Praha

As I’m writing this week’s top 10 I am shocked that I am already in my 7th week here... WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?!?! This past weekend I visited the Czech Republic and went to Prague. It was just Emma, Annie, and I so we thank god every day that we made it home in one piece. Before the trip, everyone had said when in Prague it feels like you are in a fairytale and that was spot on. If I had to sum up Prague in one word it would be enchanted. I will be spending two and a half weeks here in Milan and I start off my spring break (which is the whole month of April) with a trip to London to visit two of my best friends. And don't worry I just bought my Harry Potter TICKETS!

 1. Security. To start off the trip on Wednesday, we created a commotion at the airport because we could not get through security. We all had to walk through the sensors about 5 times and I ended up getting frisked. This was the first of many bumps we experienced this weekend. 

2. Kebab. After arriving in Prague we decided to take a taxi to our hostel because we got in around 9:30 pm and didn’t want to have to deal with two hours of public transportation. We ended up getting ripped off (is it that much of a surprise?) by the cab driver paying an extra 10 euro for our cab ride. After settling in to our hostel we realized we were starving but it was past 10 pm and NO ONES kitchens were still open. So instead of getting food we went to a restaurant right by our hostel and got a beer. While in Prague, it was cheaper to drink beer then water or pop. It was less than 1 Euro for a beer. We were so desperate for food though after this that we stopped at this Kebab place where they proceeded to tell us they had just closed. Instead of walking away like normal people, we begged them to give us whatever food they had left. What we got turned out to be WONDERFUL! It was a pita filled with some kind of chicken, cabbage, lettuce, cheese and then this amazing garlic sauce. With our bellies full we slept wonderful that night

3. Shower. Thursday Emma woke up and wanted to take a shower... the one problem was she couldn't figure out how to work the shower so her and Annie tried for a good 10 minutes to figure out how to work it.  When they finally got it to work they ended up getting soaked.  

4. John Lennon wall. We found a Starbucks to start off our morning Thursday and then headed to the John Lennon wall. The only thing I knew about the wall beforehand was I was destined to get some good pictures. We were told that John Lennon had never actually visited Prague and it wasn't till after he died they dedicated the wall to him. The wall was covered with quotes, pictures, stories and Ronald McDonald pictures. The best quote I saw was written on a door and it said "never stop exploring," which I find quite fitting for my time here in Europe. After that we crossed the Saint Charles Bridge. The bridge is lined with various street sellers and decorated with 30 baroque statues. One of the statues is called Saint John Nepomuk which is in honor of John of Nepomuk who was a priest in Prague under King Wenceslas IV.  The Queen made a confession to John of Nepomuk.  Unfortunately for him, the King being a very suspicious man, pressed John of Nepomuk for the Queen’s confessions which John of Nepomuk would not reveal, not even to the King, because it would be against his commitment of confidentiality. John of Nepomuk was therefore executed by being thrown into the Vltava River from the bridge and drowned.The plaque on the statue of John of Nepomuk has been polished to a shine by how many people have touched it over the centuries.  Tradition says that if you rub the bronze plaque (the one depicting St John being thrown off the bridge), you will one day return to Prague.

5. Astronomical clock tower. After the bridge we climbed the Astronomic Clock tower in Wenceslas Square which offers a 360 degree view of Prague and a view of the sea of orange roof tops. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working. After, we walked around the Old Jewish Town which holds the Old Jewish Cemetery where the gravestones date all the way back to 1439 and ending around 1787. Throughout the cemetery there were over 100,000 Jewish people buried. The reason being that the Jewish inhabitants weren't able to leave the Ghetto. Because of this, they were forced to bury the citizens on top of one another--sometimes up to 10 layers deep. After this we started trying some of the Czech cuisine. We got a cinnamon treat, I'm unsure of the name, which was dough covered in cinnamon sugar and was in a tube type shape. For lunch, we got a bratwurst which had a big of a spice to it and this stick with homemade potato chips swirled around it. During this time we also got a beer and sat in the center of the Wenceslas Square. While we were doing this, a police officer approached us and said that drinking in the public square was illegal so we had to either throw our drinks out or drink them around the stand from which we got them. I quickly finished mine and threw it away. Annie had more than me so while she was drinking the officer turned around and saw her drinking again. He then proceeded to come back and start yelling at her, demanding for her passport which she had left at the hostel. What happened next was crazy! He said that he was going to have to take her to the police station and she had 48 hours to have her passport delivered to her. The fine would have been 1,000 Koruna (which is equivalent to about 40 euro). A mom from California saved her butt. She started talking to the officer saying Annie had no idea that she had to have her passport on her and she was just finishing her beer to throw it away. After arguing for a good 20 min, the officer gave Annie a 350 Koruna ticket. (During this time, Emma went and got gelato...like nothing was actually happening...) To blow off some of the anxiety we had all built up, we shopped around for a while and of course to make matters worse we got on the wrong tram when we wanted to go home... So we went 45min going the WRONG WAY. During this time we had an interesting experience. A man came up to us and goes, "Good morning, are you from another country," (mind you it was 6 pm) and we said, "Yes the USA," and he then started saying, "Horrible. Terrible. F-word," and walked off... 

