PICTURES!- Berlin Day 3

Ku-damm "Rodeo Drive"

Charlottenburg Palace-  The "Pompous" Palace

Ampelmann!

The East and West Divided

Remnants of the Wall Outside the Topography of Terror
Museum

Checkpoint Charlie

I could do that!

Optimus Prime at the East Side Gallery

Hillary in front of a portion of the East Side Gallery

In Case You Missed Out

I have 4 new blog posts up to get everyone up to speed on what has been going on over here!

Apologies for the lack of exciting pictures, but I am hoping to get a post up with pictures for each trip up so you can see some of the highlights of everything we saw!

Thanks for your patience

Krakow, Poland: Final Day

The morning started with a nice short bus ride to the city center, where we disembarked at the foot of Wawel Hill on the banks of the Wisla River. Enticed by glimpses of the castle at the top of the hill, we hiked up through the main gate. Covered in moss and with a cool tower to the side, we passed into Wawel Castle. Our first sight from the top of the hill was back down the side of the hill onto a statue to the Dragon of Wawel.

Legend has it that the Dragon was eating young maidens in the city. Every week a maiden was sacrificed until the only one left was the King's daughter. The king put out a notice to the city that anyone who killed the dragon could marry his daughter. A young and poor Pole was up to the task by outsmarting the dragon. He stuffed a sheep with sulfur so that when the dragon ate the sheep, it exploded. The monument to the Dragon is now a show piece spitting fire every three minutes and guarding steps down into "his lair".

From the statue, we walked into the inner courtyards where we could see remnants of old buildings that had been burned down in fires from the 11th and the 13th centuries. On top of the hill is also a WWII hospital that was not added until around World War I, which despite its modern construction does not seem out of place. This is probably largely due to the appearance of Krakow Cathedral. The church of the castle is a monument of piecemeal architecture having been built in several portions over several centuries by various kings with vastly differing amounts in their bank accounts. This Cathedral is also the location where Pope John Paul II gave his first mass as a priest in the 1940's.

From the Cathedral, we passed into the main courtyard of the royal palace. Heavily influenced by Italian architecture, the palace was uniquely decorated with frescoes along its top, a false wall, and double tall pillars designed to allow more sun into the rooms of the royalty. Also unique to the palace was the fact that the rooms of the royalty were on the second floor while all political rooms were located on the third floor. (most places have them the other way around).

From the castle, we visited a Polish University with some very famous alumni, on the way to the city center. On the way we stopped to observe the first Baroque church in Krakow and a church next to it that had served as a fortress for residents of Krakow during Mongolian invasions. When the city was invaded, the only survivors in the city were in this church or on Wawel Hill in the castle.

The city center is a massive square. With a gorgeous church, a massive tower, the Cloth Hall (where the textile market was located), a tiny rotunda church, and the famous giant head of Poland.

For about 4 hours we had free time in the city, which we used to visit Starbucks and get Hillary a mug from Krakow, then we found pierogis (famous Polish food). The pierogis were good, but would have been better had they not been drenched in sauce. From the pierogi stand, we walked back to the cloth hall and saw a lot of souvenirs, but nothing really stood out, so I settled for a pair of postcards. With our extra time we wandered the streets of Krakow and found some really amazing gelato with a really long line, some really good hard candy, and a Subway that ran out of bread (much to my chagrin).

Overall, Krakow had the potential to be my favorite city. I loved the time that we had in the city, but I think that being able to plan my own trips makes me enjoy the cities much more. Krakow was crowded, but beautiful. Food was cheap and the architecture was incredible. I wish that I had done some planning to fill our free time, but I really am not sure what else I would have planned to see.

This weekend is Spring Break. We head to Munich tomorrow before meeting up with Molly on Monday morning in Lausanne (or maybe Geneva). From there everything is kind of up in the air except that we have school the next Monday so that Molly can spend some time in Prague. I am really excited to see my sister, have some fun adventures and get to show off my new home city!

More updates as soon as I have a computer (which wont be until after I am back on April 2 at the earliest). Happy Spring everyone!

Auschwitz-Birkenau

Nothing in my life could have prepared me for what I saw at Auschwitz.

The camp is actually comprised of three smaller camps: Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II- Birkenau, and Auschwitz III- Monowitz. Together, these three camps were responsible for the extermination of over 1.3 Million people between the years 1941 and 1945. Auschwitz I was more of a work camp, the site of the current museum of Auschwitz, and eerily beautiful.

The first real day of sun that we had seen since coming here at the end of January had to be ironically coupled with the darkest emotional day we will probably encounter.

