Jsem Julia. Jsem Americhanka.

last night we all had our first experience at Karlovy Lazne, the biggest nightclub in central europe...5 floors, each with a different DJ and tone. it was awesome. took tequila shots with cinnamon and oranges!

today talia, emily, and i took a walk around the neighborhood. kinda weird that we've been living here for almost 2 weeks and still hadn't really taken a look. but don't worry readers...there are plenty of grocery stores, funky restaurants, and obviously lots of bars and pubs (highest concentration of pubs per capita in europe! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BDi%C5%BEkov). we also may or may not have spotted one or two brothels...

also did laundry for the first time. no dryers. it's definitely a "learning experience" when all of your clothes dry and feel like paper for a few days.

by the way, today's date in czech is: tricet jeden v lednu!

ta ta,
yulia

Nastravi!

it's czech for "cheers"...you have to look everyone in the eye when you say it or else you'll have bad luck for 7 years.








praha keeps getting better and better. still eating lots of interesting foods, meeting new people, and getting used to hearing new words every day. today in czech class, instead of having a normal class Zdenka took us to the grocery store and walked us through the aisles explaining what foods were what, how to judge the best types of wine (if its czech wine, it better be from Moravia), among other things. she then took us to Cafe Slavia, a restaurant that sits right on the Charles River, looking out at the gorgeous bridge and the western half of the city. over coffee and desert (and a cigarette for her..she claims coffee is nothing without cigarettes) she talked to us about the student revolts of the 60s and 80s and what makes the czech republic so unique. she took us on a backroads tour of prague, showing us some buildings that a tourguide would probably overlook. pretty awesome day overall.



a few nights ago, i went to a bar called Bed...you lie on a bed and drink wine. what could be better than that? shout out to K-lash, Swass, and Sara G - delicious crew :)

na shledanou!
-yulia

prague is my jam

first day of czech class! just to give you some indication of how ridiculously hard this language is: we spent the first hour and a half of the class JUST learning how to pronounce the letters in the alphabet. AwEsOmE! but our teacher is great, and she also talked to us about what to expect living here in the next few months. for example...the fact that vegetables are only a recent innovation here in the czech lands. after communism, people went crazy over bananas and broccoli. but it's still difficult to find veggies at just any old grocery store here - they simply just aren't a staple food in the czech diet. [shout out to talia, my vegetarian roomie!]

after czech class we had a tour of the jewish quarter, Josefov, which was a beautiful sight to see. went to the oldest functioning synagogue in the world, the Old New Synagogue, the Spanish Synagogue, a Holocaust memorial for Czech Jews, and the old Jewish cemetary (not to be confused with the New Jewish cemetary, where Franz Kafka is burried). it was amazing and sad at the same time to see such gorgeous, old buildings that were once inhabited by a thriving Jewish population.

on a lighter note, i'm starting to plan my trips to other cities!!!!!!! i think Amsterdam is first on my list, then Paris to see Becky, Elaine, Katie, and Libby! Berlin, Madrid, Barcelona, Florence, Istanbul, and Athens are all also places i'm hoping to make it to....and possibly Tel Aviv after my program here ends.

***Special shoutout to all my homies holding down the fort in MADISON!!!! reba, i miss ya tonzzzzzzzz!!!!!!***

goofy prague sightings from day 1...

there are beautiful buildings mixed with silly people/places/things all over this city. i try to document them as best i can.

metro in praha

so cool. you pay for a ticket that lasts for certain period of time, and then ride whenever you want, instead of paying per use like in the states. its so much more efficient: no fumbling through your purse to find your metrocard! and, the whole thing is based on an honor code...there's a small chance you will be approached by a police officer to show your ticket - hasn't happened to me yet! the czechs treat things that we consider common courtesies, like letting an elderly person have your seat, as if they are steadfast rules. interesting remnant of communism. czech out the map! i live at the Flora stop on the green line :)

Dobre Den!

welcome to the one and only prague blague!!! i arrived in this miraculous city about 3 days ago and have consumed so much information i don't really know where to begin. one thing i can tell you though, is that the czechs LOVE life. i mean let's be honest, when you're under communist rule for so long, you simply can't wait to drink tons of pilsner (biggest czech beer) and party like its 1995 (literally, at the first nightclub we went to, Lucerna, all they played was 80s/90s music!!!! it's so much fun when you know all the words to every song :) i can also tell you that any rumors you may have heard about czech food not being "good" are FALSE! this is why i've decided to dedicate the prague blague to the lovely cuisine here in praha, which consists of a lot of meat, carbs, and most importantly BEER. anyway, here are some pictures of the dishes i've consumed....and other things too :)

AHOJ!
- Yulia