Home Sweet New Orleans

Hello all! I am happy to report that I am currently on my flight from Atlanta home to New Orleans (yes, there is free wifi at 32,000 feet!). All three of my flights were delayed today, but I somehow managed to get home in the end. Others are still stuck in Europe, but I'm glad to have made it back to the US of A. I know I will miss my European life, but the thought of Louisiana doesn't sound too bad right this moment. I will be sure to update some more later. AMERICA!!!!

Day Late But Not A Dollar Short

So, as expected, my flight to London was canceled today. Heathrow airport is A ZOO, and all flights are canceled again today. I have been watching the British news in my hotel in Prague, and I really am glad that I'm not in London stuck. I showed up to the airport (conveniently across the street) to rebook my flight at 5:45. The ticket counter opened at 6:30 this morning, and fortunately I was the third person in line. While I was certain I would not get a flight out today, I was even more certain I would be leaving Tuesday. Fortunately, the British Airways representative helped me book a 7am flight to Brussels tomorrow morning, with a connection to Atlanta then New Orleans. I also received a voucher from the airline to renew my hotel at the airport for the night, including free lunch and dinner. So far, I have not had this snow delay as bad as other people, but the uncertainty of still being in Prague - which has just one flight to America a day - is daunting. If i make it to Brussels tomorrow, I think I will be golden, since there are more flights to the USA from there. Will keep you posted, and WISH ME LUCK to be home by 6pm tomorrow!


PS - here is a picture of the most of Brussels that I have ever seen...from the train to Amsterdam from Paris this summer!

Snow Sad Face

I am at the airport in Prague, staying at my hotel. London Heathrow was completely closed today, and my program friends were canceled today and rescheduled to Monday. I have a ticket on the first flight from Prague to Heathrow in the AM at 8:45. Wish me luck, since it will be much easier to reschedule flights to the USA from London! If things don't work out, see you Tuesday (or later?) USA.

Bucket Full of Q-Marks

That's all, folks. I am sitting here in my apartment one last time updating my blog. Can you believe it's been almost 4 months since I arrived in Prague. This is officially the longest I have ever been away from home. I have to turn in my apartment keys by 9am tomorrow. I will be headed to the Prague airport to stay at a hotel before my 8:45 am flight on Sunday morning. I leave Prague for London Heathrow (3 hour layover), London for Dallas-Fort Worth (really, my first taste of America is Tex-ASS?), then finally home to New Orleans by 11pm Central Standard Time. It will be an exhausting 24-hour day of travel, but being home will certainly be worth it. Let's just hope the baggage fees are TOO much (sorry, Dad).


Yesterday was our last day of classes, and finals are officially over. Academically, this was NOTHING compared to Georgetown, but my grades don't even transfer anyways. We also had a graduation ceremony this morning, which was a complete joke. The CIEE program was really not very good at all, and I have heard that it has been drastically changed this semester compared to previous, most for the worst. Despite all my complaints about the program I am studying with, the experience could not have been more amazing.


While not a day went by that I didn't think about being at Georgetown or my friends and family back in the US, I know that I would have regretted forever not studying abroad here in Europe. Prague, for all its difficulties and quirks, was a great jumping off point to see Europe, and boy did I see Europe. 22 Countries in 186 days..that's more than half of 2010 spent outside of America. I may have spent all of my savings, but I will probably never get the chance to live and travel like this ever again.


Tonight will be our last goodbyes in Praha. It's really a strange situation with 17 other Georgetown students on my program. While I will be so hard to say "see ya later" to many of my friends from around the country, I will have comfort of my Hoyas crew back in DC when we are forced back into reality in January. It really is impossible to be thrown into a group of 80 Americans in a foreign country with no friends and to not come away with some lasting friendships. It feels a little bit like the end of high school - and what I imagine will be the end of college in just 3 semesters (YIKES!!!). Knowing that you can keep in touch but not knowing when you will next see people.


Prague is nothing like I imagined, and it is really is very "Eastern" compared to a lot of Europe. Convenience and language are not the easiest thing in the Czech Republic, but I really will appreciate the comforts of home in America. I can't wait to eat my way through every delicious restaurant New Orleans, Washington, and New York City have to offer in the next 3 weeks. I will be back in Washington in just 11 short days and in NYC just a week after. THEN SCHOOL BEGINS AGAIN.


