Amsterdam: Where Prostitutes Meet Politics

Just like all of our other trips, we flew into Amsterdam late Friday afternoon after class got out. When we got to our hostel, we still had a few hours of daylight left, so we walked around the streets of Amsterdam taking in our new surroundings. A few things instantly set Amsterdam apart from all the other places I've been.

1. Canals are everywhere. Amsterdam is nicknamed the "Venice of the North" for a reason. The entire downtown area is built around a massive network of circular canals. Amsterdam really is a beautiful city. Old buildings known as "Canal Ring Houses" line all of the canals, and hundreds of arched bridges connect one side with the other. My love for architecture and interior design made it hard for me to contain my excitement this weekend. Most of the Canal Houses were really tall and skinny, and they had these large, luxurious windows in front overlooking the water. Some houses were left as the raw brick, and others were painted and ornately decorated. My favorite were the brick houses that were painted black with bold, white trim. Some of the houses were even tilting, and I couldn't help but wonder if the floors inside were crooked as well. This would drive me insane. None of my pictures would hang square with the floor and ceiling. Out of all the cities we've visited, Amsterdam's architecture was definitely my favorite.
2. Bicycles are everywhere. And by everywhere, I literally mean everywhere. There is row after row after row of bikes all over the city. Riding a bike is such a big part of the culture, that the main streets even have parallel streets just for cyclists. You really have to be on your toes in Amsterdam. Otherwise, you will get run over by a bike. And, chances are, they probably won't stop to make sure you're still alive. Vespas are also allowed to ride in the bike lane, and they go really freaking fast! Considering how many tourists are walking around, it amazes me that more people don't die in bike/vespa/pedestrian accidents.
3. Pot is everywhere. Smoking weed is legal in the Netherlands, and it's sold in "Coffee Shops." You'll just be walking along on the street, and then all of a sudden you'll be blown away by the smell of weed coming from a nearby Coffee Shop. You can also legally smoke pot on the street and in bars, so the smell just follows you everywhere. Even though I did not partake in the Amsterdam ritual of smoking weed, I'm pretty sure I still got a secondary high from being in close proximity to it all weekend. Gross.

Amsterdam architecture

One of the Amsterdam's many canals.

View of another canal

When we started looking for a place to eat on Friday night, we began to notice that a lot of the restaurants were Argentinean. We asked our waiter about this, and he said that the crowned prince of the Netherlands was married to an Argentinean woman. I guess their marriage brought a lot of Argentinean culture to the Netherlands. After dinner, we paid a visit to Amsterdam's Red Light District. You always hear about the crazy partying and social life in Amsterdam, so we wanted to see if the city could live up to its name. It was pretty obvious after about 20 minutes that it did not live up to all the hype. Sure, we saw a lot of prostitutes making flirty eyes with passer byers, but that was really about it. The bars were super tame, and the streets were fairly quiet. The one thing I do have to say about the prostitutes is that there really is someone for everyone. I even saw a pregnant prostitute. I had to do a double take of her because I just couldn't believe what I had seen. Every prostitutes was behind a glass door that was illuminated with red florescent lights from above. This caused all the alleyway to light up in a dim red glow. I guess I now know why it's called the "Red Light District."

We ended up hanging out with another Bachelor Party on Friday night - this one contained 23 people. I honestly cannot think of 23 people that I could invite to my Bachelorette Party. I mean, really, who needs 23 people? We all ended up going to Rembrant Square where a bunch of upscale clubs are located. This one club wanted to charge us a 16 Euro per person cover charge - what a ripoff. The only interesting thing that happened Friday night was that I had an entire drink spilled down my back by the bartender. I was standing with my back to the bar, and all of a sudden I just got super cold and super wet. I think the bartender was trying to pass a drink to the waitress and failed miserably. So, it went off the edge of the counter and down my back instead. He then got super defensive when I asked for a towel - apparently, that was an outrageous request on my part. We ended the night by eating pizza at 2am when Kaitlyn got the munchies super bad. It was quite possibly the most disgusting, and yet most fulfilling, pizza I've ever had. These two random guy at the pizza place, who claimed to be from the US, kept bitching to me about the Red Sox and Yankees. They couldn't tell me why they were bitching though, so I think they were just hatin' to hate. 

