NYC

My flight home was horrible. The flight was two hours delayed, plus the ac wasn't working, and I was in a middle seat. When I finally got to New York I went to Ryan's and made some mac and cheese. It sure was yummy!! Ryan and Mike got back and we just hung out and Mike cooked dinner. I then took a bubble bath. I hadn't seen a bathtub in a long time. It was nice! I went to bed early because of jet lag and woke up around 6am. I forced myself to go back to sleep but I kept waking up. The next day Ryan and Mike had to work so I did nothing while they were working but watch tv and play on the computer. That night three of my friends from the study abroad program came and hung out with us. We went to a new place called the Zeppelin Beer Garden. The place was huge. After we went there we went back to Ryan and Mike's house and played card games. My friends that came go to Drexel in Philly and one of them lived in Jersey City, so they came. It was a lot of fun, im so glad they came. They left around 12 because we were all so tired, still jet lag.
The next day we were planning on getting up early because we were going to the beach, but Ryan and Mike slept late. I was of course up at 6am again, so I just watched tv. When they got up we went to the beach. It was so nice outside, the weather was perfect. They had a guy walking around the beach in dresses, it was soo funny. After the beach we went to Ryan and Mike's friends boat and he took us for a ride and got some food. The place we ate at was on the water and we got all of our food for free. One of his friends worked there and gave us all kinds of free food. We left a nice tip! At 10 o clock I could barely keep my eyes open. I was just exhausted. I ended up falling asleep the whole way back on the boat and passed out when we got back to Ryan and Mike's place.
The next day I had to leave and I missed the shuttle I needed to get on. The subway was all messed up with different train times so Ryan told me to just take a cab. I took a cab and luckily didn't have any plane issues for once. No delays yay!! Mom picked me up from the airport and we went to the grocery then got some food from Nothing but Noodles. When we got back I caught up on the True Blood series then went to bed and decided I would unpack later.

Back to Amsterdam

We got to Amsterdam and had to wait forever for our room so they gave us a way better room then we signed up for. The room wasn't bad at all, it had nice pillows!! Our first night in Amsterdam we didn't do to much because we were tired from the train. We just walked around and walked around the Red light district. We also met up with Zack and Josh from our summer abroad program. We went to the Red Light district bar for a bit then went back to sleep.
The next day we ate pancakes, which were ok but i like them more fluffy. Anywawys, someone had the genius idea of renting bikes, which didn't go so well with me. Apparently I suck at riding a bike. Its been sooo long since I rode one that I fell into another biker and a car haha. Im def not riding a bike again in Amsterdam. There are just too many other bikers, cars, and people around. After the bikes we went to the Hieneken Experience. That was really neat. They also give you 2 beers at the end. They had a simulator thing where you get brewed. So I was brewed yesterday! After that we went to the hostel for a bit then got some food. We got pizza because we were trying to eat cheap. After we ate we walked around a lot to kind of sight see. We went to a park and walked around there then we found the big Iamsterdam letters and took pictures. We didn't do to much because no one really wanted to go out so we just walked around taking pictures and then went to sleep.
Today we all slept kind of late and when we woke up we returned the bikes. After we got food and then parted ways. They had to go to the train station and so I walked around and went to a cafe to use my computer. Im going to stay in the airport tonight so I dont have to pay for a hostel. I leave for New York at 7am!!!

Zoo and Berlin Wall

Sunday we woke up early because we added another night and we had to switch rooms because we were late adding the extra night. We had another guy in our room who was from Ohio. He actually has been an English teacher in Moscow for the last two years. Anyways we went to the Berlin zoo and it was awesome. Its probably the best zoo I have been to. They had so many different types of monkeys, cats, and penguins. We even pet one of the penguins. They have them in two different areas and in one of the areas its outside and they swim around to where you can pet them when they swim by. It was awesome. I also got a picture of an elephant having a bowel movement. They had the cutest baby elephant also whenever my computer stops being retarded I will post them. I also saw a polar bear peeing. After the zoo we went and got some food and then went back to the hostel to book our Amsterdam hostel. Everything was kind of expensive but we had to get something. So we booked a room for the 10th and 11th and im going to sleep in the airport on the 12th since my flight leaves at 7am, and Mike and Lauren are going to Bruges on the 12th. After we got all that done we went to the Berlin Wall. It was pretty kool. There was soooo much graffiti. Berlin is full of graffiti but its really fun to look at. They have some stuff im like how did people do that. We also saw some people spray painting the wall where no one really was. After the Berlin wall we got dinner. We were going to a place that the other students told us about when they went but it ended up being closed. So we went to this pub place. It was cheap and really good so it worked out. Next I stole a piece of the coble stone from the street haha. So I have a souvenir for myself! After we got back we went to our hostel bar and met two girls from Moscow and a guy from Baltimore. We talked with them for a while until the bar closed. Then we were going back to the room and our neighbors heard us in the hall and wanted us to come hang out with them. They were from Luxenburg. We talked with them for a while then I went to sleep. Mike pulled an all nighter walking around doing who knows what haha. We got up at 5:30 to catch our train and headed to Amsterdam. I slept the whole way. We are in Amsterdam now waiting for our room to be ready. We tried to get tickets to Anne Franks house for today but they are booked for the whole week. It sucks because I really wanted to go, but I think we are going to the Heineken Brewery tomorrow. Im not sure what we are going to do tonight yet but we shall see.

