It's been about a month since I last wrote, and I've been pretty busy since. April was a travel and activity filled month to say the least. After returning from Paris, one of my and John's best friends from school, Nick, came to visit for about 10 days, which was a lot of fun. It was nice having a friend stay for longer so we didn't have to pack all the sights into one day--he kind of took care of them over the week by himself. He actually ended up coming with our study abroad program on our trip to Krakow, from April 17-19. That was a cool trip, unfortunately it required 2 overnight bus rides (there and back to Prague after) on a very cramped bus...needless to say I think it certainly helped lead to my being sick the entire following week.
Krakow had a really similar feel to Prague, except not as old and almost like it was trying to look older--which was probably true in some cases, as it fared worse in WWII than Prague, which was virtually untouched. There was an old castle and a huge town square, both of which were fairly similar to those in Prague, except in the middle of the square was a big market that had tons of little items for sale--looked kinda like a tourist trap. We took 2 trips from Krakow for a few hours--one to a UNESCO site that was a really old salt mine that extended 300+ meters below the ground, which was a really cool experience to go down into. It felt exactly the same and was absolutely HUGE under the ground; its just really hard to fathom how that was created and sustained so long. The other trip was far less enjoyable, but probably one of the sites that I will remember most on my trip to Europe: Auschwitz. It was as depressing as you could imagine, very solemn and very uneasy. There is no way to describe the feeling of walking in the same steps as hundreds of thousands, even millions (they say over a million people were killed in Auschwitz and Birkenau, the death camp) who were senselessly killed. All but one of the crematoriums/gas chambers was virtually destroyed by the Nazis when they knew they were going to lose the war, but other than that the death camp was fairly in tact, and it was certainly enough to give us some idea of how terrible everything was. Something I think it was good to see but I certainly have no desire to ever go back.
Now that I've thoroughly depressed you...
I spent much of the following week sick in bed trying to get over an annoying virus that made me feel terrible, the same sore throat, fever, cold I always get. Once that was over was glorious though, it was great to finally feel better! The following week was the second games of the semifinals of the Champions League, which is the tournament that the best teams from each country's league play against each other in--a big deal here as you can imagine. Its really fun to sit with die hard fans that literally make these games life or death situations--makes American fans on average look pretty tame.
The next weekend I had a really unique experience. There was a kid named Petr that was a foreign exchange student at my high school sophomore year (he's a year older) from the Czech Republic that I was friends with at the time. Well, turns out that he's been studying in Prague for a couple years so I've met up with him a few times for a couple beers and to catch up. I was actually the first person from Laconia other than his host father in 5-6 years! Anyway, that weekend he invited me to his town, Zlin, to see his house, meet his family and friends, etc. It was a decent sized city (~100,000 people) but there wasn't much to do there, which was actually kind of nice. We got to spend time at his house and he drove me all around showing me different things. I went go-karting with him and his brother, and bowling and to the driving range--quite the weekend and a great reminder of the fun stuff at home. I also got to go out with his girlfriend and friends and get a pretty genuine Czech experience--very few people there spoke English, unlike Prague--that I wouldn't have gotten without him studying in Laconia...what a small world!! (something we've all come to learn all too well since being here)
We had some great weather in the past week and I got to get outside a bit more and do some running (something I'm really going to need to do a lot of this summer after all the delicious beer over here...). On Thursday morning John and I left for Budapest, my last trip of the semester! We were both kind of "tripped out" at that point and thankfully the weather cooperated, so we were able to do a lot outside. One of the main attractions of Budapest is the famous baths, which are basically just huge pools that people go hang out in, but are apparently fresh hot water. The one we went to had a couple big ones outside, so we just sort of hung out with a lot of old Hungarians and enjoyed the great weather.
Now that I am finally done traveling and only have 2 weeks to go (!), I'm really becoming torn between being really excited to come home to the states and realizing that I'll really miss it here. I don't think it will really hit me that I was living for 4 months in Prague for months or even years. It has been an absolutely amazing experience from start to finish, and I would recommend studying abroad to anyone. I have had opportunities over here that I would never have had in my life if I hadn't done it, and I am really thankful for that. My mom asked me in an email a couple weeks ago "Remember when you were on the fence about doing this...?" I do, and I am so glad I finally made the decision--would've been one of the biggest regrets of my life!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Weekend in Paris
So I just returned this past Monday from a weekend in Paris. It's still pretty weird for me to be able to say something like that considering it's never such an easy option from the US but here all it required was a 1.5 hr plane ride and a friend who happens to be studying there. It was definitely pretty amazing. We took an extremely early flight (640 am) on Friday, so we were exhausted all day long. It also didn't help our cause that we walked all over the city at first, stopping in parks and gardens to sit and hang out with our friend we were staying with, Kelsey. It was absolutely incredible weather on Friday, probably near 70 degrees and bright sunshine. I even managed to pull of a pretty legit sunburn, which seemed pretty unbelievable at the time. We saw the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and Luxemborg Gardens on Friday, and all of them were awesome. The Tower is MUCH higher than I expected, and seeing it in person is so much different than ever seeing a picture of it or seeing it in a movie, etc. I couldn't get over it's size, not just height but also how big the base was. For some reason that caught me off guard. Regardless, it was a lot of fun catching up with my friend, eating bread and cheese, and drinking cheap wine out in the parks. It was a nice change of pace from my Italy trip where it was "rush from place to place to place as quickly as you can;" we kinda relaxed a bit more and took in the sights.
