Oh, motivation, where hast thou gone?

So I've tried several times to write a blog post. I know I need to finish my Spain posts, and I have a few more I want to write. I've definitely become one of those people. You know the ones that are constantly thinking about which parts of the day are blog-worthy. That's ridiculous. I do like blogging though!

So, be on the lookout for many posts over the next few days. And if I don't write any, you should call me out on it. Hasta!

Happy New Year!

We had a very quiet, but excellent Christmas. I've been in Pelham with Joel's family since Friday. We've had some good time with his family in Jasper, as well as with his sister and brother-in-law. I love getting to know his family more and spending time with them. I don't think I could have hand picked a better family to marry in to.

I know I haven't finished my Barcelona posts. I'm working on one about Madrid, as well as some that include random thoughts about Barcelona. Hopefully those will be posted soon, but probably not until 2009. :)

Speaking of, I am SO EXCITED about seeing everyone New Year's Eve!!!! It's going to be so good to see everyone again... and to meet Miss Savannah Grace!

Hasta...

Merry Sunday before Christmas!

Well, I made it home from Barcelona! It feels so good to be back. Last night I spent the evening at some friend's farm in the woods. It was a throwback to high school. I don't miss high school, but I miss those trees, the thousands of stars, and the bonfire. I'll soon get around to updating on my last few days in Spain, but until then I'll leave you with this version of my favorite Christmas hymn. Enjoy!

Where are your manners?

If you're out roaming the streets while it's raining, by all means you should have your over sized umbrella with you. I would use mine to.

However, if you are utilizing said umbrella you should not take up the small, dry space that building eaves so kindly provide.

Give the ill-prepared a little help, won't you?

Oh, Mr. Sandman...

Just bring me some sleep!

Last night I turned my light off at almost 2 AM. At 4:03 I looked at the clock because my phone started going crazy (it's beside my clock). I had not slept a wink yet. I tossed and turned some more for a long while and then when I looked at the clock it was 7:47. I woke up at 8:48 to go to class.

This happened the other night as well.

I would really enjoy some sleep.

I think my body is getting tired of my Spanish bed.




New posts about Madrid coming tomorrow or Thursday!

Czech Me Out!

So, it's the afternoon, and I need to be writing a very long paper about La Movida. What better time to write a blog post about Prague! This post will be very very long. Our internet is working well at the moment so I have to make the most of this opportunity.

Oh, and I'm listening to Christmas music. I don't like Christmas music unless it's a hymn. Something must be wrong.

By the way, did you know that you can listen to the radio on iTunes? I remember doing it once in high school before anyone really cared what iTunes was. I rediscovered it today. Oh, the things you overlook...

"Hang your stockings and say your prayers because Santa Claus comes tonight..."

My internet just started going in and out, so this post could take a llooooonnnnggg time to write.


In the beginning of November, Porschia and I took a trip to Prague. I had wanted to go to Prague for several years, so I knew this was one trip I had to take while I was living in Europe. Sure enough, Prague met and exceeded my expectations. I have to admit, I was initially a little nervous and scared I would be let down because it was already dark when I arrived. And it was 4 PM. I don't think it should ever be dark when you arrive in a city for the first time. Especially at 4 PM. However, everything is clearer in daylight and I fell in love the next morning. The city is beyond beautiful. It's so strange to walk into a building and then realize people have standing in the same spot since 1200. It's cool to observe history firsthand.

We hopped on the bus and then on the tram to get to our hostel. I observed 3 things during this first hour.
1. I don't think I have ever been as confused as I was in my first hour of hearing and seeing nothing but Czech. People talking, advertisements, announcements...
2. Czech people will STARE AT YOU ALL THE TIME NO MATTER IF YOU STARE BACK. I put that in caps because at the time, my thoughts were in caps too. It was odd to say the least.
3. There was no need for us to buy those tram tickets. No one pays anyway.

Then we arrived at our hostel, which I've already written about. I just want to emphasize again that this is the best hostel in the world.

We we to eat and walked around for a long time that night, but I chose not to take my camera. I wanted to kick myself about halfway through the night because I knew we were seeing things that I might not see again. And, when you're seeing it with fresh eyes, your pictures always come out better.

Friday morning we woke up and tried to make it to the free morning tour, but Oma (at the hostel) insisted that we have tea and toast. We were late. So, instead we decided to do a little sightseeing on our own and catch the afternoon tour.

Note: When you are in Prague (because you should go), take the Free Prague Walking Tours. Each one only a couple of hours long and you will get a good feel of the city and the places where you would like to spend more time. The guides work for tips, of which about 100-200 korunas is the norm. (That's still less than $10!)

And that's pretty much how our weekend was. We walked around A LOT, and we ate. Porschia and I found out that we travel really well together. We both will pretty much walk until our feet fall off to make sure we see everything, we don't like staying in dirty hostels, and we don't want to sacrifice good food in order to save a few bucks.