Berlin

Yesterday I woke up around 9:30 and got all my stuff together, showered, and cleaned the room a little bit. I met Mike downstairs in his room and Josh, Julie, Mike, Malcom, and I ate a pineapple that someone gave Malcom for his birthday. After Mike, Lauren, and I headed to the train station for Berlin. We made it just in time! I learned I really hate trains they get so hot and they are very uncomfortable. I was starving when we got on the train and I ordered some pasta stuff and it was the nastiest pasta ive ever had. Train food isn’t too appetizing. I ate enough to make me not hungry anymore. When we got to Berlin we checked into our favorite hostel, the Wombat. We stayed at a Wombat in Vienna to. After we got all our stuff situated in the room we decided to get something to eat. We went to a place called White Trash. It was very interesting. It was Chinese themed with different burgers and seafood and steaks and they played punk music. It was a cool place. After we went back to the room and tried to get on the internet to find out where to stay in Amsterdam and for some reason my computer is the only one that wont connect to the internet. After Lauren was really tired and did not want to go out so Mike and I just walked around and took pictures. We didn’t go too far but we got some cool pictures. After we came back and went to sleep, we were all very tired from the night before.

Last day in Prague

Yesterday was a lot of fun. We woke up around ten and got breakfast downstairs. Gena sure did stock up because we had so many breakfast cards left. She got a whole box full of stuff including Pivo. After we packed all of our stuff (which wasn't fun) and then we were all off to the post office. The post office was a nightmare. I went to one and no one could speak English so I went to another and it was a pain trying to communicate, but we got things done. The lady made us put the boxes together and they did not have any bubble wrap or anything to pack breakables so I had to wrap Ryans present in a lot of newspaper. I really really hope it doesnt break. After we went to the post office we decided to go paddle boating. It was soo much fun!! Gena and I got a swan paddle boat. It was hilarious because they only have one swan and people kept starring at us. After Gena and I were hungry but we didn't want to eat too much because we were going to the final dinner in like two hours so we got some dessert at a cafe by our school. It was very yummy! We got strawberry, vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries and strawberry syrup on it. It was the perfect amount to. After we got ready for dinner to a place on the river. It was pretty good, they had some traditional Czech food so I tried to try everything. They had all of the photography students pictures up and some of the travel writers essays up. A guy named Alex thats in the program played his guitar and another guy Josh did stand up comedy. They are both from UNO. There weren't many UNO students on this trip, it was mainly Drexel kids. After dinner we went to a pub and then came back and Gena had to leave very early. She was passed out and didn't want to wake up when Pierre was trying to get her up for the plane..so finally I had to get up and shake her and she finally got up. It was funny because I think she was still sleeping when she got up because she just tried to walk out the door with out any of her stuff, and I was like Gena what are you doing..aren't you forgetting something? So it took her a minute to get moving so I hope she made her flight. Today I am going to Berlin with Mike and Lauren. So I will try to keep posted, hopefully I get internet everywhere!

From last days in Prague

last days in Prague

Yesterday wasn't a very good day so I dont feel like talking about it. Lots of studying.
Today was the last day of classes! In my photography class we showed our final 5 city pics. My theme was people sleeping. I got a picture of an old man drooling on the tram, it was soo funny. We were waiting for the drool to fall but it never did. After photo I took my history test. Hopefully I did well. Now im back at the dorm and im going to take a nap before we go out tonight.

Laundry Day

I woke up early to do a power point with the paper I had to write for history and we had to present it in class. Nolan had to help me with it because I was using a mac computer to do it on and those computers are a little different. In photo class we went to two photo exhibitions. The second one was very strange. They had a part where there was a male and a female covered up except for in there genital region and they were breathing. I dont know how they got it to breathe but it was strange. Gena and I left our stuff in the classroom building so we had to go back and get it. Gena almost missed her next classes field trip but she made it at the last minute. After class I went to the laundry mat and that is where I am now typing on the computers here so thats about it for today so far i willl post what I do later!

Souviener Shopping

Today we had class and in our photo class we had to print a picture for the exhibition. the teacher likes my window Terezin picture but I dont really like that one. I printed it anyways and I didnt like how it came out so he said I could print another one. I need to figure out which one to print but I have no clue. After photo class I went to History and he talked about something I dont really remember what. After class I met Gena back at the dorm and made a grilled cheese then we went souviener shopping. Gena and I bought a good bit of stuff. Im going to have to send Ryan stuff to his house because its breakable so hopefully I have time to do that. After Souviener shopping we came back to the dorm and I made soapy noodles in mike's room with all the girls. I washed the pot but I didnt get all the soap out so I ate soapy noodles so im expecting to have major bowel movements later...haha! We all drank wine in the room and some people went out and Gena Kroupa and I are hanging out and about to go on a food hunt for Kroupa and Gena! Well we are going on a food hunt so i will write again later!

Prague Zoo

Yesterday I woke up early and worked on my history paper for a bit. Then I met Gena, holly, and Liz to go to the zoo. When we got there they gave us a student discount and we also got free beer. Prague is crazy about beer, its cheaper then water and people drink it constantly and all times of the day. I also saw the fattest penguin ive ever seen..it was sooo cute. It was extremly hot at the zoo and when we went to see the gorillas, I tried to take a picture of one of them and he looked at me, got really mad, and walked off. Its like he was looking at me saying how dare you. We also went on see saws which was really fun. Gena was obsessed about seeing a wombat and she swears she saw one but the writing was in Czech so she thought she did, but I didnt have the heart to tell her it wasn't. lol..After the zoo we got in the subway and saw Mike and Lauren and they came with us to the Hard Rock Cafe. I FINALLY got to eat some mac and cheese. They had this mac and cheese with chicken and red peppers.,..it was soooo good!! They also had a really cool guitar chandeliere and its the biggest Hard Rock in Europe which is 4 stories. After I went to Hard Rock Cafe I went back to the room and finished my paper. Gena went out with some people and I stayed in because I had to do school work...blah then I went to sleep

From Prague Zoo

From Prague Zoo

Berchtesgaden Germany (Eagle's Nest)

We got up aournd 7am to go to Eagles nest before our train ride back to Prague at 2. We took a bus and the views were breath taking, it didnt even seem real, it looked like a post card. The Eagle's Nest was Hitlers holiday home given to him by Musalini. We had to take an elevator (which is the original) up to the house because its on a mountain. We got up there and met our new friend Diane. We saw the 3rd highest mountain in Germany which was really cool. There were mountains all around us and you could see the lake between the mountains as well. After we got some food. It wasn't too appetizing. We got cheeseburgers and the ketchup was nasty tasting and they put corn on the cheeseburgers, which I thought was wierd. After we went to the train station we made a stop with Diane at a small town called Reichenhall and walked around. There were a lot of old people there kinda strange. We headed back to Prague and changed two trains. The first was really really hott, and the second I tried to sleep but it was just too uncomfortable. We got back around 11 at night and made a grilled cheese then went to bed.

