The FEST, Vienna, and Back Again

WOW!

It's been a whirlwind of a few days, and we're only getting started. Tomorrow afternoon we leave for a weekend in Budapest! But before I go, here's a quick roundup of last weekend's AMAZING events...

Maybe bullets would be the best way to go about this...

• Christina and I took an early morning bus to Munich on Friday, Porters (oversized backpacking packs) in tow. We arrived in the afternoon, trekked out to our campsite (yes, we camped ALL weekend) and had a lovely reunion with Steph.
• Dropped our belongings off in "Wiesn Camp," and headed into the city for a lovely dinner of sausages, sauerkraut, and our first German beers. As promised, the rain set in soon after dinner. We headed back to the campsite and had what was possibly the coldest sleeps of our lives.
• Woke up at 5:30, headed back to the city and had a wonderful reunion with Elizabeth, Caity, and Hayley and staked out a table in Hofbrau House.
• Reunited with what felt like half of the Northwestern Class of 2012--SO FUN! So great to see so many people (at least 50) from school. All of us sought refuge from the rain in Hofbrau for most of the day. It cleared up in the late afternoon, and we headed outside for more sausage and candied nuts. YUMM. Had a lovely dinner with the Theta girls at their hotel and then made one last trek out to Wiesn. Another frigid nite, but we survived!
• Woke up early to take in some of the actual Munich culture. Took the Porters on a climb up the Munich Tower (not the best idea), but WOW the views were pretty!

• After saying goodbye to Steph at the train station, Christina and I headed back out to Oktoberfest to meet Zach and Jared and see the fairgrounds on a nicer day. It was beautiful! We checked out some other tents--they had a much more authentic German feel which was fun.

Zach, Jared, Christina, and I.

• Met up with our Vienna travel group (9 Prague kids) at the Paulaner Tent. We had hours to kill (our train wasn't until 11:45 PM!), which we spent soaking up every last bit of Oktoberfest. We met some very nice Brazilians and Germans!

Alex introduces Christina to the crowd: (and I quote) "EVERYBODY! THIS IS PABSCHT! VUNDERBAR!"


• After a couple of hours at (one of the many) Munich McDonalds, we hopped on an overnite train to Vienna at 11:45 PM. Rolled into Vienna at 5:45 and went on a journey to find our hostel. Unfortunately (but not unexpectedly), check-in wouldn't happen for a few hours so we passed out on the hostel couches.

• After getting cleaned-up and checked-in, Carley, Christina, and I headed out to explore (the boys apparently needed more primping time). Vienna is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. We went to the Modern Art Museum while we waited for the boys.
• After soaking up some much needed "high-culture" post-Oktoberfest, we met up with the boys to venture to Old Town. There we saw the Parliament, City Hall, the University, and various other landmarks. ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS.

• After a much need cup of coffee we headed out to the famous Schönbrunn Palace, the residence of the Hapsburg rulers. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

The boys outside in the gardens.

Waiting for us to complete the hedge maze...we never did. SHAMEFUL!

• The next day we got up early (Christina and I FINALLY got to run!) and headed to the Sigmund Freud Museum. It was in his old house in Vienna--very cool! Ryan tried to lead us to the Viennese Stock Exchange, although that didn't go too well, so we opted to try to famous Sacher Torte instead. YUM.

• We ended our trip in Vienna with lunch at the Nashmarkt, a famous open-air market in the city. Best part? I found HUMMUS!

We got back on a Student Agency Bus (they give you free hot chocolate AND they played "Friends"!), and aside from a flat tire issue, had a smooth ride back to Prague. It was SO COOL to "come home" to Prague; we were all ready to get back to the comfort of our own rooms and a city we're familiar with.

BUT I can't wait to go to Budapest! I've heard amazing things about the city...things which I will share with you on Monday. We're staying at the Budapest Bubble, a hostel highly recommended by my good friend Max who studied in Prague over the summer. I'm hoping to explore the Hungarian natural baths--after a long weekend I could definitely use one!

Send me an e-mail (katherine.perry@u.northwestern.edu) to let me know how you're doing! I miss you all and look forward to hearing from you.

Off to study for a Czech quiz...uff!

Much Love,

KP

And Away We Go!

Off to Munich for OKTOBERFEST in the morning.

Christina, Steph, and I will be camping outside the city with some friends from UCLA. Reunion in Zee Homeland here we come! Almost all of our fellow NU-Europe-Study Abroad friends will be in Munich this weekend as well.

On Sunday we're (Christina, Carley, 6 Northwestern boys and I) taking an overnite train to Vienna. I can't wait to embrace my inner Von Trapp child.

We've already been practicing the hairstyles (and the songs obviously).

I promise a long post on Wednesday detailing our adventures.

Until then, Dobrou Noc (Czech)/Gute Nacht (German)!

