Ahoj Praha !
Today had a fun-filled journey lead by an energetic guide, Karel.
Taking a trip back into medieval times, our first stop was the famous Prague Castle. Unlike most of the other royal palaces we have seen on Eurotour, we only toured the outside. Nevertheless, the gardens were majestically enchanting.
Along with Karel's signature catchphrase, "Let's Go !", we were off to the cathedral. With "shmoleys" of history just within the art of the doors, it was a foreshadowing of the rest of the cathedral, and also the entirety of Prague. Inside the cathedral, we saw about a dozen gorgeous stained glass windows, numerous statues, and even a silver-plated tomb. Needless to say, it was ah-mazing.
After a short walk through the beautiful streets of Praha, we arrived at a lane of old houses turned into shops. We took a break in one of these houses that had been turned into a medieval museum. With attractions such as armor, a torture chamber, and crossbows, we were fascinated. Right before a much-needed lunch, we took a quick stop to watch the changing of the guards at the castle. Accompanied by fanfare and the like, it was like stepping in a time machine.
For lunch, we all went to a traditional Czech restaurant called Lokal. Some of the typical (and delicious!) foods we ate included roast beef, goulash, and, of course, dumplings. Afterwards, many of us sampled a Czech dessert called a "cinnamon tower*" (*fake name). Everything was nothing short of delightful.
As we reconvened after lunch, the weather had a change of heart and we experienced some light rain. However, a souvenir shop was more than happy to sell us slightly overpriced plastic ponchos.
A surprise hippie moment awaited us as we stumbled upon the super chill John Lennon wall. We took a moment to listen to his song "Imagine" as we took everything all in. It was a brief yet beautiful moment. Continuing on, we took a walk throughout a park. Along with a small band of great street performers, we saw a temporary gallery of Nicholas Winton. Long history short: Sir Nicholas Winton (1907- ) arranged for over 650 Jewish children from Czechoslovakia to be transported and housed with adoptive families in Britain during WWII in order to save them. He was very successful and is known today as "The Schindler of Britain." This exhibition was super interesting.
Next, we took a stroll over the famous Charles Bridge. Even though we had already walked over the bridge the night before, it was a completely different experience during the daytime. Today, we saw many vendors and watched a jazzylicious band called J.K. Novak and Bridge Band. They were awesome. From there we walked to the old Jewish ghetto from the Second World War. It remains intact today because Hitler had originally planned to keep it as a museum of sorts. We saw the oldest synagogue in Europe and heard tales of Gollum the mud monster that helped the Jewish people during ghetto times.
We wandered over to a beautiful plaza where the Prague orloj (Prague astronomical clock) is. We learned about its colorful past including the clocks symbolism, legends, and history. From there we "bid adieu" to our wonderful guide Karel and made our way back to our lovely Hotel.
A couple hours later we ate a great dinner at the hotel then took a night stroll through the illuminated streets of Prague.
As we lay in our cozy beds we reflect on this incredible adventure that has been the past 18 days. We have learned more about Europe and each other than we could have imagined. We want to give a colossal "thank you" to our cool coordinator Raphael, our shuper chaperone "Jamón" (Ramón), and our lovely Monitor Luca. You guys have been the bomb-diggity-dawg-dot-com of leaders and we cannot thank you enough. Eurotour 2k14 forevzz.
With love,
Tessa Kelly (California) & Pauline Sherry (Colorado)
Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Day 16 - Vienna, Austria / Bratislava, Slovakia / Prague, Czech
Breakfast in Vienna, lunch in Bratislava and dinner in Prague!
We had a short ride to Bratislava, where we had a short tour of the city and then proceeded to have free time for lunch. After lunch, we were introduced to Simona, an ex-exchange student from Slovakia. She guided us through the old city for about an hour showing us what Bratislava really had to offer. She taught us about various cultural aspects and even some of the incredibly complicated Russian influenced Slovakian language. With a population of only 450 000 it is the smallest capital city in Europe but it was defiantly a worthwhile stop.