On Saturday, we continued to walk up and down the canals and take in the rich history of the city. There aren't a ton of tourst attractions in Amsterdam, but we were sure to hit up the few important ones. My favorites were Dam Square and The Begijnhof. Dam Square is located the heart of the city, and it contains the Royal Palace, a monument in memory of WWII, and some random statues of lions. Apparently it is also a famous place to feed the pigeons? There was a small protest going on in the square about internet censorship. The protesters were standing on blocks dressed as superheros and horror film characters. The Begijnhof is a historic courtyard that is surrounded by large, old fashioned houses. Beguines, or pious catholic single women, have lived in these houses since 1346. The courtyard has its roots in a rich religious history. Today, much of the religious meaning behind the courtyard is gone, but it is still a rule that only single woman can reside in the buildings surrounding the courtyard. We also visited a few flower markets in Amsterdam since the city is famous for tulips. In the spring, all the hills around Amsterdam fill up with tulips and dredge the countryside in color.

Dam Square : The statue in the front is the memorial in memory
of WWII. The large building towards the back of the square
 is the Royal Palace.

Begijnhoff : A historic courtyard that has its roots in the
protection of religious freedom during times of religious
persecution.

One of the many flower markets. Tulip bulbs were everywhere!

Amsterdam is apparently a world leader in diamond cutting
and trading. This building houses Gassan Diamonds, which
is a large diamond company in Amsterdam.  

On Saturday evening, we visited Anne Frank's annex. Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who lived with her family in Frankfurt, Germany until Hitler came to power. Her family fled to Amsterdam, where they lived for a few years before Hilter took control of the Netherlands. Shortly after the persecution of Jews began in the Netherlands, Anne and her family went into hiding in a small apartment located in the center of Amsterdam. Their story was made famous after the publication of the diary Anne kept while living in secret. Her family was betrayed two years after going into hiding, and they were all sent off to concentration camps. Only the father survived the war. The Anne Frank Museum leads you through the annex where Anne and her family lived. The furniture was removed shortly after the annex was raided, and it was Anne's father's wish that replica furniture not be placed in the space. Instead, they had small scale models of each room so you could see what it once looked like. Even though the rooms were unfurnished, walking through the small rooms, up the steep staircases, and through the tiny kitchen left me unsettled. Just knowing that eight people hid in such a small space for two years, completely hidden from sunlight and the real world, was intimidating to think about. Although the annex was ransacked, some of the original history was maintained. In one room, you could see where Mr. Frank kept track of how tall Anne and her sister Margot were. Each month, he would mark off their height on the wall. The pictures that Anne hung in her bedroom to bring life to the room were also still there. I thought the museum did a nice job preserving the somber feel of the annex while still including informative videos and quotes on the walls. I left the Annex humbled and saddened by the realities of our past.

We were not allowed to take pictures inside the Annex, so I
settled for a picture of the sign.

The next story of Amsterdam has to do with Saturday night. When we booked our flight, it was 100 Euro cheaper to fly out at 6:50am Sunday morning then it was to fly out in the afternoon. So, we all decided that in order to save money we would take the early flight out. We also agreed that it didn't make sense to go to bed Saturday night, since we would just feel awful trying to wake up after only one or two hours of sleep. We made a pact that we would stay up all night Saturday, catch our 6:50am flight, then crash once we got back to Hamburg. Before we headed out for the night, we packed our bags, checked the train schedule, and made a plan to leave for our hostel at 4:15am. This would allow us to make the 5:05am train, giving us more then enough time to make our flight. It was a great plan in theory, but here's what actually happened: 

• We started the night at a gay bar. We didn't mean to be in a gay bar; we were just looking for a place where Daniela and I could drink and Kaitlyn could smoke. We saw the rainbow flag outside, but we thought it was for the gay cinema next door. Oh well. Later in the night, we got sucked into another Bachelor Party. But, I have to give this party mad props. The guys were super sweet, and you could tell they were just there to have a good time. A lot of them were wearing t-shirts with silly nicknames on the back. The Best Man and I ended up talking for a really long time about American Politics - I really enjoyed having a meaningful conversation in a bar with a complete stranger. Plus, our views on Obama and Bush were fairly compatible, so it was a pretty calm debate. One of the other guys, The Jolly Green Giant, started buying us shots halfway through the night - I'm pretty sure one of the shots contained Rumple Mintz, my alcohol nemesis. In hindsight, doing shots definitely wasn't the smartest idea, but looking back it makes for a funny story.

• Skipping ahead a few hours, we miraculously made it back to our hostel, checked out, got to central train station, bought our train tickets, then...ut oh. Language Barrier Problem #1000. We misread the Dutch train timetable, and the next train to the airport wasn't until 5:45am. The train ride to the airport was about 15 minutes long, meaning that once we got to the airport we would have exactly 10 minutes to find the booth and check into our flight before the airline gave our tickets away. That would leave us with 30 minutes to navigate security, find our gate, and board the plane before the gate closed. What could go wrong? Well, first off, we bought the wrong train tickets. Apparently discout fairs only apply to students living in Amsterdam. So, we had to return the old tickets and get new tickets. Then we decided that taking the train would be cutting it too close, so we returned the new tickets and went to hail a taxi. The taxi drivers said they'd charge us 50 Euro to go to the airport. Forget that! So we went back inside and repurchased train tickets (the discounted fare - shhh don't tell anyone).

