April Update

Ahoj McDonough, I haven't posted in a little over a month and I've been pretty busy since then. It's spring in Prague and the weather is fantastic. 

March 8th, the day after my last blog post, was inauguration day in the Czech Republic. President Miloš Zeman was re-elected for a second term in January and got inaugurated at the Prague Castle. He's a controversial character here and a lot of people call him the "Czech Donald Trump". He won with a very narrow margin of 51.5% percent of the vote and most people in Prague don't like him. I'm don't know a ton about Czech politics, but I think it's interesting to see the similarities between Czech and American politics.

The inauguration day included a bunch of festivities throughout Prague. My art class actually went to the Prague Castle to see the St. Vitus Cathedral, but we didn't realize it was closed for the inauguration until we got there. We still went to an art exhibit nearby and then walked around the city. While we were walking back they started shooting off cannons at the castle to celebrate. I didn't know that this was going to happen or what was happening, so it was very startling. They fired off 20 cannons and it was super loud even down into the city center where I was. Everybody kind of slowed down and seemed confused, but everyone just kept moving along. I thought it was something violent going on especially with the timing of the inauguration. I know this sounds pretty extra, but I was pretty freaked out by it. I've also heard a couple other American students talk about similar experiences they've had in other countries thinking something violent had gone on while all everyone else didn't seem effected by it. I'm not sure if its because we've had a lot more attacks in the United States or if its just because we're all a little more on edge because we're abroad, but I think its interesting that is something that many of us go through.

The second weekend of March I went on a trip with my study abroad provider to Terezín and Lidice. Terezín was a military fortress constructed by Joseph II of the Habsburg empire during the Austro-Prussian War. During World War I it was a political prison that held thousands, including Gavrilo Princip who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and helped start the war. Then, during World War II it was concentration camp and ghetto. More than 150,000 people were held there, most of which were Czech Jews. Thousands of people died there and even more were shipped off to exterminations camps like Auschwitz.

(I did not take this picture)

(I did not take this picture)

(I did not take this picture)

After touring Terezín we drove about an hour to Lidice. Lidice was a village in present day Czech Republic. In 1942 the high ranking Nazi Reinhard Heydrich was assassinated in Prague. In June of that year Hilter ordered that the village of Lidice be destroyed to make up for the assassination, although there were no ties between Lidice and the assassination. On June 9,1942 the SS arrived at Lidice and leveled the village. All 173 men were immediately rounded up and executed. The women and children were separated and the 203 women were all sent to concentration camps. Of the 105 children, 82 were sent to Chelmno extermination camp and gassed to death. Six of the children who were seen as the most German looking were sent to German Lebensborn orphanages and died there. Only 17 of the children returned home. The village was totally destroyed and today its a memorial.

Lidice memorial today
(I did not take this picture)

Lidice children memorial
(I did not take this picture)

Seeing both Terezín and Lidice was a very sad and eye opening. I studied World War II and the Holocaust a lot in school, but I have never really learned about the Czech role in all of it. 

The next week I went on a tour "Prague through the eyes of the homeless" with my study abroad provider. It was a really interesting tour because it took us to a lot of different parts of Prague that I've never seen before. I also don't really know a lot about homelessness even in the United States, so it was intriguing to hear about it from the perspective of someone homeless. He talked quite a bit about how he had everything in his life together then just had some unlucky events cause him to become homeless. He showed us a few of the different places he has lived, including where he's lived for more than 5 years under a ramp to a bridge. He lived with 6 other people, and they established rules and a sort of community. The tour really opened my eyes to another side of Prague and a new perspective on homelessness I had never heard. 

One of the stops on our "Prague through the eyes of the homeless tour"
This is a place that some charities come to provide food for the homeless.
It's also one of the spaces in Prague where you're free to spray graffiti.

The next weekend I stayed in Prague and the weekend after that I left for spring break! I went with one of my roommates to Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. 