From Berchtesgaden Germany

From Berchtesgaden Germany

Berchtesgaden Germany (Salt Mine)

Berchtesgaden is absolutly gorgeous. We stayed in one of the first youth hostels built there. Hitler was approached to build one and he agreed. He of course had to have one that slept the most people, so the hostel has many beds. There are several hostels right next to each other because so many stayed here at Hitlers time. There is even a tunnel (which isnt allowing access anymore) that goes between hostels. Gena and I wanted to go to the lake but the weather wasn't too good, it was overcast so we wouldnt be able to see much. We decided to go to the salt mine which was the best decision we could have made. It was sooo awesome!! They even had slides you could slide down. At the end they gave us a mini salt shaker. I never even knew about or what a salt mine really was until we went there. Before we went in the mine we went on the roof terrace, which had amazing views, and walked a trail. We also saw a stray cat that tried to bite Gena haha. In the mine we did a lot of defferent things like ride on a fast train thing and went on a mini wooden boat to cross the water and they had a mini light show, it was so cool! After, we went to town and walked around the shopes, ate pizza and got a free pizza, i dont know how that happened. After we ate pizza we ate the most amazing ice cream called spagetti ice cream. I thought it was real spagetti but it wasnt thank god, that would have been nasty. We walked back to our hostel and talked to two of our hostel roomates. One was an older lady from Germany who wanted to do some hiking. The other was a 20 yr old girl originally from El Salvador who had a chemical engineering internship in Germany for the summer. Diana, the 20 year old met us at Eagle's nest the next day!

From Berchtesgaden Germany

From Berchtesgaden Germany

Prague Museums

Yesterday we went to like 4 different photography galleries which were all very different from each other and unique. When the class was meeting up we saw a guy put some food on the ground for a pigion and the pigion went to eat it and the guy ripped its tail off it was the most disturbing thing ive seen since ive been here, and the guy laughed and just walked around holding the tail. He looked a lot like Hitler too..very strange man. The first photography gallery we went to was a nude photography gallery. It was actually really cool how the pictures were done. I got Eli and Ryan a post card from there I figured they would like the nude photography..haha!! After that we went to a free photography gallery which no one liked too much. The one after that was really cool its a famous czech photographer who had different sculpture like things and other really unique stuff that you will see in the pictures I post. After that one we went to a gallery that had a lot of colorful photos and a tv that played the most wierdest and random video ive ever seen. I cant even describe it thats how strange it was, but it was really funny. After photography class i went to the communist museum with my history class and we had a tour guide through it. I did not like it with the tour guide at all because I have a short attention span and I couldnt pay attention to half the stuff she was saying. I do better looking through the museum on my own and reading what I want to read. After that museum i came back to the dorm and me up with Gena, Nolan, Lindsey, and Katie to go to the sex machine museum. Gena wanted to finish her abstract photo taking there. The British people we met the other day in Vienna met us there as well. I must say that was a very interesting museum. After that we all got Gellato and then Gena and I hung out with the British people for a bit. Later on that night I finished my abstract photography project with Mike, which turned out to be extremly funny. I made a story to it. my teacher didnt know quite what to say haha but he liked it.
Today we showed our photography projects and Gena and mine got a lot of laughs. After I went to history class and recieved Ryan's birthday present he sent me. I must say it was the best gift ever, lots of american junk food!! My favorite is the easy mac. THANKS RYAN!!! Tonight we are having a fiesta in Malcom's room because it is his birthday so it should be fun then tomorrow we are going to Berchtesgaden Germany which is in the alps!!

From Prague Museums and galleries

From Prague Museums and galleries

Austria and My Bday

Our last day in Vienna was much better then our first. We saw a lot and it was much prettier then we initally thought. First, we woke up ate at the hostel and got some gellato. We then headed to Old Town area and went into an abstract art gallery to help us get ideas for our abstract photo project (i figured out Mike was going to be my subject). We tried renting bikes again after but of course it would work again. We ended up going to a butterfly house, where we actually saw one hatching from its cacoon. It was really cool! Gena got a clown to make her a penis balloon and she is using it for some of her abstract photos. Our teacher took us to a very strange abstract gallery in prague and Gena was inspired haha. After that we saw the opera house and a cathedral and a few other places but my favorite was the palace. The palace was amazing you could spend all day there. They have a zoo and a maze and tons of flowers. We wanted to go to the zoo but it was closing in 30 minutes so we didnt get to. Gena took one of her abstract photos there as well, you will see it in the vienna pics. After we left we went back to the hostel, took a nap, then ate downstairs at the hostel because it was raining. We met a lot of people from London, they were really nice and they are actually in Prague now too which is cool. so we might try to hang out with them one night! Thhen we went to a few different bars for my bday and came back, slept, and got up early for our train back to prague.

Yesterday we got back around 3:30 and made some pasta then took a nap. We take a lot of naps here because we stay up kind of late usually. After we took a nap we made more pasta and ate that. Gena did my hair and make up and she also did Stephs hair since it was her bday to. We then hung out in the dorm for a little bit then went to a place called the cross club. It was really cool becuase it was like made out of car parts. We didnt stay to long because the dj was crappy and a lot of people were tired from there weekend trips so we came back and made more pasta then went to sleep. We are going to celebrate our bday again either tom or wed because a lot of people couldnt come out because they were either tired or had homework due.

