Dobry den! (that's Czech for hello).
We arrived safely in the Czech Republic on August 28th, unsure of what to expect of Central Europe.
It's been an exciting, frazzling two weeks!
Dillon & Natalie
Aside from a week packed with orientation activities, we've been doing a lot of exploring in attempts to orient ourselves to this magical, confusing city. Here are some photos of what we've seen so far...
The Astronomical Clock in Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square)
Every hour, literally hundreds of people gather to watch the display. Little doorways above the clock open and all twelve of the apostles rotate around. A trumpet player plays a tune from the tower.
The size of the door gives you an idea how long ago the building was built:
We were delighted when we realized that we could hear the trumpet player from our Czech language classrooms! Czech classes were pretty cool but SO challenging. We found out that any consonant can come before or after "z" in the Czech language. It's funny to listen to Natalie try to say one of her favorite words (ice cream) in Czech-- "zmrzlina"
Charles Bridge
Grocery shopping here has been hit or miss. We had trouble the first few days but now we have the hang of it. We really like to go grocery shopping together. So happy to find a huge pasta selection at this grocery store:
Fresh berries from the market
Shocked to find so much gelato in Prague!!
Back to school shopping (Czech style)
We took a tour of the Prague Castle...
It is the largest castle complex in the world! Its history traces back to the 9th century (woah).
We arrived just in time to see the changing of the guard ceremony.
serious concentration
Gothic architecture
In front of St. Vitus cathedral
Overlooking the city
More from around Prague
This square is where we go to school! One class building is straight ahead...
and the other one is to the left:
It's hard not to look up when we're walking around the city. There are so many beautiful buildings!
Old Town Square (campus area)
Charles River
We live on the other side of the river from Old Town Square. There are cool castles and architecture near our place too:
walking home from school was a lot farther than Natalie thought,
but we found many interesting things along the way... including a piggy back ride. And some zebra graffiti
Initially I wasn't super enthusiastic to celebrate turning twenty-one in a country with practically no legal drinking age, but Dillon made my birthday really special.
He took me to this amazing Italian restaurant overlooking the city. We sat at a table outside with an incredibly romantic view. Halfway through dinner, opera music began echoing up through the valley! It was truly spectacular.
Dinner was the BEST meal we've had so far
perfect evening with the perfect boy
: )
Before we went out for the night, Dillon secretly got some friends together back at his apartment for ice cream cake!! So much fun. Then we went out to Karlsvy Lázně, a five story club, apparently the largest in Central Europe.
It was W-i-l-d
We spent most of the night dancing on the floor called "Black Music" ...something you would never find in America.
Epic.
The morning after was Sports Day, a competition between the four dorms. We played beach volley ball, badminton, & soccer in the sunshine.
The facilities were really nice
The next day, we went on a river boat cruise with everyone in our program. It was a meet & greet with the students and professors.
on the boat
Shortly after, we dressed up and headed to a production of the Swan Lake ballet at the State Opera Theater.
The theater was gorgeous, and the performance was even more beautiful. (Dillon thought so too, as he fell asleep soundly)
The first two weeks have been awesome and we can't wait for what's to come!
