Prague, just a little taste

It's our last day in Prague. I have an hour to kill before Brandon and I head off to the airport. I'll post again with pictures from the trip, but I am warning you now, they do not do this city justice. Even with my fancy shamcy camera, I cannot capture the magnificence of this city.

Our hostel was right around the corner from the Old Town Square withe Astronomical clock - the one that chimes every hour with these little turning statues. It's a lot of hype by todays standards, but when it was built it was quite a technological feat.

We were a little nervous coming into the hostel. All of the reviews online were either glowing or terrible. It was the only one with beds available. No bed bugs here! The walls were a bit thin, but the location was perfect.

I'll give you the history lesson with the photo post later, but here are some travel adventures for you...

We almost missed our shuttle to the London airport, because the London bus driver was being typical and did wait for us to come down the steps from the top levelbut we made it and got through security with no trouble. We landed in Prague and proceeded to try to find our taxi that we had reserved wsince it was about midnight by the time we arrived and knew that we didn't want to attempt public transportation at that hour. We had our first and pretty much last language issue, but finally found the man waiting with our name on a sign.

It was really convienet being able to speak english the entire trip. We found English tours led by American transplants to Prague. Most shop keepers and wait staff speak enough English to serve tourists. It was also a little bit frustrating. We were really looking forward to the adventure of figuring out how to communicate with locals. The only word i have figured out is, dekuju - thank you - just about the only word you need in any foreign country. 

Friday I almost got hit by a car. oops, i looked the wrong way while crossing the street. Czech people drive on the same side as in the US and I crossed as if I were in London. Saturday we went on a pub crawl. Essential we huing out with every American in Prague. Our professor was not joking when he said that Amercians pretty much flock to Prague these days. Just about everywhere we went, we could find the other Americans in the crowed. We went to a Halloween party at a killer night club. I know it's a sterotype - but Czechs really can party. Sunday went off with out a hitch - for us.

The joy (or maybe downside) of hostels are the people you encounter. We shared a room with some Brits who thought it would be funny to lock their buddy out of the room by pushing a bunk bed up against the door. Well, we all fell asleep before he came back. I was the only one sober enough to wake up to him trying to open the door. So, I tried and failed to move the bunk bed with a sleeping man on it. Brandon finally woke up and helped. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep.


More to come later - after I get my piles of backlogged homework finished!

Man vs. City

Clearly I’m a little behind in my blogging! But, I have to catch up as tomorrow I’m off to Prague for the weekend! Be warned, another LONG post

A few weeks ago, I commented on how in love with London I am. Well, Nathan came to visit for a little over a week and gave London a run for her money. I don’t know which I love more….man or city?

City

Man

 vs.

I picked Nathan up from the airport and he endured the 1.5 hour tube ride from Heathrow to my flat on the west side of central London. He thought he could make it a full day without sleeping but totally failed and went to bed early.

We went to Greenwich on Sunday. I’ll spare you the details, mostly because I’ve already told you a lot about Greenwich. But we did enjoy ice cream in the park and we touched a 4.5 billion year old object, a meteorite!

Monday we went with the group to see Billy Elliot. AMAZING. I wanted to dance all the way home. If you haven’t seen it, GO.

Tuesday we went to the Tower of London. I’ve been there before – in high school. All I remember seeing there were the crown jewels. It was a lot more incredible than I remember it being. We went on the Yeomen tour. It’s a free tour given by the Yeomen guards or “beefeaters.” Fun fact, the Yeomen are all retired military who have put in extensive service and won honors. They get to live in Tower with their families and give tours. Pretty cool life if you ask me.  It was almost surreal seeing laundry hanging in the flat courtyards – new clothes hanging in such a traditional household chore. I’m not doing a very good job of explaining….

Henry VII armour. I wish you could see the massive cod piece.

My favorite story from the Tower, however, is the story of a Priest who was imprisoned in the tower. He was able to escape by writing a letter to his friends on the outside. No one suspected anything because he wrote the letter in the juice from an orange. It dried clear, but you could read the message by holding the paper up to a candle. Now, why someone would think to hold a seemingly blank sheet of paper up to a candle I don’t know, but it worked and he managed to escape the tower.

Only part of the Tower of London.

Wednesday we went on the group excursion to Oxford. This is an absolutely incredible city. It’s somehow remained practically unchanged for centuries. Most of the buildings are made from sandstone and the roads are primarily cobblestone (I don’t know how women in heels walked around in the old days). We ate lunch in a park and then walked down to the river (honestly I don’t know which one), and got nearly attacked by swans. Most of the tour was spent touring the campus of Oxford University – most of the buildings in the town belong to Oxford University. In the University system here, all students pay the same amount to go to school regardless of the school. You just have to get in.  At Oxford, the students still must come to exams in a cap and gown. Yes, a black gown and a mortar board. We didn’t get to see as much as I would have liked, but we did get to see a lot of Harry Potter sites. Many scenes from the movies were filmed at Oxford. We walked into the “Great Hall” and the room that held the “Goblet of Fire.”