After lunch we boarded the bus for the second time and headed to Prague, Czech Republic a four hour bus ride. Upon our arrival we were given some free time to relax and have a swim, we then had dinner at our hotel and then went for a walk in the centre of the city. We walked for about 2 hours till the famous Charles' bridge (usually it would take 30minutes) ;). After taking many pictures in this beautiful surrounding we headed back to the hotel and finally closed our eyes.
Joliann Morissette & Alice Becker-Scott
(Canada) (Australia)
We had a short ride to Bratislava, where we had a short tour of the city and then proceeded to have free time for lunch. After lunch, we were introduced to Simona, an ex-exchange student from Slovakia. She guided us through the old city for about an hour showing us what Bratislava really had to offer. She taught us about various cultural aspects and even some of the incredibly complicated Russian influenced Slovakian language. With a population of only 450 000 it is the smallest capital city in Europe but it was defiantly a worthwhile stop.
After lunch we boarded the bus for the second time and headed to Prague, Czech Republic a four hour bus ride. Upon our arrival we were given some free time to relax and have a swim, we then had dinner at our hotel and then went for a walk in the centre of the city. We walked for about 2 hours till the famous Charles' bridge (usually it would take 30minutes) ;). After taking many pictures in this beautiful surrounding we headed back to the hotel and finally closed our eyes.
Joliann Morissette & Alice Becker-Scott
(Canada) (Australia)
Bratislava... and the famous Cumil statue.
Start of our tour.
Touching the head of the Cumil brings luck!
Main square... and our students... Jonah, Kaylee, Alex and Katie.
a Berlin bear in Bratislava... simon says...
Day 15 - Vienna, Austria
This morning when we arrived at breakfast in the hotel we were pleasantly surprised at the delicious selection they offered! There were eggs, bacon, pancakes, pastries, an omelette station, and a wide variety of fruits and cereals - we were in heaven!
We met Tina, our tour guide, in the hotel and then left at 9 to explore the city. Tina spoke about the history of Vienna and refreshed our memory from what we learned yesterday at Schonbrunn palace, while keeping us interested with interactive questions. She took us to various statues and monuments, buildings and houses where famous musicians such as Beethoven and Mozart wondered the people of Vienna.
Tina then took us on a walking tour through the city. We visited another palace, Belvedere, which was the home of a prestigious military figure. He had statues of a man trying to tame a rearing horse all around his palace, with the horse symbolizing anger, to represent that he could tame his temper. We saw many of these statues in our tour. We also saw the city hall, the parliament, and the Hofburg, which included the Spanish riding school. We visited the ruins of ancient Roman walls, a giant old drawing of a rabbit on the stairs of a famous museum, and a memorial depicting refugee Jews that were hiding underneath a building which collapsed, trapping them underground and eventually, killing them.
We visited the church where Queen Elizabeth 'Sissi' and other Habsburg royals were married. We were very astonished to learn that there is a room in this church filled with all of the dead Habsburgs' hearts in jars, because they believed that the heart was the most important part of the body. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to go inside this room, however, we were able to see a photo of this outside.
After a full morning, we said goodbye to Tina as we ended our tour in front of St. Stephen's cathedral and were given free time for lunch. Our friend Stef, who was with us for the first half of the trip and had already returned to her home in Vienna, met with us for these 2 hours. Some of us ate the traditional (but expensive!) schnitzel, while others went for simply paninis, sandwiches, pizza and pasta. Later we treated ourselves to dessert, such as gelato, macarons, and delicious cakes (including the very traditional Sacher-Torte).
The end of our free time brought a sad goodbye to Stef, but we all know we will see her again one day, because as Rapha has told us - "You always meet people at least twice". We set off walking to Mozart's house (well, one of his houses - we learnt that he had at least 11 but never paid his rent!!). While we were walking, Rapha showed us the traditional folklore outfits of Austria in a shop window, explaining each part and what each colour signifies, which could cost from 60€ up until a lot more!