Today wasnt exciting we just went to class and now im back at the dorm typing this and im going to just hang out tonight.

From Vienna Austria

From My 23rd Bday

Austria

Yesterday we had to wake up at 6:30 because we had to leave around 7:30 for Austria. We ate breakfast and headed to the train station. We had troubles finding seats on the train and when we did Gena sat next to a girl that was caughing and sneezing the whole time. I slept most of the train ride and the train got to austria like 2 hours late because of technical difficulties. When Gena, Lauren, Mike, Andres, and me finally got to Austria we had to figure out how to get to our hostel and we took a tram because it was cheaper. we met a girl from Costa Rica on the tram who was staying at the same hostel and she came out with us. We went to the wrong Wombat hostel at first but it didnt take long to get to the other wombat hostel. The hostel is actually really nice we have a 6 bed suite, they are bunk beds but the room has a fan which is the first ive seen in europe and its pretty nice. There is also a bar down stairs, wi fi, and breakfast. After we got all our stuff situated we decided to go explore and eat. We got some food then went to a few different bars and walked around. I still love Prague more Austria hasnt really impressed me yet. I was expecting sound of music beauty but I havent seen that yet. we tried to rent bikes to ride around but we were having issues figuring it out so we are going to try to get them today. It started raining when we were walking around thats why we went to a few different bars. When we finally decided we wanted to go back to the hostel it was pouring and we got subway tickets. We took the wrong subway stop and got completly lost and we were running around the city in the rain. We were all soaked and were completly lost..we would ask people how to get back and they kept telling us the wrong ways. So finally I was like skrew this because I had my nice camera with me (it was in a case but still I didnt want to take any chances) and I got a taxi. So us girls took the taxi and the boys wanted to try and find there way on foot. We got back and if we would have stayed walking it would have been bad bc we were going the completly wrong way. When we got back we realized we should have just stayed at our hostel it was like the most happening place we had seen all night haha. We just went to bed when we got back because we were exhausted and the boys did find there way back.

midterm day

Yesterday I got up at 9 so I could look over all my notes again. I got some breakfast and went to photography class for 12. We presented our light projects..my teacher really like my pics from Terezin so thats was good! We also found out at the end of the trip we are going to have a photography showing and everyone is going to have pictures on display so im really excited about that!! He also said we are going to print big sizes of our best 2 pictures out to take home with us!! After photography i went and took my history midterm which I think I did really well on it I knew everything on it I just hope I put enough detail into each question. After class we got some pizza and had to go to an art lecture. It was pretty bad because the guy that did it wasnt really prepared...none of his slides for the artwork would show up so it only lasted an hour instead of two which everyone was happy about. After the lecture I came back to the dorm and hung around with my friend Krupa, Daniel, and julie. Gena went to the train station with Holly to get her ticket for this weekend. We are going to Vienna tomorrow then Budapest next weekend and im going to Berlin and Amsterdam after. After I hung out with them I had to go on a search for our pan since we all share stuff around here and Nolan had it cooking so i made a grilled cheese in his room and some pasta. Then Gena came back and we went to the beer factory and danced a little. When we were on our way back Gena stepped in mud which smelled like poo. She was a mess it was all over her jeans. When we got back to the room she was going to put them on the window ledge to dry and they fell out the window. We were going to get them in the morning but they were gone so no more jeans for Gena.
Today we went on a field trip in photography class. I must say it was the strangest art work ive ever seen in my life. A lot of it was disturbing. In one of the rooms they had a tv going and it was a naked girl hula hooping with spikes on it going in her stomach. Then they had a picture of a girl peeing on a guy and guys with girl body parts and vice versa. It was extremly strange. After class Gena and I went shopping and got some food. We got milk, cheese, and some pasta. We have learned that beer is cheaper then water here which is strange. We see people on our way to photo class drinking beer and its like 11 in the morning. prague people sure do like there beer. Now I am doing stuff on the computer and Gena is taking a nap snoring a little haha

Midterm

The last two days havent been too exciting because I have been focusing on school work. yesterday we presented our first photography project to the class and luckily the teacher really liked it. Last night we cooked grilled cheese and just stayed in and I studied for History. I have my History midterm tomorrow. Today we went to two different galleries for photography. I wasn't a fan of the first one but I loved the second one. Gena got lost from the group because she thought we left her, which we didn't we were just in the other room. After photography we watched a short film in History and racapped for the midterm. When I got back to the dorms I decided I want to change my major. Ive just been soo confused of what I want to do with my life and being in Prague I realized how much I love the creative aspects of life like photography. Its what I would love to do and I could see myself doing that for the rest of my life. So im going to switch to fine arts and try out a few different things like graphic design and photography. I am working with a councilor at UAH becuase UNO doesnt have digital photography or much of a fine arts department. So I guess we shall see what happens. I just want to do something I love and be happy rather then make money and not be sure if I love it or not. Anyways...so after I messed around with that I started getting my second photography project together which is on light. We have to present it tomorrow. After that I had a study group with other people from my History class and I learned more during that then I did in class!! I feel more confident about the midterm so hopefully it goes well, it better for studying for four hours, and im going to get up early to look over it some more. Now I am about to ready a little in my history book then go to sleep!!

