Lo que mejor de Praha… (best of)

So, my time here has officially come to an end. Tomorrow morning I depart back home to the states. As much as I am going to miss Europe, I am excited to come home and begin the new adventure – the summer internship!! However, I can’t leave the city without doing a “best of” edition of my time here in the Czech Republic. From good friends, to good travels, to good wine – this was one of the most fun times I’ve had, and will cherish my experiences and good friends I made here. In no particular order here’s a wrap up report.…

• Prague, Czech Republic: This city is beautiful. One of the most gorgeous cities I’ve had the pleasure of visiting. Especially at night – so amazing. However, I don’t know what the problem is – but the Czech people are the most rude bunch of folks I have ever met in my life. Perhaps stemming from the oppressive times of communism, not sure, just speculating, but wow – customer service is not high on the priority list. Despite being yelled at least once a day, I had an amazing time in the city, and would return in a heartbeat.

• My roommates: An interesting mix of personalities and styles, but we somehow managed to get along with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and 5 girls. Great group! Apparently, we all snore, talk in our sleep, are addicted to Milka bars, LOVE wine and hookah, have breaking points somewhere around 3:00 a.m., and have a great time with each other.

• Vienna, Austia: I love Austria! Such a beautiful, pristine country. The people are quite friendly, the food is amazing, and the cities breathtaking. Despite the all-nighter of drunken debauchery and me leaving my jacket in the bar – exhausted, freezing and well, EXHAUSTED, my friends and I were able to “power-tour” the city, and see as much as Vienna as we could in 36 hours. Would love to go back and do the city justice!

• Scavenger hunt in a friggen blizzard: I’m serious – as part of a “get to know Prague” and team building experience, Thunderbird and the CMC divided us into teams and sent us out into the cold for a 5hr scavenger hunt around Prague…

• Krakow, Poland: This was a historical adventure! I felt as if I was catapulted back in time transcending several centuries. We visited everything from a medieval salt mine, to the concentration campus (Auschwitz and Beirkenau), to 13th century castles and cathedrals. Another adventure in traveling characterized this trip – an all night train ride with bums and random people coming into our compartment, the tram breaking down and Meike and I having to hoof-it 2 miles at 6am with our bags to the train station, torrential downpours, 15 Tbirds, and GREAT times!

• ThunderExpress: Every morning and afternoon, going to and from Celakovice (town where our classes were held), there were SO many Tbirds on the trains – it was hilarious. Good times and good

• Istanbul, Turkey: If I wasn’t so enamored with Spain, the people and the culture, I’d have to say that Istanbul is my new favorite city. Regardless, the city was mystical, magical, and perfect. I had SO much fun here at the tea houses with my mint tea and apple hookah, partying with new Turkish friends, bargaining at the Grand Bazaar, interesting Turkish bath experience, Turkish delight (hehe), and just seeing some of the most amazing historical sites I’ve visited. I’ll always remember the grandeur and splendor of the city of Istanbul, and would LOVE to go back and see more of Turkey some day.

• Random cool finds: Part of my favorite part of Europe is the sheer fact that you can walk everywhere. You see so many cool parts of the city off the beaten track when you walk – I covered many miles around Prague!

• Hookah Parties at our place: Good times for sure.

• Cesky Krumlov: A Thunderbird-sponsored trip, ¾ of the class again basically went straight from the bars to the 7:15 a.m. train to this romantic, historic city. You’d think we’d have learned by now that no sleep does not bode well for health, but, oh well. Good times. We were just having way to much fun – so staying out until 6 a.m. sounded like a good idea at the time. Anyway, the city was quant and charming, and it was GREAT to have a weekend adventure with my fellow classmates.
  
  

• Wild and Crazy Nights in Prague: Need I say more? Maybe this – I LOVE Thunderbirds.

• Honorable mentions include: Starbucks (but only because of their free internet and study environment, Coffee Heaven (awesome café lattes and these chocolate pastry things), Mr. Baker (LOVE the chocolate croissants), Magnums (the ice cream bars sold everywhere in the world EXCEPT the US), Corto di Angelo (the best Italian restaurant in Prague – well, according to me), strange encounters on the metro, subways and trams, and of course – how can I not mention shopping at H&M!!!
  

It was a wild ride – my time here in Prague. I saw a lot of sites, learned a lot of history, and learned how to function off of 3 hours of sleep per night. I’ll miss Europe, A LOT, but, I’ll be back – Barcelona perhaps in Spring 2008 – stay tuned!...