I flew out Friday to Oslo, Norway. Oslo was really nice and a lot more modern than I'm used to in Prague. I was surprised by how many people spoke English in Oslo compared to Prague. I don't think I met a single person in Oslo that didn't speak English, but its mainly just younger people in Prague that know English. It's really not an issue in Prague but it was nice not having to worry about any sort of language barrier. I was also shocked by how nice everyone in Norway was. I've mentioned before how Czech people are a bit more reserved but its not like they're mean or rude. When I visited Norway everyone was a lot more outgoing and I loved it.

Frogner Park in Olso

The view from a cafe I went to in Olso after a waiter recommended it. I took the metro
 to the last stop and then it was only a couple minute walk from the line. It was mainly skiers
 because it was at the top of a large hill. We sat right by the window and the view was awesome!

The view from the metro ride down. 

Another view from the metro ride down. This was further down closer to the city. 

View looking out from the Oslo harbour

After leaving Oslo, I flew to Tromsø. Tromsø is the largest city in Northern Norway and the 9th largest city in Norway. We went mainly because it's in the arctic circle.

Map of where Tromsø is in relation to Norway and the arctic circle.

Tromsø was really cold and it was crazy being in the arctic circle. As soon as we got off the airplane, even the airport was covered in snow. As soon as I stepped outside, snow was just falling everywhere and it really sunk in like, shit I'm really in the arctic circle. 

This was the view from the edge of city center to another island

The city of Tromsø  was really cool. I wasn't sure how large any city in the arctic circle would be, but there was quite a bit there. I even noticed a couple offices of Big 4 accounting firms, which I thought was pretty funny. 

After walking around the city center a bit, my roommate and I decided to go looking from reindeer. So, there aren't any wild reindeer in Tromsø, but a waiter in Oslo told my roommate and I that you could see some at the University of Tromsø. We wanted to see reindeer but did not want to pay to go on a tour, so we headed to the university. 

View of  Tromsø  from the bus to the University of Tromsø 

View of Tromsø from the bus to the University of Tromsø 

View from the University of Tromsø

So, we didn't really know where the reindeer were, but our waiter told us they were near the woods so that's where we headed. After looking around for about 2 hours, we finally found the reindeer. We actually had to walk up a trail with a bunch of cross country skiers and then walk through a bunch of snow to get to the fences. 

Reindeer at University of Tromsø

Reindeer at the University of Tromsø

View of the woods from behind the University of Tromsø. This was just behind the reindeer.

Seeing the reindeer was really cool and I was stoked to find them after we had been searching for them for a while. While we were looking at them there were also a bunch of Norwegian skiers around also watching them. 

Tromsø from the bus

Another thing that we really wanted to do was take the Fjellheisen cable car up to the Storsteinen mountain. So, we took the bus to the other island and then rode it up. 

View of the island from just the start of the cable car

Tromsø from atop the Fjellheisen cable car on the Storsteinen mountain

The Tromsø city center from the Storsteinen mountain

You can't really tell from the pictures, but the road from the city center up to the bus stop at the Fjellheisen was steep and covered in snow. It blew my mind that even with the road constantly covered in snow and hilly, but they were still able to have buses running with no issues. It made me realize how much I'm going to miss all the public transportation systems when I get back to America. 

On the last day I was in Tromsø, we decided to head to the Arctic Cathedral before catching our flight out. 

Arctic Cathedral

Tromsø was a ton of fun and it was crazy pretty being in the arctic circle. I think Tromsø is probably my favorite city so far, and I'd love to go back and visit another city in the arctic circle again.  It was snowing off and on almost the entire time I was there and there was about a yard of snow where, but surprisingly not that cold. 

After leaving Tromsø, I flew to Stockholm. 

Gamla Stan from Stockholm City Hall

I went to the Moderna Museet in Stockholm which was cool because they had a couple pieces by Matisse

I only spent two days in Stockholm, but I saw quite a bit. It's a really nice city, but also really expensive like the rest of Scandinavia.

After Stockholm, I flew to Copenhagen. Copenhagen was another beautiful city with a ton of really nice people. It was Easter weekend when I got to Copenhagen, so a lot of places were closed. It was strange because on Friday everything was closed, but opened up again on Saturday then closed on Sunday. I wasn't really bothered by this because I was just sightseeing, but it was strange to see literally almost everything closed.