From Photography Pics

From Photography Pics

Terezin Concentration Camp

Terezin was extremly sad and depressing but im glad I went to it. We also went to Lidice before which was a town where Hitler destroyed everyone. They killed 88 kids with gas and shot 18 men. They had statues of the kids that I will post. We also went to a little museum they had there which was really cool. The children weren't allowed to speak Czech they had to learn to speak German. They showed pictures of Lidice before Hitler and after, it looked like a completly different place it was crazy! It is really pretty land now but its just basically land, no homes like it used to be in that area. After we went there we went to Terezin. We saw graves and where the jewish people were kept. The rooms they said would hold 100 men which was insane for how small they were. The stories our tour guide told us was just soo sad it made me feel bad for ever complaining about anything. We watched a short film in the movie theater which was made for the Nazi's. After we went to another museum, then we went to a place where some women and children were kept it looked like an apartment building. When we got back to the dorms Gena and I took like a 4 hour long nap, we were exhausted because we never have down time. When we woke up we met up with some of the other kids and went to the beer factory which was like a pub and people would also dance, then we came back and went to sleep.

Yesterday we got to sleep in, it was our first free day. I woke up and went with some people to Petrin Hill where the hunger wall was. We hung around there for a few hours and took pictures. After we went to take more pictures where we saw some swans, they had really long necks! When we got back to the dorm we finished our object photography assignment and ate dinner. Then I read an article for history and a lot of us girls hung out in the room just talking then Andres and Corey hung out with us for a bit and then went to sleep.

From Terezin Concentration Camp

From Terezin Concentration Camp

From Petrin Hill

Foreign Ministry

Today was an interesting day. Our alarm didnt go off and we had to meet everyone down stairs for 8am to go to the Foreign Ministry. Our friend Mike luckily knocked on our door ten minutes till 8 so we had ten min to get ready. I dont think ive ever gotten ready soo fast, so we rushed down stairs and no one was there so we ran down the street and everyone was waiting for the trolly. Then we realized mike wasnt there so Nolan and I ran back to get him and the class left us. So we got some food at the dorm breakfast and met them at the Foreign Ministry. Luckily they took the wrong trolly so we met up just in time, but it sure was a journey finding and walking to the Foreign Ministry because of the long and huge hhill we had to walk up. The Foreign Ministry was a really cool building they had an amazing garden. I also got a lot of good pics for my next photography assignment which has to deal with light. After the Foreign Ministry we got some food then we had a quiz in photography class. I went to History class next and we had to sit through a lecture where I couldnt understand one thing the lady was saying. I tried to understand her but it just wasnt happening I was falling asleep, it was pretty bad. When I got back to the dorm I really needed to do laundry I kept putting it off and now im at the laundry mat now and luckily thez have computers. Tonight we are supposed to go out for our friend Andres birthday and tomorrow we are going to Terezin for 8am. I dont know why they have to make everything so dang early.

Prague

I woke up early so I could right my journal for history class about Terezin. Then I went to get breakfast but i was 2 min too late so then I just got ready and Gena and I went to Nolan and Mikes room to borrow there photography book to study. We left for class and in photography class we went to a photo gallery then walked around took pics then got some food. I got gnochi and gena got chicken with mashed potatos. After i went to history class and we went to the jewish Senogoge where I learned a lot of stuff that I never knew before. When I left there I came back to the dorm to get started on my object photography class. I was trying to think of something different for my object, other people are doing like an umbrella, toilet paper roll, salt shaker, and I decided to do my mountain of glitter since it has all pretty colors and you can do a lot with it. When I tried to start shooting my camera was messing up every picture was coming out dark and I couldnt figure out how to fix it so I borrowed nolan's camera, which is way cooler then mine, id rather use his. He has the Nikon D90 its sooo nice!! So I took some pics but I need to take more and now im about to get ready to go eat dinner then just relax for the rest of the night!

From Photography Pics

From Photography Pics

From Photography Pics

Sick

yesterday I woke up feeling absolutly miserable. Im having sinus issues and my nose wont stop running. I took some of Gena's medicine but it didnt help. All day in classes I was just ready to go back to the dorms and lay down. In photography we got our second assignment dealing with llight. I really need to get started on my first, we are going to work on it today after class we have till monday. After our classes we were required to go to a lecture about the history of czech. I had to take notes for my history class. After the lecture we came back to our dorm and I got some other kind of medicine from a girl Shauna it actually made me feel a little better. After it was one of the guys birthdays his name is Justin so we went to a pub and ate some food and some people drank. Ive never seen anything like this place, there is like a beer tap machine in the middle of the table and you pour your own beer and compete with the other tables who drinks the most and there is a big screen that keeps score. You even order your food from the little screen on the beer taps. Its very convenient because you dont even need a waiter to wait on you accept to bring out food. I didnt stay there too long because I was tired so I came back and went to sleep.
I woke up at 9 today because I needed to get some homework done. I had to write a page about Terezin, which was a concentration camp its extremly sad stuff. We are actually going there saturday, im sure its going to be sad. Im about to go meet some people to study for photography then get some breakfast so I better go and get ready

From Prague

From Prague

First day of classes

We woke up around 9:30 and got some breakfast down stairs then we watched an episode of True Blood on my computer before class. Our first class was photography. I learned more about photography in that 2 and a half hours then ive learned in my whole life. I love the teacher he knows a lot and he is willing to show us how our camera works and we learned how to make backgrounds blurry in pics and all kinds of stuff. i cant wait to start taking pictures. our first assignment is to pick an object or place and take pictures of it from all different angles and times and pick which one we think is the best and present it at the end of the week. So we are going to start taking pictures tomorrow, I cant wait!!! After that class Gena had art and architecture and I had history. My teacher is sooo cute, hes this little old man. He tends to ramble a lot off the subject but it seems like it will be a pretty good class. We have to go to a lecture tomorrow on the history of Prague and I have to write a journal entry about Henry IV so i am about to get started on that. After class I went with some other students to get notebooks and now I am back in my room and we are going to meet up at 8pm for dinner.

