FMR Yugoslavia: the Real East

When you hear the name Yugoslavia, it is usually followed by dark images of communism and war. However, things have certainly changed. This past weekend I traveled to Ljubljana, Slovenia and Zagreb, Croatia, and my was I surprised. Most of the students from my program went to Munich for Oktoberfest (which I've already done!) or Budapest (where I will be going over Fall Break next month), so I decided to journey on my own rather than stay by myself in Prague for the weekend.


Being the wonderful college student traveler that I am, I took the least expensive root possible on my journey. This mean just $100 for a roundtrip ticket from Prague to Ljubljana! This also meant 11 hours each way and 3 train train transfers in Austria. After spending most of Friday on the trains, I finally arrived in Slovenia. I checked into a hostel, which used to be a prison and was voted World's Most Interesting Hostel in 2006. It was located about 10 minutes from the city center on foot and just down the street from the trains. I soon discovered that everything was walkable in this compact and quaint city.


You may ask why Ljubljana? I say, why not! Ljubljana, a city of 300,000, is the capital of Slovenia, a country of just over 2 million residents. Pronounce the same like this: LOO-BLEE-YAN-AH. It was the first republic to break away and declare it's independence from Yugoslavia, and it has always had its eyes on the West. For those of you who didn't have to take Map of the Modern World, Slovenia is bordered on the west by Italy's Trieste region and on the north by Austria. On my first night in the city, I walked around and took in some of the sights. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, I sat down at a café besides the Ljubljana River to have a traditional Slovenian beer, of course. I was later informed that Ljubljana is the only major city with a river named after itself. Before I called it an early night after a long day on the train, I happen to catch some fireworks over Ljubljana Castle. Awesome!


On Saturday morning, I went to the tourist information center downtown to see what there was to do in Ljubljana. Unfortunately the weather all across the center of the continent was terrible, so I had to brave the rain and wet weather to experience the city. I signed up for a tour in English, thankfully many young Slovenes speak English because it is compulsory in school and Slovenian is as impossible as any other Slavic language. My tour was a small group, with a couple from California and another couple from Scotland. The tour guide was really well-spoken and informed, and she was just a college student near my age. The tour was just 10 euros for 2 hours and seeing all of the city. Slovenia has adopted the euro, but lucky for me prices are still reasonable since it's not "Western."


After walking around the Medieval town center, we saw the City Hall, University of Ljubljana, the Roman parts of the city, the places where Napoleon set up shop under French occupation in the 1800, and, of course, Ljubljana Castle. The sights rivaled those in Prague or any other European capital, there were just less of them since it's such a small city comparatively. The castle is situated on a large hill, so you could see all of the city and surrounding region from the top. On a clear day, we would have been able to see the Alps and into Austria!


Dragons are what Ljubljana is known for. According to legend, a dragon lived in the swamplands to the south and Jason of the Argonauts slayed the dragon in ancient times. Slovenes thought the was a dragon in the swamps because of the common sights of spontaneous combustion and quicksand in the marshland. The city still uses this emblem everywhere, and there is a famous bridge with statues too. After lunch at a little bar, I stopped at Zvezda for the most amazing Irish coffee and chocolate-strawberry cake...for just 6 euros total.


Later in the day, I decided to take the 2-hour train to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, which was also part of the Former Yugoslavia. I used the time on the train to dry off from all the soaking wet weather. When we crossed the border, we had to have our passports checked and stamped on both the Slovenian and Croatian sides of the border since Croatia is not in the European Union yet. They are expected to join by next year finally, but it means customs and borders until then. I quickly found an ATM and withdrew the minimum amount since Croatia has its own currency, the kuna. I withdrew 100 kuna, which was about $19. This lasted me for a few stops in cafes and dinner. Zagreb is not the most beautiful city, as Croatia is known for its Adriatic beaches in the south, but I figured I would stop in to see a new country while I could. Some of the famous sights include Zagreb Cathedral and St. Mark's Church in the Old Town on the top of the city hill. Zagreb wasn't too exciting, but I made the best of the day in the torrential downpours.


All-in-all, I had a fantastic weekend journeying by myself in the Former Yugoslav Republics of Slovenia and Croatia. It was certainly worth the 26 hours and 9 train rides. I wish I had more time in Ljubljana, as it was definitely one of my favorite cities in Europe thus far. The city was beautiful, the people were friendly, and the prices were reasonable. There's always next time!