• We got to the airport around 6am, and Kaitlyn gave me this look that said "Just go! Leave me! Get our tickets!" So I took off. Well, I didn't make it very far because when I reached the top of the stairs, I literally had no idea where to go. So, I just stood there in awe. I heard Kaitlyn coming up behind me, and she grumbled something about why hadn't I left yet. So, I told her I didn't know where to go and then took off again in the direction that we had arrived on Friday (I desperately hoped that arrivals and departures were located in the same place). Thankfully, my intuition was right, and we got our tickets with about one minute to spare. Next up, security. For some reason, the underwire of my bra always sets the European metal detectors off - Amsterdam was no exception. This time, I had a lady who was a little too frisky and personal with her hands. In the middle of my feel up she goes: "So, you look tired. Long night? Still drunk?" Kaitlyn's camera also set the detectors off. 10 minutes later, we finally made it through security. It's at this point that we realize our gate is still a 15 minute walk from where we are. With about 1 minute to spare, we make it to our gate. Then, after all of that, we sit on the tarmac for about 20 minutes because they forgot to fuel the plane. Awesome. 

Tschüss!

My Whimsical Weekend in Ireland

Even the passport stamp for
entering Ireland was green!

There is so much to tell about Dublin, that I'm not even sure where to begin! I guess I'll start by proclaiming my love for Irish pubs, Irish food, and Irish accents. Irish pubs in Dublin are exactly like I thought they would be. There is live music in all the pubs, and everyone is signing, dancing, and having a good time. On Friday night, Kaitlyn and I went to a district in Dublin known as Temple Bar. Temple Bar contains street after street of Irish bars, pubs, and restaurants. Walking down the street, you immediately get the feeling that each pub is trying to compete with every other pub for your attention. Almost every pub has live music all night long. The music ranges from the traditional Irish folk music to the music I grew up listening to on the radio. This made for such a fun atmosphere because if you ever got tired of one type of music, you could just walk to the next pub and experience something completely different. On Friday, Kaitlyn and I had an agreement. I would try Irish Whiskey, and she would try Guinness. I think both of us regretted this agreement, because I most definitely did not like the Whiskey and she most definitely did not like the Guinness. Surprisingly, I fell in love with Guinness in Ireland (Yes, John Leeman, you read that right!). It tastes so different from the crappy Guinness they sell back in the states. I also fell in love with Irish food. We ate a lot of seafood, fish and chips, and traditional pub food. I ended up trying raw oysters and seafood chowder for the first time. The chowder was a huge success, but the raw oysters made me feel like I was purposely swallowing a mouthful of sea water.

On Saturday, our agenda was literally "Let's wake up whenever, walk to wherever, and just try to get a feel for the Irish culture." Unlike many of our other trips, we had a really laid back attitude towards sightseeing. Dublin is not a huge city, nor does it have many touristy attractions, so we were able to just meander around the city all day. A lot of the sidewalks and small side streets are still made out of cobblestone, and the gardens and parks are green and full of life. All the green got me really excited for spring in Hamburg! One slightly negative observation we did make of Dublin though is that a lot of the city looks the same. Most of the buildings, both historic and non-, are gray. Thus, after a few hours of wandering around the city, it all started to look the same.

Even though we were mindlessly wandering around Dublin, we did manage to make a few touristy stops. First up was Trinity College, which was founded in 1592. The campus was completely open to the public, so Kaitlyn and I made our way around campus looking at all the old buildings. We then walked through the Viking/Medieval District of Dublin, which houses the Dublin Castle and the Christ Church Cathedral. Next on our miniature tour was St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is the site were St. Patrick baptized converts for the first time in Ireland. Finally, we walked through the downtown shopping district en route to St. Stephen's Green, or Dublin's largest park. Kaitlyn and I were both reminded of Boston Commons when we reached St. Stephen's Green. There were two large lakes, a lot of trees and gardens, and tons of people laying out in the sun talking with friends and family. On the way to the park, we passed this really awesome electric band that was playing on the corner of a street. The sign on their guitar case read: "Please Help. Our girlfriends need new clothes. Thank you!" It definitely gave me a good chuckle!

