Prague, Czech Republic

First sighting of Prague Castle!

Sincere apologies all around for not blogging since the 4^th of July, but I promise that the wait was well worth it. Last week I took a well-deserved break from my dissertation and embarked on my last EuroTrip of the year.  For this post, I will focus on my time in Prague. This was my first venture into Eastern Europe, so I felt like it was a fairly momentous occasion. Buffum has been studying in Prague for a summer exchange program, so I jumped at the chance to visit her. Prague has been on my list of places to visit for a long time now, so I was particularly happy to finally experience this absolutely beautiful city.

Very first Mom Picture of the trip.

Crazy money amounts....

I caught an earlier flight out on Monday, so I still had plenty of the day remaining when I finally arrived. My first strange moment came at the airport when I went to withdraw money from the ATM. The smallest amount I could withdraw was 500 krowns, which was just weird! It was a bit of a shock seeing this amount on screen, despite the exchange rate that was strongly in my favor. Since I am currently operating on the pound, I had the privilege of an exchange rate of 28 krowns to 1 pound, so I was perfectly happy.

At the Lennon Wall.

Buffum picked me up from the train station, and, after dropping off my things at her place, we embarked on a long walking tour of the city. We started by heading to Bohemia Bagel, where we grabbed some much needed lunch. The coffee was free refills, so we decided to walk off our caffeine jitters with a visit to the Lennon Wall. This stretch of wall started a lovely tradition on the night that John Lennon died. As the story goes, a fan went out and drew a portrait of Lennon on the wall. During the 80's, it became a place where people would post messages of peace and grievances against the Communist regime. Now, it stands as a symbol for love and peace and anyone can add to it as they please.

Adding my own name to the wall.

Stretch of the Lennon Wall.

Admiring the wall...this wasn't staged AT ALL.

View off Charles Bridge.

Prague Castle from
Charles Bridge.

From there we continued our walking tour with a venture across the Charles Bridge. The Charles Bridge is a pedestrian bridge, which makes for some great people watching. There are little vendors selling art and jewellery along the sides, so be sure to take your time crossing.  Halfway across the bridge are a couple of cute traditions, so keep your eye out for those. First are the praying hands, which you rub for good luck. After, keep your eyes peeled for the locks of love where lovers write their names on a locket which they then attach to the bridge. Plus, the view off the bridge is pretty great from both sides. It’s right in the heart of the city, so there’s plenty to admire.

Touching the praying hands.

Locks of Love - an adorable tradition

Stopping to enjoy some musicians.

After meandering for a bit and stopping for my first Pilsner, we headed to Old Town Square. The main attraction in Old Town Square is the famous Astronomical Clock, which goes off on the hour, every hour. There is a big crowd that gathers, so be ready to get a bit jostled.  The clock was installed in 1410, so it has a Medieval flair that is really beautiful. There is a video that I took below, where you can watch death strike a tiny bell. My favorite part? The adorable trumpets that go off at the end.

Mom Picture with the Astronomical Clock.

Astronomical Clock - at the very least, it's beautiful.

At this point, our day was pretty much done. As we had been walking around for a long time, we were ready for some dinner and more Czech beer. After filling up on delicious pizza, we were both fairly tired and ready to unwind. We had a big day ahead of us, so we were perfectly happy to lounge about and ready for bed.

Enjoying my first Czech beer of the trip.

First of many beautiful
views during our climb.

Fake Eiffel Tower.

The next day, after Buffum got back from class, we embarked on a long journey up Petrin Hill. From the top is a lovely view of the city, so it's well worth the climb. It was pretty much an all-day activity, especially since we stopped at a cafe and grabbed a beer halfway there. If you're not feeling like a hike, then there is a tram that will take you almost to the top. Once you do make it, be sure to find the imitation Eiffel Tower. According to Buffum, they wanted to build their own version of the Eiffel Tower that was taller than the original. When it came down to planning it, however, they took a bit of a shortcut - they chose to build a small model, but on top of a hill, thus making it taller! (kinda) On top of the hill is also a beautiful rose garden, observatory, and mirror maze. We made sure to visit all of these spots, but only after we had our picnic.

Mom Picture with the view.

Again...totally natural. Not at all posed.

Enjoying the unfortunate mirrors in the maze.

I dub this picture in the rose garden, "Grandma Picture."

Buffum and me, posing with
the sunset.

After leaving, both of us had sore thighs from the climb. We decided to relax a bit at Buffum's before embarking on our night adventure. This turned out to be a great choice, since we had our minds set on a beer garden - on top of another hill. This climb was not nearly as long, and we had the benefit of the beautiful sunset to keep us company. Once we sat down with our beers, however, I quickly realized that the view made the sore legs well worth it. We were fortunate enough to have a picnic table near the edge, so our conversation had a fantastic backdrop. 