Oktoberfest #200

This past weekend, some friends from Georgetown abroad in Strasbourg, France, and I traveled to Munich for Oktoberfest! What a weekend and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. While Oktoberfest was so much fun, it was a little tainted by my previous visit to Munich in August. After experiencing Munich on a regular day, it was difficult to compare everyday Munich to Oktoberfest Munich. One friend described it as like Times Square in NYC for New Years: something you want to do once just to say you did it but difficult to enjoy fully because of the crowds.


I started my journey on Friday night when I took an overnight bus from Prague to Munich. For just $70 round-trip, the bus was really nice and confortable and only took 5 hours each way. After arriving at one of the Munich bus stations north of the city, I made my way on the underground train to meet my 4 friends from Georgetown in Strasbourg. I was really thankful to have been to Munich before because it made navigating the crowds and public transportation much easier. Finally I met up with Katie, Lauren, Tucker, and Andrew; and we began our first day at Oktoberfest 2010.


For the 200th anniversary of the festival, the grounds were VERY crowded to say the least. Also, since Saturday was the first official day of the celebrations, we had to wait until noon for the official tapping of the keg by the mayor of Munich. This meant waiting around for a few hours before being served a famous liter of Munchen beer, but it gave us the chance to relax and catchup. After the beer wenches made their first round, we got our 5 liters of beer for the group and began Oktoberfest officially.


If you've never been to Oktoberfest before, it is important to recognize that it is basically a giant carnival with biergartens. There are lots of different amusement rides, types of Bavarian foods and deserts, and games to play. The 7 or 8 different giant Beer Tents are just one aspect of Oktoberfest. It's fun to just walk around and observe all the traditions of Bavarian culture....and all the German dressed in their ridiculous lederhosen and traditional dress. After devouring some German sausages, we made our way to another biergarten for another round of 1-liter beer steins.

After our second 1-liter (read, 3 cans of beer per serving), we were in need of a break. We made our way out into Munich to see the Marienplatz, Glockenspiel, and Englischter Garten. SInce I had been to Munich recently, I was able to show my friends some of the highlights of the city before enjoying dinner near the English Garten. We settled down for one last round at the famous Hofbraü Brew House before calling it a night. We spent the night in a campground outside the city. It was cold, and the ground was hard as rocks. But at least it was budget and time-constraint friendly.


The second day held a return to Oktoberfest. After being good tourists and seeing the St. Paul Cathedral just outside the Thereiseinwise (home to Oktoberfest), we returned to see the festivities all over again. My Georgetown friends departed in the early afternoon, and I spent the remainder of the day before my bus back to Prague exploring more of the Oktoberfest grounds, drinking some beer, and having an awesome Hendel (roasted chicken) dinner at the Chinese Tower Biergarten in the English Gardens.

Overall, Oktoberfest was an awesome experience to be shared and remembered with friends. Munich is one of my favorite cities in Europe, and I can't wait to go back on a regular day to soak up the Bavarian culture. This week in Prague brings my first actual class days and the beginnings of my internship. I will post later in the week about how my classes are, but so far they seem interesting and not-too-stressful. I have booked a trip to Ljubljana, Slovenia, for the weekend coming while most of the other program students in Prague head to Oktoberfest for the second official weekend.


Lastly, here is a link to my second Hoya column! Click here to read my article in this week's The Guide!

Some Good News, Some Bad News

Tomorrow is my last day of 6-hour/day intensive Czech classes! YAY!! We have our final exam tomorrow, before we have to do a take-home exam this weekend around the city of Prague. I really have learned a lot from my Czech class so far in such a short amount of time, but the language is difficult and students are highly unmotivated. Tomorrow night our Czech teachers will be taking us to the National Opera to see a show, and immediately after I'm hopping on a night-bus to Munich for Oktoberfest. It promises to be an amazing weekend, and I will update you upon my return from a second visit to Munich during my European adventures.

The bad news. Upon logging into my online checking account this evening, I discovered that someone had stolen my debit card number and charged over $2,500 in online purchases without my knowledge in the last two days. I am trying to get this mess taken care of as soon as possible, but there is lots of paperwork to come and waiting for my new card to be mailed all the way to Prague. Meanwhile, I am stuck without easy access to cash, and I have to get new currency when I go to Munich tomorrow...FUN. I'm sure it will all work out, but it is a hassle to deal with, especially from halfway across the globe.