Part of the Trinity College campus

Half of Dublin Castle. There was also a more modern, brick
part to the castle. Behind the castle was this circular green
area that Kaitlyn and I enjoyed taking pictures in.

Side view of St. Patrick's Cathedral

A really good band that we passed on the street. They had a
very modern feel to them which made us question whether or
not they were Irish. I looked up their band when I got home,
and it turns out they were Irish. They consider their style of
music to be "'Mongrel Music' in that it cannot be pigeon
holed to one genre." 

One of the lakes in St. Stephen's Green

Saturday night ended up being one of the record books. As Kaitlyn and I were leaving our hostel, we heard voices behind us saying "Today is your lucky day, ladies! Come out for drinks with us!" It turned out to be a 10 -15 person bachelor party. It was blatantly obvious that the groom-to-be had been intoxicated since 9am and that his friends were going to ensure he stayed that way until they left Dublin. The poor dude was wearing this hilariously tiny woman's tank top, and his friends had super embarrassing pictures of him from the night before. We had a few drinks with them, shared a lot of laughs, and then went on our merry way. Next up? The Monaghan United football (aka soccer) team. At the time, this group of guys tried to convince Kaitlyn and I that they were players for an Irish soccer team. Kaitlyn was quick to believe them, but I was definitely more skeptical. Hmm, a group of guys trying to convince two American girls in a bar that they were famous Irish athletes - doesn't sound falsified at all! Turns out, they weren't lying haha. On Monday, Kaitlyn and I verified that they were in fact members of Monaghan United. So, we can honestly say that we partied, danced, and drank with Irish football players in Dublin - how cool! [This next part is not for the faint of heart - so if you're a queazy person you might want to skip ahead] One might think that the hilarious tale of Saturday night would end with the Irish football players, but oh no, it just keeps going. When we got back to our hostel, everything seemed normal. Around 3am, Kaitlyn and I were both awoken by this godforsaken noise. It turns out that the French girl staying in our room was incapable of handling her liquor. So much so that at 3am she sat up in bed and started vomiting all over herself and her sheets. She didn't even try to get out of bed and go to the bathroom. It was seriously the grossest thing I've ever witnessed. Neither Kaitlyn nor I knew what to do, so I just got up, gave her the trash basket, and got her some toilet paper. Kaitlyn then went to open the window, and I made the trip downstairs to get her some new sheets. When I got to the front desk and explained the situation, the hostel worker goes "Are you kidding me? What the hell. Why do people always vomit in the weirdest places. Like the sink. Why do people always vomit in the sink? Is she going to clean it up?" His reaction was of pure disgust - not over the fact that she was vomiting, but rather over the fact that she was vomiting in her bed. So, the cute Irishman and I shared a quick chuckle over my French roommate before I headed back up into the vomit filled room. I figured the horror of that night would be over once I went back to bed, but it continued on into Sunday morning. I went into the bathroom at 5:45am to shower, and I found the girl's vomit-filled sheets lying in the bathtub. I was completely grossed out, but I needed to shower before our bus tour. So I tried to carefully move the sheets without touching anything that looked wet or sticky. And, just my luck, all the chicken bits and vomit that the girl didn't clean off the sheets fell smack dab into the tub. GREAT.

The "scantily clad" groom-to-be, two of his friends, and us.

On Sunday, Kaitlyn and I went on this marathon 13 hour bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher. We were on the bus by 6:45am, and we did not return to Dublin until 7:45pm. The tour was absolutely fantastic. Our tour guide told us a lot about the history of Ireland, sang a few dirty little Irish ditties, and made offhanded jokes about everything (all of which were done in his amazing Irish accent!). On the way to the cliffs, we stopped at King John's Castle and an Irish beach. The castle was less then impressive, but the Irish countryside butting up against the Atlantic Ocean was breathtaking. When we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher, I immediately found myself at a loss for words. I have never in my life seen anything so impressive. The cliffs just rose straight out of the ocean and continued upwards for what seemed like forever. Rather then trying to do them justice, I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. After the cliffs, we visited Burren National Park which is a large area of limestone in west Ireland. It was so dramatically different from the green, hilly countryside that it once again managed to leave me in a state of awe.

King John's Castle

An Irish beach that we quickly visited on our way to the
Cliffs of Moher.

First look at the Cliffs of Moher

Another view of the Cliffs of Moher

A picture of me with the Cliffs of Moher in the background.

Burren National Park - one of the largest areas of
limestone in Europe

Looking out over the edge of the Burren into the Atlantic
Ocean (photo courtesy of Kaitlyn)

An old fishing village we passed on our way home.

