"You May Say I'm a Dreamer, But I'm Not the Only One"

 Hello readers! I have just returned to Cyprus from my 18-day trip through 13 cities in 8 countries! As you know, I have already written about my time in Germany and Austria, so this post will tell you about my visit to Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Czech Republic 

Prague

 

By the time you finish reading this post you will understand that my favorite thing about the Czech Republic was the food. “What the heck do they eat in Czech Republic,” you ask? Well, of course I’m going to tell you, so read on!

Prague by night

We arrived in Prague after dark, but even in the dark Prague is a beautiful place! Walking through town, I loved seeing the tram streetcars rush past us, illuminated by soft lamplight. They speak Czech in the Czech Republic, and it was weird to not know how to read or say anything after coming from Germany where I was so comfortable. Once of the first things we did was go to Wenceslas Square where the extravagant museum sits a top the sloped street. Fun fact: the Nazi’s attacked the museum during WWII because they mistook it for the Town Hall, which is a few streets down!

Museum mistaken for Town Hall by the Nazis

For dinner (yeah food!) we asked the reception desk at our hotel for a suggestion. Always ask the hotel for suggestions rather than heading to the first brochure in the stack by the check in desk because we had a great experience!  When we finally found the restaurant called Cestr, they said they were booked for the evening, and we were all disappointed. Luckily, after looking like sad, hungry puppies, they arranged to set up a table for the seven of us behind the beer tank. This was probably considered a really bad spot to sit, but we didn’t care because to us it felt like we had our own private room.

Katie and I decided to split our meals so we could try more food. I had trout ceviche, juicy roasted chicken with mashed potatoes that tasted like my grandmother’s, filet mignon with fries, and apple sorbet for dessert. Everything was amazing (except for the ceviche-haha)!

The group at Prague Castle

We took a 4 hour tour of Prague, during which I got to see the Prague Castle and the attached church. It was huge and there was a great view of the city from up there.

Perfect view of Prague

Making a wish

In Czech Republic, the joke is that their religion is beer. People aren’t very religious because when the country changed hands so many times, so did the religion. People took to communism because they didn’t have a strong religious identity. 

During the tour we crossed Charle’s Bridge, which was gorgeous and lined with statues. As all tourists do on the bride, I touched the dog to make a wish for myself, touched the lady to return to Prague, and touched the cross to make a wish for someone else.

Signing the John Lennon Wall of Peace

We stopped at the John Lennon Wall of Peace, which used to be a white wall during communist times, but it turned into the John Lennon wall when students kept drawing signs of peace against communism no matter how many times the wall was painted over. To this day the wall exists, and I signed the wall that stands for peace. Obviously this experience inspired today's post title to be from "Imagine" by John Lennon

Astronomical Tower

One of my favorite things to see in Prague was the Astronomical Tower. I love astronomy and old clocks, so the combination of the two was just perfect!

Krtecek, the little Prague mole

I learned about Krteček, the little mole, who is an animated character much like Mickey Mouse. This Czech cartoon was created during communist times, and the only reason he survived over Mickey Mouse was because communism prevented Mickey from being spread into Czech Republic.

Now let me talk about more food!

Making the Grill Cheese

For lunch Katie and I tried a very popular Czech meal: grill cheese. I know what you’re thinking, and trust me this was nothing like our grilled cheese! It was sheep cheese wrapped in dough, resembling a pierogi, which is then grilled over coals. It was served with a slice of bread and a layer of blueberry jam. It was delicious!

The Grill Cheese!

Trdelnik!

For dessert we got another traditional Czech item called a trdelnik. It’s a sugar, almond, vanilla dough that is wrapped around a stick and rotated over coals until the outside is brown. It is then dipped in sugar. It was kind of like a donut, but it was much better!

Trdelnik being made

Before...

The Bohemian Feast!

For dinner that evening we went to a place the tour guide recommended to us with Czech specials. Katie, Lauren, and I split the Bohemian Feast, which consisted of roasted duck, sausage, pork, ham, 2 kinds of dumplings, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, and red cabbage. It was so much food, and I ate way too much, but it was one of the best meals I have had during my study abroad experience thus far. And now I even like sauerkraut, at least when it tastes as good as that!

