spirecitystudies-blog

[spirecitystudies-blog]

This past weekend was spent in Greece! We flew into Athens, and then the very next morning we had a 11.5 hour island cruise. They took us to three different Greek Islands in the Aegean Sea.  The islands were called Idra, Poros, and Egina. Idra was the prettiest island I thought, but we were only given forty minutes in Poros so we were not able to see as much. Egina was the least charming but still had a lot of cool shops. There were tours for additional money on Egina that you could pay for (I think because they knew that there was not too much to see there). However we did not chose to partake. A lunch was included with our boat tickets, which was nice. Towards the end of the day they were playing traditional Greek music and there were folk dancers performing. We did bring a deck of cards with us onto the boat to pass the time in between ports, especially for the first island and after the last. In Athens we also visited the Acropolis (if you have an ISIC card you can get free entry!!!!) along with the Acropolis museum and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. We also ate traditional Greek gyros. Everyone in Greece spoke english really well and were pretty friendly, yet Athens did seem like a place that you did not want to be wondering the streets alone after dark in. Some of the trees in Athens have oranges growing on them, which was cool just because we do not have that in New Jersey or Prague. This was the first place I have visited where their alphabet was pretty different; most places I visit have excluded some letters or added some accents to the english alphabet. The greek alphabet has different characters which was interesting to see. From there we flew to Santorini, which is a different Greek island (where Lena in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants goes for the summer). Pretty much all of the buildings in Santorini are white with blue roofs. which is just so aesthetically pleasing to look at and travel around in. Sadly we were there when it was cloudy so we did not make it to the beach or get a good sunset, but the island was still super picturesque. Now that I have visited Greece, I have a craving to visit other south eastern European countries such as Croatia and Serbia along with other cities in Greece eventually. 

[spirecitystudies-blog]

Two weeks ago I spent a few days in Edinburgh (Scotland), United Kingdom. Since they use the Pound as their currency in the U.K. and 1 pound is worth $1.42 it was a pretty pricey weekend trip, but totally worth it! Eleven other students from my program also traveled with me, so having a big group was awesome. Most of us stayed in the same hostel as well, which was in a great location close to the center of the city. We were able to walk to all of the sites that we wanted to see which was awesome not having to spend money on public transport (with the exception of the airport shuttle). The Edinburgh castle sits high up on a hill and is located close to the University of Edinburgh, for it was sunny one of the days that we were there which is unusual for Scotland so there were street performers out (bagpipes and kilts and all). You could feel that the city was in a good mood. We were able to stop for coffee and cake at the Elephant Cafe which also has a great view of the castle, yet it is famous because J.K. Rowling wrote some of the Harry Potter books in the cafe which draws a lot of attention. There are Harry Potter stores all over the city, and you can even buy butter beer (non-alcoholic mix of butterscotch and cream soda). We also hiked up to Arthur’s Seat which is the top peak in Holyrood Park. It is over 800 feet high, and there is no easy way to hike up. Personally, I was drenched in sweat by the time I made it to the top, but getting down was harder as well. It is really important to wear boots or supportive sneakers and to watch your footing, but the view from the top is great! 

[spirecitystudies-blog]

Last week I took a trip to Ireland! I stayed in Dublin and then took a day tour to the Cliffs of Moher which was about a three hour bus ride. The tour company is called Paddy Wagon tours, and I would definitely recommend them. Our tour guide was hilarious, and our bus was really nice. The Cliffs of Moher were one of the most beautiful things I have seen next to the Grand Canyon. The Irish coastline was breathtaking as well, cows and sheep for miles! Dublin however, was one of my favorite cities I have visited, great vibes all around. Not to mention that the Irish people are so nice and friendly, which is very refreshing after being around Czech people in Prague. Saturday night when we were in the city there were people playing music all over the city, singing all the classic crowd pleasing songs. I even got to hear some great Johnny Cash and Chris Cornell covers. I also stumbled upon a line of hats designed after the John Wayne movie, The Quiet Man. It has only been four days since I left Ireland, yet I cannot stop thinking about what a great time I had. If I could ever recommend a European city to anyone it would hands down be Dublin; Prague as a second, and then London and Florence are tied for third! 