Amalienborg Palace which is the winter residence of the Royal Family. 

When I was in Copenhagen, the Queen's husband had died about a month before so all the flags were at half staff. My roommate that I traveled with actually had a friend living in from Denmark living in Copenhagen, so we met with her. It was really interesting hearing her explain Danish things.

Nyhavn

One really interesting thing I saw in Copenhagen was Freetown Christiania. Christiania is an self-proclaimed autonomous anarchist community established in 1971 on old military barracks in Copenhagen. It's a super interesting community because they're independent of the Danish government and there is an open marijuana market. Their history is also really fascinating and I had no idea there was anything like it before I visited. 

Christiania

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen

Copenhagen was my last stop on spring break and after a week and a half traveling I headed back to Prague. It was a lot of fun getting to travel around and see Scandinavia. In all three countries I went to everyone was super nice. Everything was also way more expensive there than it is in Prague. After spring break, I was glad to be back in Prague where the cost of living is so cheap.

I spent a week in Prague before heading to Poland for the weekend. I went with my roommate to Warsaw then Kraków.

Warsaw is the capital of Poland and the largest city in the country. During World War II Warsaw was razed to the ground and had to be completely rebuilt. It was strange being in a city that was really pretty but also relatively new.

Warsaw Old Town

Warsaw

After a day in Warsaw, I headed to Kraków. I really enjoyed Kraków and it was super pretty. The combination of the beautiful city and really low costs made Kraków one of my favorite cities that I've visited.

Old Town Kraków 

Kraków  

After a day in Kraków, I went to visit Aushwitz. It was a very somber experience but I'm very glad I went. I have heard people before say everyone should visit Auschwitz at least once in their lifetime, and I understand it now because it was a very moving experience. I went in feeling like I knew a lot about the Holocaust, but it's totally different actually walking through a concentration camp.

Auschwitz I

Auschwitz II-Birkenau

After leaving Auschwitz I went back to Kraków to catch a bus back to Prague,

While I have been traveling around a lot, I have also been enjoying living in Prague. Like I mentioned earlier, its spring and feels great here. It's been in the 70's or 80's the last couple weeks and it's fantastic. I've been able to go on a ton of really cool field trips with my classes lately,

Last week I went with my art history class to take a tour of the National Theatre. It is a source of national pride because it was built with the funds from a nationwide collection drive. In 1881, the theater burnt down just days before it was supposed to be opened. Then, all the funds were raised again by the Czech people to rebuild it and it was opened 1883. It was built during the Czech National Revival when an emphasis was placed on reviving the Czech language and national identity. So, I was really excited to visit a place that was not only beautiful but also so important to the Czech Republic. 

The stage of the theater. You can't see it well in this picture but the top says "Národ Sobě" which
translates to "the nation for itself" and is in reference to how it was funded by the Czech people.

The inside of the theater

The view of Prague from the top of the National Theatre. That's the Prague Castle in the background.

The top of the National Theatre

With all the great weather, I've also gotten to visit a lot of the gardens around Prague. 

Vrtba Garden

Vrtba Garden

View from the Palace Gardens

The Royal Garden

View of the Prague Castle from the Royal Garden

The Royal Garden

Wallenstein Garden

Wallenstein Garden

Wallenstein Garden

I've been having a lot of fun traveling around and living in Prague. I've only got one month left in Prague and I know it's going to fly by. Thanks for reading!

Nashle,
Ashley

One Month

Hello McDonough, it has been a busy few weeks since I last updated my blog. 

I have started class, traveled, and started getting adjusted to living in Prague.I apologize for not posting so long, so this is going to be a pretty long post.

