Reflections on my European Vacation

This is my last day here. We're leaving tomorrow at 5am. It seems like it all went so fast, but I am excited to get home. I figured I would use my last post to reflect on some of my observations on this trip.

1) Europe is a very beautiful place. The buildings are old and beautiful. The countryside is green and beautiful. The plainest buildings here and still more beautiful than the most elaborate buildings in the U.S. 

2) America is seriously lacking in terms of public transportation. You can take the train anywhere here, and for very reasonable prices.

3) The train is not the most comfortable place to sleep.

4) Most younger Europeans speak some English. This 

is not because it has been forced on them by traveling A

mericans (as some Americans told me). It is 

because a person in Austria does not want to learn Czech, French, Spanish, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, Italian, etc. English has become the "common" language, for whatever reason, for the ease of communication amongst those in the European community.

5) A clean and stocked bathroom is an amenity I will no longer take for granted. 

6) A McDonalds hamburger tastes the same in Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, and 

d America. In CZ, there are shrimp burgers and beer. In Italy, the cashiers are mean. In Austria, they serve Tiramisu as well as a McGreece, McItaly, and a McFrance burger (to cel

ebrate the upcoming soccer tournament being held there this year). And it is true that the Quarter Pounder is called the Burger Royal, because they don't use pounds. 

7) I cannot drink and travel. 

8) Good Ital

ian food is good. Very very good. 

9) Absinthe will not make you hallucinate. Or inspire you to create great works of ar

t. It will make you throw up.

10) Traveling should be an experience that you learn from. You should try to learn about other cultures from the people you meet while you travel. You should try to adjust to their customs while in their country, be polite, and mind your manners. Have fun. Do not be embarrassed that you do not know everything about the customs. Do not be embarrassed that you cannot pronounce some words. Do not be embarrassed that you are American. Do not feel superior that you are American. You do not have to see every historical point of reference on your tourist's map. Relax, and enjoy yourself. Because soon enough it will all be over and you will have to return home and pay bills and catch up on business and go back to work.

I will see everyone soon. 

Pics from Vienna

Vienna Calling, woh-oh

Weve been in Vienna the last couple of days, home of Freud, Mozart, Falco, and Red Bull. Vienna is very nice, and very big. Its funny, because Vienna is "Wein" in German, so you see signs that say "Weiner this" and "Weiner that" all over.  It makes me giggle. 

Last night we went to the Emperors Palace, and then to drinks at "The American Bar". We had a traditional Viennese dinner at a nice hotel restaurant. We finished up at an Italian restaurant where Johannes kept trying to convince me that I would like Grappa if I had the "right one". Apparently we never found that one.

Today we went around Vienna, seeing the sights. We hit a couple museums, saw some Klimt and Schiele. For dinner we went to a cool Mexican restaurant. It was pretty good, if not quite authentic. There was a DJ there playing GREAT music. I now have a long list of obscure artists that I need to find back in the States. Now its off to bed. We have to get up early oclock to catch our train back to the CZ. I apologize for the boring post, but I am exhausted. 

Some of you may have noticed that some of my posts are void of apostrophes. I cant find the freaking things on the European keyboard! Aaaaaarrrgghhhh!!

Rics of Florence

Back in the CZ

Well, we're back in Chotoviny now. Me & Jillian had a very grueling trip back from Italy. Our train left Florence at 10pm and was to arrive in Vienna at 9am. The train was full, and hot as hell. I got about 20 minutes of sleep. The train was late getting into Vienna, so we had to run to our connecting train to Prague. Again, no sleep on this train. And again, this rain was late. We had very little time to navigate through the Metro system to get to a different train station in Prague to catch the train to Tabor. We made it, but barely. The train to Tabor was old and rickety. But we could lean out the windows and breath in the Czech countryside. So, all in all it was 20 hours of traveling on 20 minutes of sleep. When we got home, some friends from Austria made us Wiener Schnitzel, and then I went to bed and slept for about 10 hours.

