So on Thursday we took a class trip to Prague in the Czeck Republic. We all hopped on a rented Mercedes bus and drove about 5 hours through the beautiful German and Czech country-side. We followed the Elbe River in a South Eastern direction to Prague. Upon arrival we settled into our youth-hostel and then hit the streets. We immediately began exploring the city. We noticed that the Easter market was on the square so experiencing that was fun. It had many small booths with vendors offering many things; crepes, paintings, hand-made souvenirs, and much more. There was traditional music being played and it seemed to be a very festive site.
The next day we took a 6 hour walking tour of the city and learned about much of the great history of Prague. I have a particular interest in the Religious culture/history of old cities and Prague has a lot. We learned about a Priest in the 15th century named Johannes Hus. He was burned at the steak for speaking out against the Catholic Church. In this time many people were poor but still had to pay for repentances and forgiveness. He, obviously, did not agree with this and they burned him. Many people were followers of him and after his death they referred tot themselves as "Hussites". In the market square stands a statue of him. This all happened about 100 years before Martin Luther and the Protestant reformation, but this was a similar struggle with he Catholic church Martin Luther had.
So on this 6 hour tour we saw most of Historical Prague; town hall, Charles Bridge, the Church of our Lady, the Jewish Ghetto, The castle, etc.
Town hall has a really cool old clock. It not only shows the time, but it has the astrological signs and all that stuff. It is actually a little difficult to read because it is so complex. And in the time it was built the people believed that everything revolved around the earth so the earth is in the middle and everything spins around it. Also below the clock is a circle with different Catholic saint names. Everyday a new saint is celebrated or remembered. There are so many names!
On Friday we attended the Prague Opera. This was favorite thing we did in Prague. I absolutely love the opera. We saw Verdi's Nabucco. Although it is not the most interesting Opera on the planet I still enjoyed it. It was Lars' first opera to attend and I think he liked it. (Lars is my German boyfriend and he got to come to Prague with us).
Then we drove home on Monday. So all in all it was a nice stay in Prague. If you want to travel for relatively cheap consider Prague.
I love you all! Stay tuned for more adventures!
love love love
Michelle
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Back to Reality
Friday March 10, 2009
So finally on the last day in Kaprun I mastered the turn on the snowboard! Woo! I really have a great feeling of personal triumph. For those of you who know me well, you know that I am not the most athletic person on the planet. So I was really surprised to go away from Kaprun with no serious injuries or a feeling of defeat! haha! We are now driving back to Wiesbaden on the autobahn. We left early today in order to beat the traffic of tomorrow morning. It is only a 6 hour drive, I believe. Oh and it is so hard to watch the mountains slowly disappear. As we watch the sun set there is a hot air balloon on the horizon. This country (Germany) is really so beautiful and I can feel my self falling in love with the land.
Saturday night we will be having a bar-b-q with everyone that came on the trip. Also my cousin Nikola is coming with her Boyfriend, Alex. She is 5 months pregnant and I'm so excited to see her! Everyone is so happy for them, especially her father, my uncle Falk.
I hope all is well back in the States! I love you guys!
Michelle
So finally on the last day in Kaprun I mastered the turn on the snowboard! Woo! I really have a great feeling of personal triumph. For those of you who know me well, you know that I am not the most athletic person on the planet. So I was really surprised to go away from Kaprun with no serious injuries or a feeling of defeat! haha! We are now driving back to Wiesbaden on the autobahn. We left early today in order to beat the traffic of tomorrow morning. It is only a 6 hour drive, I believe. Oh and it is so hard to watch the mountains slowly disappear. As we watch the sun set there is a hot air balloon on the horizon. This country (Germany) is really so beautiful and I can feel my self falling in love with the land.
Saturday night we will be having a bar-b-q with everyone that came on the trip. Also my cousin Nikola is coming with her Boyfriend, Alex. She is 5 months pregnant and I'm so excited to see her! Everyone is so happy for them, especially her father, my uncle Falk.
I hope all is well back in the States! I love you guys!