We went to the Louvre that night because students get in free on Friday nights, and that museum is HUGE. Way bigger than the Met in NYC. Saw the Mona Lisa (as anyone will tell you, a bit anti-climactic...its really small and crowded around, plus you've seen it so many times you kinda know what you're about to see. That said it was still cool to actually see the real thing) and some older stuff, including the foundations of the original Louvre which was a castle.
We got up early Saturday to try to go to the top of the Eiffel but as we waited in line discovered that the top wasn't open for some reason, so we left and decided to do it Sunday. We got back to our friend's school and discovered that we got a great housing lottery number for our room next year, so that was a morale booster. That afternoon we went to the Rodin museum (full of a lot of his sculptures, including The Thinker) which I really liked, and then the D'Orsay museum, which is probably my favorite so far. It's an old train station turned museum that is full of some later stuff than what we've seen other places, like Impressionism and guys like Van Gogh, Manet and Monet.
For dinner that night we went to this weird little place that had fondue and wine that you drink out of baby bottles. Was definitely interesting to say the least but the steak was good and it was certainly an experience. After that we went to Montmartre, a place where a lot of kids hang out and either listen to some musicians performing or just hang out. It has an amazing view of all of Paris, so that was definitely a unique experience.
Sunday we slept in a bit to finally catch up on some rest, and then went to church at Notre Dame at 1130. Though the mass was all in French except one reading, it was still really cool being there. I never really thought there would be a time when within 2 weeks I was at a mass at both St. Peter's in Rome and Notre Dame in Paris...oh the wonderful things study abroad can do for you. After that we went to the Pompidou museum (got in free again, first Sunday of the month!), which is like MoMA, all modern art. Some modern art, in my opinion, is really really dumb and I just don't get it. Some guys paint entire canvases one color or basically blot random things all over and somehow that ends up in an art museum. Anyway, some stuff was stupid, but there were actually a lot of cool things there pre-1965, including some Picasso and Dali, which I really like. After that we got some amazing gelatto (called Amorino, i would highly recommend it if in Paris) that was somehow better than what I thought was the best in Florence. They had a biscotti flavor that tasted like Teddy Graham's. Incredible. We then got dinner (read: bread, cheese, and peanuts) at Kelsey's friend's apartment and got to bed pretty early because we had an early flight the next day...which ended up being delayed 3 hours and didn't take off till around 12:30. As my mom said, good thing our presentation for our 2 oclock class got moved back.
I have a good friend from school visiting starting tomorrow and staying for 10 or so days. He was doing a cool archaeological abroad program in Egypt, so he's been done for a little while. So that should be pretty cool. On a side note, I finally found out I got a job in NYC this summer, so that is exciting, as it's the one I wanted the most and now I can finally stop worrying about the search.
I've put up some more pictures of my Italy trip, slowly but surely...they'll all get up eventually.
Go Sox,
Pat
We went to the Louvre that night because students get in free on Friday nights, and that museum is HUGE. Way bigger than the Met in NYC. Saw the Mona Lisa (as anyone will tell you, a bit anti-climactic...its really small and crowded around, plus you've seen it so many times you kinda know what you're about to see. That said it was still cool to actually see the real thing) and some older stuff, including the foundations of the original Louvre which was a castle.
We got up early Saturday to try to go to the top of the Eiffel but as we waited in line discovered that the top wasn't open for some reason, so we left and decided to do it Sunday. We got back to our friend's school and discovered that we got a great housing lottery number for our room next year, so that was a morale booster. That afternoon we went to the Rodin museum (full of a lot of his sculptures, including The Thinker) which I really liked, and then the D'Orsay museum, which is probably my favorite so far. It's an old train station turned museum that is full of some later stuff than what we've seen other places, like Impressionism and guys like Van Gogh, Manet and Monet.
For dinner that night we went to this weird little place that had fondue and wine that you drink out of baby bottles. Was definitely interesting to say the least but the steak was good and it was certainly an experience. After that we went to Montmartre, a place where a lot of kids hang out and either listen to some musicians performing or just hang out. It has an amazing view of all of Paris, so that was definitely a unique experience.
Sunday we slept in a bit to finally catch up on some rest, and then went to church at Notre Dame at 1130. Though the mass was all in French except one reading, it was still really cool being there. I never really thought there would be a time when within 2 weeks I was at a mass at both St. Peter's in Rome and Notre Dame in Paris...oh the wonderful things study abroad can do for you. After that we went to the Pompidou museum (got in free again, first Sunday of the month!), which is like MoMA, all modern art. Some modern art, in my opinion, is really really dumb and I just don't get it. Some guys paint entire canvases one color or basically blot random things all over and somehow that ends up in an art museum. Anyway, some stuff was stupid, but there were actually a lot of cool things there pre-1965, including some Picasso and Dali, which I really like. After that we got some amazing gelatto (called Amorino, i would highly recommend it if in Paris) that was somehow better than what I thought was the best in Florence. They had a biscotti flavor that tasted like Teddy Graham's. Incredible. We then got dinner (read: bread, cheese, and peanuts) at Kelsey's friend's apartment and got to bed pretty early because we had an early flight the next day...which ended up being delayed 3 hours and didn't take off till around 12:30. As my mom said, good thing our presentation for our 2 oclock class got moved back.