Our walk of the camp was somewhat shocking to me, not because it was small and cramped and dirty like I had expected, but because of its simplistic beauty. Starting at the main gate with the slogan "Work makes us free" inscribed on top, I was taken aback by the numerous and symmetrical brick buildings lining the streets of the camp. Formerly the World War I barracks of the Polish army, the buildings stand almost untouched as they were since being liberated by the Russian Army in 1945. From the main gate, we walked to the houses or blocks as they are called.

Starting at Block 4, which was designated to the extermination, we saw things ranging from the map that showed all of the places from which prisoners were shipped to Auschwitz (same as the Topography of Terror, but with much more weight now). We saw left over Zyklon B, the drug that was burned to make the gas that exterminated so many in the showers and crematoriums of the camp. The most remarkable parts of Block 4 were the model of the showers and ticket stubs. Yes, you read that right. In the museum were tickets that Greek prisoners were forced to purchase for their train ride to their death. The cruelty of this act spoke to me almost as much as any of the other nauseating things that I saw in the camps.

Next was Block 5, devoted to physical remnants of the camps and killings. Rooms were full of suitcases from prisoners (which the Nazis seized as soon as the prisoners entered the camp) marked with identifying tools. Jewish prisoners were forced to write "Israel" into their name. Another room contained only pairs of shoes taken off of prisoners. Yet another had a stack of eyeglasses, and last but not least was the room of hair. Hair was shaven off of female prisoners to be used in the German textile industry and sold back to the people. Disgusting, cruel, and pitiful. The entrance and exit hallways of the Block were lined with photographs taken of prisoners which served as identification back before the train loads were unloaded on the camp. Before the camp became a serious work camp, it was used to hold political prisoners of the Third Reich. By 1942 it had been converted and began carrying out their mass executions. At this time, the identification of prisoners also switched from photographs to simple tattooed numbers on the bodies of each prisoner.

Block 6 showed living situations of some of the prisoners, their cramped bunks and tiny barred windows. While informative, nothing could have prepared me for what was next:

Block 11 was nicknamed the Death Block.
In Block 11 some prisoners were housed, but most importantly, this place was the location of the first experiments using Zyklon B on prisoners. The block was awful. From tiny cells in the basement with only a peephole for light to "standing cells" where prisoners were forced to stand all night in a cramped box. Our guide set it up as attempting to fit yourself with four strangers into a British telephone booth. No one could sit down or lay, they were forced shoulder to shoulder into the room. The worst part was that the only way to enter was by crawling through tiny portals in the corner of each box. On the way outside were rooms where prisoners were forced to undress before their experiments or before being led outside. Often, prisoners were slaughtered in the undressing room before anything could happen. Outside the block was the "Death Wall." Now a re-creation, the wall is a symbol of the thousands of prisoners that were lined up naked and paired and shot to death. From a few centimeters away, small caliber pistols were used to murder victims who fell into a sand pit, which helped to absorb the blood. To the left of the wall were two hooks on wooden posts used as make-shift gallows.

From the line of Block housing, we were led to gallows with a more modern look. At this location, the primary leader of the camp was executed after being turned over to the Polish government.

Next was the crematorium. A small, freezing cold bunker in the ground with a single chimney, the crematorium was so awful that I hardly spent any time there at all. I stayed long enough to see the holes in the ceiling where the gas came down and to see how Zyklon was burned before heading out afraid that the chills I was getting would not go away.

Luckily, we were done with Auschwitz I, but I wish someone had warned me that Birkenau would not be any easier to stomach.

Split down the middle by three rail lines, the camp was massive. Most of the prisoner housing has been destroyed, with only their chimneys marking their existence, but even without the physical presence of the buildings, one could easily get a feel for how huge the camp was. Birkenau was one of the worst camps in terms of prisoner life. In most cases, prisoners lasted less than four hours at the camp, being directed straight to the showers after arrival. It was for this that Birkenau is known as a Death Camp.

At Birkenau, prisoners were forced to work, and were only fed 1500 calories per day, less than the 2000 necessary to maintain weight, regardless of the amount of physical labor or the bitter freezing weather. As we walked from the main building to the back of the camp, we saw the monument for the prisoners that were killed. On either side of the monuments sat the ruins of two enormous complexes with gas chambers and crematoriums. From the remnants of these buildings, you could see how prisoners were led in, naked, forced into a room with mock shower heads and then killed. Their dead bodies were pillaged and shaved, with all things taken going to the German cause. The barren bodies were then put into the crematorium. For this reason, Auschwitz is known as the largest graveyard in the world with more than one million people cremated on the grounds.