Michelle
Sunday, April 12, 2009
More adventures in Austria
Wednesday March 8, 2009
So slowly but surely the snowboarding is coming along. Every day it gets a little easier but some nice wipe-outs have occurred. haha! Tonight we went to a nice Austrian Restaurant. And, of course, the waitress was dressed like something strait out of The Sound of Music! Nothing too interesting happened during dinner but then we moved on to dessert. I had a little craving for something sweet but not too much so I talked my cousin, Robin, into splitting a Salzburger Nockerln with me. Neither of us knew what it was so we were both curious to see how they made it. Apparently it is similar to a soufflé. The others ordered desserts with ice cream and other things. But when our Salzburger Nockerln came out... it was so HUGE! I mean embarrassing huge! Picture 3 giant mirang mountains with marmalade on the side. It didn’t even taste good. It tasted like an uncooked marshmallow. It was obviously just sugar and egg whites. We all had a great laugh because it was really just obscenely big. There was no way two people could have even tried to eat it all! Really there was no way all 10 of us could have eaten it!
The snowboarding went better today. And I'm the only English speaker in the group. So even though my teacher speaks a little bit of English, He chooses to stay in German most of the time, Austrian German to be precise. So needless to say my Germany is definitely improving! This is a good thing except when he is giving really important instructions on how not to die, for example! haha just kidding! Everything is really safe up here. But it is a little embarrassing to see groups of four years olds skiing circles around you! I'm not kidding. There are really, really small kids skiing up here. Today I sat next to a very talkative four year old German girl who could ski. And she was telling me all about everything. So not only could she ski better than me but she could speak German better than me. Wow is that a blow to the self-esteem or what? haha! No really it was good fun.
Much love to you all,
Michelle
So slowly but surely the snowboarding is coming along. Every day it gets a little easier but some nice wipe-outs have occurred. haha! Tonight we went to a nice Austrian Restaurant. And, of course, the waitress was dressed like something strait out of The Sound of Music! Nothing too interesting happened during dinner but then we moved on to dessert. I had a little craving for something sweet but not too much so I talked my cousin, Robin, into splitting a Salzburger Nockerln with me. Neither of us knew what it was so we were both curious to see how they made it. Apparently it is similar to a soufflé. The others ordered desserts with ice cream and other things. But when our Salzburger Nockerln came out... it was so HUGE! I mean embarrassing huge! Picture 3 giant mirang mountains with marmalade on the side. It didn’t even taste good. It tasted like an uncooked marshmallow. It was obviously just sugar and egg whites. We all had a great laugh because it was really just obscenely big. There was no way two people could have even tried to eat it all! Really there was no way all 10 of us could have eaten it!
The snowboarding went better today. And I'm the only English speaker in the group. So even though my teacher speaks a little bit of English, He chooses to stay in German most of the time, Austrian German to be precise. So needless to say my Germany is definitely improving! This is a good thing except when he is giving really important instructions on how not to die, for example! haha just kidding! Everything is really safe up here. But it is a little embarrassing to see groups of four years olds skiing circles around you! I'm not kidding. There are really, really small kids skiing up here. Today I sat next to a very talkative four year old German girl who could ski. And she was telling me all about everything. So not only could she ski better than me but she could speak German better than me. Wow is that a blow to the self-esteem or what? haha! No really it was good fun.
Much love to you all,
Michelle
snowboarding hurts
Monday March 6, 2009
Ok so today was my second day of learning to snowboard. One word describes how I feel right now: OUCH! The first day was not so difficult. But we didn't go up on the top of the mountain. We just stayed on a relatively flat part and the instructors held our hands and didn't let us fall. But today... we went up the mountain. I’m pretty sure I’ve never fallen so much in my life. Thank goodness Uncle Falk and Moni found me a Helmet! By lunch time I was ready to throw in the towel, I was so frustrated! But then I went with another instructor who was more patient and things started getting better. The other Texas Tech student that lives with my host family told me "The first 8 hours you spend snowboarding you will be on you backside. But if you just stick with it then you can make it." And folks, surprisingly, he was right. The first 8 hours were really hard. And right now my body feels like I was in a car accident. But now I can feel a slight progression. The class lasts for 6 days. So hopefully by Friday I'll be a champ!
The other kids in the snowboard class are way younger than me. I might actually be older than the instructor! haha But it's all good. I am literally having the time of my life! But now it's time for a good night's sleep. That won't be hard.