[spirecitystudies-blog]

I spent another weekend in London, this was my fourth time visiting the city as tourist so I am pretty decent at navigating my way through London at this point. Studying in Prague, it is always nice going to an english speaking country. When I visited London last semester, I started to get reverse culture shock from hearing english around town again. However this time I was expecting that, so it did not effect me. We saw the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, which was really neat to see considering I was not around the palace the times that they do it before Sunday. We got there a few minutes before it started so it was a little hard to see. We saw Big Ben (under construction) and the parliament buildings. We also saw the London Eye, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and the Millennium Bridge. The weather on Sunday and Monday was beautiful and up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which is considered warm compared to a winter in Prague. Because of the nice weather we did not mind hanging out near the river Thames. We also went to the Tate Modern art museum which has a ton of beautiful pieces in it. We checked out Piccadilly Circus which is one of the bigger shopping areas in the city and we went to Harrods, which is a luxury department store. We also brought some lunch to Hyde Park which is the largest of four royal parks leading to the Kensington Palace. Every time I leave London, it leaves me wanting more. 

[spirecitystudies-blog]

This past weekend I went to Kraków, Poland. Kraków is only an hour bus ride away from the Auschwitz concentration camp, so naturally we did a tour there. Auschwitz was also used as an extermination camp, but was only operational under Nazi Germany during the second world war. It was liberated by the Soviet Union, and it is estimated that 1.1 million people were murdered at Auschwitz. The Nazis would use poison gas to kill most of their victims, sometimes they would murder 2,000 people at once. The gas chambers were even designed to look like showers to prevent mass panic. It was super surreal being there after learning about the holocaust; horrifying things happened there. There was rooms filled with human hair because the Nazis would cut off the victims’ hair and used it for rugs, socks, gloves, clothing, etc. When they initially started transporting Jews from the ghettos to the camp they told them they were moving them some where better, and once they got there the Nazis had information in different languages to make it look legit. People were sorted once they entered the camp into workers and then those who did not appear fit to work were sent right to the gas chambers. Sometimes if they had enough workers at the time new people were coming in they would just kill all of the new people and not sort them at all. So many companies would use the prisoners as workers because it was cheaper, these companies never really were punished for this. Ford and bmw are only a few examples of said companies. Prisoners with gold teeth would have them ripped out, the gold would then be melted down. The front gate says “Work Brings Freedom.” This is something that everyone should see for their own eyes to ensure that crimes like this do not happen again. 

The rest of my time in Kraków was very enjoyable, it was very cold and snowed this weekend so I did not see as much as I would have liked to see. We did see the Kościuszko Mound, it was built in celebration of a certain polish leader, and you can see most of the city from the top of it. It also seemed like a couple radio stations broadcast from up there because it is a centralized point to reach the city. We also walked all around the old town there. Most things were relatively inexpensive, I would totally recommend Kraków. It is totally an underrated city. 

[spirecitystudies-blog]

This weekend I took a train from Prague to Bratislava, Slovakia! It was very interesting visiting Slovakia considering that Slovakia and the Czech Republic where part of the same country until 1991. Due to this I was able to spot many similarities in regards to the infrastructure of the city; I also noticed that the locals appeared to be nicer and friendlier than in Prague. I toured the castle in Bratislava which now has the Slovakian national museum in it, for it was great learning about the history of the country in a beautiful castle. While I was there, I also walked all around Old Town and saw all the sites there. Bratislava has a bridge over the Danube River, but at the top of the bridge they have a building that looks like a typical UFO. Thus the bridge is referred to as the UFO bridge, which has a footpath under the roadway for cars. As I was walking across the bridge I noticed that the current of the Danube seemed particularly fast and strong. I enjoyed visiting a city that is not super touristy. 

[spirecitystudies-blog]

As I have been stateside for a over a week now I am slowly starting to come to terms with the fact that fall semester has ended. I am so thankful for this opportunity to study abroad in Prague, and can truly say that I have fallen in love with the city. To all the friends I made these past few months: thank you for all the memories and experiences that you shared with me. Meeting all of you and learning your backgrounds and about the places from which you hail has made me a more knowledgeable and understanding man about different places/cultures of the globe. I wish you all the best and desperately hope we will be able to reunite in the future. I am especially thankful for CISabroad for bringing me together with eighteen other awesome students and for providing us an awesome on-site coordinator who showed us around Prague/the Czech Republic and making sure we didn't party too hard (lol). 