In the end I was so glad to have had the experience to see the concentration camps and truly understand the meaning behind everything. Nothing will ever repay for the atrocities carried out at Auschwitz, but by visiting and becoming educated, I feel like I am one step closer to understanding the suffering. I was also very glad to have the trip led by someone as knowledgeable as the guide that we had. His incredible knowledge and depth of understanding of what happened made everything much more relatable and real.

Poland: Day One

By noon we were off. Freshly fed and rearing to go, the group of 30 CEA students hopped on two busses ready for our 8 hour trip to Krakow, Poland. Planning ahead, I downloaded a few movies on to my computer to supplement the films that CEA would be showing on the closed circuit bus TV.

Along the way, we stopped twice between viewing Schindler's List and a movie of my own choosing. I remembered watching Schindler's before, maybe in high school, but I guess I never guessed actually paid any attention to what happened. Horribly depressed, I was glad to have my own movies to distract me from the incredibly guilty feeling the movie forced upon me.

Eight hours and some urgent pee stops later, we were finally in Krakow. Our hotel seemed a little sketchy, but at that point, I was just glad to have a bed to sleep in. Before we headed to bed for the night though, Hillary, Cynthia, and I decided to try and see some of the city. Our hour long walk resulted in our seeing a random old church, a lot of random closed stores and a really long stair railing that I tried to ride down. That night, I tried to mentally prepare for what was to come in the next day, knowing that no matter how much I thought about it, nothing would come close to how seeing those atrocities would make me feel.

The Marriage of Figaro: Night at the Opera

Yes. You read that right. I William Douglas McDaniel did, in fact, attend the opera. Attempting to become more cultured, our school program bought us tickets for seeing the performance at the Estate's Theater (where Don Giovanni premiered). Not quite sure what to expect, I went into the night with an open mind.

The theater was amazing. 5 Levels high and very gaudy inside, the decoration was incredible and beautiful. We got to our seats in enough time to admire the interior, mainly the massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling before the performance started.

About halfway through the performance, I was completely lost. Luckily, Hillary was there to understand and explain everything to me or the rest of the night would have been a nightmare. The second half of the performance was much better than the first and everything made a lot more sense. It probably also helped that I started watching the orchestra perform when I got bored.

Three hours later, my suffering was complete and we walked out of the opera glad to have had the experience, but deciding it was not necessarily something that we ever needed to do again.

That night, I sat at home and began packing up my backpack for our CEA (school program) sponsored trip to Krakow, Poland and Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Berlin Days 3 and 4

Sorry, it has been a while since my last post. This week is midterms and next week is spring break, so there will be plenty to talk about, which is why I am trying to finish Berlin.

Apologies if this post is more of a skim of what we saw as opposed to the minute by minute account you have probably grown accustomed to.

Saturday morning, we woke up and hiked over to the "pompous" Charlottenburg Palace. A summer home for the Hohenzollern family, the palace was just a massive expanse of yellow real estate. From the palace, we decided to walk down the street to the U-bahn station and try out Berlin's public transport. Along the way to Potsdam Square, we stopped off at Kurfurstendamm. Ku-damm as it is known in Berlin is the "rodeo drive" of Berlin and we were there merely to say we had seen it and grab some starbucks. We also happened to find the ruins of the famous church there (King Wilhelm), but of course, it was under construction...

From Ku-damm, we re-boarded the U and passed along to Potsdam Square. We spent some time photographing the line on the street marking where the wall was and of course, I straddled the line. From the square, we dropped off luggage at the hostel and made our way toward the Topography of Terror.

The former site of SS headquarters during Nazi control, the topography of terror is now a museum devoted to remembering those who died from war and tyranny. The free museum at the location was very thought provoking and we spent more than 2 hours examining the exhibits.

From the museum, we passed Checkpoint Charlie (a huge tourist jam) and made our way through much less popular East Berlin toward the East Side Gallery. The East Side Gallery is the largest standing portion of the wall (1mile) and is now used as a canvas for spray paint artists from all over the world. The walk to the Gallery took us forever and was more than we had anticipated. After walking half of each side of the wall, we turned around and headed back toward Alexanderplatz after stopping in the Ostbahn train station for a McDonald's appetizer.

Freshly re-fueled, we walked north toward Alexanderplatz stopping at a Megamall to use the restroom and see some German shops. We passed through the crowded square which was undergoing construction and walked toward the TV tower. On the steps in front of the TV tower, we sat for a while and watched the Berlin youth in some sort of Dance gang practice party. It is very difficult to explain, but very interesting to watch. After about 20 minutes of rest, we looked for a grocery store to stock up for the next day's train ride.