I have a good friend from school visiting starting tomorrow and staying for 10 or so days. He was doing a cool archaeological abroad program in Egypt, so he's been done for a little while. So that should be pretty cool. On a side note, I finally found out I got a job in NYC this summer, so that is exciting, as it's the one I wanted the most and now I can finally stop worrying about the search.
I've put up some more pictures of my Italy trip, slowly but surely...they'll all get up eventually.
Go Sox,
Pat
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Family visit!
After my long week in Italy my family was coming to visit March 27 with Aunt Jane, so I had a lot to look forward to. It was a good thing I rested up before hand because we walked A LOT while they were here all over the city. Its safe to say Aunt Jane knew a lot about the city from her reading and I got to see quite a bit that I might not have without them coming. It was so great to see them and spend time with everyone, and was at a perfect time too--right around the halfway point. Also, I certainly didn't complain about the meals that were paid for...
We did a ton of stuff around my admittedly lax class schedule, so that worked out perfectly. We saw the castle, old town square, Wenceslas square, an old castle and area called Vysehrad, and a small town called Melnik which played host to a church with a basement full of bones from plague victims and a wine tasting cellar where the lights somehow got shut off after about 40 minutes and we were down there in teh pitch black until we found our way out. That was certainly a bizarre day, capped off by this very "interesting" black light theater show. We went to a restaurant where the table had beer taps right on it and I introduced them to some wonderful Czech food that I think they had all had enough of after a week. We went to U Fleku, a famous beer hall here where they brew their own fantastic beer. Its safe to say that it might be tough to go back to Coors Light when I get back to the states.
All in all, we did a ton in the week they were here and saw virtually everything Prague has to offer tourists. Aunt Jane was definitely extremely well prepared for the trip. Basically, though, it was just great to hang out with the fam and see people from home. We could've done a lot less and just sat around and it still would've been fun (though surely not as much).
On a side note, I haven't posted many pictures lately because our Internet has been really slow, but I'll try to continue putting them up a bit at a time. Again that's at www.snapfish.com, email is w.patrick.kerns@gmail.com and password is prague. Ciao for now.
We did a ton of stuff around my admittedly lax class schedule, so that worked out perfectly. We saw the castle, old town square, Wenceslas square, an old castle and area called Vysehrad, and a small town called Melnik which played host to a church with a basement full of bones from plague victims and a wine tasting cellar where the lights somehow got shut off after about 40 minutes and we were down there in teh pitch black until we found our way out. That was certainly a bizarre day, capped off by this very "interesting" black light theater show. We went to a restaurant where the table had beer taps right on it and I introduced them to some wonderful Czech food that I think they had all had enough of after a week. We went to U Fleku, a famous beer hall here where they brew their own fantastic beer. Its safe to say that it might be tough to go back to Coors Light when I get back to the states.
All in all, we did a ton in the week they were here and saw virtually everything Prague has to offer tourists. Aunt Jane was definitely extremely well prepared for the trip. Basically, though, it was just great to hang out with the fam and see people from home. We could've done a lot less and just sat around and it still would've been fun (though surely not as much).
On a side note, I haven't posted many pictures lately because our Internet has been really slow, but I'll try to continue putting them up a bit at a time. Again that's at www.snapfish.com, email is w.patrick.kerns@gmail.com and password is prague. Ciao for now.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Spring break in Italy: Venice, Florence, Rome (featuring the Pope...twice!)
I got back from my spring break Sunday March 24 (I know it's been a while, I was busy!), after spending 10 days on a whirlwind tour through Italy I was certainly ready to get back to Prague and relax a bit (we had Monday off because that's when Easter is observed here). I had an absolutely amazing trip, seeing more sights than I thought was humanly possible in just over a week while still taking the time to really enjoy ourselves.
I went with my roommate John and our friend Corey; we left Friday the 14th early in the morning to get to Venice. When we landed it was sunny and warm, by the time we had checked in our hostel (seemed sketchy at first but turned out to be great!) and started walking around, it must have been close to 70 degrees. It was like leaving New Hampshire and landing in Florida. We met a friend of Corey's and walked around for the day seeing the sights but actually more or less just walking around aimlessly; there isn't a ton to specifically see in Venice (besides San Marco basilica, square, and the Doges palace) so the first day we spent just admiring how unique the city itself is. I knew about all the canals and boat rides, but didn't quite understand that there were NO roads and NO cars anywhere. So that was really cool to see. We walked around that night to a copule wine bars but again, just sort of took everything in. Sat in San marco square around midnight, we were some of the only people there so that was really cool.
The next day we saw the basilica (incredible) and Palace and ended up leaving in the evening to spend the night in a small town called Ferrara, where Corey's friend was studying abroad. It sure beat sleeping in the train station/on a train, so we were thankful. We went out there and met some Italian guys from the south of the country that she knew, and played 3 on 3 soccer against them in the street around 3 am--a really really unique experience and a ton of fun (we beat them 5-1...score one for the red white and blue).