I had an amazing time in Ireland. Kaitlyn and I both decided that it was our favorite place we had visited. A combination of two memorable nights in Irish pubs as well as an amazing day excursion to the Cliffs of Moher left us wanting for more! Hopefully someday I'll make my way back to the green fields of Ireland. Tschüss

Roller Coasters, Fire, and Fear! Oh, My!

For those of you who do not know, I have a somewhat irrational fear of fire. This includes everything from being unable to light a match, to stressing over nearby wildfires, to worrying that my apartment is going to randomly catch on fire. But, I learned a very valuable lesson concerning my fear on Saturday night. Even though fire scares the living bejesus out of me, when I'm faced with a real fire, my fear does not disable me. On Saturday night, Kaitlyn and I went out for drinks with a friend from class at a brewery in Hamburg. When we stood up to leave, I noticed an unusual flickering out of the corner of my eye. The woven basket centerpiece filled with dry shrubbery had caught on fire from the nearby candle! I silently freaked out, but composed myself enough to huff and puff the flames right out! :-D

       Nicole : 1
       Irrational Fear : 0

Tonight I went to this really cool restaurant with some fellow meteorology graduate students. The restaurant had no waiters or waitresses. Touch screen computers acted as our menus, and metal roller coasters served as our waiters. To order, I just had to flip through the computerized menu and touch anything I wanted. After inserting a credit card-like piece of plastic, I could painlessly order the food based upon my seat number. The food was then delivered by individual blocks on a roller coaster. Drinks were put in these small, car-like cup holders, and the food was delivered in large metal pots. A lit sparkler stuck out of any pot that was too hot to touch. It was such a random but enjoyable experience! Can you imagine being able to think up the idea for a restaurant where food and drink are delivered on a roller coaster? Some people's imaginations scares me!

One of the tables - you can see the multiple
 touch screens as well as the roller coaster used
to deliver food. 

A closer look at the roller coaster. One of the
drink cars is also visible on the far left.

An Update From Hamburg

I realized today that it has been awhile since I wrote a post about Hamburg. So here you have it: a blog entry entirely dedicated to my new home. It's hard to believe that I've already been in Europe for six weeks. It makes me really worried that the next six months are going to fly by and before I know it my time in Hamburg will be up! The weather in Hamburg has been ridiculously cold. Our daytime highs have been about 48F below normal, and we've only hit freezing twice in the past two weeks. We've had snow almost everyday, but it never amounts to more than an inch. If you know me though, you know that snow never fails to put a smile on my face and brighten up my day.

My German language class has been going pretty well. I knew from my pitiful attempt at studying Spanish in middle and high school that learning a foreign language is not a talent of mine. But, I still feel like I've made some progress in the class. One of the most important skills I've learned is how to read German menus and order food in German. I can make it through an entire meal without awkwardly pointing to what I want or waving money in the air to symbolize I'm ready to pay. While I'm on the subject of food, I thought you might all like to know that I am loving German food! Specifically, I am obsessed with German bread, cheese, and pastries. One of my favorite German pastries is a Franzbröchten, or a soft pastry covered in crunchy cinnamon and sugar flakes. I generally have to eat breakfast before I leave for the train station because otherwise I would be tempted to buy one every morning from the bakery near my school.

A few weeks ago, we had a small party at the language school. We spent the entire time conversing in German and eating food typical of our home countries. I brought peanut butter and bread because let's be honest, what's more American then the creamy goodness of peanut butter? The party was so much fun - we had two hours to just practice German in a safe, non-judgmental zone. We even played Hangman in German!

Some of my classmates and a view of all the delicious food!

Last week, we went to Miniatur Wunderland which is the largest model railroad in the world. The railroad bends and weaves its way through towns and cities and mountains and forests. Even though the main attraction is the railroad, they have all these tiny little people doing everyday activities. The model is so realistic that police can chase after and stop speeding vehicles, planes can take off and land at the airport, and buildings can catch on fire and be put out by firetrucks. They also have this day/night cycle where every 10 minutes the lights change color and set the tone for dusk, evening, dawn, and day. One cool thing about Miniatur Wunderland is that each room is dedicated to a different place. Just to name a few, they have models of Hamburg, America, Scandinavia, Austria, Switzerland, and Knuffingen. It was really incredible to see all the detail that went into creating the model world. They even have windows looking into the workroom so you can see firsthand how each model piece is created. If you ever visit Hamburg, I would definitely recommend checking it out.

One of the many model trains at Miniatur Wunderland. 

An example of how detailed the model is.

An airplane landing at Wunderland Airport. When the planes
took off and landed, the engines reved up and exhaust
came out the back. 