We reached the house and made our way through the rooms on three levels, with the help of an audio guide each. This was only the second time we'd used audio guides, which proved to be quite good as they allowed them to go at our own pace. We saw many of Mozart's compositions on paper, as well as the kitchen, dining room, and where he slept. However, these rooms are just an educated guess by specialists, as they have no way to know for sure which room was used for which purpose. We also learnt about Mozart's relationships with his family, royalty, and the people of Vienna, giving us an idea of the kind of person he was.
After this upbeat day, we were able to relax and enjoy the city from horse-drawn carriages, for which we went in groups of 4. We recognized places that we had seen that morning with Tina but at a more leisurely pace, taking photos and admiring more of the architecture. We were given some more free time in another part of the city centre to wander around, shop for souvenirs and traditional Austrian sweets, and shortly afterwards we headed to dinner. Here we had a great number of options in a buffet style of traditional Austrian food, including of course, the delicious schnitzel!!
Afterwards, we split off into two different groups. Some of us went to an opera, an optional part of the tour, while others decided to stay back at the hotel. The opera was so much better than anyone had expected. We were dazzled by the small orchestra, playing a wide variety of well known and respected artists with energizing vigor. They were accompanied by fantastic classical ballet dancers and opera singers who performed in every few compositions, making the experience more amusing for the audience. Even though many of us were expecting a large theatre with many rows of red, fixed seats, we lived a more traditional and authentic Viennan atmosphere, limited to only about 400 members in the audience, which was culturally enriching.
Later on, our trusty bus driver picked us up from the opera and returned us safely to our hotel, where we all fell exhausted into bed.
Gute Nacht und schlaft schön!
Isabel the paparazzi Aussie and Scarlett the clumsy Ecuadorian-American
We met Tina, our tour guide, in the hotel and then left at 9 to explore the city. Tina spoke about the history of Vienna and refreshed our memory from what we learned yesterday at Schonbrunn palace, while keeping us interested with interactive questions. She took us to various statues and monuments, buildings and houses where famous musicians such as Beethoven and Mozart wondered the people of Vienna.
Tina then took us on a walking tour through the city. We visited another palace, Belvedere, which was the home of a prestigious military figure. He had statues of a man trying to tame a rearing horse all around his palace, with the horse symbolizing anger, to represent that he could tame his temper. We saw many of these statues in our tour. We also saw the city hall, the parliament, and the Hofburg, which included the Spanish riding school. We visited the ruins of ancient Roman walls, a giant old drawing of a rabbit on the stairs of a famous museum, and a memorial depicting refugee Jews that were hiding underneath a building which collapsed, trapping them underground and eventually, killing them.
We visited the church where Queen Elizabeth 'Sissi' and other Habsburg royals were married. We were very astonished to learn that there is a room in this church filled with all of the dead Habsburgs' hearts in jars, because they believed that the heart was the most important part of the body. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to go inside this room, however, we were able to see a photo of this outside.
After a full morning, we said goodbye to Tina as we ended our tour in front of St. Stephen's cathedral and were given free time for lunch. Our friend Stef, who was with us for the first half of the trip and had already returned to her home in Vienna, met with us for these 2 hours. Some of us ate the traditional (but expensive!) schnitzel, while others went for simply paninis, sandwiches, pizza and pasta. Later we treated ourselves to dessert, such as gelato, macarons, and delicious cakes (including the very traditional Sacher-Torte).
The end of our free time brought a sad goodbye to Stef, but we all know we will see her again one day, because as Rapha has told us - "You always meet people at least twice". We set off walking to Mozart's house (well, one of his houses - we learnt that he had at least 11 but never paid his rent!!). While we were walking, Rapha showed us the traditional folklore outfits of Austria in a shop window, explaining each part and what each colour signifies, which could cost from 60€ up until a lot more!