The next morning we woke up way too early and headed to the train station to take off for Florence, where we were going to stay with one of my best friends from home, Sean. We got in fairly early and hung out at his apartment for a bit (we were exhausted) and then eventually went out to check out the city a bit. We tried going to a soccer game but there was something wrong with the ticket system so we ended up watching at a bar for a little bit. We got a great dinner that night at a place all the study abroad kids love--their specialty is a blueberry steak that I know sounds really weird but was actually delicious. I got to catch a bit of the Kansas-Texas Big XII Championship game at a bar which was great for me because it's basically the only part of the NCAA tourney I saw...even though it wasn't the actual tournament yet, I'll still count it.
The next day we took a day trip to Siena, a really really cool smaller city/big town. It's broken up into 17 districts (contrade) each represented by an animal and all the areas really represent their district proudly with flags hanging everywhere. This is mostly for the famous horse race there that takes place in summer called the Palio, where riders represent their districts--its apparently quite violent and corrupt, even today. It takes place right in the main square, which was described by some famous author (I forget who) as the most beautiful square in Europe.
We had a beautiful day and the surrounding areas were amazing to see--the hills of Tuscany, small villages, small mountains, even overlooking the town itself was amazing because it was so old and seemed very genuinely Italian. That also happened to be St. Patrick's Day, so when we got back to Florence there was quite the party going on (it happens to be one of the biggest destinations for American study abroad students, so that explains that). I got to watch my buddy Sean sing "Sweet Caroline" for karaoke and dedicate it to all the Red Sox fans at the bar, so that was great.
The next day (still only Tuesday) we climbed to the top of the Duomo in Florence, which was FANTASTIC. The views from the top were amazing--though terrifying at first since you're just kinda up there with a relatively short fence stopping you from falling. THen we went to the Accademia gallery where Michelangelo's David is. After seeing the copy of this in Piazza Vecchio, I didn't expect to be as impressed as some people say. However, once I saw the real one inside, I was pretty amazed--it really is an absolutely incredible sculpture. Eventually we walked around a bit more and got an incredible dinner at a restaurant with incredible food that overlooks the Ponte Vecchio and the river. My roommate John still talks about the meal all the time because it was so good. To top it all off, it was free because my friend's program has a meal plan that includes some tickets to restaurants all over the city, so that made it all the better. Before we went out that night Sean decided to give me a mohawk, so I had to deal with that for about a week until I got sick of it.
Wednesday Corey left to go to an area called Cinque Terra that is basically 5 fishing villages along the coast, and then went to Milan after that. We stayed back and went to the Uffizi Gallery, a really famous art gallery in Florence that was very interesting. We went out again that night and had a great night at a pretty cool club.
The next day John and I took off for the last leg of our trip, down to Rome. We met up that night with one of his best friends from high school and her boyfriend and we got a great dinner and saw Trevi Fountain at night, which was really cool. We were exhausted so we called it a night pretty early so we could wake up for our 9:15 am tour of the Vatican museum. When we got there it was already absolutely packed with people who didn't reserve tickets or a tour; I imagine the line was at least 2-3 hours long already. Thankfully we paid a good deal extra to get a great tour, and that ended up being slightly delayed so we got a free tour of the Coliseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill the next day too. The Vatican was incredible--huge, filled with works from the most famous artists, and packed with people. When we finally made it through everything from the Hall of animals to the Raphael rooms, we got to the Sistine Chapel which was much different than I thought, but nonetheless incredible to see. Michelangelo's work there is some of the most amazing that I've seen before. After that we got to see St Peter's Basilica for a little bit, but not too long because they were closing to start Easter preparations (that was ok for me because I was going back for the Easter Vigil mass given by the Pope!). We trekked all over the city for the rest of the day to different churches and squares, eventually coming to the Coliseum where the Pope was doing the Stations of the Cross. It was a beautiful ceremony if not for the pouring rain; however, it was still absolutely packed.
We woke up early--again--the next morning to walk through Palatine hill, Roman Forum, and the Coliseum in the rain. We had the same tour guide from the day before at the Vatican, an older man named Michael who is probably the most knowledgeable person I've met (he had an answer for every question and knew an absurd number of dates) so that was great. Seeing the ruins that have been there for hundreds and thousands of years was incredible. All that stuff blows my mind, just trying to think back to what it was really like 1000 years ago. Can't imagine there will be much like that in America in the year 3000 or 4000. That night we met up with our friend Tom and he and I went to the Easter Vigil Mass at the Vatican in St Peter's given by the Pope. It was almost entirely in Latin/Italian, but it was still incredible to be there with probably 20000 or 30000 people. I got a picture of the Pope from really close on his procession out, so that was definitely a very unique experience. The mass lasted till after midnight so we just called it an early night as we were both exhausted.
We finally flew back Sunday after a tiring but amazing week. Its finally starting to hit me how cool it is that I was in Italy for 10 days--not an experience that many people have. My time here has been flying by so quickly that I don't think I will fully appreciate being here and what that means until a month or two after I'm back in the US--which I have to say I am looking forward to, especially seeing friends and family. More updates to come soon on my family's visit and my trip to Paris!