Aliens, Cadillac Ranch, an oil rig, and a brocken down truck.
I especially liked this part of the model because I've actually
been to Cadillac Ranch and have a picture standing next
to those cars!

Mount Rushmore

The Grand Canyon

Las Vegas and the famous Treasure Island Hotel!

Rut Roh - a tornado is heading towards the
space shuttle! 

Hamburg: St. Michaelis Church and a building on fire

Releasing a weather balloon. 

Another Hamburg related update is that I got my new housing assignment for April. We are currently living about 30 minutes outside downtown, so we are going to move in April to a place closer to the school. Strangely, Kaitlyn and Daniela were placed in the same housing complex, and I was placed in a different one. This will definitely make late night talks more inconvenient! On the other hand, we're likely to meet a lot of new people since we'll have two dorms to hang out in instead of just one.

Last Monday, we went with some fellow meteorology students to a movie theater in the city. It was easily one of the strangest movie watching experiences I've ever had. First of all, the movie is a big secret. You do not know what movie you're watching until it starts. From 8:30 to 9:30, they played a bunch of movie previews that were all related to the actual movie. Each preview is supposed to be a hint as to what the movie is.  They also had this random auction in the middle of the previews where they sold old movies and posters. It was so strange! The movie ended up being Shame which told the story of a sex addict. I'm happy I saw it, but I would never want to see it again. It was such an emotional movie filled with so much pain and suffering that I left the theatre feeling discouraged and depressed.

Switching topics once again, the extreme cold in Europe and Hamburg has led to some really awesome ice formation on the River Elbe and the Aussenalster. Once every decade, the Aussenalster, or the larger of two lakes in Hamburg, completely freezes over. Lucky for us, this cold snap has allowed the lake to freeze over so we got to personally experience this rare event. According to a random news article, the last time this happened was 15 years ago (although, a friend of mine told me it froze over two years ago, so who knows...). Along with thousands of others, we braved the ice and walked all the way across the lake. It was so amazing to see the city from the center of the lake. Unfortunately, my camera battery died after taking just two pictures, so I wasn't able to document the epicness of this experience. But, I did manage to grab a few photos before we went out onto the ice. We also went down to see the River Elbe, which is the large river running through the city. Apparently, the river was so close to freezing over that they had to drive enormous ships through the ice to break it up.

Ice on the River Elbe

The main shipping passage is really obvious in this photo. 

Another view of the ice on the Elbe. Who wants to go for a swim?

People ice skating and walking on the Aussenalster.

Last photo taken before my battery died. 

I had a really cool moment of realization last week when I flew back from Prague. Whenever I would fly into Oklahoma, I would always sarcastically tell myself "Back in Oklahoma. How wonderful..." I was never excited about going back to Oklahoma, and I never once thought to myself "Boy, am I glad to be home!" But when I flew back from Prague, my first thought was "I'm so happy to finally be home." Even though I've only been in Hamburg for one month, I feel more at home here then I ever did in Norman. It's such a strange and welcomed feeling for me to love the place I'm living so much.

I will leave you with some fun difference I have found between the United States and Germany. Tschüss!

• You cannot order tap water in a restaurant. It is considered rude to bring you a glass of water rather than bottled water.
• Dogs are allowed in restaurants, shops, banks, etc. 
• They have bike lanes everywhere, and if you walk in the bike lane you will get run over.
• Germans eat waffles and pancakes with Nutella, not syrup. 
• You have to pay to use a cart at most grocery stores.
• They have two flush buttons on the toilet - one large and one small. I'll let you figure out what each is for.
• Waiters will not bring you your check until you ask for it.
• Airport security is much less invasive. You only have to remove your shoes if you're wearing big boots. 
• Germany is a much more social place then the United States.
• Non-alcoholic drinks are really expensive, and you have to pay for refills.
• You can openly drink alcohol in public places.
• Unlike the United States, policemen and police cars are not everywhere. They remain very much in the background.
• Markets and stores are closed all day on Sunday (which is problematic today because I really need to go grocery shopping!)

This little piggy went to Prague. And this little piggy fell off.

Thanks to a large high pressure area centered over Siberia, I spent last weekend in temperatures ranging from -20C to -9C. Kaitlyn and I arrived in Prague on Friday night and took a short 20 minute cab ride from the airport to our hostel. Thankfully we had arranged to be picked up by a worker at the hostel, because I'm not sure we would have found it otherwise. The hostel was located on a dark side street and had no sign on the outside. At first glance, the hostel looked completely sketchy, but the inside was actually really clean and quaint! The bathroom was definitely nicer then my bathroom in either Hamburg or Norman. Either way, my first hostel was a complete success!