Beautiful sunset.

Equally beautiful city all lit up at night.

Front of
St.Vitus Cathedral.

Looking down the nave of St. Vitus.

While Buffum was in the class the next morning, I made a visit to the castle with her friend, Kendal. Prague Castle is still in use today, and it has been since the 14th century. Apparently, it is also the biggest castle in the world - which is all the more impressive given its age. The main attraction in Prague Castle is the massive cathedral, which is was dominates its view from afar. You can go in to see the impressive stained glass in St. Vitus Cathedral, crown  jewels in the old royal residence, and bones of St.Ludmilla in St. George's Basilica. All in all, we spent a good few hours visiting the castle and we were lucky to finish up right as the rain was starting up.

Mom Picture, but of course.

Old Town Square

Old Town Square

On our way back, Kendal and I did a bit of souvenir shopping. I was happy to find my new Prague mug to add to my collection and a pretty garnet ring to bring home. At 6:00 I met Buffum at the Astronomical Clock after exploring Old Town Square, where we headed out to dinner. After stopping back at home and engaging in some Pretty Little Liars time, we headed out for some drinks at Buffum's favorite bar - where I may or may not have snatched some beer steins as souvenirs. One thing that really stuck with me about the bar is that you could smoke inside. I feel so spoiled to live in a place where this is banned, so it was a really big shock to be around it again...especially since we were underground in a windowless room.

Dancing House

The next morning was filled with packing and a quick visit to the Dancing House, which was designed by Frank Gehry, the same gent that designed the Guggenheim. By 2:30 we were heading to the airport, where we were to catch a flight to Amsterdam....so stay posted! I'll be sure to blog about that soon! 

All in all, Prague was a beautiful city. It has a really chill feel to it, so it makes for a very relaxing trip. You could spend your entire time just exploring the beers Prague has to offer and admiring the beautiful views. Plus, there are little things about the city that makes it adorable. Like how 90's music always seems to be in the background and the fashion is just a tad bit behind.

Astronomical Clock and Old Town Square.

Old Town Square.

Looking down towards the National Gallery.

Prague Castle from Charles Bridge.

Mom Picture on Charles Bridge

Buffum and me with Prague Castle and Charles Bridge in the background.

4th of July!

The planners!

Little America?

The 4th of July is perhaps one of my favorite holidays, which is why I absolutely had to celebrate it from afar. I have so many memories of hanging on Megan's boat while we watch fireworks. I love having the grill going with lots of friends hanging around outside. Sami, Deirdre, and I decided to throw a party for our friends since we have a big courtyard and open air kitchen at our disposal. We really tried to go all out. I was especially a fan of the flag plates, streamers, banners, lanterns, beach ball, and table cloth. We quickly turned our little courtyard into little America, complete with a bucket of Bud. (Which, coincidentally, came in a pack of 15...which was just weird....)

Bucket o' Budweiser! It was an absolute must.

It ended up being a blast! We each invited our friends from our respective programs, so it was a pretty big and eclectic crowd. Everyone arrived around 5:30, so it was a really nice, long evening filled with fun and drinking. I really enjoyed the extreme patriotism - especially the temporary tattoos and the moment when we sang happy birthday to America over a funfetti cake.....it had to be done.

My best imitation of Miss America.

THUG LYFE

The night was filled with plenty of memories. We enjoyed the plethora of Springsteen and Mellencamp that was pumping, standing in awe while Whitney Houston belted out the National Anthem. We jammed to plenty of Motown, Knocking Three Times with Tony Orlando and celebrated The Gambler with Kenny Rogers (and yes, there was line dancing). 

Doing our best to recreate a 4th BBQ.

USA! USA! USA!

Those poppers you throw at the ground were an absolute must, as were many, many sparklers... it just wouldn't be the 4th without some form of fireworks.All in all, I'd say we did America proud. Considering we were celebrating in Scotland, we did a pretty stand up job sharing our (only slightly obnoxious) patriotism with our European friends.

Playing with fire....a must for any 4th BBQ.

Sami, Deirdre, and me! Fully enjoying the sparklers.

Scout: 1995-2011

This is a bit after the fact, but I didn't want this news to become a footnote in my other blog posts. The honorary sixth member of the Giertych family, Scout, passed on June 4th. At 16 years old, it was her time to go. She lived an amazingly long life.

