I wish I could cap off all stressful exam weeks by hopping on a plane and going on vacation in a foreign country. That’s what I got to do last week on my DIS-led trip to the Czech Republic! I spent six days exploring Prague and Cesky Krumlov with my European Culture and History core class. Here’s a brief breakdown of what we did each day:
The Charles Bridge in Prague.
My friends Jennifer, Danielle, Ilana, Eliana and I on the Charles Bridge!
Saturday: We arrived at the Copenhagen airport at the pleasant time of 7am and flew to Prague. I immediately changed into shorts because it was 75 degrees and sunny outside—I don’t think it’s EVER been that warm in the history of Copenhagen. After checking into our hotel, we went on an afternoon walking tour of the city with our professor, who could probably be a professional race walker. We saw Prague’s main sites like Wenceslas Square, Old Town Square, Powder Gate, and the Charles Bridge and discussed how these places were important to Czech identity under both German fascism and Russian communism. That night, we had a panel discussion with three Czech university students and went to dinner with them afterwards. This part of the night is a bit of a blur because I was so exhausted that I actually could not hold my head up. Even though it was Saturday, every single person on my trip went to sleep at about 10:30pm.
Old Town Square in Prague reminded me of Bruges.
Old Town Square at night- I was convinced that was Cinderella’s castle.
Sunday: I woke up for breakfast on Sunday feeling more refreshed, but that was quickly dashed when we had to hike up to Prague Castle at 10am. By hike I mean walk up a steep path for a few minutes, but it was very exhausting. Our professor bought us tickets to see all the different buildings that make up the castle, so we explored for about 2 hours and then went to lunch. We had to return to the hotel at 2:15pm, earlier than we would have liked, so we could get dressed up for a Symphony Orchestra concert at Prague’s Municipal House. I can’t say I stayed awake during the concert, but it was fun to put on nice clothing for a sophisticated evening. After the concert we had one of the best meals of my life at the Francouzska Restaurant in the Municipal House. It was probably one of the most expensive restaurants in Prague, but we all got a full three course meal of pumpkin soup, roasted chicken and warm chocolate soufflé- plus wine! Everyone was in a great mood after eating so well and was ready to explore the city at night, but we soon learned that not much is open on Sundays besides strip clubs.
The cathedral at Prague Castle.
All dressed up and nowhere (except a concert and dinner) to go.
Monday: Monday started off with a bang when we visited artist David Cerny at his studio just outside of the center city. Cerny is an international renowned Czech artist known for some very controversial pieces like Entropa, Brown-nosers, and Pissing Men. We saw a slideshow of his work and asked him questions about the motivations behind some of his pieces and his relationships with some of the countries he’s targeted. While everyone agreed that he was a vain and self-absorbed person, I appreciated his honesty and was very intrigued by him as an artist. After lunch at another fancy Prague restaurant, we went to the headquarters of Prague Radio to talk about the year 1968, when Czechoslovakia was invaded by the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries for not being communist enough. We heard radio broadcasts from the day of the invasion and learned the building we were sitting in was one of the main targets of the Soviets. We were free after the radio visit, so my friends and I took a tram up to the top of Petrin Hill to get the best views of the city. We spent a surprising amount of time up there and had to hurry back for a dinner date. My friend Ethan from high school is studying abroad in Prague, so I had dinner with him and two of his study abroad friends that go to college with my friend Jennifer on my trip. It was fun seeing Ethan and hearing about how his study abroad experience is similar and different to mine. Both of us love our programs! Per Ethan’s suggestion, my friends and I went out that night to a bar near our hotel called Beer-Factory. It was a Monday night and we were a large group so we definitely had the biggest presence in the bar.
I decided not to join in.
Another Cerny piece- his sculptures are all over Prague.