Last night, me & jillian decided to make a Mexican dinner. This in no easy feat in the CZ. There is not a large Mexican food section in the grocery stores here. We made makeshift enchiladas, Spanish rice, refried beans, salsa, and guacamole. I have to say, it was awesome. I was very proud of us. So, a couple American girls made a couple Austrians some Mexican food in the Czech Republic. Typical.

Today we are taking it easy. Six people are coming over from the states with the media company that is putting together the media package for Zamek, so we will have a full house!

Florence - The Final Chapter

Today is our last day in Florence. We take the train tonight at 10pm back to Chotoviny. It is a beautiful day; the sun is shining and it is getting warm. The last couple days have been kinda rainy, so it is a nice break.

We went out last night and had some more delicious Italian food. We then found a bar to have some tequila at. One of the men working then kept trying to convince us that when he gets off in 20 minutes, we should drive with him & his friend to another bar. Being the well-traveled girls that we are now, we decided it was maybe not such a good idea. We stayed for a little longer, mostly because our bartenders were very sweet and very easy on the eyes. We wandered back to the hotel about midnight, and surprised the very cute young man that was working at the hotel. FYI - the men in Italy are beautiful.

Today we got up and had some breakfast. We went to go get money to pay for our hotel, but one ATM was broken and another said we had no credit or our card was not approved for international transactions. How frustrating!

Now we are going to go see more sights before we have to leave. We are going to go to the Galleria dell Accademia (where the statue of Michelangelos David is), then the Santa Maria Novella, then finish up at the Uffizi.

Florence - Day 2

Today we got up relatively early and started with a nice breakfast at our hotel. From there, we went to the Piazza della Signoria. There is a gallery of magnificent statues there. We then wandered across the Ponte Vecchio and got some "real" pizza. It was good. Real good. We walked up to Piazalle Michelangelo, from where you can see all of Florence. We then took a looooong walk to the Giardino di Boboli (a park-like area). Now we are heading home to rest and clean up before heading out for dinner.

It has been a busy day, but Florence is beautiful, and the people are very kind. I took about 200 pictures, so once we get back to Chotoviny, I will post some. Ciao!

Florence - Day 1

So began our first day in Florence. Because we were exhausted, we decided to nap for a while. After resting up and cleaning up, we went out on the town. While walking around looking for a good-looking "ristorante", a well-dressed man began to chat us up. He asked where we were from. When we told Spokane, WA, he said that he used to have a place on Mercer Island. What are the odds?! He told to go have dinner at a restaurant across the Ponte Vecchio, and tell them Gerardo sent us. We found the place, and had a wonderful Italian dinner. We stopped at a place on the way back to the hotel for a glass of wine and some Tiriamsu. It was delicious! We called it an early night, in order to be rested up for the next day.

Praha to Firenze via Vienna - Oh what a ride!

So, me & Jillian striked it out on our own, taking the train from Prague to Florence. Our train was to depart at 1:33, and we still needed to purchase tickets. We took a cab from Chotoviny to Prague, leaving at 11:00. Prague is only an hour away, so we had plenty of time. Well, the traffic into Prague was horrible (Seattle horrible), and then our cab driver got lost. We arrived at the station at 1:oo. We bought our tickets, and used our best travelling strategies to navigate the train station and the train itself. We had a pleasant ride up to Vienna, where were to make out connection, with the exception of some very drunk Polish gentlemen. They were hiding from the conductors because they did not have tickets, and man oh man, did they smell like a distillery!!! The conductors found them in our cabin, stopped the train, and kicked them out. I cannot express how grateful we were that we were not going to have to " enjoy" these gentlemens company for the remainder of that leg.