Visit to the Prague castle

Today we had to get up at 7am although we snoozed till 7:30. We then got breakfast downstairs which is included in the money we paid it was pretty bad breakfast haha nothing too great and the lady in there ringing everyone up was really mean. After we ate breakfast we went to the prague castle and got a private tour of the part that no one else gets to see. It was really nice you can see in the pictures. After we left there we went to the American Embassy and a guy talked for over an hour about all kinds of diff things and then we a group of us went and got some food it was excellent. Gena and I split lasagna and we got a stuffed croissant, we wanted the gnocci but they werent serving it at that time. After we went to a department store to get all of our necessities. We got a hair dryer, bowls and a pot for our kitchenette, and several other must haves. Then we had the option of going to a lecture but we decided to pass because we wanted to take showers and get ready for tonight. We are meeting a group of people in the dorm room then going to get food and go to the jazz fest thats going on here then we might go out somewhere after! We have class at 12 tomorrow and I really want to try and get laundry done tomorrow thats my main goal, hopefully i can achieve it! Tomorrow we wont have hot water for a week because once a year at the dorms they cut off the hot water for a week so its not going to be fun. they have a gym around here with a pool where we can shower but we have to pay to use the facility. Well we need to finish getting ready so ima go now!

From Prague Castle

From Prague Castle

Prague

We went on a walking tour which was very interesting. I took lots of pictures! One of the guys here has the Nikon D90 OMG I absolutly love it, it takes amazing pictures and he has a speccial lens for it which makes it even better. I need to get a diff lens it def makes a difference! Its just soo cute here and beautiful, one of the views we saw was absolutly amazing and we saw a wedding going on there. We had a little old man giving us the tour he was soo cute! Gena, me and three other guys ended up getting lost from the rest of the group and luckily one of the guys with us was a czech student he was from here so he gave us his own private tour, it was a lot of fun! All the students seem really nice and friendly for the most part. Its really hard to find necessities that we need like conditioner and heart burn medicine all those kind of things. I keep getting heart burn I dont know why and its driving me crazy. After we did all that we took showers and got a free dinner. It was pretty goood. They also gave free wine and beer but it was nasty. Then we had to introduce a person we didnt know who we talked to earlier in the day and tell there name, where they were from, and an interesting fact. The guy I had couldnt think of an interesting fact so I said he liked to roller blade around the house naked...haha it was a fun joke and everyone laughed!! After dinner Gena and I were really tired from the 16 hour train ride and going all day we just wanted to get back to the dorm and unpack because we have to get up at 8am tomorrow for a private tour of the castle and american embassy then we have a lecture on czech food and culture and we get to try the diff foods and then we have dinner. They have stuff planned for us constantly all day tomorrow which really sucks because I need to do laundry sooo bad and we have to take our stuff to a laundry mat so I guess we will have to do it tuesday before or after our classes. luckily for Gena and me our classes dont start till 12 everyday!!!

From Prague

From Prague

Train ride to Prague

After an hour we decided to walk up to our first class seats and noone said anything to us. We made it just in time for dinner which had endless bread yummy! So im glad everything worked out. Then when we switched to our overnight train we had sleeper carts with 4 other people and one of the guys was sooooo smelly i almost chocked, it was terrible!! When we got to Prague we took a taxi to our dorms and made it just in time for orientation. After we went to our room which is actually pretty nice. We share a kitchenette and bathroom with two other girls they are really nice. The people here seem really nice, there are a lot of kids from Drexel college. After we checked out our room we went to get some food with some of the other kids we just walked to a convienent store and ate sandwiches. we are about to go on a walking tour then we get a free dinner which includes two drinks so that will be nice not to have to pay for it!!

From Prague

The Louvre

We woke up at 7 am to go to the Louvre early. They opened at 9 and we wanted to get there right when they opened in case it was crowded. We got there and was amazed how huge it was. We got lost a few times walking around. My favorite section was the Egyptian, it was really kool. We saw a lot of sculptures and old world paintings, and we saw the mona lisa. That picture kind of freaks me out it reminds me of the stories Eli use to tell us when we were young about the killer china dolls, she kinda looked like she could be one and she was starring at me haha. We ate breakfast at the louve, an glass of orange juice was 4.50 euros crazy!! At least it was good! We stayed there for a couple of hours then we were really tired so we took like a 2 hour nap before we had to get on our train to Prague. We went to the wrong train station we thought it was the one that we bought our tickets at but of course not it was the other one..good thing we left early. We ate at the first train station and a little bird stole my croissant off my plate, the waiter gave me another one. It was kind of funny how it happened because the bird kept starring at me and when i looked away he snatched it. When we got to the right train station we had many issues of course! When we bought our tickets the lady made us buy 1st class tickets bc she said coach wasnt available and when we went to get on the train the stupid train manager refused to let us on, because he said that our euro rail tickets said 2nd class and i was like yea but we bought first class tickets and he said it doesnt matter we cant get on first class. I was like you must be kidding me so he was like you have to go sit in coach and we were like well the lady told us when we bought them that there werent anymore available thats why we paid an extra 160 euros so we went down where he told us too and that train lady said no go in first class so we went back to him and he said no go to coach so we went where he told us to and of course there were no seats so we walked around the damn train with our heavy bags till we could find empty seats finally we did and now I am here typing on my computer. I really HATE the train system!!! He told us we could go talk to the people at the desk but the train was leaving in 5 min so we had no choice we had to get on. So maybe at the next train station i can talk to someone about a refund but I highly doubt they will give it to me. Im just happy to be on our way to prague where we can unpack and do laundry!!
Oh and I bought postcards for everyone which no one will prob get because I put the wrong damn stamps on them so if Ryan, Eli, Dad, Mom, A. Mary and U. Joe, Gram, Grandad, Allen and Kaeli if yall get them let me know!