KP

Zmrzlina, prosim!

Clearly, "ice cream, please."

This has quickly become a favorite phrase (pronounced more like "zimmerzleena"), and we have come to exercise it...probably a bit too often.

Yesterday we got zmrzzz (as we endearingly call it) on our way to a professional soccer game.

Our Czech teacher (love ya Jitka!) told us that some of her "friends" from the University wanted to show

us what real Czech 20-somethings do for fun. On Saturday they took us to a local pub they go to often. After about 30 minutes we realized that Tomas was not Jitka's "friend," but her son! After we hung out with them for a while they invited us to go to an AC Sparta Praha soccer game. 

SO FUN! They beat an Italian team 3-2, AND we sat next to the "hooligans." These guys (I don't think I saw a single woman) are definitely separated by a fence for a reason.

Sorry for my lack of posting in the last week--it was a bit busy. On Saturday we went to Terezin, a military camp used during WWII as a prison by the Nazis. We explored the town (which felt oddly like a ghost town) and visited two museums. I was extremely interested by the prisoners (mostly Jews or members of the resistance in Prague) art, specifically that of the children who lived in Terezin. It was definitely a moving experience.

To clear our heads, Christina and I went on a nice long run along the river upon our return to Prague on Sunday. GORGEOUS. We ended our run at our favorite veggie and fruit stand/market on the other side of the river (Mala Strana) and bought the cheapest box of wine we could find and sat in a park by the river for hours talking. It's funny that even though we haven't been apart for more than 6 days since March we still find loads to talk about. I guess that's what good friends are for! After that we cooked a lovely dinner of grilled cheese and veggies, and met the Czech students at the Pub.

Later we ventured to Karlovy Lazne, the "largest club in Central Europe." It's Prague's famous 5-story club right on the river. I had been there before on my high school trip in June 2008, and let me say not much has changed--still full of creepy European men and the oldies floor is still as good as ever. GREAT NITE. We're thinking about making it a Saturday tradition, although the touristy aspect makes us feel a bit pathetic. We'll see how long it lasts!

Sunday was a GORGEOUS day. Christina and I "studied" in my windowsill in bikinis for the majority of the day, soaking up some much needed sun. Best part of the day? WE BOOKED TICKETS TO JERUSALEM. Yup, you read that right. Alex Katz, a friend from Northwestern (and Cherubs!) invited us to join him and a few other of the boys on a trip to visit his grandparents. I literally cannot wait. This is such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I am so excited to take advantage of it. We're going October 13-17. More on that to come later.

I'll stop my rambling, as the next few days consisted of quizzes/Czech Oral Tests (yikes!). But we had our official Welcome Dinner on Tuesday nite, and regular classes started Wednesday. I'll blog about my individual classes once they get going--very excited though (Economics, Reading Prague, Baroque Art and the required Czech course).

I'm off to the Prague Wine Festival, but HAPPY WEEKEND! Tomorrow we're planning on making blueberry chocolate chip pancakes, paddle-boating on the river, going to a Beer Garden in this beautiful park that overlooks the city, and probably hitting up good old Karlovy (much funnier said in a British accent, if you were wondering).

Much love to you all!

KP

Pictures from the last week or so:

PIGS! At the old Communist Housing Compounds.

And then my camera was stolen...

A Cow in Prague Says "Boo!"

The sausage counter at Tesco. Lot's of pointing and guessing.

Not too relevant, but just a fun fact I learned in Czech class yesterday--animals make different noises in different languages! Apparently in Czech a cat goes "Mneoww." Interesting people over here.

Speaking of Czech, my teacher, Jitka, is THE BEST. She is so incredibly nice, and makes the sometimes impossible aspects of the Czech language bearable. Today she had us play a game and brought chocolate prizes for the winners. Although the second place team got this awful rum flavored chocolate (literally terrible), it was quite sweet of her.

Not too much new to update on here, but all is well. There is an INCREDIBLE wood-burning pizza place (like Punch, but better, Mom!) right down the street that we have been frequenting. It's so nice to find regular places, really starting to feel homey.

We're finally getting travel plans in the works. It takes a lot of time and effort to get these trips together, but I am SO excited to travel. As of now our plans are:

Munich (Oktoberfest): September 24-26

Vienna: September 26-28 (we have a perfectly timed long weekend)

Budapest: October 1-3

Italy/Greece: October 29-November 7 (Fall Break)

We're trying to squeeze in trips to Paris and Barcelona to visit good friends as well. I can't wait to see everyone at Oktoberfest? Did I mention we're (Christina, Alexandra, Steph, and I) camping? Should be an experience. Needless to say we'll have to make a pit-stop at the boy's hotel to shower before we get on the overnite train to Vienna. For everyone's sake.