At the Vienna train station, Jillians friend Johannes surprised us with a gift backet of nuts, oranges, and tequila. Thank God, because we had no idea how to find out what platform we needed to be on to catch our next train. Johannes got us where we needed to be, and we boarded the train. We purchased tickets for beds, instead of seats, because it was an overnight trip. We ended up in a (very small) room with 2 girls from Texas, Parker and Kelbey. We shared our Tequila, they shared their wine, and we a hoot of a time with them. However, the woman in the room next to us did not have such a good time. The Polizie cam and arrested her for havig a fake passport. There was a bit of a hubbub while this was going on. I think the policeman thought we were flirting with him, because we kept peeking out to see what was going on.

We got into Florence at 6am, with very little sleep. Nothing was open yet, so we ended up at a McDonlads by the train station to use the restrooms (bad idea), and get something to eat (bad idea). The bathrooms were disgusting, there was no toilet paper (thanks for the Kleenx, Mom!) , and there was a woman bathing in the sink. The woman behind the counter hated us and her job. She made us wait for our food, and was rude rude rude! We talked to a British couple next to us, and she was horrible to them, too. Not a good start in the City of Flowers. We wandered around, and found a hotel. The hotel is beautiful, 2 blocks from the Dome, and everyone is so very very sweet.

I am almost out of time at the Internet cafe , so ....to be continued!

First Day in Florence

Me and Jillian made it to Florence!! We had to navigate the train stations all by oursleves, but we did it. More details later; we are heading out to dinner. Get some good Italian grub!

A Snowy Day in the CZ

It's snowing here today. We felt bad for all you Spokanites over there, so I guess we're having some sympathy snow. Me & Jillian are getting ready to go to Florence today. Wish us luck navigating the train stations!!!

The Czechs Can Sure Party

Yesterday was the grand opening party for Zamek Chotoviny. There were craftsmen selling their wares (more souviners), jugglers, fencers, firebreathers, the works. Over 1000 people came through the gates! However, you will just have to trust me about all this, because my battery died in my camera, and I apparetnly forgot to recharge the other one (go ahead and say it, Mom; You told me so). However, I was soooooo exhausted. I hadn't slept more than 3 hours a night for the last four nights. Jillian was also beat, so we snuck upstairs and took a nap for awhile, so I misssed out on some of the festivities.

Later, the real party began. The beer was free-flowing and the shots were a-plenty. Even though we didn't speak the same language as most of the guests, we had much fun. I even danced to some Czech songs. Similar to dancing to American songs, but clappier. A couple from Spokane (Corey & Angela), who just moved to Germany last week, came to take pictures of the event. The were way fun, and we all had a great time dancing and joking with the locals.

Today is a day of rest for us all. Jillian made some eggs for breakfast, and we're having pizza and leftovers for dinner. I even think I may be able to convince Jamie to pull out "Raiders of the Lost Ark" tonight. Tomorrow, Kaine goes back to Spokane and me & Jillian go to Florence. I was talking to Jillian's friend Johannes last night, and he says Florence is beautiful. I can't wait.

Finally! New posts!

For those of you anxiously following my blog regarding my trek across a little piece of Europe, I finally caught up for the last few days. Tomorrow is the big grand opening party for Zamek Chotoviny, so it may be a couple more days before I'll get back around to here, but Jillian & I are going to Italy on Monday, so I'm sure I'll have some good stories/pics up soon!

Prague, Day 2

The girls left at 7am, I got up around 10am. I was on my own for the day. I walked over Charle's Bridge to head towards Prague Castle. It was a beautiful and long walk. Again, I was amazed how beautiful Prague is. The one thing that was frustrating was the number of people. There are many, many tourists (me included). Prague castle was pretty, but the chapel was awe-inspiring. It is easily the most beautiful manmade place I have been in my life. I've attached some pictures, but the only way to experience it would be to be there. While there, I climbed a staircase that led up to the top of one of the turrets. It was 287 skinny, winding stairs. Once I caught my breath, I was treated to a full panoramic view of Prague. So worth it. 

