A gold star day

A blurry picture, yes, but of Prague castle still...
Half of the walking group at Lenin Wall

All of my pictures are on Facebook but I wanted to include two of my favorites from the first album.

So yesterday we went on a walking tour with our house mom and it was honestly fantastic, a perfect way to get to learn the city. It was cold but still totally enjoyable despite my blisters at the end of the day. She took us to the monastery where they make their own beer and the walk just got more and more beautiful as time passed. Our walk with Zuzanna ended with spiced hot wine but we continued to walk further and literally ALL around Prague and eventually made it back to an American owned place called Saint Nicholas. Great pizzas. And there was live music too!

The only culture shock I've really come across was a couple of days ago when we tried buying tram tickets from a tobacco shop up the hill. The man didn't speak English well and we couldn't figure out that he was asking for more money. He started yelling to his female friend and basically it was a whole lot of awkward for ten minutes.

But Prague is really quiet. And we stand out because we actually talk everywhere we go. And yet. This city is stunning. I can't wait to learn my way around because I am completely lost. Thankfully I've been traveling with girls who can make their way using a shitty map.

We got our student IDs today and I'm excited to finally get a metro pass tomorrow so I don't have to worry about getting caught without proper ticketing. Tomorrow is also the trip to Pilsen and then the day after is the trip to Terezin, which I am really excited for.

I'm going to try and go for groceries - I think it's the lazy in me that would rather nap. But eating out in Prague (although definitely cheaper in the US) certainly adds up. We did stumble into a cafe today though and I had some fantastic crepes and a great cappuccino. I shall miss these prices when it's time to go back to the states.

I am leaving for London to see Erin in a couple of weeks and slowly but surely I need to make plans to go to Rome and Vienna since I have friends living there as well. Will definitely want to see Switzerland, France, and Germany as well. I might max out at 6 or 7 countries. Financial woes suck.

Regardless things are better. Definitely. I stayed in last night in lieu of going out for the super bowl game and am glad I did - everyone was falling asleep at orientation today. Though it's just the beginning, I really like the people here. This might change as everyone starts falling into their own respective groups and cliques but as of right now everyone seems open minded and interested in doing cultural things as well. And I, in turn, will try to be more open minded about those smoky pubs I keep trying to avoid.

So excited to try out the cafes though.

S.