From PARIS

From PARIS

PARIS

Yesterday Gena and I woke up late agin and decided to do a little shopping. We went to the Chàtalet, ive never seen so many stores in my life before! My mom would go crazy here! Haha... We didnt buy much but we just had fun walking around. We say the Hotel de Deville, where the mayor lives. it was so big with so many statues everywhere on it. For lunch we went to a brasserie and could not read the menu, but te bartender was really nice and translated it for us. Shortly after, we headed back to get ready to go out! We ate in a restaurant down stairs. It was cuban and african food. We had chicken with carmelized onions on top, also fried plantains and banans (which is basically fried pork) David was tired and didnt want to go out with us so we shared a bottle of wine and went out to a dance club. The club was really cool and had good music. We even met some people that just got back from Prague and said it was amazing! I cant wait till we get there! The taxi on the way home got lost and overcharged us and dropped us off somewhere so we had to take another taxi home. Tomorrow we are going to the Lourve! So it will be an early night tonight so we can get our beauty sleep!

PARIS

All day today Gena and I were all on our own because David had to go to a job interview and leave for the night. So today Gena and I went to Pigalle where the sex district is and Moulin Rouge we took lots of pictures and we went to cimetiere de Montmartre which is the most amazing cemetary we have ever seen..ive never seen such amazing grave sites before. It was unbelievably huge and it was beautiful; it would be a great place to film a movie(hint hint: matt and andy) haha it was so awesome i need to post the pics but im having issues posting them. After we went there it started raining and it was cold so Gena and I decided to go to the super market and make our own French dinner so we bought some procuitto mozzarello cheese and comte and real french bread, we bought strawberries for dessert and some wine it was yummy i think it is our new favorite meal!! so we just ate and watched the movie push online which was translated in japanese but its the best we could find!! haha we have also been seeing a lot of movies being filmed throughout paris we saw a famous french actor i had no idea who he was but david said hes a huge actor in france so it was kinda kool...now we r skyping people and then we will prob go to bed and get ready for a new day tomorrow!!

From PARIS

From PARIS

From PARIS

NEW YORK PICTURES

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

NEW YORK PICS

From Blogger Pictures

PARIS FRANCE

The first day we got here we were at the train station and the gypsys kept coming up tp us and tried to get us to read a piece of paper then we found out what it was all about they wanted money so we just ignored them...we went to a coffee shop so we could use skpe and call mikes friend to meet up w him and luckily we met an american girl and she gave us directions on how to use the metro she was very helpful...
we met up with mikes friend david and he showed us so much, we went to the eiffel tower, it was amazing..and we saw all the political buildings the house of parliamont and many others...we saw the arch de triumph...then he showed us where they have there independence parade it looks like they go all out for it..we took many pictures which i still need to post ill get around to it eventually...that night david cooked us a french dinner they r def all about there cheese...we ate mozzarela prochoutto tomatoes bread wine champagne and comte it was yummy and strawberries for dessert...he hhas an extra room and is letting us stay w him which is great bc we save some money
The next day we woke up at 1:30 we needed to catch up on our sleep and luckily we did..the first thing we did was go to the train station to reserve our tickets for Italy and of course all the tickets were booked so we r stuck in paris till saturday and all the prague tickets were booked untill sat so we wont get there till a day late so we had to email our teacher...i really wanted to see italy i hate train reservations i wish we would have known about that sooner so we could have booked our tickets ahead of time...and they charged us 130 euros to go to prague which is such crap bc we have euro rail passes they only had first class seats available so we had to do it bc we had to get to Prague. after the train station we met up w david in front of the st michele water fountain at notre damn..then we walked to the lovers bridge Pont Des Arts and gena and i took a picture hugging haha it was behind the de louvre and after that we ate some unbelievable gellato it was amazing ive never had such good ice cream before i can eat that every day!!! After that we to the luxenberg garden and senate it was one of the prettiest places ive seen the flowers were gorgeous along w the buildings!! when we were leaving there we got rained on so we stopped in a bar gena and david got some wine and i just drank some water and we ordered in french!! after we got some french food OMG it was sooo good..i got rackellete and gena got tartiflette and mine you did like fondue it was mozzarella potatoes and diff meats like ham and other stuff i dont know what it was but it was yummy and genas was cheese potatos pork and onions and then we drank some red wine and came back to the apt hung out for a bit and went to sleep.

From PARIS

From PARIS

YAY GENA FOUND HER PASSPORT!! AND SHE IS LEAVING BOOGERS AND TOE NAIL CLIPPINGS ALL OVER THE ROOM HAHA BC THE FRENCH PEOPLE ARE BEING MEAN TO US AMERICANS

From PARIS

We are not liking europe too much right now. Today has been a terrible day....whatever can go wrong has. First I couldnt sleep at all we went to sleep at like 10 ortried to and it was sooo hot and I hadthe worst headache that wouldnt go away for nething so i maybe had maybe like 3 hoursof sleep that was from 8-11 and we overslept so the lady came knocking on our door saying we had to leave in like 10 min so we took the fastest showers of our life. After that wedecided to go to the train station to see what time the overnight train to paris was andthey were all full apparently you have to reserve ur place on the train which costs 3 euroswhich is stupid since we have a eurorail pass. the lady said we could take an alternate routewhich left at 12:54 so we decided to do that so we could get to paris for tomorrow even though we'd get there a day early but we wanted to make sure we would get there.Whenwe were about to get on the train Gena realized she lost her passport luckily they didnt ask for it. When we took the alternate route we had to switch trains like 6 times and of course we missed one ofthe trains because we couldnt find which platform it was on and so we went to another city to see if we could get a train to paris and of course we couldnt.so we got stuck in some city i haveno idea where we are and we cant get on another train till tomorrow at 12 and we had to reserve it for 3 euros each and no one here can speak english. We found a hotel to stay atright by the train station that cost us 76 euros all together and it said it had wi fi andof course it isnt working so I cant get in touch with anyone so we decided to go buy calling cards and brought them back to our room bc we have a phone and of course it wont work. Our room is a lot nicer then the last place we stayed we had a deep bath tub, a tvwhich does us no good cuz its all in french, and it has a hair dryer which im thankful for!!but it still sux bc we had to spend money we didnt want to spend for a hotel and its also going to use up 2 days on my eurorail pass so its just been a horrible horrible day. wehonestly hate europe right!! Im so bad at figuring out directions and when I can I end upbeing too late and miss where I needed to go!! I also hate that noone has wi fi around hereI thought it was supposed to be easy to find it but its not one bit and we would buy a wi ficard but we cant find those either so its been a BIG mess!