I went with my roommate John and our friend Corey; we left Friday the 14th early in the morning to get to Venice. When we landed it was sunny and warm, by the time we had checked in our hostel (seemed sketchy at first but turned out to be great!) and started walking around, it must have been close to 70 degrees. It was like leaving New Hampshire and landing in Florida. We met a friend of Corey's and walked around for the day seeing the sights but actually more or less just walking around aimlessly; there isn't a ton to specifically see in Venice (besides San Marco basilica, square, and the Doges palace) so the first day we spent just admiring how unique the city itself is. I knew about all the canals and boat rides, but didn't quite understand that there were NO roads and NO cars anywhere. So that was really cool to see. We walked around that night to a copule wine bars but again, just sort of took everything in. Sat in San marco square around midnight, we were some of the only people there so that was really cool.
The next day we saw the basilica (incredible) and Palace and ended up leaving in the evening to spend the night in a small town called Ferrara, where Corey's friend was studying abroad. It sure beat sleeping in the train station/on a train, so we were thankful. We went out there and met some Italian guys from the south of the country that she knew, and played 3 on 3 soccer against them in the street around 3 am--a really really unique experience and a ton of fun (we beat them 5-1...score one for the red white and blue).
The next morning we woke up way too early and headed to the train station to take off for Florence, where we were going to stay with one of my best friends from home, Sean. We got in fairly early and hung out at his apartment for a bit (we were exhausted) and then eventually went out to check out the city a bit. We tried going to a soccer game but there was something wrong with the ticket system so we ended up watching at a bar for a little bit. We got a great dinner that night at a place all the study abroad kids love--their specialty is a blueberry steak that I know sounds really weird but was actually delicious. I got to catch a bit of the Kansas-Texas Big XII Championship game at a bar which was great for me because it's basically the only part of the NCAA tourney I saw...even though it wasn't the actual tournament yet, I'll still count it.
The next day we took a day trip to Siena, a really really cool smaller city/big town. It's broken up into 17 districts (contrade) each represented by an animal and all the areas really represent their district proudly with flags hanging everywhere. This is mostly for the famous horse race there that takes place in summer called the Palio, where riders represent their districts--its apparently quite violent and corrupt, even today. It takes place right in the main square, which was described by some famous author (I forget who) as the most beautiful square in Europe.
We had a beautiful day and the surrounding areas were amazing to see--the hills of Tuscany, small villages, small mountains, even overlooking the town itself was amazing because it was so old and seemed very genuinely Italian. That also happened to be St. Patrick's Day, so when we got back to Florence there was quite the party going on (it happens to be one of the biggest destinations for American study abroad students, so that explains that). I got to watch my buddy Sean sing "Sweet Caroline" for karaoke and dedicate it to all the Red Sox fans at the bar, so that was great.
The next day (still only Tuesday) we climbed to the top of the Duomo in Florence, which was FANTASTIC. The views from the top were amazing--though terrifying at first since you're just kinda up there with a relatively short fence stopping you from falling. THen we went to the Accademia gallery where Michelangelo's David is. After seeing the copy of this in Piazza Vecchio, I didn't expect to be as impressed as some people say. However, once I saw the real one inside, I was pretty amazed--it really is an absolutely incredible sculpture. Eventually we walked around a bit more and got an incredible dinner at a restaurant with incredible food that overlooks the Ponte Vecchio and the river. My roommate John still talks about the meal all the time because it was so good. To top it all off, it was free because my friend's program has a meal plan that includes some tickets to restaurants all over the city, so that made it all the better. Before we went out that night Sean decided to give me a mohawk, so I had to deal with that for about a week until I got sick of it.
Wednesday Corey left to go to an area called Cinque Terra that is basically 5 fishing villages along the coast, and then went to Milan after that. We stayed back and went to the Uffizi Gallery, a really famous art gallery in Florence that was very interesting. We went out again that night and had a great night at a pretty cool club.
The next day John and I took off for the last leg of our trip, down to Rome. We met up that night with one of his best friends from high school and her boyfriend and we got a great dinner and saw Trevi Fountain at night, which was really cool. We were exhausted so we called it a night pretty early so we could wake up for our 9:15 am tour of the Vatican museum. When we got there it was already absolutely packed with people who didn't reserve tickets or a tour; I imagine the line was at least 2-3 hours long already. Thankfully we paid a good deal extra to get a great tour, and that ended up being slightly delayed so we got a free tour of the Coliseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill the next day too. The Vatican was incredible--huge, filled with works from the most famous artists, and packed with people. When we finally made it through everything from the Hall of animals to the Raphael rooms, we got to the Sistine Chapel which was much different than I thought, but nonetheless incredible to see. Michelangelo's work there is some of the most amazing that I've seen before. After that we got to see St Peter's Basilica for a little bit, but not too long because they were closing to start Easter preparations (that was ok for me because I was going back for the Easter Vigil mass given by the Pope!). We trekked all over the city for the rest of the day to different churches and squares, eventually coming to the Coliseum where the Pope was doing the Stations of the Cross. It was a beautiful ceremony if not for the pouring rain; however, it was still absolutely packed.
We woke up early--again--the next morning to walk through Palatine hill, Roman Forum, and the Coliseum in the rain. We had the same tour guide from the day before at the Vatican, an older man named Michael who is probably the most knowledgeable person I've met (he had an answer for every question and knew an absurd number of dates) so that was great. Seeing the ruins that have been there for hundreds and thousands of years was incredible. All that stuff blows my mind, just trying to think back to what it was really like 1000 years ago. Can't imagine there will be much like that in America in the year 3000 or 4000. That night we met up with our friend Tom and he and I went to the Easter Vigil Mass at the Vatican in St Peter's given by the Pope. It was almost entirely in Latin/Italian, but it was still incredible to be there with probably 20000 or 30000 people. I got a picture of the Pope from really close on his procession out, so that was definitely a very unique experience. The mass lasted till after midnight so we just called it an early night as we were both exhausted.