Hungry for dinner after grabbing snacks, we headed back to Happy Noodles to try some more of the enticing menu items. Thoroughly stuffed, it was back along Unter den Linden to the Bebelplatz, which we missed the first time. The walk back to the hostel was rather uneventful, but getting there was a huge relief. Unbeknownst to us, we had walked over 20 kilometers on what was supposed to be our easy day because we had used public transportation...

Sunday morning we set our clocks back to adjust with the rest of the world and left the hostel bright and early to see the last bits of Berlin before the train at noon.

We passed the Berlin Philharmonic building before heading to find Fassbender and Rausch- Europe's largest chocolatier. After some misdirecting, we found the shop, only to find that it did not open for a few more hours. Passing the Gendarmenmarkt and Brandenburg Gate, we attempted to find the "Ghost Subway Stations" deciding that what we had found was close enough. As we stopped for a light breakfast, we checked our notes and decided we had done it all.

The last walk to the Hauptbanhof was easy and peaceful as we strolled through the Gate and passed the Reichstag. Getting to the train station thirty minutes early, we headed to McDonald's to get wifi and relax. As we sat in our booth, we realized that Europe doesn't adjust to daylight savings at the same time and we were two hours early to our train.

We killed the time talking about baseball, marketing, and social media before grabbing a lunch to go and heading to the train.

Berlin is probably my favorite city to this point due to the historical relevance that it holds. Even though the city was huge and expensive, there were so many interesting places to visit and things to see that living there would be a fun experience.

Unfortunately, this post and the last one do not have pictures due to time crunch. I will try to do a post in the coming week of pictures from the trip as well as updates on our trips to the Opera (Marriage of Figaro) and to Krakow, Poland (Auschwitz-Birkenau included).

Off to study for midterms!

Berlin, Germany: City of Construction (Days One and Two)

Wow! What an amazing weekend packed with plenty of sights and lots and lots and lots of walking. So, I may sound like a whiner, but seriously... once we got home, I used google maps to add up the amount of walking that we did. If, and this is a BIG if, we actually just walked from sight to sight the grand total of our walking was nearly 48 kilometers. That is almost thirty miles of walking from Thursday at 4 PM to Sunday at noon. Needless to say, my feet and ankles are still sore. I love being able to come home to Prague and relax to help recuperate from the weekend.

Word to those reading: Warning! Next weekend, we are going to Krakow and Auschwitz with our school group. Not a trip that we have much control over, so apologies for a boring post.

Now, back to the regularly scheduled blog: Berlin.

Around 4 in the afternoon, we disembarked from the train at the station Berlin Sudkreuz. Two minutes later, we realized we were at the wrong stop. Luckily, we caught the next train going from the Sudkreuz station to Berlin Hauptbanhof (Main Station) which was about a six minute ride.

From the station, we headed through the north east part of the city toward our Hostel: Heart of Gold. We checked in and threw stuff down in the room and headed back out to explore before it got too dark. Taking a path by the river, we strolled past Museums Island toward Alexanderplatz and its remarkable TV Tower. I was shocked by how scenic and beautiful everything was after having imagined a desolate country ruined by war and communist control. As we walked through the square, we stumbled upon Marx-Engels square as we walked to take some pictures of the Rotes Rathaus (still not sure what it is used for). Distracted by spires in the distance, our next stop was the church of Nikolai. The church was nothing remarkable, though it did give an interesting look to the neighborhood. From the church, we walked through construction zone after construction zone before walking in front of the Altes Stadthaus (Old Statehouse) and ending up back in Alexanderplatz for photos of the TV Tower, Marienkirche, and Neptunbrunnen (Fountain of Neptune). Hungry for dinner, we stopped in Happy Noodles, a fast food chinese place that served food out of the carton. Ordering the food consisted of a lot of pointing and nodding before we finally settled on teriyaki chicken and rice, some chow mein, an order of spring rolls, and some miso soup for less than $15.

Stuffed and happy, we headed out ready to explore some more. We walked aimlessly, ending up at the Hackescher Markt talking about art and looking for ice cream for dessert (despite being about 40 degrees). Our walk led us past the New Synagogue and back to our hostel. Even though we had only been in the city, we had already walked over 7 kilometers.