I can barely remember a time before we had her. I have a distinct memory of sitting on the floor of my kitchen in my AYSO uniform.My dad lifted her out of her box. She was the runt of her litter and sick when we brought her home. She surveyed her surroundings and gently padded toward my outstretched hand. She gingerly curled up in my lap and, in that small instance, she was officially a member of the family.

There are plenty of memories running through my mind. On the second full day we had her the morning erupted into tears as her razor sharp puppy teeth were too much for Mark's toes to handle. There was also the time she ate all of the colored Easter eggs and pooped in technicolor for a week. There were countless mornings that she snatched our breakfast right out from under our noses and plenty of summer nights spent chasing after her during one of her many daring escapes. I'll never forget the time she got out of the farm house in Maine and she was bounding like a gazelle through the tall grass, pure glee etched on her face.

This past summer Scout and I became lounge buddies. With my knee recuperating from surgery, she kept me company while I watched episodes of The West Wing. I was always grateful that she was around...even if she would always slowly wander off when I let her outside. It's like she knew I had a bum knee and was therefore  the only family member that she could (briefly) escape from.

Trying to find a way out of the kitchen.

What a pretty old lady!

Begging for a treat, as per usual.

Belfast & Giant's Causeway

Sami, Deirdre, and I  decided to take a break from our dissertations and jetted off to Northern Ireland for a couple of days. The flight to Belfast is only about 35 minutes, so we were there before we knew it! Deirdre's family is from there so we had the advantage of a very gracious cousin who agreed to transport us from the airport to Deirdre's grandma's house, where we were staying. After dropping our things off we made our way to the center of Belfast via bus. Around City Hall is the shopping district so we were perfectly content to wander around there for a couple of hours before we found lunch. We especially enjoyed our time in Primark, which is not only packed full of cute clothes but it's surprisingly affordable. Sadly, they have been promising Edinburgh a Primark for like 2 years now. It will finally open in...September. Just as we're leaving. BOO!

City Hall, Belfast

Belfast's answer to the
Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Titanic's Pump House

After a lunch of chicken pie and Guinness we went in search of the hop-on hop-off tour bus. We weren't really sure what there was to see in Belfast so we were decided to leave it in the hands of our tour guide. For just £10 this ended up being a great investment. We say the pump house for the Titanic, parliament building, Queen's University, and City Hall. Along Falls and Shank roads we saw plenty of paramilitaristic murals and 'peace walls', which are walls that are literally dividing whole neighborhoods based on religion. While I certainly appreciated the historical value I couldn't help but find these things a little sad. It was like a living reminder of the 'troubles' that had plagued, and still do plague, North Ireland. 


Sidenote: the tour guide was particularly hilarious. He made a point to explain that Belfast has been a safe haven for Jewish immigrants escaping persecution in Russia. He noted the irony that any group of people would turn to Belfast to escape religious persecution, adding that the only question that Jewish immigrants were asked is, "Are you a Catholic Jew or a Protestant Jew?" Ha!

Old Court House - sadly in disrepair and routinely vandalized.

Parliament...or Pemberley?

Queen's College

 Since we didn't end up seeing anything that particularly caught our fancy we hopped-off at the close of the tour. After doing some tourist shopping we met back up with Deirdre's cousin for a drink. Sami and I were really interested to be able to talk to a genuine resident of Belfast since the peace walls and murals had incited our curiosity.

Dalai Lama quote on one of the many 'peace walls'.

One of the many paramilitaristic and politically-charged murals.

Friday was really the reason for our whole trip, however. Early in the rainy morning we embarked on our coach tour to Giant's Causeway. Our first stop of the day was Carrickfergus Castle. We didn't end up staying long, though, since it was raining sideways at this point. In the few moments that we hopped off the bus to take pictures we were essentially soaked through, so we didn't mind leaving earlier than usual.

Carrickfergus Castle

Carnlough

After another hour we made a brief stop in Carnlough. This was a cute little town that was set right on the water. Coincidentally, it was also where Winston Churchill used to spend his summers. Once we had explored the pier and grabbed some ice cream we were back on the road. From here on our we were mostly along the coast, which made the scenery particularly beautiful. I especially enjoyed the moment when we passed through the glens, which is what apparently inspired Johnny Cash when he wrote 40 Shades of Green. Conclusion? Scotland is not nearly as green as Ireland.

Beautiful Glens

Bushmills deserved many, many
Dad Pictures

12 Year Reserve

Our next stop was Bushmills and we were excited to warm up with some whiskey. As we enjoyed our 12 year old reserve (which you can only find at the original distillery!) we admired the decor. After we were on our way again we stopped briefly at Dunluce Castle where we enjoyed some momentary sunshine and blue sky. 