Classes are going well, but are totally different than in the U.S. For starters, the classes are only once a week and last 3 hours. I don't think this is how most European universities operate, but it is nice only having class through Thursday so I can travel. Another odd thing is that grades are made up of fewer assignments. For a couple of my classes, we really only have a midterm and final paper. I know all classes are set up differently, but it is kind of odd not really having tests or quizzes. The weirdest thing to adjust to has been that the professors are almost always late to class. Most of my professors show up right on time to 15 minutes late every day, which I am definitely not used to at Marietta. One of my professors showed up 15 minutes late to class, talked about the field trip we were going on for 5 minutes and was still worried about people arriving late and missing the class. I thought it was very odd that she was so worried about students that would have been at least 20 minutes late to class because you'd be in real trouble showing up to class 20 minutes late at Marietta. While in Prague, I am in a couple of art classes so I get to go on field trips around the city to look at art and architecture which has been really great.

So far, I have traveled to Brno, Brussels, Vienna, and Budapest

I traveled to Brno the second weekend I was here. Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic and about an hour and a half from Prague. I went there just for a day to explore a bit with a couple of friends.

I walked around the streets a bit and up to the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul.

Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul

We also heard about an art gallery in Brno that we decided to check out. It was pretty interesting because the exhibit they had was about Czech housing estates under the communist regime. It was fascinating to see how much communism influenced the urban planning of the country and how you can still see signs of it today. That exhibit just made me think more about the Czech Republic's history, especially because it can be easy to forget some of their history when Prague is so nice.
 

 I also visited Brussels, Belgium on February 16th through the 18th. Just walking around Brussels made me realize how little diversity Prague has. Prague has become more diverse recently, but its still mainly Czechs and almost entirely white. Brussels is still significantly less diverse than a lot of other big cities, but its way more than Prague. Brussels was also having a large celebration for Chinese New Year, so there were a ton of decorations for that up throughout the city. I hear that there was also a lot going on throughout Prague for Chinese New Year, but I didn't see any of it personally.

One of my Czech professors was actually talking about Brussels the week after I came back from my visit. He said that a lot of Europeans, including Czechs, have a negative impression of Brussels because it's seen as full of bureaucrats. He explained that its seen this way because Brussels is the home of the European Commission which is a branch of the European Union. I don't know a ton about the European Union or their bureaucracy, but I've always thought it was something Europeans liked. It was just interesting to hear a Czech's perspective on bureaucracy and the European Union. Bureaucrats or not, they're got some really pretty architecture in Brussels.

I went to a lot of the common sites throughout Brussels. The Grand Square is really beautiful and has the Museum of the City of Brussels, and Town Hall. Grand Square is really pretty because all the buildings on the square have gold embellishments on them.

Not far from the Grand Square is "Manneken Pis" which in English translates to "Little Man Pee." Manneken Pis is one of the best know symbols of Brussels, but its an odd one. Its a two foot statue of a boy peeing and draws massive crowds. It's supposive to symbolize Belgians' sense of humor and its definitely an odd landmark.

After seeing Manneken Pis, I saw the Royal Palace which is the official palace of the King and Queen, although they don't live there.

Not far from the Royal Palace was the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium which I also visited. The fine arts museum was one of my favorite things in Brussels even though I'm not that into art. It was a massive 8 floor building full of art from between the 15th and 21st century. After spending a couple hours at the fine arts museum, I went across the street to the Museum of Musical Instruments which had some interesting exhibits too. After that I headed to the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula and the Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon. These were two really pretty churches, and I was able to see some of the architectural characteristics I had been learning about in class.

Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula

Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula

Finally, my roommate and I just walked around Brussels some more to see the city a bit without having any specific destination in mind. The next day we really wanted to see the Atomium and make our plane back to Prague. The Atomium is a giant model of an atom built for the 1958 Worlds Fair in Brussels.

Atomium

It's really nice because from the top you can all of Brussels. Included with admission to the Atomium is admission to the Art and Design Museum, so we also checked that out as well. After seeing that and getting lunch, we caught a bus back to the airport and flew back to Prague.

View from the Atomium

February 22nd through 25th I was in Vienna to Budapest. After missing my train, I took a bus to Vienna on Thursday night. It was less than a 4 hour bus ride, so I got in late Thursday and met up with some other friends that arrived earlier in the day. Nobody had eaten dinner, so we went to the cheapest place we could think of that was still open at midnight, McDonalds. I don't know if it should be comforting or concerning, but the food tasted the exact same in Vienna as it does in the United States.