Friday morning we woke up still tired because one of our suite mates was snoring so loud I thought there was a helicopter outside our building. Then the day of walking began. Trekking back toward Alexanderplatz, we crossed the river near Museums Island to the main drag Unter den Linden (old carriage boulevard to take the Emperor (Hohenzollern Family (Holy Roman Empire)) to his hunting grounds (now the Tiergarden)). The street was lined with Linden trees (replaced by Hitler with swastika clad lampposts, only to be replaced) and holds some of the more historic buildings in Berlin.

First stop was the Neue Wache. The New Guardhouse, in English, is now a converted Memorial to the victims of war and tyranny with a lonely statue in the center. A modern pieta, Mother and her Dead Son, is a reflection of the hard times that had fallen on Berlin. From the guardhouse, we crossed the street via major construction. On the other side, we found the Stadtsoper (the state opera house) under construction. This was such a distraction that we missed seeing the Bebelplatz and focused instead on the famous Humboldt University (where Einstein studied) and the Cathedral of St. Hedwig. Signs on the street pointed us toward Gendarmenmarkt. The market is constructed of a German Church, a French Church, and the the Berlin Konzerthaus. Unsure of where to head, we walked to Friedrichstrasse and back to Unter den Linden. On the corner, we found the Automobil Forum. Instantly, I reverted to my middle school years of visiting the Atlanta auto show. Snapping pictures and spouting names of cars, I was in awe of the Hermes designed Bugatti Veyron Bfg (Sold for over one million dollars), the Bentley Continental GT, and the Bentely Mulsanne. Thoroughly pleased with the auto selection, it was time to head to the Brandenburg Gate.

The Gate was as impressive as pictured. But that is about it. Stock full of tourists, Pariser Platz was a madhouse with American companies aplenty. We grabbed a box of six Dunkin Donuts and some Starbucks as we parked it to rest for a while. Taking in the scene, we loved watching the gorilla talk with German soldiers (people in costumes). Though the gate was cool, I feel like it was way over talked. Much like the Mona Lisa, I had seen so much of it before seeing it myself that I was not overly impressed. From the gate, we walked (completely unaware of the fact that we were walking over the old line of the Berlin Wall) to the Reichstag. Not missing the Memorial to the Politicians who opposed Hitler, we headed south back past the gate to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The area was a block covered with large stones looking like graves at different heights. The ground under the stones were waves and some of the stones were taller than me. A little known fact is that in the northeast corner of the block is the old position of Hermann Goebbels bunker.

As we crossed the street, we found the Monument to the Murdered Homosexuals of Europe. A single block in the ground with a small screen playing a film inside. From the monument, we walked the scenic paths of the Tiergarten and stumbled upon some picturesque settings including the Global Stones- A project for peace. Crossing the Strasse de 17. Juni, we saw the monument to Russian soldiers (over 2000 Russian soldiers are buried there). After the monument, we walked down the strasse away from Unter den Linden and the Gate to the Victory Column of Berlin. It was moved to its current location under Hitler (originally placed in front of the Reichstag). The walk to get to the column was long and boring until we got to the traffic circle where it is situated. Underground tunnels lead you to the center of the circle. Along the walls are motion activated screens with stars. We had some fun dancing in front of the sensors for a while. The column itself was neat, but not worth the 6 Euro charge to climb to the top (so we didn't do it).

Unsure of where to go, we headed in the general direction of our hostel, though its address was still a mystery. After trying a few streets that sounded familiar without luck, we finally got some internet on my iPhone and plugged in the address to find the hostel pretty close. We checked in to our 12 man room at the Amstel House Hostel. After ditching our bags, we decided to explore the area. Quickly, we found the Arminiusmarkthalle. A quaint indoor market with lots of little shops and produce. I loved the feel of the market and got an orange to eat as we walked (to help with a stuffy nose). After walking for a good hour, we decided it was time to grab some food. With a lot of discussion and attempts at menu reading, we ended up at Dolce Pizza, an outdoor stand selling pizza by the slice. When we walked up, the stand was empty, so we got an appetizer of a slice each. I got spicy salami and loved it. Famished, we devoured the food, deciding to get dessert next door at a gelato stand. My vanilla gelato tasted like my favorite cake batter ice cream from back home. Deciding we were still hungry, we snagged another three slices (to split) at the pizza place before going back to the hostel.

Exhausted, having walked over 17 kilometers, we ate our pizza quickly and headed to the room to read up on our adventures for the next day. Our feet hurt, and my back was sore from carrying the backpack, but we were excited to see what else there was to see in Berlin.

Days Three and Four to come...

Petrin Hill and Old Jewish Quarter, Prague

Friday was our day to explore a little more of Prague!