We reached the house and made our way through the rooms on three levels, with the help of an audio guide each. This was only the second time we'd used audio guides, which proved to be quite good as they allowed them to go at our own pace. We saw many of Mozart's compositions on paper, as well as the kitchen, dining room, and where he slept. However, these rooms are just an educated guess by specialists, as they have no way to know for sure which room was used for which purpose. We also learnt about Mozart's relationships with his family, royalty, and the people of Vienna, giving us an idea of the kind of person he was.
After this upbeat day, we were able to relax and enjoy the city from horse-drawn carriages, for which we went in groups of 4. We recognized places that we had seen that morning with Tina but at a more leisurely pace, taking photos and admiring more of the architecture. We were given some more free time in another part of the city centre to wander around, shop for souvenirs and traditional Austrian sweets, and shortly afterwards we headed to dinner. Here we had a great number of options in a buffet style of traditional Austrian food, including of course, the delicious schnitzel!!
Afterwards, we split off into two different groups. Some of us went to an opera, an optional part of the tour, while others decided to stay back at the hotel. The opera was so much better than anyone had expected. We were dazzled by the small orchestra, playing a wide variety of well known and respected artists with energizing vigor. They were accompanied by fantastic classical ballet dancers and opera singers who performed in every few compositions, making the experience more amusing for the audience. Even though many of us were expecting a large theatre with many rows of red, fixed seats, we lived a more traditional and authentic Viennan atmosphere, limited to only about 400 members in the audience, which was culturally enriching.
Later on, our trusty bus driver picked us up from the opera and returned us safely to our hotel, where we all fell exhausted into bed.
Gute Nacht und schlaft schön!
Isabel the paparazzi Aussie and Scarlett the clumsy Ecuadorian-American
Belvedere!
Fiaker ride in Vienna
Fiaker ride in front of St Stephan's basilica in Vienna
Operah night.
Concert Hall
Friday, June 27, 2014
Day 14 - Budapest to Vienna
Did you say Schonbrunn?
The morning came faster than anyone wanted but none the less we left the hotel and entered the bus at 9 o : clock headed for Vienna. We were briefed on the itinerary of the day which included; bus ride, picnic lunch, tour of the Schonbrunn palace, and finally free time and dinner in the hotel. As always we woke up fast due to our coordinator's amazing stories and hilarious jokes. This particular bus ride was the shortest (in regard to the trips from hotel to hotel) with a time of 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
We arrived in at the location of our picnic lunch (the palace gardens) with sandwiches in hand and took our places on the ground near a small pond. The garden was miraculous with statues, ponds, and even a zoo! Not to mention a great place to fill our stomachs.
After lunch we walked around a bit and explored the area near us before heading into the palace for our tour. Intently we walked though the building with the thought of promised gifts for correct answers in the the trivia later that day. We grabbed our audio guides quickly and began our journey to learn about "sisi" and other past residents of the great and epic building. Did you know she had 16 children?
With the interesting facts now floating around in our heads we took our bus to the hotel for an afternoon of rest and swimming before dinner. Most of us spent an hour or two in the pool trying to lose the calories of all the amazing European chocolate we keep eating, but some stayed with the Spanish tradition and took a siesta.
The dinner was a buffet of many different types of food, from Vienna and other parts of Europe. As we devoured our food we couldn't help but wish we had bigger stomachs, or me at least.
Dinner ended with the option of going to an English cinema to see the new movie "Maleficent", many left but not all of us. I hope that they are having a good time as those of us that stayed in the hotel are having fun playing cards and writing this blog.
The day only made us more excited for tomorrow as we get to see more of this amazing city and culture.
Curtis Burtch (Canada)
The morning came faster than anyone wanted but none the less we left the hotel and entered the bus at 9 o : clock headed for Vienna. We were briefed on the itinerary of the day which included; bus ride, picnic lunch, tour of the Schonbrunn palace, and finally free time and dinner in the hotel. As always we woke up fast due to our coordinator's amazing stories and hilarious jokes. This particular bus ride was the shortest (in regard to the trips from hotel to hotel) with a time of 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
We arrived in at the location of our picnic lunch (the palace gardens) with sandwiches in hand and took our places on the ground near a small pond. The garden was miraculous with statues, ponds, and even a zoo! Not to mention a great place to fill our stomachs.
