Today was an awesome day! We got up and had breakfast at the dorm, which was kind of interesting. I couldn't read the labels on anything, but I figured it out easily enough. I had a croissant filled with Nutella that was one of the most
delicious things I've ever tasted. Then we hopped on the metro, which has a station right near our dorm, and took the short ride to the city center. We met up with our program coordinators a
nd went on a walking tour of the city. We started in the Wenceslas Square area, which is absolutely beautiful. The architecture of the buildings in this area is intricate and just stunning. Then we walked through the old town area, which is spotted
with beautiful Baroque churches (many of which apparently host free classical music concerts every night- I'm going to check that out for sure!), cute sidewalk cafes and so many incredible buildings. The Old Town is also home to Prague's famous clock tower. Part of the tower is being restored, but I heard you can still climb the stairs up to the top of the tower and have a really nice view of the city. I can't wait to go do that!
There is also a really cool statue of Jan Hus, the Czech Protestant reformist who led revolts against the Catholics in the 1400s. He was later executed by the Church, and today, Czechs celebrate Jan Hus Day on July 5th. Then, we finally made it to the Charles Bridge, which I had been waiting to see all day. Even though about one quarter of the bridge is under construction, it was still absolutely incredible. There is a really cool entrance to the bridge
with an arch and some spires and a Statue of King Charles.
We got an awesome group picture on the bridge! After spending a few
minutes on the bridge and taking in the amazing views, we crossed to the other side of the bridge where the famous Charles Castle is located. We moseyed around in this very old section of the city for a while, but didn't go to the Castle today. (I'm definitely going before we leave though.) We then had the rest of the afternoon to wander around the city and shop a little. It was a splendid day, and even though it rained a little, the weather was perfect for the most part.
was a Jewish ghetto during WWII. Jews from all over Europe were deported there and forced to live in terrible and cramped conditions. Many people died there, but most were shipped off to Auschwitz where they were murdered. Very few people survived after leaving Terezin. Sunday night, me and a few of the girls went o
ut to a couple of bars in the Old Town area. It was a lot of fun! Today, Monday, was the first day of our Czech History and Culture course. We had a brief lecture this morning and visited the Communism Museum in the afternoon. The Communism Museum was pretty interested, but also very small and didn't have a whole lot to offer. I think I am really going to like this class and am excited to visit more museums and sites around Prague. Also today, my p
arents (the most awesome parents in the world) did some laundry for me and also went to buy me a new camera. They documented their day with my new camera, so I will include a few of those pictures here. After I was done with my museum visit today, I took a nap and then went to dinner at a delicious vegetarian restaurant in Old Town called Maitrea. We then took a stroll around Prague, and now I am back in my room and am planning on having an early night. I'll continue to update you on my week. Thanks for reading!
with a couple of guys we met from California. It was a great time! Monday we got some work done on the project in the morning and then went on a tour of the Pilsner Urquell Brewery in Pilsn. It was awesome! We got to drink beer right from the barrel. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were really intense workdays on our proje
ct. My parents got here on Wednesday (so glad they're here!), so I got to have dinner with them on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday morning was our presentation and both groups did a great job. The client told us that any company we work for in the future will be lucky to have any of us. Last night we went out for dinner as a group and then a few of us went out to celebrate afterwards. We went to an awesome bar/club in Old Town called the Bombay Club and had a great time. I'll definitely try to be better about writing more often in the coming days! Thanks for reading!
ere. It is amazing how there is a restaurant everywhere you look, and from what I've seen so far, they are all delicious and very reasonably priced. For lunch, I usually only spend about 120 CzK, which is the equivalent of 6 dollars, and I have yet to spend over 12 dollars on dinner, which usually includes wine or beer and and appetizer or dessert. It's a good thing I can eat cheap, though, because some of the night clubs we have been to are pretty expensive. On Friday night, we got our whole group together and went to a little jazz lounge because one of the Czech students we are working with was playing there. It was so much fun! Then, we moved on to Klub Duplex, which is on the roof of an old building near Wenceslas Square. We danced the night away and it was a really great time. It turned out to be a pretty late night, and the sun rises here at this time of year before 4 a.m., so we decided that it was a good idea to hike up to Prague Castle and watch the sun come up over all of Prague before we hopped on the metro to go home. It was actually a great idea. A picture can't even do 
it justice, but I'm including one anyway. Saturday was kind of a lazy day. We mostly hung around the apartment and did some work on our project. Saturday night, we went to a beer garden to watch the world cup game. When we walked in, the place was absolutely packed (these Europeans really like their soccer!). We had a great time though. Today (Sunday) I've just been doing some work on our project and running a few errands. Tonight, however, our Czech friends are taking us to a karaoke bar (this should be interesting!). It should be a pretty fun night, but then it's back to work tomorrow! I'll let you know how the karaoke situation turns out.
