Every morning starts with a hot cup of tea and some breakfast looking at my map of Praha and deciding what adventures to tackle for the day.
Through the school, we all received a Czech "buddy" that helps with questions, accommodates to and from the airport, helps register and gives a tour for school, and if you're really lucky argues with the manager at Tesco until she lets you return the "towel" you thought you bought that actually ended up being a giant sheet. Ali took me to my very first traditional Czech meal. We shared two of the post common dishes- Schnitzel (breaded pork) and Svickova s Knedliky (slices of pork and almost like stuffing in bread formation smothered in an amazing rich sauce with a dollop of cranberry and whipped cream).
On one of my runs, ended up at the top of Letna Park where there's a spectacular view down the river towards my flat. Since then, I've been up their multiple times for a picnic and to relax after a day of classes.
The roommates and I went to the farmers market again. My crepe deserves an individual shout out it was so delicious- goat cheese, arugula, and sundried tomatoes. Also picked up some cinnamon spice, mushrooms, different types of dried fruit, and curry powder nuts (which were gone before I got home hehe).
Exploring around with my roommate Kate and we finally found the Lennon Wall, a place where people expressed their feelings towards the communist regime in the 1980´s. A local Czech was playing Jason Mraz and Beatles songs and we couldn't help but stay for a while.
On the Charles Bridge again. The plaque on the statue below is John of Nepomuk and has been rubbed to a shine from people touching it over the centuries. The tradition states that if you rub the bronze plaque, you will get to return to Prague one day. Safe to say I will be returning to Prague a handful of times.
I met a local Czech named Viktor at an international get together before I going to the Duplex club on Wenseslas Square. He's been showing me the ropes of the city and got me into a big tour boat party. One of my favorite nights thus far filled with lots of new people, dancing, and spectacular views.
Valentine's Day was spent on one of the highest peaks of Prague, called Petrin Hill. You have to climb up 399 winding stairs to the top. The view was defiantly worth it though. Haven't figured out how to do a panorama on my camera yet so you imagine these three were stitched together. The first one shows the Prague Castle (size of 7 football fields). Second picture aims towards the Charles Bridge and Old Town. There are over 107 bridges over the Vltava River, 17 particularly in Prague.
For the majority of the second week I was here, I was knocked out with major fever and flu like symptoms. It was a bummer having to stay in for a while, especially because it snowed for the first time (and probably last). If you thought this place couldn't get any more beautiful imagine these dollhouse structures with an inch of sprinkled powdered sugar on it.
This past weekend was my 21st birthday so some of my sorority sisters from WSU who are studying abroad in other parts of Europe all came to Prague to help celebrate. I played tourist again in my city showing them all around Old Town and the Castle, went to the Prague beer museum, and ate another typical Czech meal- this time I had Goulash with dumplings.
Spiced mulled wine.
My girlfriend Riley and the Cathedral poking in the back for a photobomb.
For my birthday lunch I had delicious all you can eat sushi. I started off the night with some dinner and cocktails at Agave and then everyone joined me for a Prague pub crawl that took us to four different bars and ended at Karlovy Lane, the largest club in central Europe. Definitely a birthday for the books!
Lucky me, the celebrations continued with all my roommates and program friends with another birthday dinner at Grosseto Marina, an Italian restaurant in a boat on the river with a spectacular view of the bridge and castle. So thankful to be surrounded by people that make feel just as special on my birthday in a brand new place.
Prague is just as special at night, lighting up all its significant buildings along the river. I never bring my camera out with me at night so I snapped a few on my lovely walk home to my flat, with the full moon making even more majestic.
This last one here is called the Dancing House; you might have seen pictures of it in the daytime. It was just recently built in 1996 and has brought a lot ofcontroversy because its new more modern style doesn't fit with the rest of Prague.