This is not the end of my blog! I will be returning to Prague in February to study at VŠE for another semester! Even though there are only two other students from my exchange program returning for the spring semester, I am still elated with excitement at the fact that I will get to spend a few more months studying in Prague. The adventure is only half way over; I am excited to make even more/new friends and visit cities and places that I haven't had the opportunity to explore! New posts will be coming in February. 

[spirecitystudies-blog]

After finals passed there was a few days that we were still in Europe; upset about the fact that we would all part ways to go home soon we decided to take a 24 hour trip to Amsterdam. The weather was not the best, it rained for a little during the day so I did not get as many pictures but we still had a really nice time. It was our last hoorah for the semester, we toured all around and even did a cruise on the canal where they showcased different pieces of art work that are made out of light fixtures! Apparently they have this light show on the canal every year with different pieces of work annually. It was so cool, Amsterdam is a must-visit city in Europe. 

[spirecitystudies-blog]

Last Saturday, we took a day trip to Dresden, Germany to explore the Christmas markets. It would have been great to make an entire weekend out of it, yet we wanted to give ourselves extra time to study for finals. Once we arrived on a morning train, we toured the Zwinger which is a palace. It was built in the early seventeen hundreds; it is known for the massive festivals that were held there. The building was really cool to see, however the main reason we were there was for the Christmas markets. Dresden is known for their Christmas markets! The stands are set up in rows, and they are usually in squares or other locations that have many pedestrians walking consistently passing through. We shopped for Christmas presents for our family and friends and ate street burgers and sausages, crepes, and lángos (Hungarian fried bread). Touring the Christmas markets was a super fun way to get into the holiday spirit! 

[spirecitystudies-blog]

This past weekend was spent in Paris! We flew in the evening so that night we did not do much because we were tired and it was snowing! When we sat down for dinner we heard a girl speaking english, so we asked her where she was from and it turns out that she only lives about forty minutes away from where I do (small world)! The next day we got some crepes and pastries for breakfast and went to see the Eiffel Tower. It is crazy how huge it is, when we were navigating the city we used the it as a point of reference to know where we were heading. Before visiting Paris, I knew that France gave us our Statue of Liberty that we have in New York City. However I did not know that the United States gave France a smaller version of the same statue in 1889. It was funny to see “The Statue of Liberty” in Paris. After that we visited the Arc de Triomphe which was cool to look at, but not much more than that. There was also a lot of traffic in that area. On Saturday we went to the Louvre which was so great. For those that do not know, the Louvre is the worlds biggest art museum. Showing a student visa issued from a European country will grant you free access. I spent at least three hours there with a lot of time spent in the ancient civilization section along with the greco-roman statues. By the time my friends were ready to leave, I insisted that I had to see the Mona Lisa first. Overall, I feel as if one could spend an entire day at the Louvre and even then they could still be left wanting more. After this we walked to Notre Dame which had a huge Christmas tree in front of it which was awesome to see! We walked to the Pantheon and Luxembourg gardens, but the gardens were closed by the time we made it there. Between that and walking all around the Louvre, we walked about ten miles that day. The public transportation in Paris was almost as easy as it is in Prague, plus it was decorated for Christmas; the only thing that would have made it better is if it did not snow the first night. 

[spirecitystudies-blog]

This past week was Thanksgiving, however they do not celebrate it in the Czech Republic because it is an American holiday. Our on-site coordinator from CISabroad booked a “traditional” Thanksgiving dinner for us and it was delicious! I did not really care for the pumpkin pie; it was still very good but not as good as the way my aunt makes it back in New Jersey. It was a fun night out, and definitely helped us feel as if we were not missing out on too much at home. During this experience I have not felt very homesick, but I must admit it was a little strange not being at my family’s Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. Either way, I would never trade this experience of studying in Prague and being able to explore Europe... heading to Paris this weekend!

[spirecitystudies-blog]

We spent a weekend in Amsterdam last week, this was my second time visiting. Amsterdam has a certain feel to it that no other city has, everything was super clean and looked like it is straight from a postcard, especially the canals! There were bikes every where; the bike culture is super prominent. Cyclists appeared to have the right away over cars and pedestrians, and there was always a designated bike lane to travel in. Many of the streets were paved with brick. In my experiences, Dutch people speak really well english which means that there was virtually no verbal language barrier. In Holland, they put dutch subtitles on everything which leads to their citizens growing up hearing english and learning how to speak it. People in the Netherlands are also required to speak english when they go to university which leads to a better understanding. The one morning we had a really delicious breakfast too! We visited the Van Gough museum which was so amazing to see, for I spent almost two hours there looking at all the art work. Unfortunately, they did not allow us to take pictures inside the exhibit. We also went by Anne Frank’s house, we did not go inside because you have to book a tour in advanced. The first time I was in Amsterdam I did go in the Anne Frank house, so I was not extremly disappointed that we were not able to this time. Amsterdam culture is unmatched by any other of the places I have visited, I feel as if I need to spend two weeks there to truly get the experience!