The first place I went to in Vienna was the Schönbrunn Palace which is the former summer residence of the monarchs of the Austrian empire. The palace was giant and lavish, and it covered a lot of Austrian history focusing on Franz Joseph.

After touring the palace, I walked around a bit until lunch when I tried Wienerschnitzel. Next, I walked around a bit more and went in the St. Stephen's Cathedral.

After walking around the city center for a while, Itook the metro to the Belvedere castle. When I got there it was already closed, so I just walked around the grounds.

After about 36 hours, I got on a bus to head to Budapest.

I got in to Budapest at about 2pm on Saturday. After checking in to the AirBnb, I headed out to the Szechenyi Thermal Bath. Budapest is well know for it's thermal baths that are all over the city. The Szechenyi bath that I went to dates back to 1913 and is one of the oldest still operating in the city, but the baths have been a tradition in Budapest since the time of the Roman Empire. They're a huge attraction for tourists, but plenty of Hungarians also go to them. Many Hungarian doctors even prescribe visits to the baths, and they offer other spa services inside too.  It was right around freezing when we got to the baths, but the water was 27°C of 80°F. It sounds really weird to sit in a pool with hundreds of strangers from all around the world, but it was strangely relaxing.

I spent about 2 hours relaxing at the bath before changing back to my clothes to see some more of the city. We walked towards Heroes' Square which has the statues of the leaders of the 7 Hungarian tribes and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

After seeing that we walked back and saw the City Park Ice Rink and Vajdahunyad Castle.

We walked back to the Chain Bridge which connects Buda and Pest. After taking some pictures of the Bridge and the Buda Castle from across the river we headed to dinner.

We found a Hungarian restaurant and tried Hungarian goulash. Goulash is very common in both Hungary and the Czech Republic, and both versions tasted very similar. We were seated in the basement of the restaurant and the waiter put on 80's American music from YouTube which was very strange and funny.

Then next morning I went back to the Chain Bridge and crossed it to visit the Buda Castle.

We took the funicular up to the Castle and walked around. It was really cool being able to see the whole city from the hill and walk around a bit of the 1.8 square mile castle grounds.

After taking the funicular back down and walking around the city some more, I headed back to the airport to return to Prague.

I've been visiting a lot of places around Europe, but I'm also still learning about Prague and the Czech Republic. I'm taking two art classes, so I've been able to go on trips with those classes and learn about some important Czech sites and their history. Most of my professors are Czech, so it's great being able to hear them explain Czech history.

I've gotten a lot of comments on my other blog about how I descried Czech people on public transportation. While the Czech's are definitely more reserved and quieter on public transportation, it's not like they're cold or rude. From talking to Czech people at the metro stop, to the farmers market, to at the grocery story, they have been nothing but nice and helpful. I've also gotten to ride public transportation in other countries, and they pretty much act the same. Public transportation has also been pretty great in Brussels, Vienna, and Budapest too.

I've also been in 4 European airports so far, and they're very different than American ones. Security is a lot more relaxed, and most airports don't even require you take off your shoes. Also, they don't announce your gate until right before the plane is boarding. In the United States you can wait at your gate for hours before your flight takes off. In all the European airports I've been to you wait in one large terminal waiting area, then around 20 minutes before boarding your gate is announced. Additionally, boarding never actually starts when its supposed to. Boarding really starts right around when the flight is supposed to take off, then the flight leaves about 20 minutes after its supposed to do. Even though all the flights leave late, mine have all still arrived on time or early. It's not a huge difference, but the airports have definitely been an odd adjustment coming from the United States.

Charles Bridge from across the river

Old Town from the top of the Astronomical Clock.
This is the Church of Our Lady before Tyn

Old Town Square from across the astronomical clock

Charles Bridge from the Vltava River

The edge of the Charles Bridge and the bridge tower from the Vltava River

Prague from the Vltava River

Prague from the Vltava River

The Metronome in Letná Park just up a hill and across from the Vltava River. It was built in 1991 to replace a statue of Joseph Stalin that was demolished in 1962

Prague from Letná Park

Diky,
Ashley