Slovakia

 

Bratislava

Bratislava Castle

We stopped in Bratislava on our way to Austria, so on October 26^th I had breakfast in Czech Republic, lunch in Slovakia, and dinner in Austria. What a crazy day! Our tour of Bratislava showed us a good amount of the city since we were only there for a few hours. I got to see the Bratislava Castle, which provided a great view of Austria and Hungary in the distance.

Slovakia is known for being multilingual since it has changed hands so many times. A lot of the signs are in Czech, German, and Slovak to embrace all the cultures. Slovakia also became it’s own country in a peaceful manor, unlike most countries.  Slovakia’s economy is very good and a lot of people there thought of communism as a good thing since everyone had food and didn’t have to work as much, having more time for hobbies.

UFO Bridge

There is a cool bridge in Bratislava with a tower on it that looks like a UFO. It’s called the UFO Bridge and there’s even a restaurant inside! We didn’t have time to eat there, but I did try a Walnut Bratislava roll at a bakery and it reminded me of a kiffle but with a bread covering instead of the thin pastry.

Bratislava Roll

 The most charming things about Bratislava were the statues scattered through the square.

Hans Christian Anderson

Man at Work statue

Chillin' with Napolean

Stay tuned for more posts and more countries! Thanks for reading!

Till next time!

-Courtney <3

"We Have High Hopes, Like the Old Popes"

  

Get excited because you’re going to read about Italy! Since my previous post was dedicated to the Greece portion of our trip, this one will mention highlights from Italy!

ROME

We left our hotel in Athens at 5:30am in order to catch our flight to Rome, and as soon as we arrived, it was time for a four hour tour. Taking a four hour tour after getting up early and flying is exhausting, let me tell you. My first impression of Rome was that it’s very much a tourist city. The streets were overcrowded and it didn’t seem to have as much “Italian charm” as I expected.

With our program leaders, we all went underground to navigate through the Metro system to get to our tour destination. Using the Metro was similar to the Subway in New York, but for some reason the Metro seemed to be more confusing. I’m glad the program directors were there with us for the first time. We were unable to board the first Metro that came because it was so full, and as we were standing on the platform by the door, we witnessed a few 12-14 year olds yelling, pushing, and causing a scene. They made their way onto the metro, and quickly exited. As the doors were closing, I heard a man say, “Check your pockets” and the last thing I saw as the doors closed in front of me was a very sad looking man as his hands came out of his pockets empty handed; the kids were causing a distraction so they could do some pick-pocketing.

Making a wish at The Trevi Fountain

“When in Rome” I stopped to make a wish at the magnificent Trevi Fountain by throwing two coins over my left shoulder from my right hand. Apparently that’s the proper way to make a wish. (I’m not going to tell what I wished, so don’t ask….)  

I'm at the Colosseum!

I got to see the remains of the Roman Forum and of course the Colosseum, which was huge and really fun to walk around imagining the gladiators competing below. It was amazing to see the Roman architecture of the Colosseum up close!

A visit to Rome wouldn’t be successful without some shopping, so my friends and I set off on a mission to find clothes that didn’t cost us a months’ paycheck. I am happy to report that I found two cute dresses that were both made in Italy at excellent prices! And even though I couldn’t afford to buy any Gucci, Prada, or Dolce and Gabbana, it was fun to look through the windows.

VATICAN CITY

Traveling to Italy would be incomplete without a trip to Vatican City, which is its own independent state in case you didn’t know. We took a 3 hour tour of the beautiful, endless maze of halls, stairs, galleries, marble walls and floors. There were giant tapestries and statues featuring elegant movement. And the Sistine Chapel was beyond beautiful and definitely something you have to see at last once! We had a great lesson explaining most of the paintings in the Sistine Chapel at the beginning of our tour, so I knew what I was looking at once we were there. 

Just one of the amazing galleries in the Vatican!

Altar wall of the Sistine Chapel

Part of the amazing ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

After studying St. Peter’s Basilica in one of my Muhlenberg classes, it was unbelievable to actually be there! It was grandiose and magnificent, and I marveled at the giant dome while standing beneath it near St. Peter’s tomb.

 My trip to the Vatican is what inspired today's post title to be from "St. Peter's Bones" by Girlyman.

Dome of St. Peter's Basilica

The group outside St. Peter's Basilica

  

PISA

 

On our way to Florence, we made a pit stop in Pisa to see The Leaning Tower of Pisa. I have to admit it was kind of anticlimactic because it’s not leaning as much as you think it does, and it’s not nearly as big as I’d imagined either. But it was fun to take pictures with and see it in person!