We had decided to ride the tram to the foot of Petrin Hill, which offers some great views of the city. At the foot of the hill, we saw the Monument to the Victims of Communism (statues of men decaying slowly) and the Hunger Wall. The wall was so named because in the time of famines in the Middle Ages, the King commissioned peasants to build the wall as defense, thus providing work, and paying for many to eat.

Monument to the Victims of Communism

The Hunger Wall

 We hopped on the funicular (free for us with our tram passes) and rode to the top of the hill. We disembarked and saw Stefanik's Observatory with a weird statue of a man out front. Walking around the Rose Gardens (now dead pine gardens) we visited Strahov Monastery and finally reached our destination: Petrin Hill Tower. Only the disabled are allowed to ride the elevator up, so Hillary and I had no choice but to hike up the winding stairs to the top of the tower. The views from the top were incredible! The tower, built in an octagonal shape, was inspired by the Eiffel Tower, though it takes on a different shape. Our Petrin Hill Tower is not nearly as tall, though being situated at the top of the hill, it is located higher than the Eiffel Tower.

Stefanik's Observatory and Hillary

Petrin Hill Tower above the Hunger Wall

From the Observation deck, we snapped photos of the world's largest stadium, Prague Castle Complex, St. Vitus's Cathedral, Mala Strana (little quarter), The Charles Bridge and Vltava River, and Old Town (the Astronomical Clock and Church of Our Lady Before Tyn). The views were amazing, but it was pretty windy and chilly at the top, so we headed back down after taking our pictures, vowing to be back when the views were more clear.

From the bottom of the funicular, Hillary and I trammed through Mala Strana to Malastranska station. We walked across the Manesuv Most (One bridge south of Charles Bridge). After some discussion with an old Jewish woman at the ticket counter, Hillary and I headed into the Old Jewish Cemetery with our discounted tickets.

The Pinkas Synagogue was a depressing memorial to the victims of World War II. The walls were covered with the names of cities and victims from each city who passed away in the war. The number of entries was incredibly depressing. Heading out of the synagogue, we took a walk around the cemetery. The cemetery is an incredible sight, but also terribly depressing. Over 100,000 bodies are buried there, often 10 bodies deep, with over 12,000 tombstones to mark the graves. The reason for the huge number of bodies in the cemetery dates to when Jewish people were not allowed to be buried outside of the Jewish ghetto. The oldest headstones date to the 14th century and the cemetery was in operation until 1714. From the cemetery, we passed through the Ceremonial Hall and Klaus Synagogue.

Despite not having any Jewish ancestry, the visit was well worth it, and truly enlightening.

That night for dinner, Hillary and I got some carry-out Thai food from our favorite restaurant that is not McDonald's (Modry Zub). We relaxed and watched Fringe while discussing plans for the rest of the weekend and where to meet up in the morning.

Prague is proving to be a constantly enlightening city. Just when I thought that I had seen it all, there is a little more to see. I love the city and exploring it. While we do not plan to spend any more full weekends in the city, there is still plenty to see to keep our three weekdays very busy when we are not focused on school.

Prague Castle Complex (Left) with St. Vitus Cathedral. Mala Strana (red roofs) and Charles Bridge on the right!

Visit to Dresden

Wednesday night, I sat through class dreaming of being in Dresden exploring another new city. The class passed slowly, but as soon as it ended, Hillary and I headed to her apartment to pick up our luggage before heading to the main train station (Hlavni Nadrazi Praha) and catching our train at 6:30 PM.

After a slight debacle trying to find the right seats, Hillary and I claimed our own compartment (like in the Harry Potter movies) near the front. The ride was a two hour and fifteen minute breeze. We both snacked on gummies and chips to tide us over until we got to the hostel.

On the Night Train to Dresden!

At 8:45 we pulled into Dresden Hauptbonhauf. The weather was incredible. It was dark out and barely drizzling but the streets were empty. It was a bit weird walking down the main pedestrian street (Prager Strasse) without seeing many people. As we walked through the Neumarkt toward the Altmarkt, I attempted to snap some photos, but the dark won the battle and I quickly gave up getting night shots of the city. On our 3 kilometer-plus walk to the hostel we passed the Kreuzkirche, Frauenkirche, Hofkirche, Hausmann Tower, and Academy of the Arts. Finally, we crossed the Carolabrucke (Carola Bridge) and the Elbe River as we moved toward Albertplatz and the fountains "Troubled Waters" and "Still Waters." When we passed, I jokingly told Hillary that I thought they were important, only to read at our hostel that night that they were indeed famous fountains.

