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