In other news, i start my internship at the IPD Group on Tuesday, and I am also applying to be a student reporter for the 2-day world-famous annual Forum 2000 Conference here in Prague in October. Wish me luck!

I've also finalized plans to go to Krakow, Poland, in a month, in addition to seeing Auschwitz and the famous salt domes nearby. I also got news that my cousin Joe and his girlfriend Dani will be meeting me from Florence in November in Berlin to travel and visit. I cannot WAIT. Looking forward to the official keg-tapping of the 200th Oktoberfest on Saturday! Until then...auf wiedersehen!

Kutná Hora and Bohemia

One week of intensive czech class down, one week to go! This Saturday, we took a required day trip to a city in the region of Bohemia named Kutná Hora. The Czech Republic is divided into three regions: Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia. Prague and Kutná Hora are both located in Bohemia. Kutná Hora was famous in the 13th century for its silver mining. Much like the gold rush of 1849 in California, the city became a hotstop in the Middle Ages, once rivaling Prague and other European capitals in its power and wealth.


After the one hour drive, we were split into several groups. My group was lead by the Art & Architecture of Prague course professor, so it was nice to meet her and learn from her even before our course begins next week. The city is in a picturesque valley, and the picture below shows me in front of the large gothic St. Barbara Cathedral in the historical center. I know there's more pictures than text in this blog post, but there really was so much to see in the Czech Republic this weekend!


The program provided us lunch at a traditional czech pub. Nothing like chicken, potatoes, mushroom soup, bread, and, of course, beer to send you into a food coma for the rest of the day.


While in Kutná Hora, we took a guided tour of some of the silver mines. The tour guide only spoke minimal English, so we really had to pay attention and watch our surroundings. Over 100 feet below the surface of the ground, we walked the the criss-cross of networks to learn more about the terribly difficult life on a miner in the Czech Republic. The silver at once made this region prosperous and took a toll on the local population.


Perhaps the most fascinating part of Kutná Hora is the infamous Bone Chapel. That's right, the entire little church is decorated with the remains of 50,000+ victims of the Black Plague and Holy Wars. In order to make room for the massive amount of burials at this time, old bodies were dug up to make room for new ones. Make sure you click the picture above for a full-sized view!


The Bone Chapel is the work of a half-blind monk. Clearly, you'd have to be blind to not see how creepy this place would be. The concept of bone churches began in England and eventually spread to the rest of Europe. It was very difficult for me to find peace in this kind of space, knowing so many dead people's remains were surrounding me.


On Sunday, my Art & Architecture of Prague teacher took us to Troja Castle in the outskirts of Prague. This mansion was built in the 17th century in the pattern of the French Royal Palace of Versailles. It has many different types of style and architecture. And of course, there was a wine festival on the grounds this weekend too.


Above is the Great Room, which is the handiwork of two Dutch Jews who were paid to decorate this ornate residence. There are even parts of the Christian motif that have Hebrew in them, as the artisans were inserting their heritage into their work. We ended the day at the Old New Synagogue in the Josefov section of Prague. The former Jewish quarter is the home to the oldest surviving synagogue in all of Europe. The place is very small but ornate, lasting over 700 years through persecution, Holocaust, and communism.


It's back to the daily grind of Czech class here in Prague. We have a few planned activities at school this week, including an extracurricular expo and academic meetings with our professors. i will also be signing up for a few required weekend trips around the Czech Republic for our courses, in addition to my optional trip to Krakow, Poland. I'm very excited to be traveling around Central Europe this semester, and I will keep you posted as to where I decide to continue my adventures!

Czech-ing In

3 days down, 7 to go. I've started the first week of my czech language intensive course. To say the least, the czech language is very difficult. It has some similarities in structure to Latin (which I took in high school), and it can be compared to Polish. We spend 5 hours each day over three sessions in small classes of about 15 student, and we learn the basic structure and vocabulary. Luckily, the teachers do not expect very much from the students because the language is very difficult for foreigners, and much of the lessons center around practical and everyday situations in the Czech Republic. That being said, we have our first quiz tomorrow! Yikes, back to school reality.