From the Carolabrucke- Hard to take pictures at night

After some argument about directions (the map was drawn awkwardly), Hillary led us to the Hostel (Kangaroo-stop). We walked up at 10:05 PM (Reception closed at 10) and checked in. The whole cost for our stay was $28 USD. Pretty cheap for one night with all the amenities they included.

You may have noticed that this is the second animal-themed hostel I have chosen. This was not done on purpose. Though we did joke about it and pick up fliers for the Wombat hostel which has three locations in Berlin, Vienna, and Munich- all cities we intend to visit.

That night we sat in the common room. Hillary checked emails for a bit and did some research while I drew a walking tour of the city on the map. After some discussion and revision of the tour, we were exhausted and headed to sleep excited for our day of exploring.

I passed out, but woke up early the next morning because everyone in the room was moving around and packing up. Hillary and I packed up and headed out, checking out of the hostel around 10 AM and heading back to Albertplatz for photos of the fountains.

Hillary in front of "Troubled Waters" Fountain

From the traffic circle, we trekked toward the river and "evil side" (as the Dresdeners call it- for its tourism) down Konigstrasse toward the Japanese Palace. On the way we passed the Dreikonigskirche and snapped some pictures. The Japanese Palace was built by August the Strong to house his collection of porcelain. From the palace we could see the dome on Yenidze, a former tobacco factory famous for its mosque-like dome made of stained glass. As we sauntered down the river bank, we encountered the first of three red rectangles. These are set up around the city aimed toward perfect Kodak-photo opportunities. You just have to stand on the X they paint and aim through the rectangle, and voila, perfect picture.

From the Red Rectangle- Perfect Picture of Dresden's Skyline

As we walked across Augustbrucke (August Bridge) we took in the impressive skyline of Dresden. Soon, we found ourselves in the Theaterplatz, taking photos of The Semper Opera House, the Hofkirche (which survived the WWII bombing), and the Hausmann Tower. Heading through the Zwinger (museum complex), we saw the Zwinger tower, topped with a golden crown. We wandered back thought Altstadt to Auguststrasse. The wall of the street is a mural to the ruling history of Dresden and Saxony, made out of porcelain tiles.

From the Second Red Rectangle on Bruhlsche Terrasse
The Hausmann Tower, Academy of the Arts, and Hofkirche

Through the street we found ourselves looking at the Frauenkirche. Destroyed during the bombing, it was rebuilt starting in 1993, putting all the original stones back in their original places (not sure how). From that square, we could see the Kulturpalast and old royal palace. We opted to head inside the incredibly ornate Frauenkirche before moving toward the river and the Bruhlsche Terrasse. The terrace is up on the original fortified walls of the city. From here, we saw another of the photograph rectangles, the Academy of the Arts with a gold winged woman on the dome, the Superior Court of Dresden, as well as glimpses of Hofkirche and the Hausmann Tower. We moved toward the Carola Bridge to see the New Synagogue. The building is remarkable for the fact that it was built with very few windows.

The Academy of the Arts and Mr. Semper
(His Opera House is in the center of Theaterplatz)

The Ornate Frauenkirche, with Martin Luther in front

Not having eaten since we ate some gummies on the train the night before, Hillary and I headed to the golden arches to get some food and a menu (for mom). The pit stop was much deserved and gave us the energy to finish our tour.

From McDonald's we snapped some photos of the Kreuzkirche (in the day time) and walked toward Prager Strasse and the UFA Kristallpalast (a controversial deconstructionist building). Deciding we had seen it all (we really had), we headed toward the Hauptbonhof and jumped on the 1:08 train back to Prague.

Thursday night, we got in around 4 and made plans for dinner.

Though our fist attempt at Asian food had been a huge bust, we were determined to turn our luck around. We sauteed the chicken in some sweet chili sauce (the best sauce EVER!) and cooked some rice. Hillary got grossed out by some of the chicken we purchased (which legitimately was bad) and opted out of the meal halfway though for some pasta. Despite not wanting the food, she helped me finish the meal. This time, I did not overcook the rice, and the good chicken turned out great. I loved my meal of spicy chili chicken and rice and ate Hillary's portion, too (I promise I have not gained too much weight yet).

At the dinner table, we plotted our Friday, opting to stay in the city and see some sights before tourist season hits. The idea was a great one- see in the next post!