Love,
Michelle (future champion snowboarder j/k)
Ok so today was my second day of learning to snowboard. One word describes how I feel right now: OUCH! The first day was not so difficult. But we didn't go up on the top of the mountain. We just stayed on a relatively flat part and the instructors held our hands and didn't let us fall. But today... we went up the mountain. I’m pretty sure I’ve never fallen so much in my life. Thank goodness Uncle Falk and Moni found me a Helmet! By lunch time I was ready to throw in the towel, I was so frustrated! But then I went with another instructor who was more patient and things started getting better. The other Texas Tech student that lives with my host family told me "The first 8 hours you spend snowboarding you will be on you backside. But if you just stick with it then you can make it." And folks, surprisingly, he was right. The first 8 hours were really hard. And right now my body feels like I was in a car accident. But now I can feel a slight progression. The class lasts for 6 days. So hopefully by Friday I'll be a champ!
The other kids in the snowboard class are way younger than me. I might actually be older than the instructor! haha But it's all good. I am literally having the time of my life! But now it's time for a good night's sleep. That won't be hard.
Love,
Michelle (future champion snowboarder j/k)
uhhh... is this a dream?
Saturday March 4, 2009
Ok so we arrived in Kaprun, Austria today and it is amazing! I can't believe that I am actually in the Alps! Everything is just like a storybook here. The mountains are snow-capped and the valleys are green. I wish I didn't have to leave. The roads were a little jammed up but not too bad. And boy is driving on the Autobahn quick! I mean you get somewhere in a hurry! The Pension we are staying in is on a nice little mountain overlooking Kaprun. The woman who owns this place speaks with a strong Austrian dialect and is obviously friends with my uncle and aunt. She even baked our group two wonderful apple strudels one day.
So Uncle Falk signed me up for snowboard lessons and I'm super excited! One because snowboarding makes you look so cool and also because the snowboard instructors are all young, blonde, Austrian guys. haha! Just kidding! And tonight we kicked off the trip with the traditional family bar-b-q. Uncle Falk grilled some great meats. I think there was some chicken stuffed with fresh cheese! Yummy! And the weather was so wonderful this evening. We all just sat on the porch overlooking the small resort town and talked after dinner. What a perfect start to a wonderful experience!
All the people we are with on the trip are so nice. There are four teenage boys that I have to share an apartment with. But at least I get my own bed! Bring on the testosterone! haha They all seem to be nice boys. I'm positive this week will be awesome as long as I don't break my neck snowboarding! Woo!
More to come soon!
Love,
Michelle
Ok so we arrived in Kaprun, Austria today and it is amazing! I can't believe that I am actually in the Alps! Everything is just like a storybook here. The mountains are snow-capped and the valleys are green. I wish I didn't have to leave. The roads were a little jammed up but not too bad. And boy is driving on the Autobahn quick! I mean you get somewhere in a hurry! The Pension we are staying in is on a nice little mountain overlooking Kaprun. The woman who owns this place speaks with a strong Austrian dialect and is obviously friends with my uncle and aunt. She even baked our group two wonderful apple strudels one day.
So Uncle Falk signed me up for snowboard lessons and I'm super excited! One because snowboarding makes you look so cool and also because the snowboard instructors are all young, blonde, Austrian guys. haha! Just kidding! And tonight we kicked off the trip with the traditional family bar-b-q. Uncle Falk grilled some great meats. I think there was some chicken stuffed with fresh cheese! Yummy! And the weather was so wonderful this evening. We all just sat on the porch overlooking the small resort town and talked after dinner. What a perfect start to a wonderful experience!
All the people we are with on the trip are so nice. There are four teenage boys that I have to share an apartment with. But at least I get my own bed! Bring on the testosterone! haha They all seem to be nice boys. I'm positive this week will be awesome as long as I don't break my neck snowboarding! Woo!
More to come soon!