After the castle, I wandered around some more, taking in the city and it's gardens. I did some shopping for souvenirs (for my loved ones at home) and proceeded to get helplessly l

ost. Not even my map could help me. I had to get back to the hotel at 7pm to retrieve my backpack and get my ride back to Chotoviny. I finally went into a flower shop to find s

ome help, and found the one person in Prague who spoke no English. Somehow, though, she got me on the right track, and I made back with 5 minutes to spare! I had an hour to spare until my ride showed up, so I went into the hotel's restaurant for a bite to eat and a big glass of wine. Getting lost in a forei

gn country is stressful! There ended up being a four-piece band playing old-timey, ragtime music, with a banjo, trumpet, the works. It was one of the highlights of my day.

Jamie and Jillian showed up and got me back to the castle all safe and sound. Jillian had gone to the doctor in Chotoviny and gotten stitches on her poor cut up knee. 

Day 1 in Prague

Today we all went into Prague. I was not that impressed. Then we walked into the Old Town Square. It was absolutely breathtaking. The buildings were beautiful, there was tons of people, and an enormous statue. We wondered around the city, and I was constantly taking pictures. I was just amazed by everything around me. We went to a Mucha and a Dali exhibit. It's always amazing to me to see famous artworks in person. 

After our day walking around, we went back to our adorable Hotel Europe and got cleaned up for a night on the town. We first went to dinner at a nice restaurant. We all had some sort of gulash, and there was a string quartet playing. It was a nice start to a night out. We next wandered around and settled on a bar that actually reminded me of a very big O'Doherty's. We drank some beers there, had some shots, talked to some girls from California. Jillian accidentally ordered a beer the size of a small picture. But she's my girl, and she finished to whole thing! When wandered around some more, and were coerced into a bar where everyone was either 15 or 55. They were playing techno, so after a beer and a shot, we all ended up dancing and having general fun. We met some cool guys from Budapest, one who took quite a liking to Jillian.

Kaine left us to meet up with some friends, we stayed for a while. Hours later, after a bite of pizza and a few more beers, we miraculously ran into Kaine!  Prague is a very big, crazy-streeted town. It was crazy that we found him! As we were walking up some stairs, Jillian fell down and ripped her kneecap open. Very bad. I pulled out my First Aid knowledge, and fashioned her a  bandage out of hotdog vendor napkins and my hair tie. It was bad enough the us girls decided to go home. Kaine, wanted to stay out, so me & Jillian & Carrie said our goodbyes and went to bed at our hotel. I found out the next night that Kaine got mugged right after he left us by a band of knife-wielding Gypsies. 

I Bought Shoes

Today I went into Tabor to check out the town. I spent quite a bit of time at the museum there, learning all about the history. To save time and space, look up the Hussites if you're interested. After that I wondered around, doing some shopping and taking some pictures. Not many people in Tabor speak English, so it was a quite day for me. I did buy two great pairs of shoes, for those keeping track. 

Later, I met up with Jamie and Carrie and we went grocery shopping. It's funny how the small things are so exciting. Being in a grocery store where evreything is in a different language is fun. You have to actually think about what shit is. And everything is meaty over here. They have whole pigs in the meat department!

We went out to the pub again tonight. Drank beer, played foosball. I did almost step on a frog on the way there. I was going to kiss it, because I figured it may have b

een the European prince I was supposed to marry. But then we noticed the ooze coming out of its body, and decided I didn't want an oozy husband, even if he was a prince.

Pictures from Tabor and Chotoviny

<- Tabor Square

Cool sign at Millenium

Millenium again

Pastoral Chotoviny

Tabor: Ska Bands and Discoteques

Last night we went into Tabor. Tabor is a decent-sized town, with a very cute town square. It looked like it had some nice shops, but they were all closed by the time we got there. We had dinner at a good restaurant. However, the service was very slow. Everything seems to be quite a bit slower over here, other than driving. People hall ass when they're driving! The food was what you would expect; meat, meat, or meat. After dinner we went to a club called "Millenium". It's weird here, because there is no age limit of being in the bar, but you have to be 18 to drink. It's so strange to be in a bar with such young kids! We watched a ska band that is very popular here. The music was good, but of course I couldn't understand anything they were singing about. After the show, Kaine discovered that there was a dance club upstairs. It was actually pretty cool and modern looking, but most of the music was 80s-90s. Later I saw a flyer for the bar that said they played "oldies" in the disco. Guess that would explain the MC Hammer and Michael Jackson. I wasn't feeling too hot, so I played it pretty mellow. I wish I would have felt better, because I'm sure I would've had fun dancing. Oh well.