We finally flew back Sunday after a tiring but amazing week. Its finally starting to hit me how cool it is that I was in Italy for 10 days--not an experience that many people have. My time here has been flying by so quickly that I don't think I will fully appreciate being here and what that means until a month or two after I'm back in the US--which I have to say I am looking forward to, especially seeing friends and family. More updates to come soon on my family's visit and my trip to Paris!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Updates and then some
It has been a little bit since my last post, but not too much has changed in the time being. We've had some visitors at the apartment, including a friend from Columbia who's studying in Paris and some friends of my roommates. That's actually been really fun to see people's reaction to the city when we do the "tourist loop," a nice walk that includes Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, Wenceslas Square, Prague Castle, and Lennon Wall, with a tour of the obligatory bars at night, of course. Its also been nice sticking around Prague and not having to worry about flights, packing, fitting in sights and sounds etc. That being said...
We leave for Italy (spring break, already...what a world!) this Friday morning. We'll head to Venice for 2 days, take an overnight train/bus to Florence, where I'll be staying with my good friend from Laconia, Sean. We'll be in Florence from Sunday to Wednesday night, but I'm hoping to take a day trip to Siena and/or Pisa, which are not far away. On Wednesday we leave for Rome until Sunday, which should be absolutely amazing given that it's Easter weekend. I'm sure it will be packed but well worth it.
2 weekends ago I went to a little Czech town called Cesky Budejovice...the home to the Budweiser (the original one is Czech, not American!--also called Budvar, and Czechvar in the states due to copyright fights) Brewery. It was a really cool small town with a very European/former Communist feel to it--a big open square, a big fountain and some churches/towers, but also old run down row apartments and other reminders like that of what this place was just 30-40 years ago. The brewery itself was really fun and interesting too. I went with 3 friends from my program, and we got to see a lot of the brewery and how the beer is made, etc. Also got to try some beer midway through that wasn't completely ready for sale, and then went to the beer hall afterwards to get some official Budweiser liters. We walked around town a bit more and eventually grabbed some Indian food--which was a NIGHTMARE for me, for some reason I got the spiciest lamb dish and regretted it very much. Everyone else's was good though! We got back pretty late that night after a long but great day.
Our friend was in town this weekend so we did some cool touristy stuff in Prague besides the normal stuff, like walking up this big hill and up to the top of the 1:5 replica of the Eiffel Tower at the top which offers absolutely amazing 360 degree views of the city. Unfortunately I hadn't planned on that trip, so I didn't have my camera...will have to go back soon! Also went to a concert hall called Rudolfinum to see some classical music being played that night which was really cool. Right now there are a bunch of stands set up in Old Town Square for Easter which have all different foods (delicious sausages, and a fried dough-like creation that they put garlic, ketchup, and cheese on--amazing), some knick-knack stuff, and things like a blacksmith set up, a little petting zoo for kids, and a concert stage...it looks really cool. We went there after the concert, which was really cool at night.
All in all its been a great couple weeks. My family and Aunt Jane come 2 weeks from Wednesday which I'm really looking forward to--it will be great to get such a taste of home around the midway point of my trip. Plus I'm sure Aunt Jane will know some great spots that even I don't after all her reading and preparing. After that it's a whirlwind of trips in a row--Paris, Budapest, and Krakow. Can't wait!! Make sure to check out my pictures on snapfish if you haven't yet, and I'll try to keep them pretty updated. Again, just type in my email (w.patrick.kerns@gmail.com) and the password is: prague.
Hope all is well with everyone, keep in touch! Emails are always appreciated. Go Celts and Sox!!
We leave for Italy (spring break, already...what a world!) this Friday morning. We'll head to Venice for 2 days, take an overnight train/bus to Florence, where I'll be staying with my good friend from Laconia, Sean. We'll be in Florence from Sunday to Wednesday night, but I'm hoping to take a day trip to Siena and/or Pisa, which are not far away. On Wednesday we leave for Rome until Sunday, which should be absolutely amazing given that it's Easter weekend. I'm sure it will be packed but well worth it.
2 weekends ago I went to a little Czech town called Cesky Budejovice...the home to the Budweiser (the original one is Czech, not American!--also called Budvar, and Czechvar in the states due to copyright fights) Brewery. It was a really cool small town with a very European/former Communist feel to it--a big open square, a big fountain and some churches/towers, but also old run down row apartments and other reminders like that of what this place was just 30-40 years ago. The brewery itself was really fun and interesting too. I went with 3 friends from my program, and we got to see a lot of the brewery and how the beer is made, etc. Also got to try some beer midway through that wasn't completely ready for sale, and then went to the beer hall afterwards to get some official Budweiser liters. We walked around town a bit more and eventually grabbed some Indian food--which was a NIGHTMARE for me, for some reason I got the spiciest lamb dish and regretted it very much. Everyone else's was good though! We got back pretty late that night after a long but great day.