Love,
Michelle
Preparing for a trip to Austria
Thursday March 2, 2009
So the brother of my German grandmother lives in Germany in a town called Wiesbaden, located in the west. He and his family have invited me on their yearly Easter skiing vacation. So long ago I booked a train ticket to Wiesbaden for the entire week before Easter. I have never been skiing before so they signed me up for beginner ski lessons. But I think I would like to snowboard. We will see what is possible. Either way I'm sure the trip will be amazing. They have also gathered the clothing required for me to ski in. This is yet another prime example of German hospitality. Two other families are going with us and my cousin is bringing two friends of his. So I will be in a room full of teenage boys! haha This should be interesting!
We will drive on a Saturday which could prove to be tricky. Many German people get two or three weeks of vacation for Easter so there will most definitely be many, many cars on the Autobahn. Our drive from Wiesbaden to Kaprun, Austria should take about 6 hours, depending on traffic. Then we will begin the week with a traditional family bar-b-q! This is apparently how we kick-off the ski trip! I hope we get to have some beef as it is not so prevalent in Germany. I’m predicting we will most definitely have würstchen (small bratwursts), chicken, and pork steaks. Yummy!
I will not have access to the internet during the week in Austria so I will post all my blogs upon my arrival back to Wiesbaden. I love you all!!!!
Michelle
So the brother of my German grandmother lives in Germany in a town called Wiesbaden, located in the west. He and his family have invited me on their yearly Easter skiing vacation. So long ago I booked a train ticket to Wiesbaden for the entire week before Easter. I have never been skiing before so they signed me up for beginner ski lessons. But I think I would like to snowboard. We will see what is possible. Either way I'm sure the trip will be amazing. They have also gathered the clothing required for me to ski in. This is yet another prime example of German hospitality. Two other families are going with us and my cousin is bringing two friends of his. So I will be in a room full of teenage boys! haha This should be interesting!
We will drive on a Saturday which could prove to be tricky. Many German people get two or three weeks of vacation for Easter so there will most definitely be many, many cars on the Autobahn. Our drive from Wiesbaden to Kaprun, Austria should take about 6 hours, depending on traffic. Then we will begin the week with a traditional family bar-b-q! This is apparently how we kick-off the ski trip! I hope we get to have some beef as it is not so prevalent in Germany. I’m predicting we will most definitely have würstchen (small bratwursts), chicken, and pork steaks. Yummy!
I will not have access to the internet during the week in Austria so I will post all my blogs upon my arrival back to Wiesbaden. I love you all!!!!
Michelle
Mom and Mema's Visit Part 2
On Friday, we all hopped on a train to Dresden. This city is by far my favorite city in Germany so far! I wrote about it in a previous blog. So naturally, I wanted to share my favorite city with them. We stayed in the same wonderful little hostel our class stayed in. It’s called the Kangaroo stop if you ever plan on being Dresden. We hit up der Swinger and Mema just loved the Art gallery that houses Raphael’s Madonna. We walked around the old city and I did my best to give them a tour. We had a nice dinner the kneipen viertal (the bar quarter) which actually has more than just bars. The girl that worked at our hotel recommended a nice little Italian place. So we drank a little wine and had great conversation long into the night. These are times I will never forget. Three generations together in Germany! So then on Sunday we returned to Quedlinburg with a very interesting train ride. If you would like to know more about the train ride ask Mom! hahaha (or call me). We had a good night's sleep in Quedlinburg and then took a train to Berlin where we stayed until their departure in Wednesday. We took a city bus tour just to cover the basics. But before that we woke up early in order to get in line to see the Reichstag building or Germany's Parliamentary Building. The line gets quite long if one doesn't get there early. It has a large glass dome on the top that everyone can go into and actually look down and see into the meetings going on. Many German government buildings are made of glass as if to say "our Government is transparent and we have nothing to hide". The Law and Government is for all to see and have knowledge of. I find this so great. Then we visited Museum Island. This is a spot that houses many museums with some world famous stuff! Mema was interested in seeing the Pergamum Museum and, of course, the Old National Gallery that houses many Monet, Manet, and Renoir paintings. It was really amazing to be in the presence of such great pieces with an artist to explain the different techniques. (For those of you who don't know, Mema is an amazing portrait painter). And then on Wednesday at the crack of dawn they got on a plane back to America. It was such a great visit even if it was short. I love you all and promise to blog again soon!
love love love
Michelle
love love love
Michelle
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