I've posted some pictures of my new friends here, from our many days and nights in Prague. It was such a treat to meet so many other college students from the United States, and an even bigger experience meeting them in Europe!


Credits to Mary for the title of the blogpost, always ready to throw up her Q-Mark (?). It is really a strange feeling leaving this place that has become home for these past few months. A true mixed bag of emotions leaving it all behind and returning to reality.


I hope you enjoyed reading my blog thus far. I will update a few more times back in the states. It was certainly difficult to muster up the energy to write and post pictures so often, but what a neat memory I will have in reading through this.


So it's just one last night here in Prague. We're going out to dinner and then to our favorite pub to say our goodbyes. SEE YOU ON THE FLIPSIDE AMERICA!!

1 Week

In exactly one week, I will be on a jet plane back to the good ole US of A. I have almost 24 hours of travel, leaving Prague for London and Dallas to connect to New Orleans. This will be my last week coming up in Prague, and I have just one final and a few presentations. Classes run through Thursday, and we have a "graduation" ceremony for our program on Friday. We are then promptly kicked out of our apartments at 9am on Saturday, and I will be staying at a hotel that night before catching my first morning flight to London. I plan on writing a more detailed blog post later on Prague and my European experiences, but for now I thought it would be fun to do a BEST OF & WORST OF list from my travels. Here goes...

FAVORITE CITY: Paris, France

BEST BEER: Sagres from Lisbon, Portugal

COOLEST MARKETS: Istanbul, Turkey

COLDEST CITY: Copenhagen, Denmark

MOST EXPENSIVE: Zurich, Switzerland

LEAST SAFE CITY: Naples, Italy

BEST CLUB: Prater Dome in Vienna, Austria

BEST ICE CREAM: Florence, Italy

BIGGEST FESTIVAL: Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany

CHEAPEST BEER: Prague, Czech Republic

FRIENDLIEST PEOPLE: Dublin, Ireland

COOLEST BREWERY: Heineken Experience in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

BIGGEST SANGRIA GLASS: Barcelona, Spain

LEAST AMOUNT OF TIME SPENT: 5 minutes in Brussels, Belgium

BEST HAPPY HOUR: Nice, France

WEIRDEST LANGUAGE: Malmo, Sweden

MOST CHURCHES: Rome, Italy

MOST DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE: Berlin, Germany

HOTTEST DAYS: Madrid, Spain

MOST ORNATE: Vatican City

MOST LIKE AMERICA: London, United Kingdom

COOLEST CASINO: Monte Carlo, Monaco

MOST FASHIONABLE: Milan, Italy

MOST RANDOM: Ljubljana, Slovenia

STRANGEST CURRENCY: Forints in Budapest, Hungary

MOST EDUCATIONAL: Krakow, Poland

MOST UNIQUE TRANSPORTATION: Venice, Italy

MOST TIME SPENT IN A MALL: Bratislava, Slovakia

UGLIEST CITY: Zagreb, Croatia

PARIS ENCORE

Sorry for the delay in posting, but it's been a little busy around Prague with finals mounting up and just 12 days remaining. It's hard to believe that time in Europe is running out so rapidly, but alas, I'll leave that topic to another post.


It has been snowing in Prague non-stop for nearly a week now, with inch upon inch piling up on the streets, slowing turning into brown mush. I was really shocked to find out that my flight to Paris had not been canceled with the winter weather in both the Czech Republic and France. Unfortunately, my friend Kim from LSE in London was unable to make it to Paris to meet me with the terrible weather for trains between the UK and France. I spent most of the weekend alone, but it was not bad since I know Paris so well now.


After arriving late on Thursday, I checking into the place I stay at the end of my France journey this summer, located in the Latin Quarter on Rue Mouffetard. An early wake up call Friday meant a FULL day of sightseeing to my favorite places. The weather was pretty cold, but it was not bad compared to Prague. I started on the Île-de-St. Louis, where the famous Notre-Dame is located. The church was as impressive as ever, especially with the giant Christmas tree out front.


I bought a day metro pass both days I was in Paris, since I'm an expert at quickly navigating the métro. Plus, the system is so efficient compared to almost any other European city that it takes no time to get wherever you want to by subway. I walked down the Champs-Elysées before making my way to the north to my favorite part of the city, Montmartre. Pictured above is Sacre-Coeur, just a 15-minute walk from where I had my homestay this summer. I tried to meet with my host mother and my French professor from Georgetown, but alas they were busy for the weekend and I gave short notice with the snow.