 

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FLORENCE

I LOVE this picture I took of Florence :)

And now for my favorite city, Florence! We stopped to see the David replica in Palazzo della Signoria, the square with a glorious view of Florence and the Duomo. I am sad to report that I didn’t get to see the original David because the line was over an hour and we didn’t have that kind of time. 

GLS with David Replica

Finding Kate in Florence :)

During our first night, we enjoyed a nice dinner and decided to go to a Karaoke club. And guess what happened?...I ran into KATE LOUGE, a friend of mine from high school who I haven’t seen in five years! She’s studying in Florence, and I couldn’t believe that I just happened to find her on my first night in Florence; I knew Florence was a magical place.

We toured the Uffizi gallery and saw many paintings including ones by Divinci, Michaelangelo, Botticelli, and Raphael. My favorites were the 7 Virtues, The Birth of Venus, and Primavera.

Our next stop was San Lorenzo market for shopping, especially leather goods. Like most people on the trip, I wanted to find a nice Italian leather jacket for myself that wasn’t super expensive. I saw one that I really liked and I tried it on. Immediately the sales guy escorted me to his store to show me what it looked like in the mirror because he said it was perfect for me. I’m pretty sure he tells everyone this, but honestly I loved the way it looked. The color was exactly what I wanted and the fit and style were perfect. 

Wearing my new jacket in front of the Duomo
(that's also one of the dresses I got in Rome!)

One thing you have to understand is that these sales guys are aggressive and want to make sales, so they purposefully don’t tell you a price until you fall in love with the jacket you’re wearing. He showed me the original price, gave me a student discount, gave me another random discount, and then showed it to me again. It was right around the price I wanted to pay, but I wasn’t sure about buying the first jacket I tried on. I really did like it though, and since the sleeves were a little long he offered to tailor them for free for me right in his shop!  I was sold on this point, and I even managed to barter a few more Euros off the price. I walked away happy with a new leather jacket! Fun fact: My jacket is made of fire proof leather. How do I know? He took his lighter out of his pocket and tried to light the sleeve….while I was wearing it! He made his point, though I’m not sure why I would ever need a fire proof jacket.

Speaking of the Duomo from the picture above, we went inside and I was amazed by the giant space and beautiful marble. The dome features a very lovely painting inside. The Duomo is definitely a must see!

Dome of the Duomo

Ponte Vecchio

Later that night we took a stroll across the Ponte Vecchio and found the best Gelato place ever, where I got Pineapple, Chocolate Moose, and Coffee! We followed the sounds of music lilting through the streets, and we discovered Thadeuz Machalski playing his guitar in Palazzo Vecchio, so we stopped and listened for a while. I convinced the group to buy his CD together and I had a sharpie so he even signed it for us! He was amazing and the CD was a great buy. I tried uploading a video on here, but it didn't work :(

VENICE

Gondola ride in Venice!

Unfortunately we only had a little over 4 hours on Venice Island, so time was limited. We took a Ferry to Venice Island and spent some time walking around the town and the canals. I got to see the famous Bridge of Sighs, and then we went for a Gondola ride! The cost divided among five friends was worth it, and the ride was relaxing, fun, and a great way to see Venice!

Bridge of Sighs

For our last night in Italy, we stayed in one of the nicest hotels we’ve had yet, but it was in a strange part of Venice where there was nothing around and everything was closed. We hadn’t eaten dinner and we had a hard time finding a place to eat, so we roamed the streets looking for something that was open. Eventually we found a bar that offered a few sandwiches, but there wasn’t even enough for us each to have one. Luckily we stopped in the right place though, because one of the eager locals heard we were looking for food and he personally escorted us to the best pizza I have ever had in my life! Every moment of Italy was an adventure, weather it was shopping, sightseeing, or looking for food!

Sunset in Venice

I think I did pretty well in eating a variety of Italian foods while I was in Italy. I’m probably forgetting some, but the foods I enjoyed include: pene carbonara, lasagna, spinach ravioli, cannelloni, calzone, tortellini, gelato, and duh pizza! There was one day where I even had pizza twice, but there’s no shame in that when you’re in Italy! I hope you enjoyed this overview of my trip to Italy! Stay tuned for more adventures in Cyprus and the remaining 8 countries!

Till next time!

-Courtney <3