MORE PICTURES

Me and some friends out at "the pub"- This bar has individual beer taps on each table and a huge screen on the wall which acts as the score keeper or the race you have with the other tables in the restaurants to see who can finish the most beer.

My metro Stop! Karlovo Namesti

St. Vitus Cathedral at the Prague Castle

Me and Kate with the castle guard

Eating at the Noodle Bar

Dan and Sasha at Lemon Leaf, our new favorite Thai place, that gave Dan the largest beer we had ever seen

A picture of a wall in the Salvador Dali exhibit that we went to last weekend!

LIFE IN PRAHA

So, I just finished my first week of czech "classes."  I must say that they were very boring, but I did pick up some of the language (not as much as most of the people but I am not getting a grade really, so my level of caring is very low).  The past few days I have not been feeling well so I have not been doing anything too exciting.  We did go to the Prague castle this week, but it was so freezing that it was hard to enjoy.  I will definitely be going back at some point when it is warmer. 

This week consisted of a lot of planning for future trips and just getting used to life in Prague. We cooked dinner a couple times this week, which was surprisingly successful, but we have also found some great little restaurants!  Being able to feel like I actually live here and that I'm no longer on vacation is nice.  So, we have officially booked a trip to Copenhagen for February 12-15, and we are in the process of booking Budapest for the following weekend.  We are doing Copenhagen the nice way- flying and staying in a hotel- but we are going to try to rough it for Budapest and take a bus there and stay in a not so nice place (we will see how that works out).  

Tomorrow we are going on a field trip to a church that is made out of skeletons and skulls and such.  It is supposed to be amazing, so I will post pictures after that. 

That's it for now!! xox I will try to post more pictures tomorrow!

WEEK ONE PICTURES

John Lennon Wall

Dinner party at Victoria and Krista's flat

My room

View from my balcony (Castle in the background)

Laura, Sasha, me: roomates!

At Chapeau Rouge (Victoria, Ashley, Sasha, me, Jake)

First night of orientation dinner

My Czech Buddy that I live with, Edita, is on the far right

The Jewish Cemetary

WEEK ONE IS OVER

So I finally have internet in my apartment, at least for the time being!  The past week has been nothing short of exciting!  We moved in a week ago now, and until now I haven't even had a chance to relax.  Most of last week, orientation week, we just figured out our way around town and did some site seeing, of both sites and bars haha.  We went out every night last week to some of the most popular bars here: U Sudu, Radost, M1, Chapeau, and many more.  Last Saturday we did a pub crawl which was fun, but kind of a rip off unfortunately.  But in reality, nothing is much of a rip off here since you can eat a full dinner with appetizers, main course, drinks, and deserts for no more than $10, and a beer is around $1.  I have made some great friends here and we are starting to feel at home.  At first I was lost almost everyday which made me feel very disoriented, but now I'm feeling much better about everything.  

We started our intensive Czech classes on Monday and this language is not easy!  We have been in class for about 5 hours now and I know about 3 words, not a great percentage.  Oh well! Other than that, we start actual classes in two weeks and I have a pretty good schedule in terms of traveling. 

We are starting to plan trips, and have been brainstorming where and when to go.  Our newest idea is Dubai for spring break, so we'll see if that actually happens 

As Far as the food goes here, it is decent.  There are a lot of pizzerias and a lot of ethnic food, so I have been able to find things I like...although I eat about a loaf of bread a day it feels like.  I have tried the traditional Czech food which is a lot of pork and potatoes, so it is really heavy, but I had to try it at some point I figured.  

The next post will have some pictures of my room, some sites, and some friends, enjoy!

Moved in

So, other than having no internet and no connection with the outside world, other than 5 minutes right now, everything is great! I moved into my flat two days ago. It is in Praha 2 which is really close to the city center and it is in a very "upscale" neighborhood haha. I live on a street called Ladova on the 6th floor. I have 3 flat mates, one czech buddy, Edita, a girl from Newport, Sasha, and Laura, from Alabama. They are all super nice. We got extremely lucky and have the nicest apartment in the entire program...and even luckier, I have the best room!!! Our apartment is 2 stories. On the bottom there is a kitchen, a big living area with a little TV that has 1 english channel, one 2 person bedroom, and one single, and a bathroom. I have the top floor to myself with a huge room and a balcony that overlooks the castle, it's beautiful. Unfortunately, all they gave me was a bed that is terrible and a little nightstand, so it is a work in process! I will post pictures of it once I have internet form my own computer. I miss you all and I will post more soon and hopefully have skype to talk to you! xox

PICTURES FROM PRAGUE

Here are some pictures I have taken so far.  We have pretty much circled the entire city and seen the most important sites from afar.

The Jewish Cemetery

The raisin building

The National Museum

The view from a high mountain outlook point (Letna Hill)

the clock in Old Town Square

JUST ARRIVED

So we (Jarrett and I) just got to Prague yesterday afternoon, and most of my time here so far has been consumed by sleep!  But last night we walked along the Charles Bridge and went to dinner at a restaurant along the river, which was very pretty.  After that we went out to a club called Chateau and we had a good time, made some local friends.  But we are very obvious Americans, so we need to figure out how not to be so obvious when we walk into places.  This morning we went to a bakery for bagels and then walked through the Old Town Square and Jewish Quarters, and then to a lookout point to see the entire city.  It is very cold here, there is snow on the ground, but we are coping with lots of layers!  I will post pictures soon, and post more once I get my apartment on Tuesday!

PACKING UP

I leave for Prague on Thursday January 15th, so I am busy packing and getting everything together before I go!  I will be posting on my blog throughout my four month trip, about my travels in Europe and anything else exciting that is going on in my life.  Check back every so often to check up on me and see what I am up to!  xox Taylor