[spirecitystudies-blog]

The exchange program that I am enrolled in is called Central European Studies Program (CESP). Twice a semester they offer a free study tour for students; transportation and two meals a day are included so it is up to the student to bring spending money for themselves. I participated in one of those tours this weekend. We stayed in this town called Mikulov, it is over two and a half hours southeast of Prague. Well into the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic, this little town has a population of on 7,374 people and is located very close to the Austrian border. We stayed at an hotel when we were there, and I am not positive if I remember the name but I think it was Aurelius. It seemed as if we were the only people there, and the staff was extremely friendly and accommodating. We had two lunches there and a dinner which were served in courses, and I think it was the best Czech food I have had since coming to Europe almost two months ago. One of the girls is a vegetarian, and the hotel made her vegetarian meals without a complaint even though Czech cuisine is mainly meat and potatoes. They also had a complimentary breakfast from 8-9 every morning which was good as well. Friday afternoon we toured a winery that had a lot of amazing history. One thing I remember was how cold it was in the wine cellar, for this is something I did not consider however it makes sense for the wine to be kept in colder temperatures. A few of us explored the town that night which was a great opportunity to meet some Czech people that were not in Prague. It was a great experience, the people in Mikulov were so much friendlier than the people in Prague. From what I have seen thus far, Czechs just go about their own business. It is rare to see a Czech smile or look at someone they do not know; this does not bother me at all usually. I like that I can go out in public and no one is looking at me or trying to strike up a conversation. It does bother some of the other students I am with here, especially people from friendlier states in the U.S. rather than New Jersey. I think the people in Mikulov were friendlier towards us because it was a Friday night, they live in a small town, and are not used to meeting as many Americans as people in Prague do pretty frequently. Since Mikulov is so close to Austria we took a day trip to Vienna on Saturday. Vienna is a little over an hour south of Mikulov, and even though it is in a different country there was no stop at the border due to a Schengen State agreement. There was no wall or fence at all to separate the two countries, however the site director informed us that sometimes they do stop cars at the border to check passports and make sure everything is okay. The first stop in Vienna was to see the Palace and Gardens of Schonbrunn which is a 1,441 room mansion that used to be owned by the Hapsburg dynasty. After that we just toured around the city before catching the bus back to Mikulov. We were only in Vienna for about six hours, which was not enough time at all. I would love to go back for another weekend and really be able to explore some more. That night, being that there is not too much to do in Mikulov we stumbled upon a bowling alley, yet even though there was open lanes we were turned away because we did not have a reservation. Reservations are so much more common in Europe than in The States from what I have been noticing, and since Czechs love to say no they had no problem turning away foreigners even if we were potential paying customers. The next morning we went for a little hike before having lunch and catching the bus back to Prague! It was refreshing not being in a major city, and a great experience seeing other parts of the Czech Republic along with a little bit of Austria!  

[spirecitystudies-blog]

A few weeks ago there was the Signal Festival in Prague; it is a four day festival that showcases video-mapping and light art. It brings together technology and art in what is considered one of the biggest cultural events in the Czech Republic. Light displays were set up on historical and tourist landmarks as well as in little parks and courtyards all around the city. In years past, the festival has brought in over a million people into the city, so to accommodate the crowds the festival makers provide suggested routes to direct the traffic flow to the city. From 7:00 pm to midnight is when everything was lit up, for our plan was to head out early to beat the crowd which worked for the first hour or so. After that it was extremely crowded, but seeing all of the light displays was amazing. We grabbed some street sausage sandwiches and were able to enjoy the Signal Festival!

