I'm now clean

Dobry den,
(yes, this is the Czech for Good Morning. thrilling, yeah?)

things are well. but HOT. yesterday we baked on the cobblestones of prague, like sweaty little strips of american bacon. yum.

but we also saw some pretty cool stuff. did you know that prague's music scene is still very much centered on the classical? meaning, there are tons of string concerts and operas going on in all the pretty churches and halls, more than there are rock concerts. andrea and i were determined to see one of these performances, but we didn't realize our goal would take us around the entire city searching for a ticket vendor, and then lead us to find out that we couldn't reasonably afford the string quartet we wanted to see. on a desperate whim, we visited the opera house and found FOUR DOLLAR TICKETS to the opera called Samson and Delila. it was such a relief to know at 7pm we would be sitting in a dark, gilded theatre, nodding to the pretty strains of some kick-ass voices. and it was lovely.

we also managed to visit three different churches: more specifically (for the art major), they were baroque, gothic, and romanesque. my favorite part was the light inside each of them--kind of magical, i suppose. and the marble made everything feel cool and quiet, especially on a scorching day. i don't think i should try to explain them for too long...hopefully pictures will do them justice. soon.

also, mothers will be smug at knowing that both andrea and i are suffering from crappy-shoe-disease. i probably have 20 bandaids on right now. and socks. and my feet are still screaming. ah well. maybe i'll come back with crappy european shoes as souvenirs?

Peeeerague

Finally, Im sitting down. My gawd. For all their picturesque-ness, cobblestones will do a terrible number on your feet.

Andrea and I have been wearing the same clothing for the past three days. While we are both pretty good at making our wardrobes last, we~re both ready to change into something a little less grimey. And while we both get a certain amount of satisfaction out of turning into mangey ironwomen of the world, we need a break. Hopefully today will provide that.

The last 24 hours have been a little hectic. We made the clever decision to take a night train from Berlin to Prague, but didn`t realize it would be only four hour trip...meaning, if we left at 930 pm and wanted to arrive at 830 am, we would have a SIX HOUR LAYOVER. In Dresden. Which, for the record, is not that interesting at 3am. And probably not much more interesting at 8am. But perhaps Im just bitter about my sleepless night wandering its streets for a bar and then attempting to figure out the tram system with a sleepy, cloudy head. Sprechen Sie Englisch? No? DAMNIT!

And jeez, Europe is quiet. From the few places Ive been, there just doesnt seem to be the same cloud of noise Ive heard over other U.S. cities. Dresden was a flipping grave.

Luckily, we`re now in Prague. Which is as beautiful as its pictures, but unfortunately crowded by tourists. Yesterday we walked the Royal Gardens--a bunch of green groomed terraces with roses and ivy and really expansive views of the entire city. Today we`re hoping to see Kafka`s house and the inside of the St. Nicholas church.

Pictures soon? We`ll see! Thanks for all of your comments! MISS you!

hole-la

i have learned one thing in my now three days abroad--loosing your luggage sucks, no matter what country you´re in. DAMN. i finally got my backpack back in Berlin, after making a special hour long trip to the airport and then getting yelled at by a cranky german customs dude who probably hates young, wide-eyed girls who can´t speak his language. well, he shan´t get the best of me.

besides the backpack debacle, Berlin is surprising and lovely. the computer i´m at doesn´t have a USB port, so i´ll have to share pictures later. and i only have 2 more minutes of my internet connection left! love, and more soon!

off!

amigos y familia,

i'll be a bit nomadic this summer, so i figured this lil blog would be an easy way to keep you guys updated on what i'm doing in europe. hopefully i'll have many chances to write and share pictures. don't be afraid to comment as you read!

so far, my plan is thus:

may 25th arrive in madrid and meet up with andrea!
may 26th fly to berlin, germany
may 29th train to prague, czech rep.
june 1st somehow make our way to the farm (in bystrice nad pernstejnem, czech rep) we'll be working on for a week
june 6th train to krakow, poland
june 8th train to budapest, hungary
june 12th day and night in bratislava, slovakia
june 13th fly to barcelona, spain
june 14th back to madrid and on to toledo for school

hurray! i'll be thinking of you while i'm away!