danka berlin...

computer has been saved! new hard drive with a new attitude.

last weekend i was in berlin. its a fascinating city...most of the buildings are either very new & modern, or were built during communism, so it's not your typical european city at all. everyone is very well-dressed...much more so than in prague where everything is about 5 years behind. went on a walking tour in the freezing cold, but got so much out of it: brandenburg gate, berlin wall, checkpoint charlie, holocaust memorial. we ate lunch at an italian restaurant - we were so cold and tired we were really just ready to eat anything. 6 of us stayed at a hostel called Meinenger, which was right next to the Haupbahnof train station, one of the main stations in the city so that was really convenient (along with all the late-night food offered). went to the east side galerie of the berlin wall - covered in amazing murals, goes on for miles. went to the jewish museum - so different from any Jewish museum in New York City...

the nightlife in berlin is unreal. went to a bar called Burger, which is apparently famous, and danced the night away to 1930s music with some Hipster Berliners. the next night we went to a so-so overpriced nightclub (which actually had an awesome DJ) but it was still pretty overpriced at 10euro, for what it was - one floor in a huge apartment building. didn't even being to compare to the club we went to the next night: Tacheles. AAAAAMMMMMMAAAAAZZZZZZIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG place. contemporary art gallery by day, night club by night. covered in graffiti from head to toe on the inside - pictures coming soon, as always. some asshole government officials are trying to tear down this work of art that is a building, so we all signed petitions! you can too: www.tacheles.de

alright so i hate to sound like an obnoxious jetsetter type, but i'm literally leaving right now to get on a plane to PARIS!!!!! helloooooo good food and wisco friends!

peace love & 3am taxis!
julia

im not missing in action...just my computer is

as you can all see from my lack of posting, my computer obviously decided to die on me for the first time during my third week in a foreign land. this is why i havent updated in so long...sorry buds. im also using a czech keyboard right now so typing is a little difficult and i dont know how to type a smiley face or an explanation point or an apostrophe...so excuse the blandness and bad grammar. ill try to give a quick rundown of the last bunch of days here in the czech lands...

we went on an overnight trip to a small city about three hours south of Prague called cesky krumlov. theres a gorgeous old castle, which is normally closed during the winter because its so damn cold inside, a brewery, and lots of little fun tourist shops. theres also an old synogogue that has been abandoned since WWII, so that was kind of an intense experience. after dinner one night at the brewery..i had fried cheese, obviously..we danced the night away with a gypsy band, which was awesome. they played all this traditional czech music...kind of like ten rounds of the horah for a few hours. then we all headed to a small bar in town that opened just for us americans to watch THE SUPERBOWL, which began at midnight and lasted till the weeeeee hours. really weird not only to watch with czech commentary, but also with a bunch of czech people who have never seen american football in their lives. they found it all really boring. the city was completely abandoned during communism, and was recently revitalized as a huge tourist attraction, so czech people have different views on the town, depending on how old they are. i have tons of pictures but i must wait for the return of my computer before sharing...

more study abroad programs have begun since we arrived, so the american student population is slowly starting to take over prague. its nice to have some fellow badgers in town to hang out with and i get the chance to see some neighborhoods i normally wouldnt have ventured to. hellooooo jill brad grant sam vender.

i think thats enough for now.

czech ya later
jbass

my professor drinks beer during class...true story

yes, it's true!!!! i would also like everyone to notice that i changed the heading at the top from "eastern" to "central" europe - the czechs feel very strongly about this differentiation. so you should too.

i would also like everyone to know that in czech schools, the kiddies take off their shoes upon entering and wear slippers all day.

na shledanou,
julia

this one goes out to my followers

burgess, zettler, jillybeans (GET TO PRAGUE NOW!), zozo, and my dad. you've all stuck with my banter for the last 2 weeks...don't really know why. but i love you all anyways. here's to the 100-tablet box of vitamin c i just bought!

kisses,
JB

ahoj...

so i had my first tourist-trap experience yesterday. went to a restaurant with some friends between classes for crepes and a latte. when the waiter came to collect our cash, he informed us that "they didn't give receipts" at their establishment. we thought it was strange but paid anyway. we all kiiiiind of had the feeling we were being ripped off, so we double checked the menu to see what we should actually be paying. he charged me 220 korunas for my 185 korunas meal!!!!!!!! i was not happy and asked for a receipt. pictured is what we were given (notice the exclamation point after the 710!!!!). we argued and argued but nothing came of it. so i got jipped out of 45 korunas, which is about $2.50. lets just say, never eat at the restaurant on the corner of Vodickova and Vaclavske square with the big glass windows (i don't even know the name of the place..)


on a happier note, went to the COOOOOOOLLLLLLEEEEEEESSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTT place in the whole world last night. Cross Club is a nightclub/bar/industrial art experiece. the walls of this place are adorned with the most intricate mechanical sculptures i have ever seen in my life. all the seats in this place have been removed from old trains and airplanes, the lamps are made out of previously-loved car engines, and the tables are made out of random old metal scraps that have been pieced together even though they look like they were meant to be! there are - what feels like - millions of little rooms in this underground cavern of beautiful garbage...you feel like your journey at cross club will never end. bars, rooms with pool tables, chilling areas...and i can't even begin to describe the loft-style seating that looks like an overhead compartment of some kind, but is really another space for people to sit and smoke and scribble their name on the wall or exposed pipelines. and to think this place couldn't get any more awesome, there's a performance space within the club and we got to see the LAST performance of this sick reggae/rock band called Afrodisiak which was so fun (unfortunately we didn't snag a CD after the show but we were groovin and jammin anyways). http://www.crossclub.cz/homepage/ - go to their website...i can't give this place enough credit!

oh there was also a place to grab a bite to eat and of course i had to get my favorite...fried cheese sandwich :) - anyone who comes to visit simply cannot leave prague without having one.

Čau!
julia