6. Fried cheese. That night we went to a restaurant Alex had recommended to us called Lokal. It had authentic Czech food and was wonderful! We had to wait for a table for about 20 min but we are so glad we did. We started off the meal with fried cheese. It was this block equivalent to a cheese curd but BETTER! I then had ordered roast and bread dumplings which I devoured so fast because of how amazing it tasted.

7. Petrin hill. Friday we woke up early again for another day packed with tourist activities. We started off climbing Petrin Hill which holds a miniature Eiffel tower at the top. The walk up the hill was our work out for the day because it was so steep and we were dying by the time we got to the top. The whole hill is covered with parks, a few restaurants, and mini statues. The view on top was so worth the soreness the next day. The hill raises 130 m above the left bank of the Vltave River overlooking Prague and on top of the Eiffel tower you could see everything. Also on top was a mirror maze which we bought tickets for. After the hill we went to Saint Charles Church which was breath taking. There was so much detail throughout the church and was outlined in gold. 

8. Prague castle. After Petrin Hill we walked over to Prague castle which is another beauty of Prague. It is the official residence and office of the President of the Czech Republic and dates back to the 9th century. The castle has been a seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia. Prague castle is listed as the largest ancient castle in the world because it occupies an area of almost 70,000 m. At the castle, we walked around and were able to see the changing of the guards.

9. Pub crawl. That night we ate at the restaurant by our hostel and it was wonderful. I had chicken stuffed with ham and cheese and then a side of garlic bread. After dinner, we were told we had to do a pub crawl while in Prague and we chose to do that on Friday night. We were told you received t-shirts at the pub crawl but when we got there we were told we weren't able to wear them till after...  I was close to just wearing my jacket and then changing into the shirt when I got to the pub crawl so thank goodness I wore a shirt just in case. The man in charge of the pub crawl almost didn't let Emma go on the pub crawl because she didn't have an id with her. For the pub crawl we went to four different pubs and ended at the 5 story club in the middle of Prague. This night was filled with various stories. One was Emma kept getting hit on by a 30 year old man from Dubai, a guy came up to me saying, "my friend is wondering how you are?" and then when I tried having a conversation with him it lasted about 5 minutes considering he barely knew English... We ended up making friends with these two girls who we later found out were 30 year old women. I guess Pub crawls aren't just for college people? Then on Saturday we woke up and left the beautiful city of Prague.

10  Parco Sempione. On Sunday it was 75 degrees in Milan so a few of us decided to grab a blanket and some snacks and enjoy the beautiful weather. Behind the Sforza castle and in front of the Arch of Peace there is the Parco Sempione which is the largest city park in Milan. It was days like that, lying in the grass surrounded by castle walls that make me feel like I’m in a dream.

Just so happy that we finally got food on Wednesday night

So many problems with the hostel shower

My favorite quote from the John Lennon Wall

Just hanging out in front of the John Lennon Wall

The "Pissing" statue

On the Saint Charles Bridge

The Astronomical Clock Tower

On top of the Astronomical Clock Tower

One of the many synagogues in the Old Jewish Town

Annie and her ticket

Art Nouveau which holds various concerts and plays throughout the year

In front of the National Museum

At the start of Petrin Hill

View from the Eiffel Tower on top of Petrin Hill

The miniature Eiffel Tower

In the mirror maze on Petrin Hill

The outside of Saint Charles Church

Inside of Saint Charles Church

The entrance to Prague Castle

Changing of the guards at Prague Castle

Saint Vitus Cathedral on the Prague Castle grounds

Inside Saint Vitus Cathedral there were stained glass windows covering the walls

One of the cinnamon treats

Venice and Budapest

The past two weeks have been filled with traveling, exhaustion, and amazing times with some of the best people I'll ever meet. Everyone always says how amazingly beautiful Venice is but until you've actually been there, you'll never understand. Tiny roads, canals, and passageways, Venice is a city with many hidden treasures (and also very easy to get lost in). Budapest is known as the poor mans Paris and I believe it is just that. It was a hidden gem that I didn't even know about till people started talking about it in Milan. It was my favorite weekend because it had a perfect mix of sights, nightlife and beauty that made it a weekend I will never forget. I leave for Prague on Wednesday and then will be taking a break from traveling to be in Milan for two and a half weeks. I cannot explain how excited I am to get more acclimated with the first city I fell in love with here in Europe.