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Tuesday: Even after a late night out, we were all up and ready to go Tuesday morning. I started off at the Jewish Museum, which is housed in eight different locations in the Jewish Quarter in Prague. Almost the entire Jewish population of Czechoslovakia emigrated or was killed during World War II. We walked through the Old Jewish Cemetery that has been in use since at least 1439. There are supposedly 12 layers of graves. The gravestones in the top layer are almost haphazardly piled on top of each other and stick out in all directions. I also enjoyed seeing two synagogues: the Spanish Synagogue and the Old-New Synagogue. The Spanish Synagogue is understandably one of the most beautiful in Europe: every surface of the interior is lavishly decorated. The Old-New Synagogue was built in 1270 and is Europe’s oldest active synagogue. It is rumored that the Golem, a mythical creature that protects the Jews of Prague, lives in the attic and kills anyone who enters. We decided not to test that theory.
Graves in the Jewish Cemetery.
Any Golems home up there?
In the afternoon we met with Filip Remunda, a Czech director who made a documentary called Cesky Sen that we watched in class. The rest of our afternoon was free, so we journeyed to the Lennon Wall across the river from the old city. In the 1980s, Prague residents picked a random city wall and began decorating it with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and Beatles lyrics. Even when authorities repainted the wall, it would immediately be re-decorated by the next way. We added our own names in pen to it- if you’re ever in Prague, go to the Lennon Wall and look for “Quinn 2011”! I took a nap post-dinner to prepare myself for the evening’s activity: visiting Prague’s infamous five-story club! The club is called Karlovy Lazne and plays a different type of music on each floor. Unfortunately, only three stories were open that night, but we had an amazing time running up and down between the Radio Hits, Dance Hits, and Oldies floors! If Copenhagen had a club like that I would probably be there every night.
I really hope someone can find my name.
The 5-story club by day.
Post-club picture on the “Stairway to Heaven/Nowhere”- it was a good night.
Wednesday: It follows that after an amazing Tuesday night we had to wake up at 7am on Wednesday to leave the hotel. We traveled to our second destination, Cesky Krumlov, but first stopped in the village of Lidice. During World War II, Lidice was a small village of 400 people outside of Prague. After the assassination of a Nazi official in Prague, Hitler decided to take revenge on the citizens of Czechoslovakia by destroying a random village: Lidice. All 173 men were killed in one morning, and the women and children were taken to concentration camps, where most of them died. The Nazis destroyed the village, so all that’s left is a large green field with the foundations of the old church, school, and one farmhouse. A small museum shows scenes from Lidice before the massacre and tells the story of the fate of its inhabitants. Lidice was incredibly moving, and I was glad for a long bus ride to process what I had seen. After three hours, we finally arrived in Cesky Krumlov. Cesky Krumlov is a small Czech city in the Sudetenland region between the Czech Republic and Austria. It looks like the setting for a fairy tale with quaint, twisting cobblestone streets, whitewashed houses, and a large castle and tower overlooking a river. It has become a tourist city, so we spent the afternoon wandering in and out of shops and just walking the streets. We ate our final group dinner in the dungeon of a restaurant that I’m pretty sure was part of the Museum of Torture next door. The town was practically silent by the time we finished with dinner, but my friends and I went up to the castle to explore it by night and hung out in a bar until it was time for bed.
All that’s left of Lidice.
Cinderella’s castle take two?
Thursday: I definitely woke up depressed on Thursday morning, not ready to leave a vacation where I could hang out with a huge group of friends all day long, wear shorts and actually have to put on sunscreen, and be treated to extravagant three course meals! I sadly said goodbye to my beautiful hotel room with its gilded bathtub. Our final activity was walking around Cesky Krumlov with a woman that grew up there. I was lagging in the back of the group so I didn’t actually hear anything she said, but I enjoyed seeing the city one last time. We went back up to the castle and saw the bears that live in the moat. Yes, they’re supposed to be there. They also looked pretty depressed. We walked through the beautiful castle gardens filled with other tourists—now I know why every single building in the old town is a hotel. We had 40 minutes to find a place to buy lunch and a scented candle for my friend Jennifer, then enjoyed another 3 hour bus ride back to the airport in Prague. When I arrived back in my room at 7:45pm that night, I was completely exhausted but also completely in love with the Czech Republic and my classmates!
The saddest bear I’ve ever seen.
One last view of Cesky Krumlov from the castle.
Stay tuned for next week’s topic: birthday celebrations and my parents’ visit!