The Great Hall - people actually eat here!

This is where Harry's name comes out of the Goblet of Fire

Attack Swan

Thursday Nathan and I went on another out of London excursion to Maidstone. It’s the town where I was born! If we had been brave enough to rent a car, I would have driven past my old house, but alas, neither of us wanted to attempt to drive a manual car on the wrong side of the road in a strange place. So, we took the train. We spent the day at Leeds Castle. We had read that it is the most romantic castle in England. I’d agree – maybe that’s just because I went with my boyfriend (Just an FYI, you can get married at the castle – DREAM COME TRUE). One of the things I loved most about the castle was its history of ownership. Mostly that the castle always belonged to the wife of the King. She was always in charge of the running of Leeds Castle. It continued to belong to the wife of the monarch even after he died. Eventually the castle became owned by dukes and lords and finally became a private residence. Now it is open to the public and showcases traditional rooms as well as 20 century rooms.

Front of the Castle

Archway over the mote

Back of the Castle

Hedge Maze at Leeds Castle - WAY harder than it looks.

Success!

 We stayed a very cute bed and breakfast in Maidstone. The closest pub was a mile walk away. We went to the “Cock Horse” for dinner – gotta love the names of British Pubs – and decided to stay for the Pub Quiz. A pub quiz is essentially a trivial game played at a pub. Many pubs do them weekly or monthly and at established pubs they get quite rowdy. This pub was new to pub quizzes, so we decided to join in and were then duly dominated by the locals. In the morning we went back to Leeds Castle to play 9 holes of golf. Who ever said that I was a natural clearly didn’t know what they were talking about. Worst game ever. It was absolutely incredible to play golf with the castle in the background so loosing 3 golf balls was well worth it.

The Golfer

The "wannabe" golfer

 

 

 

Friday we went on a night tour of the city – well I took Nathan to Harrods and then around the city by bus and foot at night. I love how London lights up at night even though the streets are eerily quiet by 7:00.

Tourism

Giant toys in Harrods

Clock tower and the London Eye

Houses of Parliament

Saturday we lounged around and then attempted to go to a play. FAIL. But, we ended up touring Chinatown and Covent Garden and then went to a movie in the hip young neighborhood of Camden Town.

Sunday we went to church at Westminster. It’s a sneaky way to see the inside of the church without paying. It was slightly amusing to go, because neither of us is Catholic and we really had no idea what to expect in a Catholic Church service. It was really touching, however, to hear the organ play in their old church and to hear the choir’s voice echo. The head guy (not the priest) at the beginning of the service talked about how we were all worshiping universally. When we looked around, it was clear that there were people from all over the world. I thought it really highlighted one of my favorite aspects of London – diversity.

We went to the V and A museum (Victoria and Albert) in the afternoon followed by the Natural History museum. Two incredible free museums. Lots of art lots of old dead stuff.

T-Rex at the Natural History Museum

We went out for a really romantic dinner Sunday night. 50 % off with my restaurant discount card. We sat at the restaurant for over 2 hours drinking a bottle of wine and savoring delicious Italian food. It was the perfect end to a fantastic week.

I fell more in love with London – and with Nathan. Even though I had been to many of the places in London before, I still discovered new things to do and see in this incredible city. It was really wonderful having someone to share the adventure with.

Two More for the Collection

Some things never change. Nathan, Christina, and Jennifer made me do it, I swear.....

To the Coast

WARNING: I wrote this two weeks ago…..

“Beach” is probably not the first word that comes to mind when you think of London, but that is exactly where we went this week. On Wednesday, we went to Dungeness and Rye. This trip was second only to the bike riding (am I getting old – I’m finding so much pleasure in simple things).

On the bus ride, while most of the students slept (after a late night including the Absolute Ice Bar and a local casino), I decided to indulge in some trashy magazine reading. I read the UK version of a popular American magazine – Cosmopolitan (eek I just admitted that on the Internet). It is mostly similar of course but a few things struck me funny! The really are EVEN MORE upfront and don’t spare the details! I mentioned before that I loved the language here. It’s not just the differences in formal vocabulary that are fun, but the slang is fun, too!

Some PG slang:

1)   Greasy-spoon (typically a meal at a restaurant) = unhealthy, fried-food cure for hangovers

2)   Hen Party = Bachelorette Party

Earlier in the week I also indulged in the Sainsbury magazine (Sainsbury is a local grocery store). The magazine was somewhere between Oprah, Real Simple, and Martha Stewart – definitely out of my age bracket, but totally enjoyable.

