Okeydokey! I'm finally back! 16 days without an update...whoops!
I'm trying to remember what I did with the week before I left...lots of German, saw the opera opening projected on the Rathaus screen (awesome!), saw the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Musikverein. Shosty 5 was pretty epic. On Thursday afternoon I took my final Aural exam for the intensive. It was not too bad at all! And my written exam Friday was pretty easy.
At 1:00PM Friday we all headed to the bus to get ready to leave for the first city of Prague. Of course, I mainly slept the whole way there. With a group of about 50 people it is hard to be on time for everything. We were scheduled to arrive at 5:30, but we must have arrived around 7 or so. We rushed to check in and go to dinner. We had a lovely meal I believe that night it was meat with dumplings, and then rushed to catch...a boat cruise! We made it JUST on time. We got to see all the sights of Prague from the water and dance the night away.
Saturday was our first day of full sightseeing. I saw tons of old buildings and the inside of a castle...it's hard to remember what is what! The afternoon we explored Charles Bridge, which is quite awesome because it's lined up with different statues. After more epic meals we went to the Astronomic Clock. It's a pretty awesome clock tower with the time, month, year and every Saturday they project a show onto it. It was so well done! We viewed a 5 minute overview of the history of the Czech Republic. At night we went to a Jazz club (they love their Jazz in Prague!) to experience a Cuban band. Luckily, my friend from Honduras showed me some moves. Apparently we were doing well because the band leader complimented us! And then....we went to a 5 story dance club! Different themes and music on every floor. It was crazy. Crowded in places but a lot of fun. But I did learn how to protect myself by pushing away any aggressive men. Yay!
The next day we went over to the Jewish Quarter of Prague. It was absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed it so much that my friend and I went back later to explore a well-known Synagogue and cemetery (of course I'm blanking on the name now). The Synagogue was beautiful. In order to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust that came from Prague, they painted the names of the people who were killed on the walls. It was ridiculous to see how much space was covered with names in about 2 rooms. They also had an exhibition displaying children's drawings during the Holocaust. It was very touching. We then went to the Spanish Synagogue, which was possibly one of the most ornate places of worship I have ever seen. It looked like wallpaper on the walls but when you walked up closely it was obvious that everything was hand painted. In the evening we went to a concert for a memorial of September 11th. Unfortunately the American ambassador couldn't be there, but two other important politicians got to speak. Then a hippie rock band played. It was a bit random but I appreciated their effort to have the memorial concert. They also had a great display with newspapers from September 11th or 12th from different countries. The concert was in front of the Prague Castle, which was really beautiful and had a wonderful plushy grassy knoll to nap on. From there we ate another heavy meaty dinner. There were so many it is difficult to remember which meat was where!
Well this update was much longer than I thought it would be! Next post will be about Krakow!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
First September Entry!
Hello! It's harder to update these things than I thought! Or maybe it's just because I didn't have internet for three days...
I've been having a lot of fun this week! Still a lot of German, but it's been very helpful (obviously!)
This week I had a few excursions. On Tuesday...I think, I went to the Prater! It was a fun amusement park with a large Ferris wheel built in 1897. So if you know me well, you know I don't like Ferris Wheels, and one that was this old certainly scared me a bit more. We also found out that because it is old it takes about 20 minutes just to go around once. But no worries, I went on. It was actually the most enjoyable Ferris Wheel I've ever been on! I guess when you're watching the sunset on the entirety of Vienna it can help a bit :-) Some of my friends went on this massive swing ride...not your average swing ride, it was as tall or taller than the Ferris Wheel. Laura and Lisa, I took a picture for you because I wondered if you would have gone...I thought probably. HAHA.
There also were some interesting Austrian twists to your typical American ride. To me, they seemed a lot more intense! Plus, most American rides don't include club music, fog, and club lighting. I have a video of it that is quite funny. My friend Emily and I found a tamer (or so we thought) "club" ride similar to a Scramber/Tilt-a-Whirl....but it was crazy! A lot of fun though.
This week I also got to see THE VIENNA PHIL!!! ...on the screen in front of the Rathaus. But! They were still awesome, and I found out it may be my only opportunity to see them, as it is near impossible to get seats :-( But, I really really enjoyed it...so much that at one point I was sitting through the rain with no umbrella!
Yesterday morning I went on a bike tour of the Danube Island. We biked a bit over 20 km and it was GORGEOUS! I really enjoyed myself.
I also had a meeting for my first excursion out of Austria! The school organized a 10 day, 3 city trip that I signed up to be on. I am going to be seeing some AMAZING things for a very good price. Our 3 cities our Prague, Krakow, and Budapest. They have great tours and events planned for us. In Prague I think we're touring a castle, and I know there will be a September 11th memorial while we're there. In Krakow I will have the experience of seeing Auschwitz. I know it's going to be really emotional, but there is no way I can pass up on this opportunity. In Budapest...I forget what we're doing but I know the tour sounds too good to be true. Did I mention I think we only pay for 5 meals ourselves out of the whole 10 days. Good deal!
And on the schedule for today...I slept in till 11, I don't think I've done that since April or so...if that! I may be going on a guided tour at the Secession, but my priority tonight is to try and get Standing Room tickets and the OPENING NIGHT of the Staatsoper...yes please!
I've been having a lot of fun this week! Still a lot of German, but it's been very helpful (obviously!)
This week I had a few excursions. On Tuesday...I think, I went to the Prater! It was a fun amusement park with a large Ferris wheel built in 1897. So if you know me well, you know I don't like Ferris Wheels, and one that was this old certainly scared me a bit more. We also found out that because it is old it takes about 20 minutes just to go around once. But no worries, I went on. It was actually the most enjoyable Ferris Wheel I've ever been on! I guess when you're watching the sunset on the entirety of Vienna it can help a bit :-) Some of my friends went on this massive swing ride...not your average swing ride, it was as tall or taller than the Ferris Wheel. Laura and Lisa, I took a picture for you because I wondered if you would have gone...I thought probably. HAHA.
There also were some interesting Austrian twists to your typical American ride. To me, they seemed a lot more intense! Plus, most American rides don't include club music, fog, and club lighting. I have a video of it that is quite funny. My friend Emily and I found a tamer (or so we thought) "club" ride similar to a Scramber/Tilt-a-Whirl....but it was crazy! A lot of fun though.
This week I also got to see THE VIENNA PHIL!!! ...on the screen in front of the Rathaus. But! They were still awesome, and I found out it may be my only opportunity to see them, as it is near impossible to get seats :-( But, I really really enjoyed it...so much that at one point I was sitting through the rain with no umbrella!
Yesterday morning I went on a bike tour of the Danube Island. We biked a bit over 20 km and it was GORGEOUS! I really enjoyed myself.
I also had a meeting for my first excursion out of Austria! The school organized a 10 day, 3 city trip that I signed up to be on. I am going to be seeing some AMAZING things for a very good price. Our 3 cities our Prague, Krakow, and Budapest. They have great tours and events planned for us. In Prague I think we're touring a castle, and I know there will be a September 11th memorial while we're there. In Krakow I will have the experience of seeing Auschwitz. I know it's going to be really emotional, but there is no way I can pass up on this opportunity. In Budapest...I forget what we're doing but I know the tour sounds too good to be true. Did I mention I think we only pay for 5 meals ourselves out of the whole 10 days. Good deal!
And on the schedule for today...I slept in till 11, I don't think I've done that since April or so...if that! I may be going on a guided tour at the Secession, but my priority tonight is to try and get Standing Room tickets and the OPENING NIGHT of the Staatsoper...yes please!
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