Well, here I am again folks. At the laundromat paying way too much to wash way too few clothes. I've learned though, I only brought what couldn't be washed by hand in my sink at the dorm i.e. my jeans, towels, and sweatshirt.
This past week and weekend were pretty uneventful. After getting back from Budapest I stoked up on groceries but they disappeared quite quickly what with the cooking frenzy I've been going through. I need to branch out though because I'm getting tired of the same meals over and over haha. Stupid hotplates. I wish I had more than you.
I finally made it to U Fleku (twice in one week actually) and had the famous black beer which was amazing. Last wednesday we also went to this awesome bar called the cross club where we are going back to tonight.
I spent most of the weekend just relaxing and hanging out. It was kind of lonely and I got a bit homesick but I'm doing much better now.
On sunday we went back to Kutna Hora where the bone church and St. Barbora's Cathedral are. It was a lot of fun but we spent way too much time and money at lunch. We had to powerwalk 30 min back across the whole town because the buses weren't running in order to get back to our train on time.
Last night I left class early to go on a night ghost tour of Prague. It was kind of lame but we made it fun by goofing around and being jerks haha. We want to go out, get drunk, and make a ghost hunters video sometime soon. I'll let you know if that ever happens. After that we went to this mexican food place that Samantha recommended and it was quite good. Not amazing but it quenched my burning desire for mexican a little bit. After that we chilled in the dorm and watched Moulin Rouge which was awesome. We're going to watch Young Frankenstein soon for halloween.
Melinda comes in two days!!! Hooray.
Naschle (shortened form of good bye)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Buda Buda Buda Buda Buda Buda Pest
Hey everyone.
So this weekend I went to Budapest and it was a ton of fun. I was there for 4 days so you'll have to excuse me if I get some of the events jumbled...but then again you weren't there so how would you know haha.
We took the early bus on thursday and it was really cool because it was snowing for most of the trip. Too wet to actually stick but first snow in October is pretty exciting. It has since gotten warmer but not warm here. We got in, found our hostel, watched part of Twilight with the guy working at the hostel and made so much fun of it, wandered a bit and settled on a pizza place for a late lunch early dinner. We were the only ones in the place so when we paid the bartender gave us each a free shot of Grapa which is Italian vodka apparently. We walked around a bit and then went to a bar for drinks. On our way home we went to a Gyros place and had delicious gyros and baklava and then got free cups of turkish tea. Upon getting back to the hostel we made other guests mad by being too loud.
We slept in the next day and went to the market place for lunch. We finished watching Twilight while waiting for people staying in a different hostel and then went for a hike up this hill near the hostel to the citadel at the top. Then more people arrived from the group, we took a nap, went around the city and up to the castle and did a sweet photo shoot, came back and drank a bit in the hostel, and then went to a bath house. It was awesome! There were baths with all different temperatures of water, a steam room, and a hot room that went up to 158 F!
Saturday we got up early to try to go to parliament but it was sold out when we got there so we went for a walk, found a delicious place for brunch and I had an amazing club sandwich. We went to a museum and then wandered a bit more to a park where we played in the leaves. That evening we went to an underground labyrinth. It wasn't a real labyrinth but more a system of tunnels under the castle that was used as a bomb shelter during world war two. We were pretty beat from so much walking and the night before so we headed in early and watched Ice Age 3 with the lady working at the hostel.
Sunday we went to a cafe for breakfast, did some shopping, went to an island in the Danube and walked around for a bit and then headed back to catch our bus home.
Overall it was a really fun but pretty low key weekend. It was my third weekend in a row traveling (stockholm, netherlands, budapest) so I'm really looking forward to being in Prague for a bit. I bought a ton of groceries tonight and made myself a Philly cheese steak sandwich which was amazing and I'm really proud of how my cooking skills have improved since being here.
Hope you could follow my Budapestian adventures through all of the run on sentences and I'll be in touch again soon.
Sam
So this weekend I went to Budapest and it was a ton of fun. I was there for 4 days so you'll have to excuse me if I get some of the events jumbled...but then again you weren't there so how would you know haha.
We took the early bus on thursday and it was really cool because it was snowing for most of the trip. Too wet to actually stick but first snow in October is pretty exciting. It has since gotten warmer but not warm here. We got in, found our hostel, watched part of Twilight with the guy working at the hostel and made so much fun of it, wandered a bit and settled on a pizza place for a late lunch early dinner. We were the only ones in the place so when we paid the bartender gave us each a free shot of Grapa which is Italian vodka apparently. We walked around a bit and then went to a bar for drinks. On our way home we went to a Gyros place and had delicious gyros and baklava and then got free cups of turkish tea. Upon getting back to the hostel we made other guests mad by being too loud.