Our friend was in town this weekend so we did some cool touristy stuff in Prague besides the normal stuff, like walking up this big hill and up to the top of the 1:5 replica of the Eiffel Tower at the top which offers absolutely amazing 360 degree views of the city. Unfortunately I hadn't planned on that trip, so I didn't have my camera...will have to go back soon! Also went to a concert hall called Rudolfinum to see some classical music being played that night which was really cool. Right now there are a bunch of stands set up in Old Town Square for Easter which have all different foods (delicious sausages, and a fried dough-like creation that they put garlic, ketchup, and cheese on--amazing), some knick-knack stuff, and things like a blacksmith set up, a little petting zoo for kids, and a concert stage...it looks really cool. We went there after the concert, which was really cool at night.
All in all its been a great couple weeks. My family and Aunt Jane come 2 weeks from Wednesday which I'm really looking forward to--it will be great to get such a taste of home around the midway point of my trip. Plus I'm sure Aunt Jane will know some great spots that even I don't after all her reading and preparing. After that it's a whirlwind of trips in a row--Paris, Budapest, and Krakow. Can't wait!! Make sure to check out my pictures on snapfish if you haven't yet, and I'll try to keep them pretty updated. Again, just type in my email (w.patrick.kerns@gmail.com) and the password is: prague.
Hope all is well with everyone, keep in touch! Emails are always appreciated. Go Celts and Sox!!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Amsterdam/Brussels Weekend
Amsterdam is indeed as insane as its reputation. John and I went 2 guys from our program and met up with a girl from Columbia and some of her friends who are studying in Barcelona. Nothing about the city really makes sense. Coffee shops are everywhere--these are just a cover for places where people walk in, walk to the bar, buy marijuana, and sit down anywhere and smoke. Thats definitely the first thing you notice--a lot of people in the city are definitely under some sort of influence, most of which are tourists, as we learned that only a small percentage of actual residents use drugs. The city is pretty cool though, there are canals everywhere (as you'll see in a majority of my pictures), and it just has a different feel to it. The infamous Red Light District is another place that just wouldn't be anywhere else--girls literally stand in windows for blocks and blocks and guys (all creepy) pick one and walk in and they pull a curtain closed. Its mind boggling 1) that this practice exists anywhere, 2) that there are girls that would do this so blatantly (though they apparently make good money) and 3) that there are guys that would do this so blatantly. Apparently some people have no shame.
We were there for 2 full days (more than enough time), saw the Van Gogh Museum--really cool--Anne Frank house, and took a tour of the city to see a lot of the city, which was definitely worthwhile. Definitely glad I saw it and experienced it, but I'm pretty certain after being there that once is definitely enough.
We left around 7 for Brussels and I was definitely exhausted. Slept part of the train ride, but definitely not enough. When we (Me, John, and our friend from school, Ashley) we found our hotel--a Best Western, much better than a hostel!--and went out to this cool part of town with a lot of bars. The bars were actually pretty crowded, so it was good to get out and see that. We woke up early the next morning, got our free continental breakfast (meat, cheese, and bread, like apparently everywhere in Europe) and headed out to see the few big sights there are to see in the city since we only had a few hours before our flight back to Prague. Brussels was really cool, it would've been nice to have a few more hours. There isn't a ton to see, but the stuff there is pretty interesting. Its the capital of the EU so there are some big buildings for that, and a cool park, etc. Eventually we found this bar called Delirium that we had read about; it has at least 2004 beers available for sale at all times! Needless to say we experienced some of their good ones in the short time we had, and that was amazing...it is my favorite bar so far. Just compiling the number of beers into the menu (which was about 2 inches thick) must have taken a while.
Anyway, it was a great weekend to say the least. Again, having to be in cities that are on the Euro is tough, so it was nice to come back to Prague again...it is great here. I went for my first run today (finally...) as it was absolutely gorgeous--in the low 60s and bright sun/blue sky. Couldn't ask for much more. I'm here in Prague for the next 2 weekends and then its spring break (already!) when we'll be heading to Italy to go to Venice, Florence, and Rome, hopefully with a couple day trips to smaller towns from one or 2 of them. Should be a great time!
We were there for 2 full days (more than enough time), saw the Van Gogh Museum--really cool--Anne Frank house, and took a tour of the city to see a lot of the city, which was definitely worthwhile. Definitely glad I saw it and experienced it, but I'm pretty certain after being there that once is definitely enough.
We left around 7 for Brussels and I was definitely exhausted. Slept part of the train ride, but definitely not enough. When we (Me, John, and our friend from school, Ashley) we found our hotel--a Best Western, much better than a hostel!--and went out to this cool part of town with a lot of bars. The bars were actually pretty crowded, so it was good to get out and see that. We woke up early the next morning, got our free continental breakfast (meat, cheese, and bread, like apparently everywhere in Europe) and headed out to see the few big sights there are to see in the city since we only had a few hours before our flight back to Prague. Brussels was really cool, it would've been nice to have a few more hours. There isn't a ton to see, but the stuff there is pretty interesting. Its the capital of the EU so there are some big buildings for that, and a cool park, etc. Eventually we found this bar called Delirium that we had read about; it has at least 2004 beers available for sale at all times! Needless to say we experienced some of their good ones in the short time we had, and that was amazing...it is my favorite bar so far. Just compiling the number of beers into the menu (which was about 2 inches thick) must have taken a while.