Now, what you've all been waiting for.... PICTURES!!! (I took 396, so it will be hard to pick just a few)

I had to have a picture with the astronomical clock. It really was a bit of a disappointment. Unless you're there at noon, it only chimes. At noon the two blue doors at the top open, and little puppet people pass by. I remember a show that used to come on the travel channel. It took 5-6 college aged kids and sent them around the world to just video their adventures. The first episode I saw was in Prague, and all I remember about it was the puppet people passing by the doors.


Walking towards the gateway to the Charles Bridge. All of the streets are tiny and cobblestoned (is that a word?)


One of many statues on the Charles Bridge.


This nice, wholesome work of art is by the Czech artist David Cerny. I'm just going to copy and paste the description from his website. The idea is disarmingly simple. Two bronze sculptures pee into their oddly-shaped enclosure. While they are peeing, the two figures move realistically. An electric mechanism driven by a couple of microproccesors swivels the upper part of the body, while the penis goes up and down. The stream of water writes quotes from famous Prague residents. Visitor can interupt them by sending SMS message from mobile phone to a number, displayed next to the sculptures. The living statue then ‘writes’ the text of the message, before carrying on as before. He has several other works in Prague including one with babies climbing up the building, a man hanging from a window, and this...


Moving along...

This is the world's smallest street. It really is an official street. At the bottom is a restaurant, and there is a traffic light to let you know when to walk. Apparently people get stuck in there a lot.


Lennon wall. The graffiti on this walls started when John Lennon was killed. The city repainted it several times before deciding to "Let It Be."

I'm pretty proud of that one...


The main courtyard to the BIGGEST CASTLE IN THE WORLD!!!


This is inside the castle. The whole castle is like a big city. I don't know why blogger stopped rotating my pictures for me.

The president lives in this part of the castle. When the flag is up it means he is home. It was up. We hung out for a few hours.


How beautiful is this city!

One night Porschia and I decided to go on a riverboat cruise. The website told us, "Do not compare it to riverboat cruises that you might find in London or Paris and you will have fun." The next two pictures were taken from the boat. Low light + moving boat = more than a few blurry pictures.


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The church in Old Town Square.


The old gunpowder tower... or something?


Caroline, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle


Watch out, Reuben! Porschia has a new man!


The Charles Bridge and Prague Castle in daylight.

My next little story and photo montage concerns our Saturday lunch. We had been told to to to a beer house called U Fleku. The building has been there since the 1400s, and it is the place to go to experience Czech culture. The Czechs are especially proud of their beer. So, we went to U Fleku to have some traditional Czech food, and had to have the beer because they don't serve anything else... seriously. You don't even get to choose what kind you want because they just put it in front of you. Before we finished we saw at least 3 people either passed out or carried out the door... and it was NOON! I must say it was a good experience though. There were musicians playing Czech folk songs and everyone sang along, the food wasn't great but wasn't terrible, but it was the kind of loud boisterous environment that you only see in movies. I loved it.





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Wenceslas Square to one direction...


...and the other direction. It's large. The entire time I was trying to remember the song, but it was only after I came back that I did.


I think this is the national museum... or library...

And that's pretty much it! I'm tired from uploading all of those pictures, but I have one more. I woke up during the flight back to Barcelona, and this is what I saw from my window...


Isn't God good?

The BEST hostel in Prague!

Before I write my post about Prague, I have to give a review of the hostel we stayed in.

Porschia and I found our hostel on HostelWorld (I told you I love it!) Once again, the most important criteria we had was its cleanliness rating. One we found Prague's Heaven and it's 99% cleanliness rating, we were sold! The price was pretty good too!

So, we arrived at Prague's Heaven at around 5 Thursday evening and were greeted by the nicest people. The hostel only has a few rooms but it's really cozy and has been updated. The bathrooms looked like they were remodeled recently. They showed us to our room (we got a private room) which was SPOTLESS! No kidding. I don't love staying in hotels anyway, but this room and bathroom were cleaner than many hotels that I've stayed in before. I've stayed in nice places before, but youth pastors and field trip organizers aren't the best at picking winners, you know. My mom would have been okay staying here... and that's saying something :)

The staff were really helpful in showing us where to go and places to see. In the mornings and afternoon Oma (one of the owner's mother) would greet us with breakfast or hot tea to knock off the chill. She didn't speak much English, but she was the cutest thing ever. If you have to be somewhere at a certain time, build in about 20-30 minutes for morning time with Oma :)

The only semi-negative thing I have to say about Prague's Heaven is it's location. It is not located in the middle of the tourist attractions (Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, etc.), but it's really not a problem. The tram system runs 24 hours a day and is really efficient. It took maybe 10-15 minutes to get to all of the action.

If you're making a trip to Prague, try to stay at Prague's Heaven. I promise you won't be disappointed!