Week 4- Already looking toward the weekend

Week 4 at AAU flew by without much change from the previous weeks. I am having a bit of trouble adjusting to the fact that my weekend is longer than my school week, but I am okay with that. Monday between classes, I planned our weekend trip to Dresden, Germany and worked on what little homework I had.

Operations Management is quickly emerging as my favorite class. For most of the students (who speak little english) the class is probably a challenge, but I seem to understand the topic and I really enjoy the way that the teacher teaches the class. He is also a Michigan native (from Ann Arbor) and worked in the automotive industry before moving abroad.

While the week was boring, I was very excited to get to Dresden, which was a city I had just finished reading about in my last two books!

Plzen, home of Pilsner Urquell (and some Amanns too!)

It seems crazy to think that one week ago today we were on the train back from Budapest and Bratislava getting ready for our day trip to Plzen with our school group (CEA). While this post is a week late, here is the update for our trip.

Sunday morning was gross! Chilly and rainy, Hillary and I showed up at the rendezvous point on time to find no one else there on time. Not even CEA staff... Not impressed. About ten minutes after we were scheduled to depart everyone showed up, including the bus. As we all packed on to the huge tour bus for our hour long trip West to Plzen, I was pretty excited to see the city of my ancestors and pretty nervous to be forced to try Pilsner Urquell.

After a cat nap and some music, we rolled into the brewery where we entered the visitors center and divided into two groups of about 20 students. From there, we departed to the packaging plant where we watched the beer gets bottled and packed (reminded me of the many coke plants I have seen). After explaining that the plant (built in 2002 and state of the art) was capable of making something like 120,000 bottles and cans of beer an hour! Pilsner is a brand of SABMiller which produces a ton of beer all over the world (MGD in the states- and maybe others).

From the packing plant, we went to the brewhouse where we were invited to taste barley and hops. Barley tasted like any other grain to me, so not a big deal. Hops, on the other hand, was nasty. Smelling it and tasting it were two of the worst decisions I have made so far on this trip. Luckily, we moved on quickly to see some more historic artifacts related to the brewing and creation of the beer way back when. Standing in juxtaposition to one another were the old and new brewhouses where we could see how they mixed the liquids that become their beer. The vessels to hold and mix the beer were enormous copper machines.

From there, the beer must be chilled and stored, so down to the cellar we went! The cellar was an immense underground tunnel maze that was nearly 9 kilometers long! We only only saw a portion of the cellar, but got the impression that the storing of this beer took a lot of space and was serious business. Before long, we found ourselves in front of some massive barrels- which an employee tapped for our enjoyment. The result was unfiltrated (thats what they kept calling it) Pilsner. I had only one word for it: Disgusting. I severely struggled to finish my small cup of 8 ounces before we headed into the brewery beer hall for lunch.

The beer hall- the biggest in Bohemia (seating 550 people)- was a restaurant called Na Spilce (pronounced Na Spilt-suh). Immediately, we were greeted with a hug glass of fresh Pilsner and about twenty minutes later, some potato soup. The soup was delicious, and helped me start the beer. For my main course, I had traditional Czech goulash with three types of dumplings (bread, potato, and some other one we could not identify). The food was delicious, and during the meal, I struggled to down my beer by chasing each sip with some food to make up for the taste. After the main course, I asked for a Coke to help bring my palate something it could tolerate. For dessert we were brought pancakes with apple, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. Usually I would have been all over that meal, but I was so stuffed and the chocolate was too dark for me so I tasted in and decided my caloric intake for the day had been met.

After lunch, we wandered through the gift shop. I bought a 1L mug with the Pilsner name on it. The huge mug was less than $6 and definitely worth it.

From the brewery, we were bussed into the city center. We visited the Namesti Republiky (the main square) and the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew. A quick talk and we walked on to see the New Synagogue (the third largest in the world). The synagogue was gorgeous, though it only has a current membership of about 70 and is no longer used for services because heating it is too expensive.

On the way out, we passed the JK Tyl theater, walking toward the Liberation Monument thanking America for aiding in the liberation of Plzen during World War II. In my mind it was a huge mistake to bring 40 some odd semi-tipsy American college students there. Upon seeing the monument say "Thank you America!" the students began shouting "You're welcome, Plzen" and singing songs of American Pride. Needless to say, I was thoroughly embarrassed and wanted to leave quickly. Luckily the opportunity presented itself, and Hillary and I booked it back to the bus to secure our seats.

An hour later, we were back in Prague. Home again.

While the weekend was a whirlwind, seeing three cities in one weekend, it was a ton of fun and proved to Hillary and I that we were going to have the time of our lives being able to have so much flexibility and explore everything together.