[spirecitystudies-blog]

I spent this past weekend in London and it was absolutely incredible! Class this Monday was cancelled due to fall break, so I was able to spend three nights in London and then travel back to Prague on Monday. Most of the weekend trips I have been taking usually include spending Sunday traveling back; this was a nice change of pace. Secondly I feel as if I could spend at least three weeks in London and still not have enough time to see all there is to see. London is bigger even than New York City (population wise) and sometimes charges people an “over-crowding fee” as they enter the city. Once we got into the city, before we even checked into the hostel, we went to Chipotle! My friends and I that were traveling with me love Chipotle, most of us said we eat at Chipotle multiple times a month back in America. However they do not have any locations in Prague, so we made it our mission to divulge the hankering we have all had for about a month now. After that we checked into our hostel. There was six of us in my group, so we were able to get one room in the hostel which was very ideal. We had three sets of bunk beds, our own bathroom, and did not have to share a room with complete strangers all for a great price. Our hostel also served an all you can breakfast every morning for only $5.93. We set off to explore and walked to the London Bridge which was less than a ten minute walk from the hostel. After exploring that area we went to the Borough Markets (one of the oldest food markets in London). The same night we went to see platform 9 and 3/4 (from Harry Potter), they have a cart half into the wall to symbolize the journey into Hogwarts. Tourists and fans can get their picture taken there while rocking a scarf from the Hogwarts school of their choice. We ended up walking eleven miles that day. The next day we rode the London Eye which is a Ferris wheel on the Thames River. We saw some great views of London since the Eye is 443 feet tall, for it takes about a half hour to do one full rotation on the wheel. We went to see the Big Ben clock tower that was sadly under construction, the parliament buildings, and Buckingham Palace (where the Queen of England lives) all before lunch time. On Sunday we were on our way to a street art festival when we ended up stumbling upon the Old Spitalfields Market which showcased hand-made clothes, jewelry, knick-knacks, and of course an assortment of really yummy street-food. That afternoon I met up with a friend who lives in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Birmingham is 208.02 Km/129.3 miles away from London, so she was able to take a train into the city in under two hours. Since she lives in the U.K. it had been almost a year and half since we had seen each other last, and it was really great to be able to catch up! We spent the afternoon walking around Oxford Circus which is a street known for good shopping in London. Since I have been in Europe, London is the destination that has been most like America. It was like a breathe of fresh air being in a location where the national language is English.  

[spirecitystudies-blog]

These pictures are from my weekend in Cesky Krumlov, which was about a two-hour bus ride south of Prague. The same river that runs through Prague, the Vltava, also runs through Cesky Krumlov. It has a castle from the thirteenth century that appears to be the main attraction of the town, but town might not be the best word to describe it. The vibe is more medieval village with some gothic and renaissance influences. Touring the castle was amazing, we had an english-speaking guide who told us all of the history of the castle along with the families that used to rule it. One of the families that used to own the castle believed that bears were good luck/fortune, so they always have a bear that lives in an enclosure attached to the castle, when that bear dies it is skinned and turned into a rug for the castle (I remember seeing six or seven bear rugs, yet there were many parts of the castle not open to the tour). They get a new bear shortly after, it is a tradition that it still followed today however the bear was not outside during the time we passed by the enclosure. After seeing the inside of the castle we were able to explore the garden outside, and now I am regretting not taking any pictures of that because I was in awe when I was there. The hedges in this garden were so well managed I would not be shocked to learn that they are taken care of three or four times a week, maybe more. Since it is a little village there is not much night life there, yet we managed to find a bowling alley and had a great time! Definitely a must see for anyone traveling through the Czech Republic. 

[spirecitystudies-blog]

Once we were settled in Prague for a few days, and after we had already had orientation for our classes we had an entire week before classes actually started. This was the perfect opportunity to plan a trip, so a few of us bought a round trip flight into Milan and went to Italy! We were there for four nights, the first two were spent in Milan. This first night we were there we went to walk around the center of the city, which is on a canal that is no sight for sore eyes. The next day we visited il Duomo (Milan Cathedral), toured a castle, and explored the city. After two nights in Milan we took a train to Lerici - Le Cinque Terre which is about 75 kilometers away from Pisa. Cinque Terre is a small beach village on the Ligurian Sea that appeared to be a popular retirement spot. It has many breath taking views and a relaxing atmosphere with a castle that juts out as if it over looks the village. On our first day there, we were able to relax on the beach, yet it rained for the majority of the next day which put a damper on our plans. Either way, I really enjoyed Milan, and would love to go back to Le Cinque Terre even if it is for retirement! Of course when we were in Italy we had a lot of great Italian food ranging from all the classics of pasta, pizza, and gelato.