The Christmas decorations in Paris are absolutely unbelievable. Pictured above is a massive 5-story Christmas tree in the Galeries Lafayette department store. All the grands magasins decorate their windows in holiday themes, much like in New York City. Many streets are lined with Christmas lights, and decorations adorn all the stores. Quite a drastic change from last weekend in Istanbul, a 99% Islamic populated country.


Other than transportation, I spent almost all my money for the weekend on food. It was nice to be back in the Eurozone, as I had become so accustomed to those bills and coins during the summer and earlier parts of my semester. I stopped at the famous Le Consulat café in Montmartre for lunch for a menu of roasted chicken, French onion soup, and mousse au chocolat. Later, in the day, I did a few more big sights at night because, after all, Paris is the City of Lights. Above is the Eiffel Tower, which still sparkles every night on the hour.


For dinner on Friday, I stopped at the French chain Hippopotamus for dinner. A large steak haché, pommes frites, and again mousse au chocolat completed a great day. And a carafe of French red wine. And the nutella crêpe snack earlier between lunch and dinner. I woke up early on Saturday and made my way back to the Champs-Elysées to see Harry Potter 7 again en français. It was a special 5.90 euro early movie, and I wanted to test my french after all this time. Having read the 7th book in French and seen the movie in English already, it was pretty easy for me to follow and understand the French. C'est cool.


For lunch, I went to a small café in the Latin Quarter to meet my friend Nora from Georgetown for lunch. She is studying for the year in Paris and really loves France and the French people. If you remember my blog at the end of the summer, I was not very fond of the Parisians. However, the city has a totally different atmosphere in the colder months with much fewer tourists and a generally happier French population. Waiters and workers were much more willing to speak to me in French, and they never really switched to English like they would in the summer. Very refreshing.


Pictured above is Le Bon Marché, a large department store in Paris, very much decorated for the holidays. Their gourmet food sections was also full of Christmas and Santa Claus treats. It snowed on Saturday for a little while too, making Paris even more magical. I also stopped by the Musée d'Orsay, the impressionist museum, which is free for students of the European Union (I flashed my Czech visa and Charles University ID for free admission!). For dinner, I went to Le Marais and stopped a a Jewish deli. One of the best burgers I have ever had...they used fried egg instead of cheese to keep the meal kosher. There was a Jewish couple from New York City sitting next to me at dinner, and boy did they give the poor French people a bad impression of American elitism.


Overall, I had the most wonderful weekend in Paris. I really never wanted to leave, knowing the amount of cold, snow, and work awaiting me in Prague. Despite all that I thought about Paris when I left in the summer, I really think it was my favorite city in Europe. Having seen so much more since I left France, I really gained an appreciation for the French people, culture, and language. I think it is one of the few European cities I could see myself living and working in, and who knows what the future holds.

And my last column for The Hoya: Click here to read my article in this week's The Guide! I really enjoyed writing for the Guide this semester, and I hope that you have enjoyed reading them as well. It was a good way to get my blog out into the non-cyber world. Look forward to some wrap up blog posts in the next few days about my experiences in Europe. Au revoir!

Feast Your Eyes on Turkey

Fresh off the plane from Istanbul, Turkey. It was certainly one of the best trips in my repertoire, and it was possibly the most unique place that I've ever been to. Istanbul really is the definition of East meets West with its European style and Islamic traditions. I know that my blog cannot do it justice, but I will do my best to put it into words for my loyal readership.


We arrived to our hotel at about 6pm on Friday. It was a long day of flights, connecting to Istanbul via Munich. The sun had already set by the time we reached the city, so we had to navigate our way in the dark. I traveled with my friend Sarah, who is studying in Prague with me, and my friend Katie from Georgetown, who is studying in France. We were staying in the old part of town called the Sultanahmet, just steps away from the most famous sights including the Aya Sofia and Blue Mosque. Before calling it a night for an early day of sightseeing to follow, we settled in at a cool bar nearby. Hookah (Nargila) is on every corner, and every Turkish person partakes in this ancient smoking technique. We did not stray from tradition.