Anyhow, we went to the Beach. Dungeness is a small little fishing village on the southeast coast. It’s really nothing to scream about. But it was nice to get some fresh air! I picked up a lot of shells and rocks – I’ll have to leave some behind or else check another bag through on the way home! My feet took a little dip into the English Channel! The neatest things in Dungeness were the little houses made from old rail cars. Apparently, these homes are very desirable and sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds! There were also lots of little art studios dotted along the coast.

In the English Channel

Art Studio in Dungeness

We then headed into Rye. This would be the most perfect vacation town. It’s quaint and totally belonged in my “Quintessentially British” post. We sampled the local fish and chips – now I know why I loved fish as a kid in England and hated fish when we moved to the states. It was delicious and we got to eat it out of a box with salt and vinegar on top! Denise, the program director, and I explored shops in town and then climbed up into the bell tower of St. Mary’s Church. People in the 12^th century must have been tiny because we had to shimmy our way up narrow stairs and ladders. The bells in this tower were HUGE but it was the view from the top that made the climb well worth it!

Rye

Bells in the St. Mary's Church Bell Tower

On the way back, we stopped by the site of the Battle of Hastings the only date in history I think I’ll ever remember because every British person knows it – 1066. Don’t ask me what happened at this battle – clearly that fact keeps going in one ear and out the other.

Battle of Hastings

Earlier in the week, I went to Portobello Market – again. I could spend every Saturday morning browsing the shops. I am on the hunt for a pocket watch – or a cool clock. Since this is the city of time, I feel as though this is what I need. I found one beautiful shop – but since the clocks were antiques, they were much too expensive for my student budget! I’ll keep my eyes peeled.

I spent most of the day Thursday and Friday in doors doing homework – alas, I’m here for school and work and it can’t all be fun.

Nathan comes to visit tomorrow. He’ll be here for 9 days and I get to play tour guide. I’m so excited to be the “expert” and to show someone around this amazing city!

Not Lost!

For those of you keeping up with my blog, I appologize for the lack of posts recently. I have 6 minutes left on my Internet time here at the hostel in Dublin. So short version....

Two weeks ago we went to the coast in England to Dungeness and Rye - a nice break from London polution
Last week my Nathan came to visit and I spent the week playing tour guide. We went to Leeds Castle - the most romantic castle in England!

This week I am in Dublin with two of my college friends!

More details and photos to follow! PROMISE I have tons of notes about what I want to include for you guys!

LOVE

I’m in Love. Yes. Love. The kind that makes you excited to wake up in the morning. The kind that makes you smile for no reason and makes you glow. The kind that gives you goose bumps. The kind that keeps you awake at night. The kind that creates questions and  makes you think and want to search for answers. The kind that makes you dream of bigger things. I’m not talking about my man, Nathan (although he is all these things, too). I’m talking about London.

I’m in love with London. This is the greatest city EVER. I’ve only been here for 3 weeks and I know I’ll never want to leave. Every day, I discover something new. There are so many things to do and see here. To live in a place so steeped in history…I’m not even a history buff.

Last week, we visited the skin exhibit at the Wellcome Museum (Free), Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. I also went shopping at Borough market for class. Monday we went into the houses of parliament and tasted food. Tuesday I spent the morning at a NHS (National Health Service) clinic – no worries, everyone is fine. Tuesday evening we experienced british gfootballYesterday was probably my favorite outing. We biked about 8 miles along the Thames ending at the most fantastic Palace I’ve ever seen! We spent the afternoon at Hampton Court Palace wandering through rooms and gardens before riding the train home to rest our tired legs and feet.

Just a few thoughts and pictures.

Skin Exhibit. This exhibit at the Wellcome Museum was all about skin. It looked at skin from scientific, religious, social, and cultural perspectives. I could go on and on about this exhibit. But I wont. Ask me if you want to know more!

Westminster Abbey. This beautiful church is so unique. While it is clearly a religious institution, it’s walls and floors are decorated with mementos of secular life. Great people in history are buried here – some not so great people in history have paid to be buried here. A few interesting graves that we walked on – weird to say I’ve walked on graves – Henry Purcell and a ton more musicians, Charles Darwin and a ton more scientists, and tons and tons of monarchs, Edward the Confessor being the most noted.

Oldest Garden

Buckingham Palace. Pretty cool place. Although, not my favorite. Perhaps the killer cold I had put a damper on things. I did take a lovely nap in St. James Park right by Buckingham Palace.

Borough Market. Don’t let the name fool you. This is a high end, ritzy, “fashionable” market. The food at this market is all organic (although in London organic is unbelievable cheap and easily accessible), sold in a specialty shop, or made by artisans. It was interesting to see, but I’ll stick to my cheaper markets like Church Street, where you can get enough vegetables to feed you for a week for about 1 pound ($1.60)!