Today I slept in pretty late again (still not feeling well). Kaine made us all omellettes, which was a pleasant surprise. Later, Jillian, Kaine, and I took a walk around Chotoviny. We went out around the "pastoral" areas just outside of town. It was a very nice, warm, sunny day.

For some reason I'm having troubles posting pictures. I'll put some up soon, if I can figure it out.

My Night at the Pub

As I mentioned in my previous post, we all headed to the pub last night. And boy, am I paying for it today. It started off pretty mellow; a couple Pilsner Urquells, one shot of tequila. As the night wore on, shots just kept coming over. I'm not sure who they were all from, but every time I turned around, another one was in front of me. I met quite a few people that spoke good enough English that I could talk with them. Some spoke no English, but kept talking to me anyway. I learned quite a few Czech phrases, none of which I can remember. Everyone was very friendly, with the exception of one man. He was not fond of Americans and made sure we knew it. The Czech girls I was hanging out with told me not to worry, he is an "idiot". Before I left I decided to duet with Peter on the piano. Which is weird, because I don't play the piano. Oh well.

I've learned to say "hello" and "I do not understand Czech" in Czech. I've been told that my pronunciation is quite good. I'm sure I'll be fluent in the language before I leave.

Today we are cleaning the castle for the party on Saturday. We might go to a concert in Tabor tonight. However, I feel like I may be coming down with a cold, so I may just stay in. On either Sunday or Tuesday I am going to go in to Prague. Jamie, Jillian, Carrie, and Kain will meet me there on Wednesday.

A Lazy Day in Chotoviny

I woke up this morning way before anyone else, so I spent most of the morning hanging around the castle, reading, putting my stuff away, etc. Carey took me up to the market, and we went on a whirlwind tour of Chotoviny

. Later, Jillian and I took a more leisurely tour of the town so I could take pictures. I attached a few. We have plans to go out tonight and party at the pub. We'll see how well that goes!

My First "Post-Jet Lag" post

Carey, Jamie, Lanka, and I decided to go to a local pub last night. Chotoviny (the town we're staying in) is very small, so there's not too many places to go get a beer. We went to this place that had no signs or any indication that there was a bar inside. I played Czech-rules pool and had a few shots of Czech liquor with Carey and Jamie. When we left it was snowing pretty good. I fell aslep around midnight and didn't wake up until about 1:00 today when Lara came to check and make sure I was still alive. I guess traveling takes a lot out of a girl.

Today we just hung around the house. We took a walk out on the grounds and I got a tour of the place. It is HUGE! Tonight some of the locals are cooking us a traditional Czech dinner, It smells delicious!

We made to Prague!!!!

It was a long day, but we made it to Prague. I did surprisingly well, and barely freaked out. Since I just got here, I haven't seen much of Prague yet. From what I have seen, it's a juxtaposition of Big-City America and Old-World European charm.

The castle is beautiful. There are many, many rooms. I am sure I will get lost soon. And often.
We're off to a pub tonight to drink some Czech beer and play some pool. So basically like home, but 9000 miles away.

I'll post some pictures soon. Too weary from traveling.

Well, I'm leaving tomorrow at 1:11pm. It's going to be a long day, but thanks to my petrifying fear of flying, I have some wonderful drugs that should make the time go by much quicker. I'll put up a post once I get there to let everyone know I made it. Miss you guys!!!