Saturday was jam packed with the greatest hits of Istanbul. We started at the Sultanahmet, which is Turkish for Blue Mosque (the first picture above). Interestingly enough, we were unable to enter because it was prayer time. The call to prayer for the city's Islamic population sounds throughout the day from the hundreds of mosques. It was such a strange experience, considering I have not traveled outside of a mostly-Christian country before this. In order to kill a little time before returning after prayer time, we made our way to the Aya Sofia (pictured above).


The Aya Sofia (or Hagia Sophia) is one of the world's oldest mosques, built around 500 AD. It was the largest building in the world when it was built, and it is a lasting symbol of Turkey's Islamic traditions. It has been converted into a museum, where you can view the inside. It is a truly MASSIVE house of prayer, and the preservation and detail are just astonishing. It's also really interesting that there are Christian art works throughout the building because of the Byzantine conquest of Constantinople around the 10th century.


Next, we made our way to the Topkapi Palace, home of the Ottoman sultans for several hundred years. It sits next to the Aya Sofia on the edge of the waterway known as the Golden Horn. Absolutely astonishing views. Finally, we made our way back to the Blue Mosque. This was my first time inside of a mosque. We had to remove our shoes before entering, and it was interesting to see Islamic prayer first hand. So different than most Americans/ Europeans are used to.


After grabbing a street kebap for lunch, we went shopping at Kapalı Çarşı, the Grand Bazaar. It is a whirlwind experience, with literally thousands of vendors selling all kind of goods and crafts. You can buy scarves, hookahs, purses, lamps, plates, clothes, food, etc. The greatest part is that you are expected to call your own price and/or haggle with the storeowners. Not a Western experience in the least.


After a long day on our feet, we made our way out of the historic city center up to Istiklal Avenue in the north. It is basically the Times Square and Broadway of Turkey, with hundreds of shops and restaurants and big bright lights. Interestingly enough, Taksim Square at the end was the sight of last month's bombing in Turkey. I am glad we were not in Istanbul for that, but otherwise I felt very safe in this big city (the 5th largest in the world!). We had dinner at a nicer Turkish restaurant, and the food is similar to what you would expect of Greek food. Lots of tzatziki sauce and shish kebap. And of, course we smoked a little more hookah. It is difficult to drink in Turkey because alcohol taxes are approximately 100% with 99% of the citizens practicing Islam. A beer still only costed about $5, but that was a lot for Turkish prices. The Turkish lira runs about 1.50 to the dollar, making it an inexpensive weekend.


Sunday was our last full day in Istanbul, so we decided to take a boat cruise down the Bosporus to the other side of Istanbul, which lies in Asia. The main part of the city is considered to be technically on the European continent. Look, mom, I've been to my third continent! The cruise was about 1.5 hours each way, making it an all day experience. We stopped at Anadolu Kavağı as our final destination. It was a small seaside town, where we had lunch on the waterfront. We also climbed to the top of the large hillside where Roman ruins were to get a better view of the Bosporus Strait from the Asian side (pictured below).


That night, we settled into a really chill place near the hotel for some more hookah and a few beers. Notice, there is no such thing as Turkish made beer, so they mostly sell Danish and Belgian brands. The people we met in Turkey were by far the nicest I have met so far in Europe as a whole. Their English may not be the best, but it was certainly better than my Turkish! Every time we sat down at a restaurant or bar, the servers could not wait to talk to us to practice their English or learn why Americans had made their way to Turkey. One guy even said that he dreamed of moving to California because he was so thankful for what Americans had done in Iraq to free his Kurdish brothers. Pretty cool to see someone appreciate your culture and government (controversial or not) from halfway across the world.


Really, Istanbul was one of the most amazing cities that I have been to. I was not disappointed once...well except for the snow in Munich and Prague that delayed our return for 8 hours. But you can't have everything.

I will be back in Paris by Thursday - assuming the weather allows with more than 8 inches of snow on the ground in Prague already. Czech in l8r!

Scandinavia: Denmark & Sweden

My third-to-last weekend travel took me to a new region of Europe for me: Scandinavia. These Nordic countries make up some of the largest, coldest, and wealthiest nations on the continent, and I visited Denmark and Sweden. I was also joined on my trip by my friends Kim and Megan from Georgetown who are studying at the London School of Economics and University of Edinburgh, respectively.


