Weekend In Prague

An overview of beautiful beautiful Prague.

Apparently asians squat when they
take pictures and Willie won't
let Nancy live it down.

Last weekend I left Budapest yet again to visit the beautiful city of Prague. I went with a bunch of other students studying in my program and we had a blast. We took an overnight bus on Friday and got to Prague at 7AM. We were so tired, but explored the city anyway. We found a place to get breakfast were I ate a ham and cheese croissant and tried my friend Kendell's "hot chocolate" that was way more like hot pudding. Then we went wandering through the city and popped in and out of cute souvenir shops. We found a gingerbread store and little stands that sold mulled wine (almost as good as hot apple cider but still tastes like a weirdly yummy version of cough syrup).

Stalin's flawed outlook on the world.

We also wandered over the famous Charles bridge, saw the Lennon wall, and went to lunch at this place where half our table ate giant pork knuckles. Then we saw the museum of communism which was sad, but interesting since we learned about how the cold war played out in the Czech Republic.

Budapest's grand marketplace

Then we met up with my friend Haley from Wellesley to have dinner at this delicious Mexican restaurant. After dinner, Haley took us to a bar where we all had cocktails before finally going bed after our long day. On Sunday we grabbed muffins and pastries at a coffee shop, found one of Prague's famous Manufaktura stores to get Beer shampoo for a friend who works at our school, and went to see Prague Castle before jumping on the bus back to Budapest.

On Monday I finally visited the grand market in Budapest to get some groceries. I definitely like Szimpla's Sunday market better, but there was still so much good produce! I'm trying to make sure I see everything in Budapest that I can since I guess I have to leave so soon. 

I need Nancy's photography skills.

GIANT MACARON

I kind of want to read this, but I realize
it'll just mean I will have to read one for every
country. Still contemplating that commitment.

Salted caramel muffins make the
world turn.

This Russian doll with vampire teeth
was a surprisingly striking symbol
for the museum and really gave the
impression that the Czech Republic
is very done with Russia.

I was really really tired and consumed a bit of wine
which equated to a delirious and happy Cali
instead of the all too well-known
"meltdown" Cali.

This wall is about peace, but like all graffiti it has some
interesting artwork...

Apparently this is Czech food, but it just tasted like steak and potatoes.
Still delicious of course.

Nancy is probably the most adorable
person I've ever met. All she eats are
salads and whole grains basically. We
needed something to counteract all the
meat I guess.

Willie just went for it

Apparently you learn how to eat
like a barbarian in Prague
and still look good doing it. 

I was so excited about gingerbread
and mulled wine.

 

Everyone was impressed by Eunice's
 pork knuckle.

This guy sang you are my sunshine
and then it was stuck in our
heads ALL day. I still love him though.

Last week before I went to Prague I went to a Jazz bar and finally saw the Pop art exhibit at the Ludwig museum. Megan has a Budapest bucket list and I guess I should make one too.

I'm traveling again this weekend to Vienna! Hopefully I'll see a Christmas market or two :D I'll be sure to update again after I've seen what Austria has to offer.

We destroyed its beauty before we got
a picture, but this was chocolate nutella banana
nut cake. SO GOOD.

My blog posts are sounding briefer and briefer these days which I do apologize for, but I’ve just been so busy! I’m having way more fun than I could have anticipated seeing the world as I travel around. I also have a lot of thoughts about Eastern European history, world wars, and current international affairs that I haven’t been able to settle down and articulate. The entirety of my Facebook page is full of opinions and activism and people speaking out against the horror happening right now all over the world. All of it has broken my heart, but I just don’t know what I can say or do yet to help. I’ve been thinking, and writing and trying to decide what my role in this world really is. For now, I’ve decided the best I can do is unlock my brain, open my eyes, and run to any country that’ll have me for a bit so I can see what each culture is about. Maybe if I learn to relate to everyone the knots that build between different cultures as a defense against the unknown will start to look as though I can loosen them.

Anyway, I hope everyone out there whom I love so dearly is doing well and not too mad at me for being beyond terrible about communication lately. I promise I’ll be home in one piece before we know it (and I’ll be bringing gifts ;) ).