The sketchy exterior of our hostel in Prague

Saturday morning we were up and out really early. Even though downtown Prague is pretty compact, we wanted to make sure we had enough time to see all of the main tourist attractions. Our first stop was the Národní divadlo, or National Theatre. At first I didn't realize that you had to pay to tour the building, so I just walked right into the theatre. But then this old man told us we had to get out and pay for a tour like everyone else. Whoops! Luckily, I was able to take a few pictures before we got kicked out. 

Národní divadlo - National Theatre

Inside the National Theatre

Next up was the Novomêstská radnice, or New Town Hall. After we saw the New Town Hall, things started to go downhill. It turns out that navigating through a city where everything is in a strange language hampers my map reading abilities. Rather then heading north towards the main tourist attractions, we turned south and get really lost. Normally I do not worry about getting lost in a strange city because it allows me to see parts of the city that I otherwise would not have seen. But this was not the case in Prague. It was so bloody cold out that our little adventure presented itself as a great annoyance to me. By this point, neither of us could not feel our fingers, toes, legs, or face. And the body parts that we could still feel were tingling and aching. After about one hour of walking in the wrong direction, we finally stopped and asked for directions. Thankfully, although the men did not speak English, they were able to point us in the right direction!

Novomêstská radnice, or New Town Hall, was
built in the 14th Century and once housed the
seat of the New Town authorities. 

Cloître d'Emmaüs (Emmaus Monestary) - This was one of the
buildings we passed during our two hours detour. At the time,
we did not know what the building was, but when I got home I
learned that it was founded for a Slavic Benedictine Order in
1372. During WWII, the Gestapo seized the monastery and
 sent the monks to the Dachau Concentration Camp.

Vysehrad is one of two castles located in Prague. The castle
was built in the 10th century and houses the Basilica of
Peter and Paul. As a violinist, one thing I found really
interesting was that Antoní Dvorák is buried in the
Vysehrad cemetery.

After regaining our bearings, we paid a visit to Národiní Muzeum, or the National Museum. The Museum itself was badly damaged during WWII and the Warsaw Pact Intervention, so it is currently closed for renovation. After viewing the National Museum, we wandered a little further north to what I will dub "Tourist Lane." In Prague, many of the famous tourist sites are located along one main street. We quickly visited Obecní Düm (Municipal House), Prasná Brána (Powder Tower), Chrám Matky Bozi pred Tynem (Church of Our Lady Before Tyn), and Orloj (Astronomical Tower) on the way to Josefov, the Jewish Quarters in Prague. Although all of the buildings were old, historic, and beautiful, I was not blown away by any of them. I have to wonder if this lack of enthusiasm towards Prague was due largely in part to the bitter cold.

Národiní Muzeum (National Museum) - The lighter spots
evident on the pillers and in the stone work is limestone used
by workmen in the 1970s to fill in the bullet holes. 

Prasná Brána (Powder Tower) and Obecní Düm (Municipal
House) - The Municipal House is home to the Smetana
Concert Hall. The Powder Tower was originally built in
1457 but was then rebuilt between 1875 to 1886. 

The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn

Chrám Sv. Mikuláse (St. Nicholas Church)

Inside St. Nicholas Church

Staroméstská Radnice S Orlojem (Old Town
Hall and the Astronomical Tower) - The Old
Town Hall was built in 1338, and the
Astronomical Tower was later added in the
early 15th Century

Orlojem (Astronomical Clock) is the third
oldest astronomical clock in the world. Every
hour between 9am and 9pm, the twelve
apostle appear in the upper part while the
lower part acts as a calendar board and
contains the zodiac signs by Josef Mánes.

After walking down "Tourist Lane," we headed north to visit Josefov, or the Jewish Quarter. During WWII, the Jewish Quarter became the Prague Jewish Ghetto. One of the most prominent buildings in the Jewish Quarter is the Staronová Synagoga, or Old-New Synagogue. The Old-New Synagogue is the oldest preserved Jewish Synagogue in Central Europe and dates back to the 13th Century. After visiting the Jewish Quarters, we stopped and ate a traditional Czech meal. I had Bohemian Dumplings and Goulash, which is a type of thick beef stew. The meal was good, but there is no way I could eat Czech food everyday. The food was really heavy and just kind of sat like a rock in my stomach for the rest of the day.

Staronová Synagoga - The oldest synagogue in central
Europe. 

A traditional Czech meal of Goulash and Bohemian
Dumplings. 

There was some really disturbing pictures
painted on the wall of the restaurant...