After lunch we walked around a bit and explored the area near us before heading into the palace for our tour. Intently we walked though the building with the thought of promised gifts for correct answers in the the trivia later that day. We grabbed our audio guides quickly and began our journey to learn about "sisi" and other past residents of the great and epic building. Did you know she had 16 children?
With the interesting facts now floating around in our heads we took our bus to the hotel for an afternoon of rest and swimming before dinner. Most of us spent an hour or two in the pool trying to lose the calories of all the amazing European chocolate we keep eating, but some stayed with the Spanish tradition and took a siesta.
The dinner was a buffet of many different types of food, from Vienna and other parts of Europe. As we devoured our food we couldn't help but wish we had bigger stomachs, or me at least.
Dinner ended with the option of going to an English cinema to see the new movie "Maleficent", many left but not all of us. I hope that they are having a good time as those of us that stayed in the hotel are having fun playing cards and writing this blog.
The day only made us more excited for tomorrow as we get to see more of this amazing city and culture.
Curtis Burtch (Canada)
Picnic on the gradens of Schonbrunn Palace
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Day 13 - Budapest, Hungary
Waking up to huge breakfast full of tofu and salad along with our favorites, yogurt and waffles was a great start to our morning in Hungary. We met our tour guide and headed downtown to the Pest (Pesht) side of Budapest. While crossing the Elizabeth bridge we learned a lot of history about the city.
After disembarking the bus our first stop was the local market, which sells everything from paprika to secret puzzle boxes. We were also introduced to some of Hungary's famous foods such as cow liver, dry red wine, pork, poppy seeds, and a numerous variety of soups.
Then we headed down to the old medieval part of Budapest which no longer exists unless you're 4 meters underground. The detailed architecture copied from Paris made Budapest known as Paris of the east. In total our walking tour took us on an adventure through downtown Pest while we made stops at Queen Elizabeth park where we saw the Michael Jackson shrine and a giant Ferris wheel made to resemble the London eye, the cathedral known as the Basilica (where a favorite soccer player is buried), and finally after our lunch break we headed down to the Parliament Building, which was designed by a student architect who got a bad grade for his design on it. However the other people didn't agree and his design was chosen to be built. Personally we say that it's one of the most beautiful buildings universally.
After, we bordered the bus and enjoyed the 5 minute bus ride to the castle. When we arrived we took lots of pictures and got to taste some amazing apple and cherry with poppy seed strudel. Then we headed to the newest Baths from the 1930s to relax and explore the different types of saunas, jacuzzis, and massages.
For dinner we ate authentic Hungarian food which consisted of mashed potato cake, cuscus, and goulash. While we were eating there we also watched the employees dancing to traditional folk music. Later we experienced another Hungarian tradition which was drinking apple juice from a man who was pouring it in our mouths from a huge spout. It was a really great end to our day.
Kaylee & Katie
Ready to start our tour... Andy, Minnie and Ryann
Alex
Do you want to know where we are... this is the coordinate!
Szent István Bazilika - St. Stephen's Basilica... St Stephen was the first crowned emperor of Hungary.
Bridge dedicated to Imre Nagy
The "massive" parliament.
Grace, Susie and Sabrina in our visit to the Parliament.
View from the top of the castle in Buda side.
Joliann and Natalia
Curtis and Alice
Andie and Minnie
Dinner show in Budapest
Carley trying the bottles on the head... typical dance in Hungary.
Ramon!
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Day 12 - Lido di Jesolo, Italy / Postojna, Slovenia / Budapest, Hungary
As you say in Slovenian: zdrevo!
Today was a travel day although it was filled with many adventures. We started the day off in the lovely city of Venice. The adventures started in Slovenia when we visited the world-known cave, Postojnska Jama. These caves are best known for the 2km exciting train ride underground and the ancient mineral gallery of stalactites and stalagmites, which glittered as we walked by on our 5km long journey through the cave. Although the cave seemed empty, there are over 99 species, one individual named the human fish, which we got to view after the hike through the cave.