After arriving early in the morning by plane to Copenhagen, Denmark, the three of us met up and checked into our hostel. The weather was significantly colder than in Prague, and it was actually snowing when we arrived! We started to the day at the Carlsberg factory museum, the largest and most famous Danish beer. They have the largest collection of unopened beer bottles in the world. At the end of the tour, we were entitled to two free beers, which we selected after deciding our personalized taste preferences from smelling samples. In order to avoid the terrible weather, we spent most of the day inside between the Carlsberg Brewery and seeing the latest installment of Harry Potter at a Copenhagen movie theatre. It was very interesting that we were able to just walk up and order tickets right before the show, seeing as that would never happen in the US.


Saturday, the weather was much better in Copenhagen, although it was still cold. So we spent the whole day seeing all the different tourist sights of the Danish capital. We began at Christiana, an anarchist commune within the city walls. This strange place is a free, self-governing territory based on 1970s flower-power type of principles, where weed and freedom run free. You can see by the picture that the residents consider themselves non-EU citizens.


We walked almost the entirety of the city, through historic and modern shopping districts. Pictured above is a typical Danish architecture sampling, from the Nyhaven canal area.


The Little Mermaid, written by Hans Christian Andersen, is one of the most famous works of Danish literature. This statue picture above is a tribute to the author and story. Strangely enough, we happened to arrive to see the statue on the very day it returned to Denmark after a year-long absence at the Danish exhibit at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. There were news crews and even a crane to lift her back into place, what a good luck!


Above is the world-renowned Tivoli Gardens, a more than 100-year old amusement park in the center of Copenhagen. It is known for its Christmas display, and we paid to enter just to see them without riding any of the rides. The displays were incredible, and it was nice to see Europe from a Christmas-time perspective.


Here are some fun observations of my experience in Denmark. It was great that English is spoken almost universally, so it was easy to maneuver in a otherwise difficult Germanic language of Danish. There are 7Elevens on every corner, a strange American chain to arrive in Europe. The city very much reminded me of Amsterdam, with the architecture and friendly people. Also, Copenhagen is one of the WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES. Meals ran $12 minimum for fast food, a Coca-Cola was at least $3 in a can, and we won't even talk about the cost of going out at night.


On our final day, Sunday, we took a short train ride to Sweden. Malmo, the 3rd largest city, is located just across the waterway from Denmark. It was cool to see a new country, use some Swedish currency, and experience what truly is the land of tall, beautiful, blonde people. We strolled around the city center, while grabbing lunch and coffee on a relaxing day.


Also, H&M is a Swedish chain originally!

We had such a great time in Scandinavia, and I managed not to spend TOO much money. Finals are coming up here in Prague, so I've been hard at work on my final papers (4) already. Next weekend, I will travel to Istanbul, Turkey, then back to PARIS the following weekend.

Last note, I just found out that I received a paid spring internship with the Department of the Interior in Washington. It's going to be tough to manage a busy schedule with that and classes next semester after being abroad for so long, but I am ready for the challenge. I'll czech in later!

Bratislava and Back

On Wednesday, we had off from school for a national holiday celebrating the Velvet Revolution and the end of communism in Czechoslovakia. To take full advantage of my free day, I took a short trip to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, which was part of the former Czechoslovakia.


Many people think that Slovakia is the "younger brother" of the Czech Republic because it has always been a little behind while being related. However, today, the Slovak Republic is a thriving country, a member of the European Union, and even uses the Euro as their currency. After arriving late Tuesday night, I took a quick stroll around the city at night. I stopped in the Irish pub for a Guinness and grabbed a street kebab for dinner. So good, and so inexpensive for Europe. Wednesday morning started off early with a walk to the Bratislava castle, pictured above. It looks more like a four-poster bed than a castle, but it was still beautiful.


Fun fact: Bratislava was called Pressburg until the 1900s because of the German-language rule of the Austrian Empire.


Pictured above is Michael's Gate. It lies on the border of the Old Town and is one of the last remaining artifacts of medieval Bratislava.




This is the UFO bridge, named obviously for its strange architectural style. It was built during the communist rule in the 1970s. Bratislava was badly damaged by communism and was left in ruins when the Soviet Union pulled out in 1989. There was a rebirth in the 1990s when the town was spruced up and the economy was thriving. With the entrance of Slovakia into the European Union in 2004, even more funds for beautification and historical preservation poured in.


