With a week off of school, I wanted to take full advantage of the time given. A group of us left on Thursday morning to travel to the first destination of the week, Prague! Our plane ride was packed and rowdy because another college in Dublin had spring break and a large group of Irish college students were traveling to Prague as well. I knew right then that Prague was going to be exciting! Once we arrived in Prague, we took a taxi to our hostel which was in a amazing location. Our hostel was located by all tourist attractions and night and across from where the Irish students were staying. The first night we ate at a lovely little Czech restaurant. I had duck, which was the best meal I have had since traveling over seas. After eating we made our way to a cocktail bar where we had the sweetest waitress and the most delicious, cheap drinks. On Friday, the rest of our crew arrived in Prague and we went across the street to a restaurant where we met up Caits friend, Richard who was from the Czech Republic. Richard had studied abroad at Hastings College in Nebraska. He became our official tour guide for the rest of our time in Prague. Richard showed us all the popular bars as well as the beautiful city. I was surprised at the amount of graffiti on gorgeous buildings throughout the entire city. I was also taken back by the street art. There was a huge statue in the middle of city central of a naked Lego lady. Naturally, we had to climb her. see below.
On Saturday I traveled around the city as much as possible. The first stop was the John Lennon wall. Pictures can not do this wall justice. It was magical sight that I will never forget. There was a street performer jamming out to the Beatles directly in front of the wall, which made the experience even more incredible. We spent an hour just reading the lyrics and admiring the art painted on the wall. The next stop was the Charles Bridge, but on the way there we man in the street who was blowing the biggest bubbles we had ever seen. We had to stop and play with the bubbles for awhile, before continuing on our journey.
The Charles Bridge was crowed, filled with street performers and independent artists selling unique art. Charles Bridge had beautiful architecture of the stations of the cross. I watched several tourists stop to pray in front of the statues. The view over the bridge was incredible as well. Prague has the most elegant and colorful buildings. I could have stood and on Charles Bridge all day admiring the beauty.
We made our way up to Pitrin. Pitrin is Prague's Eiffel Tower, which involves a thirty minute steep hike. Once we reached the top of the hill you were able to climb to the top of Pitrin. The climb was definitely worth it. At the top of Pitrin you could see the entire city of Prague and the view was breathtaking. Once again, pictures can not do this place justice.
We made our way up to Pitrin. Pitrin is Prague's Eiffel Tower, which involves a thirty minute steep hike. Once we reached the top of the hill you were able to climb to the top of Pitrin. The climb was definitely worth it. At the top of Pitrin you could see the entire city of Prague and the view was breathtaking. Once again, pictures can not do this place justice.
The hostel that we were staying at offered us coupons to the Ice Bar located in the shopping center, so we decided that we should CZECH it out while we were there :) Before entering the bar you had to put on a poncho coat and wear gloves because it was so cold. The bar was -7 degrees C and we were only allowed to stay in there for twenty minutes. Richard, our official tour guide also guided us to the Prague Castle and traveled with us to the airport when it was finally time to leave Prague and continue our journey.
The Czech Republic is a fantastic place to travel for young college students and I highly suggest CZECHING it out when traveling over seas. Prague is cheap and friendly.
The only trouble we ran into was at the airport when our flight was delayed and we were stuck in the airport all day/ night.
The Czech Republic is a fantastic place to travel for young college students and I highly suggest CZECHING it out when traveling over seas. Prague is cheap and friendly.
The only trouble we ran into was at the airport when our flight was delayed and we were stuck in the airport all day/ night.
The next stop was Dublin for St. Patrick's day, because in my opinion you can't be studying in Ireland and not spent St. Patrick's day there! We stayed at a hotel that was twenty minutes away from down town. Although the hotel was cheaper than getting a hostel closer to the city, if I could do it over I would rather pay more to be downtown because paying for taxi's to travel back and forth begins to add up and at the end of the day, cost just as much if not, more. Once we got our green on at the hotel we went to the parade. There were so many people that it was impossible to see anything unless you climbed a tree or light poll. After the parade a small group of us went to a small bar to listen to traditional Irish music. After talking to one of the musicians, we learned that none of the musicians knew each other before playing together, which was simply incredible. Later that night, it started to get "rowdy" throughout the city of Dublin.There was broken beer glass and trash everywhere. It was almost impossible to get into bars due to the amount of people that there were crowds of people drinking on the streets. It will forever be an unforgettable experience. The next day I was up bright and early to continue my adventure to London.
My first day of London was a very different pace than my previous trips in Prague and Dublin.The first night I went to Phantom of the Opera at the Her Majesty's Theater. I thoroughly enjoyed the show, but personally thought the touring company performed at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha was better. The girls that I was traveling with in London wanted to go to Harry Potter World. I had no interest in ,this so I decided to go off on my own. I took a 3 hour double decker bus tour around London and learned so many interesting facts. That night I had to figure out the underground train system by myself back to the hotel. This was an adventure in itself! The next day a few of us went to the London dungeon. This was a three hour toned down haunted house that took you on a trip through London history. It was scary at some parts! Later that day I went on the London eye and took a train to the Abbey Roads Studio where the Beatles originally recorded. The last day I traveled to Buckingham Palace which was packed because the guards were getting ready change. I had more fun listening to the sassy police man tell people where they could and couldn't stand than actually watching the guards change. Later that day me and Rachel stopped in a coffee shop for breakfast and two nice, slightly drunk men bought us breakfast. It was a nice gesture before heading back to Ireland. To top off the trip on the plane back to Ireland, the guy next to me bought me a beer!
I would say that spring break was a success and will be an experience I will cherish forever!
I would say that spring break was a success and will be an experience I will cherish forever!
The crosswalk on the Beatles record
View from the London eye
Throwing the lopes!