Dunluce Castle

Finally, FINALLY, we made it to Giant's Causeway. An UNESCO World Heritage Site, Giant's Causeway was a remarkable thing to behold. Scientifically, the phenomenon is attributed to an ancient volcano. These hexagonal stepping stones are actually massive columns that extend into the sea. Personally, I like the legend more.

Legend has it that Fionn mac Cumhaill, the famous Irish warrior, built the causeway as a bridge so he could walk to Scotland, where he hoped to fight his Scottish counterpart, Benandonner. At one point Fionn fell asleep before he actually reached Scotland. When he did not arrive, Benandonner went in search of him. In an attempt to protect him, Fionn's wife laid a blanket over him so he could be passed off as their baby son. When Benandonner saw the massive "infant" he fled assuming that if the baby was that big, Fionn must be massive. The bridge was left destroyed by Benandonner so as to ensure that Fionn could not follow. Thus, we have Giant's Causeway.

 

Lounging on the Giant's Boot.

I'm on top of the world! And really cool.

On the Carrick-a-Rede
Rope Bridge!

After our time at Giant's Causeway and Sami's near-death fall - not an exaggeration, unfortunately - we made our way to the last stop of the day: Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. The bridge was originally built by salmon fishermen but it is now a major tourist attraction. The views from the bridge are gorgeous, which helps to distract from the nagging threats of death when you look down at the rocks and shallow water below.

Don't look down!

Beautiful view....The water is so clear!

It was certainly a brief trip to Northern Ireland but it was also a memorable one! I may not have entirely loved the city of Belfast (minus the Primark!) but I certainly enjoyed our coach tour to Giant's Causeway. For anyone visiting Northern Ireland, be sure to make the natural wonders the focal point of your trip.

Happy Father's Day!

Most people think I look like my mother, but they’re wrong. If you set me up next to my dad, and really look at us both, you see the resemblance. We have the same type of hair – curly yet fine. And our eyes are the same shocking blue – so blue they’re almost grey. His eyes have a slight sparkle, all the time. But it’s really when I smile I think you can see my dad in me. We were both blessed with straight, even teeth. Our lips make the perfect half-moon shape when we grin, and our dimples are embedded in our cheeks like they were always meant to be there. I suppose I like to see the resemblance because I want to resemble him so much.

My father was always the dad in the neighborhood who came out to play with the kids. He’d take his little break after work, sure, but he would always get up and come find us outside. He’d be the all-time QB for our football games and would use the lawnmower in the big field behind our house to carve out a kickball diamond. He always made sure every kid was nice to others, and that everyone was involved in the game. No one got left out, and he knew how to make these games fun. Some of my fondest memories come from his time blocking out other kids so my teeny little brother could get a clear shot at the basket, or making sure our scrawny neighbor was open so he could throw to him nice and easy.

I always wonder why I was so blessed with such an involved dad. He never missed a moment with us. He would work hard all day, only to run right over to soccer practice (which he coached, along with basketball and softball…and that’s just me!). I can’t remember a time when he chose work over us. He was there for everything, and he always seemed to know how to make a special event even more special. I remember one Christmas we woke up in the morning, raced downstairs, and found sooty footprints trailing from the fireplace to the Christmas tree, winding back around to the plate of cookies. In the middle of the night my father had dirtied up his work boots, just so we could believe in Santa’s magic a little bit more.

My father is the strong silent type. His mere presence can calm you, like he is literally the anchor holding you in one place. He can look at a situation and, without saying a word, figure out the answer. He thinks everything through in his mind, and he always seems to know the right answer. I can call him crying hysterically about some minuscule thing that upset me. He’ll listen patiently on the other end while I get all my tears out. He’ll pause. Wait for me to be done. Then he’ll say something so simple and profound, that you wonder how you could have possibly missed it. (This, coincidentally, makes him impossible to contradict.)

For how calm my dad is, he is equally funny. His face really lights up when he laughs – you can just see his amusement. He has this big laugh, where he sucks in all of the air in his lungs and lets it out in one big string of barks. And he doesn’t just waste his laugh like some people. When he laughs, you know he means it. Sometimes when he thinks back to all of the stupid things we did as kids, he laughs so hard his laugh becomes a jolly chuckle, where his oxygen intake can’t keep up with his humor.

So, thank you Dad, for being such a strong and steady presence in my life.  I always felt a bit smug when I compared my dad to others. I know that I'm where I am today because you gave me the strength and encouragement to run after my ambitions.You are kind and funny and beyond wise. I love you and Happy Father's Day.

After one of our many Sylvania camping trips.

At the Northwestern homecoming game in 2009.

Ending our camping trip with a quick visit to Bonds Falls.