Pictured above is the CIEE Study Center of Charles University, where I take all my classes and the program offices are located. Other than czech class, I have not had too much free time to myself. When we are free from the program, I spend my time meeting new people and eating/drinking out in the city with my program friends. Sleep is still hard to come by, but you only get to live in Prague once. Prague is not a very expensive city and the exchange rate of the Czech koruna is favorable at this time. Money still flies away, though. I finally have my classes arranged for the semester, just 4 hours Monday/Wednesday afternoons and 3 hours Tuesday/Thursday mornings. Hello, 4-day weekends! I'm taking the following classes: (1) Anthropology of Czech Society and Culture, (2) Czech and Central European History, (3) Art and Architecture of Prague: A Model of European City Development, (4) The Politics and Economics of the European Union, and (5) Beginning Czech Language, I Section 6.


Today, the program organized a guided walking tour of Prague Castle and the historic area surrounding it. While there is no giant castile in the complex, there is, rather, a complex of beautiful and historic buildings within the walls. Also, St. Vitor Cathedral is the stand-out sight, pictured above. Prague is definitely one of the most picturesque cities in Europe, with a quaint and friendly atmosphere and little remaining of the communist legacy in plain sight.


In other news, I received word today that I will be interning this semester with the IPD Group and EIN News. The company is headquartered in Prague and Washington, DC (how lucky), and it mostly works in the journalism, technology, and marketing sectors. I am not sure exactly what I will be doing yet with IPD, but I'm sure it will be a nice way to make use of my time outside of classes and traveling.


According to friends back at school, Georgetown is as busy as ever even though it's a little weird with so many students abroad during junior year. Yesterday, I even had a Skype meeting with my co-leaders for my Alternative Spring Break trip to New Orleans in the spring. It's amazing that technology can connect people across the world with just the click of a button. Well, I'm off to study for my czech quiz tomorrow. I'll be sure to czech-in soon!

One Week Down, Many to Go

Let me begin my post with some big news. My blog is now going Georgetown! My column for The Hoya's The Guide inspired by my blog has debuted this week. The column is titled Postcards to Georgetown, and it will run every other Friday in The Guide. Here is a link to my first column entry:

Click here for my column.

Second, I was also part of a Guide article on the 5th anniversary of Katrina, which was last week when I just arrived in Prague. Take a look at the article here to learn more about Georgetown and the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans:

Click here for Katrina article.

Back to Praha. We have just completed our first of three weeks of intensive orientation. No more meetings or being babied by the program. The next two weeks is all about Czech language and preparing for the real semester to start. On top of our 5 hour czech language classes everyday for two weeks, we will be finalizing our course schedules and planning activities like day and overnight trips in the Czech Republic.

I'm also in the process of planning a trip back to Munich with some other Georgetown students studying in Europe this semester for the opening keg-tapping of Oktoberfest. Wish me luck in the biergartens!

I will check in again after the weekend. Hopefully we will finally get some time to relax and catch up on some Zs.

Orientation Overload

Ciao from my new apartment in Prague! I am sorry that my posts have been lacking, but the program has kept us insanely busy during our first 3 days in our new city. On Monday, we arrived at the airport where we were taken to a hotel for the night before we all moved across the city to our new accommodations. Some students are living in university dorms, others in home-stays with Czech families, and many (like me) are living in apartments scattered throughout the city. I am living in the Vinohrady section of the city, so named for its more location as a vineyard, which is east of the city center and our school. There are about 4 other apartment groups in the area, so we are not completely on our own. My apartment is really nice and spacious, with the design of a early 20th century apartment building. I am rooming with a Czech student, who speaks perfect English and is really helpful, and there is also another guy from Georgetown living in the other bedroom.

Yesterday was our first full day of activities. We moved into our apartments, got situated, and learned how to get to/from the study center for classes via public transportation. Today, we have 4 long orientation meetings with information sessions about the city and program, followed by a several hour walking-tour of the city. And we have to do the exact same thing tomorrow and Friday. They really give us little time to breathe. Plus, most students are exploring the nightlife in Prague, making sleep hard to come by.

It is a unique situation here in Prague because 18 of the about 80 American students in the program are from Georgetown. I didn't really know anyone else before I came, but it has been nice having things and friends in common with some of the other students. Overall, it has been such a weird feeling getting to meet new people and adjusted to a new city, much like the strange time of orientation during freshman year of college. This semester, I was chosen to write a column from abroad in the Hoya's The Guide (the largest newspaper on campus). My first column, which is set for press on Friday in Washington, talks about my thoughts on orientation in Prague as compared to at Georgetown two years ago.

After some well-deserved rest, I am probably going to dinner and out later night. Below is a picture of my apartment building. Will check in soon hopefully!