After lunch, we visited one of the most popular and famous tourist attractions in Prague - Karluv Most (Charles Bridge). The Charles Bridge was built in 1357 by Charles IV. The bridge is flanked by two towers, Lesser Tower Bridge Tower and Old Town Bridge Tower, and it connects the Prague Castle with the Old Town. One of the 30 statues on the bridge is of St. John of Nepomuk. They say if you touch the dog and the woman on the statue you will have good luck and ensure that you return to Prague. I don't really believe in old wise tales, but just incase I touched the dog for good luck!

Karluv Most - One of the towers on the Charles Bridge 

Charles Bridge

Statue of St. John Nepomuk - You can see where
people have touched the dog and the woman. 

Next on the agenda: Prazsky Hrad or Prague Castle. In order to get to the castle, which sat on the top of a very large hill, we had to climb up this massive set of stairs. When we reached the top, we were rewarded with magnificent views of the city. By the time we got to the Castle, it was already 4pm, so the tours had ended for the day. But, we returned on Sunday morning and toured the Old Royal Palace, the Basilica of St. George, Golden Lane, and St. Vitus's Cathedral. St. Vitus's Cathedral was absolutely breathtaking. There were these massive stain glass windows, incredible stone pillars, and unbelievable statues made from bronze and stone. It's incredible to think about how many talented people must have been involved in creating such an amazing building. The Old Royal Palace was slightly disappointing because most of it was closed to the public. On the Golden Lane, we were able to see a bunch of old armor and weapons used during different time periods in Prague. I was also taught how to shoot a crossbow, and believe it or not, I hit the target two out of the three times! The girl infront of me was crazy good - I'm pretty sure all three of her shots hit the center of the target.

View of Prague from the top of a large hill.

Prazsky Hrad (Prague Castle) was originally
built in the 9th century and has continued to
be expanded since then.

Side view of the Prague Castle

Main Hall in the Old Royal Palace

Shooting a crossbow - No big deal.

Inside St. Vitus's Cathedral

One of the many stained glass window inside
St. Vitus's Cathedral

Our last tourist attraction for the day was the John Lennon Peace Wall. The Lennon Wall is a stone wall covered in graffiti inspired by the words and lyrics of John Lennon. For many, the wall represents Lennon's ideals of peace, love, and freedom of speech.The wall was initially a source of contention for the Communist government in Czechoslovakia. The authorities once viewed those responsible for painting the wall as supporters of Western Capitalism and as rebellious citizens. Some believe that the wall led to the Velvet Revolution which is responsible for the fall of Communism in Czechoslovakia in 1989.

John Lennon Peace Wall

Graffiti of John Lennon 

Just one of the examples of pictures and lyrics written
all over the wall.

On Saturday evening, Kaitlyn and I went to an eight member chamber music ensemble concert in the Municipal Hall. I really enjoyed the concert because they played a lot of music I knew very well. Among the pieces played were "The Four Seasons" by Vivaldi, "Canon in D" by Pachelbel, and "Hungarian Dance No. 5" by Brahms. I was somewhat disappointing at first because I was expecting a larger orchestra to play, but it ended up being a great concert regardless. After the concert, Kaitlyn and I went to a bar and tried a few traditional Czech drinks before heading back to the hostel for the night. 

Small concert hall inside the Municipal Hall where we saw
the Camber Music Concert.

Sunday ended up being a really weird day. It all started with my breakfast. There were surprisingly few restaurants open for breakfast, so we ended up at this one place that served omelets. I decided to go with a vegetable omelet, figuring it was a relatively safe and healthy choice. Ha! Boy was I in for a shock. When you think of a vegetable omelet, what do you generally think of? Eggs, peppers, onions, brocoli? Well, in the Czech Republic, a vegetable omelet contains carrots, corn kernels, corn stalks, pea pods, and cauliflower. It was definitely the weirdest tasting omelet I've ever had. We then spent the rest of the morning touring the Prague Castle. When we arrived at the airport, we had problems checking into our flight because Economy had already checked in full, so the lady behind the desk ended up giving us free upgrades to Business class. This was the first time I have ever been upgraded, so I was super excited! The upgrade ended up being a bit of a disappointment because we were on a really small prop plane, so Business class was not really Business class. The only bonus was we got to enjoy a completely disgusting meal full of many questionable substances.

The meal we got for sitting in business class.

I will send a special German present to anyone who can
tell me what this was (or what it tasted like). I'll give you a
hint: it was neither cheese nor bread.

Well folks, there you have it - the summarized version of my trip to Prague. I enjoyed my time in the city, but I was not blown away by it. My enthusiasm towards Prague was probably hindered by the unbearably cold conditions, so hopefully one day I'll be able to return and give it another go. Tschüs!