1. Being an American Girl. To start off the trip to Venice, the coach we were supposed to be sitting in on the train was not running so we were ushered to the bar by some of the Italian workers. We were then given free wine and snacks, at 8:00 in the morning, and were kept company till they could figure out what to do with us. Because of their mistake we were bumped up to first class. Not to shabby!

2. After arriving in Venice, we tried to find our hostel.... Like I've been saying, most of the things we have done on our trips turn into productions; this was no exception. It should have taken us 25 min to get to our hostel but instead took us an hour and a half. As I said earlier, there are so many roads and passageways that getting lost is not a difficult feat in Venice. As frustrated as we were by the directions, we were able to see a good amount of Venice, and were able to soak in its beauty. We finally arrived to our hostel, tired and extremely sweaty (since the weather was gorgeous). The owner of the hostel was extremely creepy and made us pay for our own bed sheets (which I guess is a normal thing for hostels but still felt bizarre to us). He ended up moving us though into a different location that was an apartment with a huge room for all seven of us, but only had 6 beds because the 7th bed was in a separate room that creeped us out. Of course Emma and I were the ones to share the sixth bed. Our apartment ended up being in the best location right by San Marco Square, which is the main square of Venice.

3. Gondolas. After we were settled into the hostel we took advantage of the gorgeous weather, bought our masks and hoped on a gondola on the Grand Canal for an hour ride. The ride throughout the city was breath taking because of all the architecture, the stillness, and being able to just lay back, relax, and sip on some wine. After the gondola ride we grabbed some food at a nice restaurant and then went back to the docks, sipped on more wine and soaked in the sunset. Alex wrote this in her blog already but this was one of the highlights of the trip - to be able to watch the sunset while hanging out with my best friends in Venice is something I'll never forget.

4. Alfredo's. We had found on TripAdvisor one of the best restaurants to go to in Venice is called Alfredo's. And just our luck it was right next door to our apartment! It is known for its cheap and amazing pasta. It actually was AMAZING and was only 6 euro. The pasta is put into a Chinese take out box because Alfredo's is a little hole in the wall restaurant so you have to take it to go. We had this on Saturday and after lunch spent the rest of the day shopping and exploring the city. That night it was down pouring and slowly turned into a thunderstorm. My dad warned my about bringing my rain boots and kept joking about not drowning since the city is sinking... I actually was getting worried because towards the end of the night the rain was coming up to the side walks. The next morning though it was back down to the normal line so they must be prepared for when weather like that happens. That night we went to a restaurant by our hotel and we split bruschetta... it was one of the best bruschettas I've ever had (sorry mom). and of course I had pizza - no complaints there. A bunch of our guy friends were visiting Venice the same weekend and we had planned to meet up with them that night. Because of the weather no one wanted to go outside so instead, they all just came over to our hostel and we all spent the night hanging out, telling stories, and no surprise here, drinking some wine.

5. Burano. On Sunday we decided to visit an island off of Venice called Burano. To get to the island you take a 45 min ferry ride and if you are ever thinking of going to Venice make sure you make time for this trip because it is totally worth it. It is a very small island, only took us 45 min to walk around it but each house is painted a bright color. Alex told us that if the residents of the island want to paint their houses, they have to go to the city counsel with the request. The amount of pictures we took here might have been a bit excessive but once you see how beautiful they turned out you'll understand why.

Here are the pictures from Venice! The rest of my top 10 are below the pictures. 

During the Gondala ride

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People were dressed up in crazy costumes for Carnival and my favorite were the dancers

 

I thought this costume was so funny for some reason

Just my favorite ladies

These are some of the pictures from Berano

 BUDAPEST

6.Home plus Hostel. Before arriving in Budapest, I had asked people for some recommendations for when we traveled to Budapest. The biggest tip we got was how to get from the airport to the main area of Budapest. We saved a lot of time and stress by already knowing the route (that doesn't mean we didn't get lost a few times and have to ask for help. It wouldn't be a trip if we didn't have to ask 5 people if we were going the right way). HUGE shoutout to Julie Menson for all the information she gave us. I printed out all the information I received form everyone, and Emma kept mocking me saying, "Bri. Where are the fliers with the information?" I might have gotten mocked for it but it was nice to have a plan of attack for what to see while in Budapest. The moment we got to our hostel we fell in love with it. It was bunk bed style and felt extremely homey. The people who ran the hostel were probably only a few years older than us, and not only did we get breakfast in the morning but also got dinner. We only ate the dinner on Thursday night but it was ready right when we walked into the hostel and it was a traditional Hungarian pasta meal. Our room was a 8 person room which meant we had three extra beds since we only had 5 girls on the trip. There was one girl from Spain, another guy from England, but the best/worst guy in our room was a 50 year old man from France. He slept across from Emma and on Saturday she woke up to see him without any clothes on... A great way to wake up on your birthday right?