Anyway, it was a great weekend to say the least. Again, having to be in cities that are on the Euro is tough, so it was nice to come back to Prague again...it is great here. I went for my first run today (finally...) as it was absolutely gorgeous--in the low 60s and bright sun/blue sky. Couldn't ask for much more. I'm here in Prague for the next 2 weekends and then its spring break (already!) when we'll be heading to Italy to go to Venice, Florence, and Rome, hopefully with a couple day trips to smaller towns from one or 2 of them. Should be a great time!
Finally up and running
So it has taken me quite some time to finally get this going, or get an email out, so my apologies. A lot has been going on to say the least (including, unfortunately for this blog, my rediscovery of 24, The Office, and other shows available online...), but Prague has been simply amazing. My first hours alone, on the plane and when I got here, I wondered if I had made a crazy decision to come here for an entire semester. America felt very far away very quickly. But Prague felt like home soon enough too. We moved into our apartment within the first week, so that really helped things. I'm living with John, my roommate from Columbia, Chrissie (from UMichigan) and Erica (Villanova) and that has been good so far. We got a great apartment in a great location in Old Town, so we're close to everything and not paying as much as we expected. We've started cooking for dinner in the past couple weeks so that has started to save a lot of money too (not to mention my health a little bit, its pretty uncommon to go out to eat without getting a beer).
Prague as a city is beautiful, and I'm extremely happy with my choice so far. The architecture is amazing, and is even better in person than the really cool pictures you can find online, in guidebooks, etc. There are pubs and restaurants everywhere, and its not rare to sit for a couple hours over food and drinks. The people seem cold at first but you just have to realize that smiling at someone on the street or saying hi just isn't part of their culture; they aren't rude. In fact, anyone you talk to is usually pretty nice. The language barrier is tough at times--like when I brought a jacket to the dry cleaners/laundromat and tried to explain that I didn't want it dried...that didn't work well--but with the limited Czech I know and the limited English people here know, it works fine.
We've had a ton of fun so far. The Super Bowl was really quite the experience--we went to a bar called Beer Factory that had 4 beer taps at every table. You just get a glass and fill up as much/often as you want, and it keeps track of how much it pours in liters and you split it with the people at your table at the end. Amazing idea. Too bad the game didn't turn out as well. The bar was filled with American college kids, most of whom were unfortunately Giants fans, so the ending was that much worse. Oh well, definitely an experience I'll remember for a long time.
The roommates and I took a quick weekend trip to Vienna a couple weeks ago, which was amazing. We stayed at a hostel and took a walk to the center of the city pretty late at night, which was cool to see. We got up really early on Saturday and had perfect weather to see a ton of sights--that city is really, really cool. There are a lot of palaces/museums/churches that are very impressive. It is extremely expensive though, and I'm really glad to be in Prague for that reason...it is far cheaper than anywhere my other friends are.
Classes started this past week, and that has been a good way to keep us from going out every night, so I guess thats a plus. The material in most of them is really interesting, but they are all once a week for 3 hours, so by the last hour its extremely hard to pay attention/be engaged. Hopefully we'll get used to it, and then hour and 15 minute classes back at school will feel like a breeze next year.
Just a reminder that I have pictures up at www.snapfish.com. The email is w.patrick.kerns@gmail.com, and the password is prague.
Prague as a city is beautiful, and I'm extremely happy with my choice so far. The architecture is amazing, and is even better in person than the really cool pictures you can find online, in guidebooks, etc. There are pubs and restaurants everywhere, and its not rare to sit for a couple hours over food and drinks. The people seem cold at first but you just have to realize that smiling at someone on the street or saying hi just isn't part of their culture; they aren't rude. In fact, anyone you talk to is usually pretty nice. The language barrier is tough at times--like when I brought a jacket to the dry cleaners/laundromat and tried to explain that I didn't want it dried...that didn't work well--but with the limited Czech I know and the limited English people here know, it works fine.
We've had a ton of fun so far. The Super Bowl was really quite the experience--we went to a bar called Beer Factory that had 4 beer taps at every table. You just get a glass and fill up as much/often as you want, and it keeps track of how much it pours in liters and you split it with the people at your table at the end. Amazing idea. Too bad the game didn't turn out as well. The bar was filled with American college kids, most of whom were unfortunately Giants fans, so the ending was that much worse. Oh well, definitely an experience I'll remember for a long time.
The roommates and I took a quick weekend trip to Vienna a couple weeks ago, which was amazing. We stayed at a hostel and took a walk to the center of the city pretty late at night, which was cool to see. We got up really early on Saturday and had perfect weather to see a ton of sights--that city is really, really cool. There are a lot of palaces/museums/churches that are very impressive. It is extremely expensive though, and I'm really glad to be in Prague for that reason...it is far cheaper than anywhere my other friends are.
Classes started this past week, and that has been a good way to keep us from going out every night, so I guess thats a plus. The material in most of them is really interesting, but they are all once a week for 3 hours, so by the last hour its extremely hard to pay attention/be engaged. Hopefully we'll get used to it, and then hour and 15 minute classes back at school will feel like a breeze next year.
Just a reminder that I have pictures up at www.snapfish.com. The email is w.patrick.kerns@gmail.com, and the password is prague.
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