Leaving Slovenia behind, we finally arrived in Budapest after a long journey on the bus. Now that we've experienced some delicious Hungarian food we're ready to hop in the Turkish bath and finish off the day.
Buenas noches or as you say here: Jó éjszakát!
Today was a travel day although it was filled with many adventures. We started the day off in the lovely city of Venice. The adventures started in Slovenia when we visited the world-known cave, Postojnska Jama. These caves are best known for the 2km exciting train ride underground and the ancient mineral gallery of stalactites and stalagmites, which glittered as we walked by on our 5km long journey through the cave. Although the cave seemed empty, there are over 99 species, one individual named the human fish, which we got to view after the hike through the cave.
Leaving Slovenia behind, we finally arrived in Budapest after a long journey on the bus. Now that we've experienced some delicious Hungarian food we're ready to hop in the Turkish bath and finish off the day.
Buenas noches or as you say here: Jó éjszakát!
Day 11 - Lido di Jesolo & Venice, Italy
Bon di!
Today we went to the beautiful city of Venice. We started off the day with a guided tour through the streets. It was a much calmer city than most we have visited because there was absolutely no cars. They walk or use boats for all their daily life transport. Our guide took us through Sant Marco square.
We were then given free time to explore the city and to grab some lunch. We also all bought Venetian masks for our masquerade supper. Every street was filled with mask shops, gelatto shops and pizzerias. It was a very unique city because of all the canals, the houses were very built up therefore we could see the water of the canal entering into old garages. Another reason was the atmosphere, because of the lack of cars, it felt less like a big city and more like a small town. After lunch, we took a boat to one of the islands called Morano. Right when we got off, we began a tour of a glass blowing factory. It was amazing to see how they could make such intricate pieces so quickly. During the demonstration, the man made a small glass horse in about one minute out of a blob of hot glass. After this, we returned back on the boat to Venice. Later on, we took a gondola ride through the canals of the city. It was beautiful to see the city from this point of view. Instead of taking the bus all the way back to the hotel, we took a boat for half the journey and then caught our bus.
We were then given free time to explore the city and to grab some lunch. We also all bought Venetian masks for our masquerade supper. Every street was filled with mask shops, gelatto shops and pizzerias. It was a very unique city because of all the canals, the houses were very built up therefore we could see the water of the canal entering into old garages. Another reason was the atmosphere, because of the lack of cars, it felt less like a big city and more like a small town. After lunch, we took a boat to one of the islands called Morano. Right when we got off, we began a tour of a glass blowing factory. It was amazing to see how they could make such intricate pieces so quickly. During the demonstration, the man made a small glass horse in about one minute out of a blob of hot glass. After this, we returned back on the boat to Venice. Later on, we took a gondola ride through the canals of the city. It was beautiful to see the city from this point of view. Instead of taking the bus all the way back to the hotel, we took a boat for half the journey and then caught our bus.
Once back the hotel, we all enjoyed the rooftop swimming pool before getting ourselves dressed up for the masquerade supper. Everyone showed up with the masks they had bought at lunch and after a couple of pictures, we sat down to enjoy a delicious meal the hotel had prepared for us. Once fed, Rafael surprised everyone with a super swag masquerade party with a DJ awaiting us on the roof. We were even joined by a fellow group of Spaniards staying at the hotel. It was a great end to a great day in an even greater city. And we danced all night to the best songs ever.
Susie Cadorin & Sabrina Nunn
(USA) (Canada)
First bridge... let's start!
Venice... learning more and more!
Admiring the narrow streets...
Jollian, Susann, Smit and Chelsea... bridge pic!
Rialto open market... time to get some fruits!
Natalia and Chelsea at Rialto Bridge!
This group loves group pictures!~
Keep walking...
Murano island!
Time for a gondola ride!
Rapha
Party of the masks...
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)