Hello all!
Just got back from visiting Prague this past weekend with my two friends; what a gorgeous city! I think it may be my favorite place that I have visited for the first time this semester :) The city itself was my favorite thing about the weekend; the architecture is so distinct, and absolutely beautiful. It didn't hurt that the weather was perfect, high sixties, bright, bright blue sky without a cloud in sight the entire time we were there. The sun shining off the bright yellows and tans of the buildings, and tiled roofs, as well as the beautiful greens of the copper domes was stunning! Saturday we hiked up the largest of the six "hills" that surround the city of Prague, to then climb the observation tower that offers spectacular views and pictures of the city! It was breathtaking in multiple ways, both from being overwhelmed by the beautiful view, as well as literally being very out of breath from the twenty five minute uphill hike and a little shaky from climbing the open-structured spiral staircase to the (very high) top of the tower! I was glad I made it through my discomfort with the height and got to the top :)
We ate a lot of delicious food like goulash, apple strudel, bread pudding, and lots of potatoes, including lunch on a boat on the main river, within view of the Charles Bridge, although unfortunately I am still not sold on beer (be it Irish, Czech, etc...other than pear beer of course!)
We also took a two hour "free" walking tour around the city, with a tour guide, Jana, who I can only say was a little bit quirky! She was a bit sassier than we expected, and spent a good part of the tour swatting at other tour guides "encroaching" on her space! She gave us a good tour of the city though, which we really appreciated since we knew very, very little about Prague and its history when we got there, and thanks to her felt we got at least a grasp of the basics! We also went to the Franz Kafka museum, which was a surprisingly good experience, based on the fact that I knew nothing about Kafka other than his name prior to this weekend. The exhibit was relatively small, but set up in a really interesting way, so that you almost felt like you were in the writer's mind at times (and his mind seems to be a bizarre place to be). It also established him within the context of his Czech, and Jewish roots and background, also within the context of the time (early 20th century Prague). I hope to get the chance to read one of his books now!
All in all, possibly my favorite weekend travel trip thus far, and I would love to go back to Prague one day! Now back in Paris for the next few weeks, friends coming to visit from Spain, parents arriving in a week and a half (!!!!), possible second viewing of the Hunger Games movie with my cousins, nighttime picnic this Thursday! (Oh and daylight savings happened and now it stays light until about eight thirty, which makes me just about the happiest person alive :)
A bientot, j'espere (really trying to keep up to date with this blog, but sometimes it just slips my mind for a while...it really is rather busy here, which is good I guess!)
Bisous xoxo, Gillian
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