We slept in the next day and went to the market place for lunch. We finished watching Twilight while waiting for people staying in a different hostel and then went for a hike up this hill near the hostel to the citadel at the top. Then more people arrived from the group, we took a nap, went around the city and up to the castle and did a sweet photo shoot, came back and drank a bit in the hostel, and then went to a bath house. It was awesome! There were baths with all different temperatures of water, a steam room, and a hot room that went up to 158 F!
Saturday we got up early to try to go to parliament but it was sold out when we got there so we went for a walk, found a delicious place for brunch and I had an amazing club sandwich. We went to a museum and then wandered a bit more to a park where we played in the leaves. That evening we went to an underground labyrinth. It wasn't a real labyrinth but more a system of tunnels under the castle that was used as a bomb shelter during world war two. We were pretty beat from so much walking and the night before so we headed in early and watched Ice Age 3 with the lady working at the hostel.
Sunday we went to a cafe for breakfast, did some shopping, went to an island in the Danube and walked around for a bit and then headed back to catch our bus home.
Overall it was a really fun but pretty low key weekend. It was my third weekend in a row traveling (stockholm, netherlands, budapest) so I'm really looking forward to being in Prague for a bit. I bought a ton of groceries tonight and made myself a Philly cheese steak sandwich which was amazing and I'm really proud of how my cooking skills have improved since being here.
Hope you could follow my Budapestian adventures through all of the run on sentences and I'll be in touch again soon.
Sam
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Amsterdam Adventures
Hey there everyone. So I got back from my weekend in the Netherlands yesterday. It was pretty awesome but first about last week.
Nothing too exciting happened. I had my classes which were pretty alright. My educational psych class was a lot of fun because we played ice breaker and get to know you games the whole time. Thursday night Alex and I went around the dorm visiting different people, just wandering, and met Maggie who really wanted to go watch the Phillies game. So we went to an Australian bar near Old Town and got them to put the game on. I was surprised at how good that made me feel. I don't think I realized how much I would miss American sports while I was here.
Friday I got up at 330 to catch a tram and then a bus to the airport for my 6 AM flight. My first flight was late and arrived 5 min after my second flight started boarding so I had to book it through the Frankfurt Airport. I got there though and it all worked out.
Melinda met me and we took the train back to Utrecht where she took me on a biking tour of the city. Then we hopped on a train and went to the Hague which is about 40 min away. We wandered around, saw the Peace Palace, and went to the North Sea beach. It was cold and windy and overcast and just like home haha. We took our shoes off and walked in the sand and put them in the water. Then we walked the shoreline for a while and ate at this mexican food place that was a lot like Chevy's so that was great.
Saturday we did Amsterdam. We did the Van Gogh Museum, the Heineken Brewery which would have been cooler if I wasn't on antibiotics, the Anne Frank house which was really cool, a pancake house, and wandered through the red light district which was very weird to say the least. I kept thinking about what their stories were and what kind of mindset you would have to be in to be trying to sell yourself and seduce every man that walks by. Leave it to me to go into psych mode in the red light district.
Sunday we just hung out because Melinda has midterms this week. We did go for a bike ride into the woods to a pancake house there and I got an amazing one with bacon, ham, cheese, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and green beens all baked into it. Imagine a pancake so thin it's like a crepe and then they treat it like an omelet and you've got it. We got caught in an epic thunder and lightening storm while biking back which was awesome but we were soaked so we stayed in the rest of the night.
Yesterday was basically spent travelling and I've got class in a few so until next time!
Nothing too exciting happened. I had my classes which were pretty alright. My educational psych class was a lot of fun because we played ice breaker and get to know you games the whole time. Thursday night Alex and I went around the dorm visiting different people, just wandering, and met Maggie who really wanted to go watch the Phillies game. So we went to an Australian bar near Old Town and got them to put the game on. I was surprised at how good that made me feel. I don't think I realized how much I would miss American sports while I was here.
Friday I got up at 330 to catch a tram and then a bus to the airport for my 6 AM flight. My first flight was late and arrived 5 min after my second flight started boarding so I had to book it through the Frankfurt Airport. I got there though and it all worked out.
Melinda met me and we took the train back to Utrecht where she took me on a biking tour of the city. Then we hopped on a train and went to the Hague which is about 40 min away. We wandered around, saw the Peace Palace, and went to the North Sea beach. It was cold and windy and overcast and just like home haha. We took our shoes off and walked in the sand and put them in the water. Then we walked the shoreline for a while and ate at this mexican food place that was a lot like Chevy's so that was great.
Saturday we did Amsterdam. We did the Van Gogh Museum, the Heineken Brewery which would have been cooler if I wasn't on antibiotics, the Anne Frank house which was really cool, a pancake house, and wandered through the red light district which was very weird to say the least. I kept thinking about what their stories were and what kind of mindset you would have to be in to be trying to sell yourself and seduce every man that walks by. Leave it to me to go into psych mode in the red light district.