Ok, back to class, but here are some new pictures (most of which are Carley Lake's)!

We finally found where the active people in Prague go. This Mobile Upload doesn't do it justice...it's gorgeous.

Christina, Katherine, Carley in the Petrin Tower.

All the girls in Old Town Square.

Bones, Bones, Bones

Literally.

On Saturday we took a trip to Kunta Hora, a town about an hour outside of Prague. It is perhaps best known for the Sedlec Ossuary--a church covered in bones. Scholars estimate that the skeletons of more than 40,000 people were used to "decorate" the church.

So that was...an interesting experience! It was oddly quite beautiful, probably once you were able to disassociate the fact that what you were starting at was made of pelvic bones and ribs.

It was cool to get out of the city and explore the Czech countryside as well. It was gorgeous.

We had an hour break for lunch, and we had an AMAZING Italian meal. After that we got to explore (read: relax) in the village center.

Caroline enjoys her first Czech Beer with the Swarthmore Boys.

Almost everyone in the program went out together on Saturday morning. We ventured onto the tram to explore some other areas of Prague.

Sunday we slept in, and then Pabst and I went on a nice run along the river. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading in Globe Cafe. The coffee was AMAZING, and what's more, they serve tap water WITH ice. Yumms.

I have my first quiz in about 30 minutes, so I should go, but I promise to add more later.

Love,

KP

P.S. I've started watching "Mad Men" before bed...OBSESSED. 

Put a Smile on Your Face...

The Czechs could use a smile or two. You can pinpoint an American on the street in a heartbeat because they give you that typical Western "hi smile" (I know you all know what I'm talking about). The country is definitely working though a post-communist phase, and remnants of the structure are everywhere. Service is definitely not up to American standards (meals take hours), but in the same vein tipping is not as structured here. Instead of giving a 10-15% tip, people generally just round up to the nearest whole number. If your schniztel (no joke) was 36 koruna (20 koruna to the USD), you would just pay 40. Hopefully once I learn more about Czech history (we haven't crossed into the 20th century yet) I can give you a more educated description of life in post-Communist Prague.


ANYWAY, despite the lack of smiles everything is wonderful here. It's finally sunny and warm today--it's been uncharacteristically cold and rainy--and we are about to go on another walking tour with a professor.

Mala Strana, The Vltava (River), Nove Mesto, Stare Mesto. Beauts.

Last nite two of the student assistants took us to a Czech Tea House. They said it was one of their favorite spots; they often hang out there until 3:00 AM drinking tea ("caj" in Czech, which is actually pronounced just like "chai"), smoking hookah, and talking. I was craving some sort of ginger tea, and ended up with something of the ginger-flowery variety. It was delicious! It was also great to sit down and talk to some of the kids from other schools on the program, as well as the student assistants. The SAs give us a nice perspective on a normal life of young Pragians.

Petr, one of the SAs, is on the left.

Two days ago one of the Professors took us to Petřín Hill, where we ran the other day. It was a bit chilly, but clear enough so that we had great views of the downtown area. On top of the hill there is a mini-Eiffel Tower esque structure. Although the structure is technically much smaller than it's Parisian counterpart, because it stands on top of a large hill it technically towers about 3 meters over the Eiffel Tower. Apparently this was a very thought out decision, and according to our professor "just something the Czechs would do." After a lecture in a garden we climbed the 300 steps to the top of the structure--check the pictures, it was incredible.

Last nite we met up with some Northwestern boys who are traveling through Europe before heading back to Evanston for the fall. We hung out at their hostel for a bit, took them to U Sudu (literally a cavernous pub), and then headed to Chapeau Rouge, which older Northwestern students have deemed "The Keg of Prague." It was a lovely nite, and kind of fun to show other people around (i.e. COME VISIT!).

NORTHEWESTERN! ( L to R): Juge, Grace, Katherine, Carley, Christina, Andrew.

Tomorrow we're going on a group excursion to Kunta Hora, another famous area in the Czech Republic. It's famous for the St. Barbara Cathedral (Heyyy Santa Barbara) as well as a church that is covered entirely in bones. A little creepy, but pictures to come!

Happy Weekend!

KP

My Room

I am now realizing that even though I described Christina's giant space, I neglected to mention my own room, sweet old 307. We are living in the Jerome House, a building in New Town that dates back to the 14th century (it was rebuilt in the 1800s however). It's a 4-floor hotel, and our program occupies the majority of the 3rd and 4th floors. Everyone is in singles, which...is a whole new experience--it's SO quiet. Although my room isn't as large as a few of the lucky ones, it's cozy; it came decorated with an old painting and some funky lighting...loving it. I also have my own bathroom. There are two kitchens on each floor, and learning to cook with the outdated appliances has been a bit of an experience, but we're getting better. 

Have a lovely day back in the states!

KP