National Health Service. Unbelievable cool that as students, we can just walk in, sign up, and get help. Obviously I do not know the ins and outs of National Health Care, but there are so many things working here!

British Football. This was an experience. Watching a football (soccer) match in a home stadium is nothing like watching a professional level sports match in the states. Nothing. It compares a little more to college sports in atmosphere. The fans cheer, chant and sing. They taunt the other fans. I swear they spend more time intimidating the other fans than they do watching the game! Perhaps this was because it was a rival game (Queen’s Park Rangers v Millwall). We cheered for the Queen’s Park Rangers and shouted and chanted right along with the crowds and enjoyed the game thoroughly even though it was a draw! I would suggest this activity to anyone coming to London.

Hampton Court Palace

Side of Hampton Court. Baroque style.

Tudor Entrance to Hampton Court Palace

Yesterday we rode to Hampton Court Palace and arrived in style, very similar to how Henry VII arrived at the palace. So far this has been the best activity. Even though it was rainy and overcast. The ride down the Thames was so beautiful, picturesque, post card worthy! It was “England” in so many ways. Every bend in the river, the boats, the houses, the green fields….I can’t do it justice in words or pictures. It was also nice to just ride a bike, to soak it all up and get some exercise that didn’t involve walking!

Can I have a weeping willow tree and a house on the Thames.

Biking down the Thames.

The Thames

My future house on the Thames.

The palace is HUGE. It was added on and renovated over a number of years and was opened to the public in the late 1800sby Queen Victoria. In many ways it is a “living” museum. They have actors around the grounds explaining various aspects of palace life. We all got to wear robes around as if we were royal ourselves (The child in me absolutely loved this!).

Never too old for dress up.

The palace is both Tudor and Baroque in style. Henry the VIII was mostly responsible for the Tudor architecture (Henry VIII was the 2^nd Tudor King) and William the III for the Baroque (William the III had asthma, so the stairs are all really shallow). The gardens are amazing – the hedges perfectly trimmed. Even in the rain, the experience was amazing!  

Still Obsessed. I want one!

Old school bathroom in the Georgian part of the Palace.

Garden at Hampton Court

I can just picture Henry VIII and his many wives sitting here - one at a time of course!

I am so incredibly jealous of all the local people who get to see these amazing buildings every day.  I wish I could just walk or bike down the Thames. I wonder if it ever gets old, looking out across the Thames at an amazing palace.

P.S...

So, apparently Madeline exists. 

Free Music

Music has always been an integral part of my being. Finding affordable venues to hear concerts performed by quality artists is rather difficult in the United States. Clearly, it exists, but not to the extent to which I am finding it in London. Last Sunday, I trucked across town (of course I got lost in the process) to St. George’s in Bloomsbury. It was a beautiful church (with really hard pews). The concert featured a cellist (Sophie Rivlin) playing Arnold, Britten, Debussy. The coolest part of the concert was the interpretative dance. The Britten piece was inspired by his trip to Bali. I’ve never seen Balinese dance, not my favorite, but certain very interesting to watch. It’s about subtleties – facial expressions, small hand movements. The other two pieces were performed with a contemporary/jazz dance performer. What was so cool was the way she danced with the music and the performers and not just to the music. She interacted with the cellist and the piano accompanist. She would take the bow or mimic the movement of the cellist hand. A few times she would reach over and play a note. I’m not doing it justice with my description. But, she really brought the music to life and told a story. Loved it. stgeorgesbloomsbury.org.uk Tuesday I went to a lunch concert at St. Martin-in the-Fields. I ate my lunch next to an odd group of homeless people on a wall in Trafalgar Square! The church has been putting on free lunch concerts forever – over 50 years. Tuesday’s program featured the Karelia String Quartet. The members were all conservatory students about my age…I know I am not cut out to be that good, but it does make me want to practice again! They performed works by Haydn, Schubert, and Britten. The Brits seem to love Brittan – he is in fact buried in West minster Abbey – I walked on his grave on Wednesday. Of course I loved the Haydn piece – my favorite composer. Although reading the program notes, I was a little disappointed…you see there is a lot of controversy surrounding Haydn and some of his works. There is a rather large collection of works attributed to Haydn that are most likely not his. This one, along with my favorite oboe concerto, is most likely not his. But, I just closed my eyes and listened to the music. Moments like that make me realize that it doesn’t really matter who wrote the piece – it’s still beautiful music. www.track0.com There is something really incredible about going to see live, high quality music played in historic buildings that is exhilarating. It makes me want to try to find it when I go home. Hopefully it’s out there because I’m going to be so spoiled when I get back! London has so much to offer – for FREE! I wish I had my own pictures to share – I forgot my camera both days. Eek. The ones attached are some Google images so you can see where I’ve been! More to come about the weeks school related adventures!