I spent the remainder of Wednesday in the most beautiful and amazing mall I have ever been too. WIth the town being very small and compact, I was able to cover all the historical sites in just half a day. I decided to see a movie in the theatre to kill some time, and tickets were only 4 euros! PS - go see the Social Network, so good. You can also see Christmas decorations all over Europe already, since there is no Thanksgiving celebrations to kick off the Holiday Season.


I had a great little day in Slovakia, for just under $50. Being in Eastern Europe has its perks, and seeing towns like this are part of a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore the other side of Europe. Next post: Copenhagen.

Berliner Braüs and Bears

For the second weekend in November, I traveled to Berlin, the largest city and capital of Germany! My cousin Joe and his girlfriend Daniela met me there after flying in from Florence, Italy. Although Berlin was not exactly what I had expected, it was definitely an amazing city rich with culture and history. Unlike many other European capitals, Berlin is a place to be savored and experienced, rather than just running from sight to sight and from museum to everywhere in between.


We started Friday at Checkpoint Charlie, the famous historic crosspoint between a divided West and East Berlin during the Soviet control of Eastern Germany. It is hard to imagine that only 20 years ago, Berlin was a divided city, as was Germany. It is even harder to believe that I was not even born yet when the Berlin Wall fell - my cousins were not very pleased when I reminded them of this fact (ha). So much of the modern history of Berlin is colored by this division and subsequent tearing down of the wall. The museum at the checkpoint was dedicated to history and artifacts of the resistance and secret crossing movements from the East to the democratic West.


We also saw the Brandenburg Gate, another famous marker in the division of Berlin during the 20th century. It is also the place where President Reagan made his famous "Tear Down This Wall" speech in 1988 at the beginning of the end of European Communism. It is interesting to learn more about the history of Berlin, as many of the other places I have visited in Eastern and Central Europe this semester were under the same rule as East Germany.


After a good night's rest and a long day of traveling, we slept in a little late on Saturday. Our first stop was the Reichstag, or German Parliament building. It is a prominent and grand structure complete with lots of recognizable German flags flying from every corner. Interestingly, there is often an absence of European Union flags, even though Germany (West) was one of the founding members. Unfortunately, the line for entrance to see the building was hours long, and we decided to spend our time elsewhere in the city.


After a long lunch complete with a few famous Berliner Braü beers (a light pilsner similar to most Czech beers), we made our way to Museum Island. This island in the Spree River is home to several of Berlin's most famous museums. This includes the Pergamon museum, which houses three large structures of antiquity. There is an entire Greek Altar of Zeus, a Roman Market Gate, and the Ishtar Gate of Babylon (pictured above).


Next stop was the Berliner Dom. This massive cathedral was constructed mainly King Frederick William III of Prussia; however, its extensive history lends it style to various different periods of architecture. Most notably, the inside is very ornate for a Protestant church, as most are rather simple compared to Catholic churches.


FInally, the views from the rotunda of the Berliner Dom were fantastic! You could see much of the see from the circular rooftop terrace. Pictured above is one view, which includes the Rathaüs (city hall) on the right and the TV Tower on the left. After an exhausting day of sights, we went to a traditional German brewpub for some meaty cuisine and German Weißbier (wheat beer) traditionally made in Munich.


On Sunday, our final day in Berlin, we made our way back to the East to see the Jewish Museum of Berlin. This unique modern establishment tells the history of German Jewry from 1000 AD until today. Obviously, German Jews have a long history in this region, and the museum paid particular attention to the Holocaust and commemorating its victims. Next stop was the East Side Gallery, the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall. It currently serves as an art gallery with many different artistic drawings and interpretations. And, of course, it makes a nice Berlin photo-op.


Our very last stop of the day was in Charlottenburg Castle, the summer residence of the Hohenzollern. This is very similar to the Schoenbrunn Castle of the Austrians and Maria Theresa in Vienna, just on a smaller scale. Overall, it was a great weekend to see a new city and to spend time with family before returning back to Prague then the United States. Tomorrow evening, I will be traveling to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. I will be spending most of Wednesday there seeing the other major city of the former Czechoslovakia, since we have a national school holiday vacation. Then Copenhagen on Friday. Cheers!

Oh, and the bear on two hind legs is the symbol of Berlin!


Lastly, my sixth column in The Hoya from abroad has been published this week! Make sure to czech it out! Click here to read my article in this week's The Guide!