Sunday, February 17, 2013

A Winter Wonderland in Prague

This weekend a small group of us decided to take a trip to Prague in the Czech Republic. I realized as I sat aboard our plane Friday morning that I was completely unprepared for the trip. Yes, I had packed everything I needed, passport included, and I had ways to get money, but I had failed at something very important, the language. I hadn't taken the time to learn anything about the language, the history, or the culture, and I began to really regret it. When I came to Spain, I at least knew the basics-hello, goodbye, thank you, etc. But, I didn't know any Czech and luckily for us, the majority of people also spoke English, and were willing to speak English to us. I really would have liked to learn the key phrases, such as hello, goodbye, thank you, and good morning/afternoon just to be more respectful of the culture. One of the cool things about Prague was the plethora of languages you heard walking along the streets, English, Czech, French, and many others.

Prague was breathtakingly beautiful and the snow made it into the perfect winter wonderland. The city was very colorful with amazing architecture in every building. The pictures I took (and I took a lot) really do not do the city any justice, but I tried! During our time in Prague we visited: the Charles Bridge, Old Town/Old Tow Square, the Castle, the Lennon Wall, and other places we found along the way. All of the streets were cobblestone and it was all very quaint.

One of the things I wanted to do while in Prague was eat a Czech meal. The first night we ate at a nice restaurant that was more touristy, but I had Goulash with bread dumplings and Creme Brulee for dessert. Saturday night we went to a bar-like place that the manager of the hostel had recommended. I'm not exactly sure what I got, but it was something like beef in a cream sauce and bread dumplings. The dumplings were delicious and just like the recipe of Gram's that Mom makes every New Years! Dale and I also stopped in at a cafe and had a fresh baked apple streudel and coffee, which I drank almost black (I had to add a lot of sugar to stomach it), but it was all delicious!

I bought a lot of trinkets on this trip and can't wait to show them off when I get home! Speaking of trinkets, I'll get back to all of the pictures I took! I didn't take my camera out Friday night because I wasn't sure what we would be doing, but I made up for it Saturday by taking almost 400. I will spare you from looking at all of them, but will give you a nice sampling :) Okay, so it's a little bit more than just a sampling, but I couldn't help myself! Enjoy!!



























 Our view from the Castle!











 The Saint Vitus Cathedral

















 





 Katerina and me with a view of Prague

 Katerina, Kaycee, and I
 St. George's Basilica



































 Prague carved into wood















 A different take on stained glass













 One of my favorite pictures from the trip!












 John Lennon's Wall

 Once a Peace Girl, Always a Peace Girl!
















































 Astrological Clocks









I hope you enjoy the pictures and can get a taste for the colors and architecture! I really enjoyed my time in the Czech Republic, even though smoking is still allowed almost everywhere, even in restaurants. Each time a group of us goes some place new, we are able to pick up the metro system and the city more easily.  I always feel accomplished when I figure out how a new system works, especially coming from an area where the only public transportation is the city bus!

I hope everyone has a great week!

xoxo
Kelcey