Sunday we just hung out because Melinda has midterms this week. We did go for a bike ride into the woods to a pancake house there and I got an amazing one with bacon, ham, cheese, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and green beens all baked into it. Imagine a pancake so thin it's like a crepe and then they treat it like an omelet and you've got it. We got caught in an epic thunder and lightening storm while biking back which was awesome but we were soaked so we stayed in the rest of the night.
Yesterday was basically spent travelling and I've got class in a few so until next time!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Stockholm
Hey there everyone.
So quite a bit has happened since my last post. We had our first week of real classes which was definitely a wake up call. You mean I'm not just here to go on awesome trips and explore this great city? I have to read and go to class and do homework and learn? I didn't sign up for that...oh wait.
Thankfully I think that I'm going to like my classes. My Language, Culture, and Social Cognition class is focusing a lot on theory of mind development (when a person realizes that other people have separate brains and therefore different thoughts and beliefs) which is a really interesting topic. My educational psych class seems alright but I've only had one class so far so it's tough to say. Finally I have a Czech Art and Architecture course where we do some learning but mainly go on field trips. I'm pretty jazzed about that. I was in a Czech language course but that gave me 8 hours of class on tuesdays and I wasn't about to do that. So now I just have three classes, each three hours long, two on tuesday and one on wed. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.
This weekend we flew the ever exciting Ryanair to Stockholm. The flight was only $60 but flew us into an airport that was an hour and 10 minutes away from the actual city so we had to bus in. Sweden is beautiful and reminded me a lot of Minnesota oddly, guess that's why the Swedes are so comfortable there. We got to our hostel and then went and wandered around, found a delicious place for dinner and wound up in the Charlie Chaplin Karaoke and Dance Club. We danced a bit and sang Don't Stop Believin which was pretty epic.
We got up early the next day and set out about the city. We went to the Aquarium, and the Nobel Museum, wandered the docks, and wandered in general. It was very odd but we all felt really at home there. The city was very clean and manageable, the people were all beautiful and very friendly, and there was just a very comfortable atmosphere about the place.
It was really cold and rainy though in the afternoon so we chilled in the hostel and then went to dinner at this locals pub nearby and had the best meal ever. A gigantic Swedish meatball and mashed potatoes. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
We went to bed early because we had to catch the 5 AM bus to the airport. Our trip back was pretty uneventful and we just chilled the rest of the day.
Oh and last night we went to Swan Lake. It was awesome and I really enjoyed it. If I could be half as strong and flexible as some of those dancers I would be so stoked.
Well, I'm off to class so I will try to write again soon. Amsterdam this weekend!!!
So quite a bit has happened since my last post. We had our first week of real classes which was definitely a wake up call. You mean I'm not just here to go on awesome trips and explore this great city? I have to read and go to class and do homework and learn? I didn't sign up for that...oh wait.
Thankfully I think that I'm going to like my classes. My Language, Culture, and Social Cognition class is focusing a lot on theory of mind development (when a person realizes that other people have separate brains and therefore different thoughts and beliefs) which is a really interesting topic. My educational psych class seems alright but I've only had one class so far so it's tough to say. Finally I have a Czech Art and Architecture course where we do some learning but mainly go on field trips. I'm pretty jazzed about that. I was in a Czech language course but that gave me 8 hours of class on tuesdays and I wasn't about to do that. So now I just have three classes, each three hours long, two on tuesday and one on wed. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.
This weekend we flew the ever exciting Ryanair to Stockholm. The flight was only $60 but flew us into an airport that was an hour and 10 minutes away from the actual city so we had to bus in. Sweden is beautiful and reminded me a lot of Minnesota oddly, guess that's why the Swedes are so comfortable there. We got to our hostel and then went and wandered around, found a delicious place for dinner and wound up in the Charlie Chaplin Karaoke and Dance Club. We danced a bit and sang Don't Stop Believin which was pretty epic.
We got up early the next day and set out about the city. We went to the Aquarium, and the Nobel Museum, wandered the docks, and wandered in general. It was very odd but we all felt really at home there. The city was very clean and manageable, the people were all beautiful and very friendly, and there was just a very comfortable atmosphere about the place.
It was really cold and rainy though in the afternoon so we chilled in the hostel and then went to dinner at this locals pub nearby and had the best meal ever. A gigantic Swedish meatball and mashed potatoes. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
We went to bed early because we had to catch the 5 AM bus to the airport. Our trip back was pretty uneventful and we just chilled the rest of the day.
Oh and last night we went to Swan Lake. It was awesome and I really enjoyed it. If I could be half as strong and flexible as some of those dancers I would be so stoked.
Well, I'm off to class so I will try to write again soon. Amsterdam this weekend!!!
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