our way up the hill to the Prague Castle! Before going in, Makayla in our group noticed she was the culprit of pickpocketing and she got her wallet stolen straight from her purse. I felt terrible for her and it seemed like it was just one thing after another. But back to the castle, It was sooooooo beautiful! It overlooks the whole city of Prague and it is filled with history and amazing Gothic and Roman architecture. We toured it in and out, as we listed to our knowledgeable professors and snapped our photos. It was freezing cold outside and I was starting to get tired. After the tour was finally done, we were free for the night and we were starving! The girls and I made our way back down the hill and hunted down, you guessed it, PASTA. Whyyyyy am I like this? Lol. Idk but it was SO good. After heading to the mall with Emily to knock out any Prague merch we couldn't live without, we met back up with the group and our professors later that night. I was exhausted and ready for bed!
The next day, Saturday, we woke up to the sun shining and our train to Dresden waiting for us! I think everyone was pretty excited to see what Germany was like! It was cool that it was so close! When we got to Dresden, a short walk led us to the main town square where the buildings were soooo cute! You see, everything in Dresden was bombed at the end of the War, so even though the buildings were rebuilt to look old, they're relatively new! We had a bit of free time so we stopped for post cards and than of course Cara and I snuck off the mall! I found a pair of CUTE high waisted jeans for only $24 and this little german store that looked like Urban Outfitters! Score!
After we made our way back, the group visited a Church in the heart of Dresden that was bombed in the War and reconstructed. It was big and beautiful! We also went to a medieval museum that held lots of artifacts from that time period! It was low key kind of funny to see and read about the things these people did and wore. We headed back to the "Martin Luther" statue (not before getting ice cream of course) and waited for the rest of the group to return, right before our departure…we turn around to see a group of around 100ish protestors, chanting and singing violent things in German. Our professors informed us these people were Neonazis protesting immigrants and they were also singing the German Anthem how Hitlers Nazis used to sing it. Ew. I was so freaked out. I was ready to leave Germany at that point…
After getting the hell outta nam, (felt like it) we got back to Prague and the girls and I went to dinner at Ramen! If you've never had real ramen I would highly recommend. (its not like the $1 sodium cup that you microwave) I had it for the first time in L.A. with my brother Zach and was not disappointed. The girls were a little hesitant and confused on what to order but our food was AMAZING! Everyone was a fan and dinner was really fun! It was a great end to our busy day!
On Sunday we all woke up exhausted, broke and ready to be back in Olomouc. We went and visited the Jewish Quarters of Prague and it was really interesting to see how the Jews live. The names of every jew who died in the holocaust lined the walls of the quarter like wallpaper. We also walked through the jewish cemetery that was massive and held 8 layers worth of bodies. It was somber and erie. We ended our morning with brunch (hannah ordered shrimp and they came complete with their eyes and legs still. LOL!) and we headed back to the Hostel to check out. We grabbed our luggage, and slowly made our way back to the station to board our train.
Overall, Prague did us dirty. Most Czech citizens are ruthless and have really have no remorse for Americans. (I have a theory that they're all jealous because they know we're the best country, so they're just mean) Even after an attempted mugging, a missed train, a lost soul, a stolen wallet, and a Neo Nazi parade. We made it back in one piece, with missing pieces. ;') Though Prague came with its downfalls, I really appreciate the time shared with the group there and the close friendships and memories that were made.
Off to Barcelona this weekend for Easter!! Here we go!!!
Abigayle
Do to others as you would have them do to you. | Luke 6:31
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