7. Szimpla Kert. After settling in our first night, we decided to try out the ruin bars that were recommended to us and we went to the most famous one called Szimpla. It was an amazing bar, unlike anything I had ever been to. If felt like you were almost in a cave, but then was covered in not only decorations but lights. It had a lot of different rooms, bars, seats made out of old cars and random pictures and graffiti everywhere. We also talked to some guys from Copenhagen that night who were shooting a music video and we were told that we were going to be in it.

8. Caving/Pub crawl. On Friday we woke up to go caving. This was an adventure within itself. We thought it would be more walking around in a cave and boy were we wrong.. We were climbing things, sliding down tunnels and crawling through holes. There is one hole that is called the birthing canal because it is supposed to bring you Deja vu from when you were birthed from your mother. Seriously though that’s what it felt like. You have to have your arms in front of you, your head tilted to the side and be able to shimmy your way through. There were times throughout the tour that our instructor, Emu (who was a doll) would make us stop and tell us different facts. During one point she made us turn off our head lamps and sit on the ground. It was so dark and silent that when you tried to open your eyes it hurt  because it was so dark. This was the point that was known for having the best acoustics, so of course Analise started dancing and singing for us all. Other points throughout the cave were a rock that looked like an elephant, a spot known as the bar, and there were plenty of fossils to view throughout the tour. By the end of the tour we were exhausted and after, were able to find a restaurant my friend had posted pictures about a week earlier named Hummus Bar and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT. After lunch we met up with four of our guy friends who were also in Budapest the same weekend and we all had decided to rent one of the peddle pubs. A peddle pub is this cart type thing where 8 people sit on it and it moves forward by all of you peddling. Most of the time, peddle pubs have a motor that help you peddle - ours did not. There is also a 70 liter keg of beer on the peddle pub that you enjoy while peddling. Normally the tour takes about 2 hours... ours took 3 and a half because we were moving so slow. Towards the end of the tour it started sprinkling and then was down pouring! Luckily there was a cover over us but that did not mean our backs were saved from being soaked. Towards the very end we all had to go to the bathroom so badly that we made our guide pull over and we all sprinted in different directions for bathrooms. The best story from the bathroom trip was Emma's. She couldn't find any of us and finally found a TGI Fridays and thought, "Yes America." She ran into the entrance and since she was so wet from the rain slipped and fell. She then had to stand up, in front of everyone now staring at her, and ask if she could use the bathroom for free (since most of the time you have to pay for a restroom).

9. Emma's birthday. After the peddle pub we all went to a random restaurant and got what Hungary is known for - Goulash soup. It was the best soup and bread I have ever had and could have eaten at least 4 or 5 bowls but we didn't have time because we had to celebrate Emma's 21st birthday. We rushed back to the hostel to start getting ready for the night. I had made her a list of 21 things she had to do for her birthday, we got her a tiara, and a goblet with different sayings on it for the weekend. We went to Szimpla again and all the boys met up with us. That night was amazing because everyone from our hostel was there and Emma completed most of the things on her list. We had also gotten candles back in Milan but the bar did not sell cakes but instead sold pizza. So when the clock struck midnight we put the candles in a piece of pizza which I think is quite fitting considering we are studying in Italy. 

10. Sightseeing/Bath party. The next day we woke up a bit later than planned and started our day off with seeing all the sights. The weather was perfect, so much so you didn't even need a jacket. We were able to see Parliament, the Jewish shoes on the side of the river that represented the Jewish people that were killed during WWII and thrown into the river, the Chain bridge, Matthias Church and the Royal Palace. We also found the shopping area and shopped around for a while. For dinner I had the best food I've had since being in Italy. We started off with goulash soup, and after I had trout, potatoes, and vegetables. We also ordered a desert and the waiter put a candle in it for Emma's birthday. We then spent about an hour just talking and telling stories. I can't say it enough but its nights like these that I will remember the most about each trip. After dinner, we went to one of the more interesting experiences of Budapest. They are known for their hot springs and on Saturday nights they turn some of them into what they call a "sparty." A "sparty" ended up being a rave type thing in a huge bath. Emma had to walk into every bar saying the birthday girl has arrived, one of the things on the list, and when she did this in the bath about 8 Spaniard men came and picked her up and all we saw was a blond head being tossed around and carried throughout the bath. We were the only American girls in this bath so there were many interesting moments from that night to say the least....

 Pictures from the peddle pub

The shoes lining the river representing the Jewish people that were killed during WWII and thrown into the river

On the chain bridge

Parliament

On top of Matthias church over looking Budapest

Matthias church

The guards in front of the Royal Palace

Thinking we're super intense

I'm super athletic

My hummus plate from Hummus bar

The dinner on Saturday night. And no I did not eat the fins or head (since my dad asked me multiple times if I did)