Amsterdam

We are exhausted but cant go to sleep yet because of time differences and our hostel has no ac its unbelievably hot and i dont know how in the world we r going to sleep...hopefully paris will be a little better in the hostel department!!

From amsterdam

Amsterdam

Our plane ride was sooo long but luckily we got to watch movies which kept us occupied! when we got to Amsterdam we had to get our money in euros they dont take american and we took a cab to our hostel. The cab driver was very talkative and some of the things he was saying we couldnt understand it was kinda funny bc he had to keep repeating himself. We are staying at boat hostel and the rooms are sooo tiny and i kept bumping my head getting in and out of the boat. We changed clothes and decided to walk around this place is way more cooler then i ever expected..i love all the diff cultures its just amazing!! we went in a coffee shop to see if they had wi fi but they didnt so we finally found one after asking several people. People are so friendly and helpful here and it seems like most everyone speaks english, which is great!! We dont know what all we are going to do yet prob just walk around and figure it out as we go so ima go now and walk around and take plenty of pics.

From amsterdam

From amsterdam

New York 7/3

We set our alarm for 10 but got up around 10:45 and took showers to get ready for our exciting plane ride to AMSTERDAM and our layover in London!!! Ryan made some yummy bacon and Mike made some french toast..good stuff!! Then the packing began. We organized our clothes for each day so it would be easier to get out of our bags instead of having to take everything out and figure it out. It took a while to get everything re packed but i must say we did a good job!! Gena took the shuttle to the store to get some last minute things and some medicine bc she has a sinus infection unfortunatly. We are about to leave for the airport..our flight leaves at 7 so we need to get there early to check in w customs and all. So I will be updating this probably tomorrow if i feel like it haha...well we gotta go and leave for the airport..AMSTERDAM HERE WE COME!!!

New York 7/1, 7/2

Gena and I got a slow start. We woke up somewhat early but we were just being lazy. We decided to go to China town Gena wanted to check it out. Then we went to Time square to try and win the lottery for front row seats to the Wicked broadway show. There was clearly over 100 people there and they draw 12 names and fortunatly we got pulled second!!! The show was awesome! you cant beat front row seats thats for sure!! After we came back to the apt and played wii and we watched So you think you can dance and decided we all wanted to go see a ballet so we got last minute tickets

Gena and I went to the MOMA (museum of modern art museum) yesterday. It was very interesting. They had some extremly wierd stuff I must say like a big pink block was considered great art and we were like umm i could do that very strange. They had a photography section that was really kool!! After we went there we got some greasy american food before we leave for Europe..haha then we went back to the apt to get ready for the ballet! We went to the ballet and it was gorgeous they make it look sooo easy. After we all wanted to dance and have good posture haha!! Then we decided we were hungry so we just ended up going back to the apt and make all kinds of random food we made a pizza, bagel bites, fries, chicken nuggets, spinach and artichoke puffs, and pizza rolls it was all very yummy!! then we played the wii again of course...we are soo addicted to it

New York 6/30

We had to get up early because I had a hair apt at Carsten Aveda institute at 12 and Gena had an apt to get her eyebrows waxed. We left the apt at 10:30 just to have plenty of time we almost missed the shuttle but we just made it. We went to a coffee shop and split a sandwich then I got my hair done, the girl did awesome considering it was a school I got some low lights so I wouldnt have bad roots when we went to Europe! After we did that we decided to go to Time Square to try and win the "lottery" to get front row tickets to Wicked. The tickets go for like $300 online or like $150 at the place and if we won we would only have to pay $25. the drawing started at 4:30 so we pput our names in and Gena's name got pulled seccond so we won 2 front row tickets!!! We didnt think we would actually win because there was over 100 people there. It was awesome!! We decided to go find a place to buy a jacket because it started raining and it was cold. Gena even fell and slipped and hurt her knee..yikes!! We both bought sweaters at H&M which im glad we did becuase it was absoluly freezing in the theater. The play was sooo good!! It was awesome having front row tickets and seeing the orchestra right in front of us. After we left there we came back to ryan and mikes place and ate some food and I created my blog and tried to upload pics on facebook which didnt work because facebook sucks. After we watched a little tv and went to bed!

New York 6/29

Monday Ryan took off work so he could hang out with us. We were planning on going to the beach but it was overcast and heard it might rain so we decided to go to Coney Island. When we got there we were hungry so Gena and Ryan had mexican and I got a hot dog and bacon fries and ryan also got a hot dog it was pretty nasty I must say so we didnt eat it all. We then walked down by the beach and were checking out some good views!! After we did that we went to the Coney Island aquarium it was really kool because it was inside and outside. They even had walrus. they were so big and fat it was hard for them to climb on the rocks, pooor things. They were my fav animals there, very intertaining. they also had a huge otter that looked like he was bathing himself he was sooo cute!! After we left Coney Island we wanted to make it to the Fresh Market and we got some Strawberries and Cherries. those are some of the best Strawberries ive ever had!!! After we left there we came baack to the apt and I made mac and cheese and chicken nuggets for gena and I. We also went in the hot tub and sauna for a bit Then we of course all played wii again and then slept.

New York 6/28

Sunday we Gena and I didnt leave the apt till about 3 but I must say we got a lot accomplished! We were going to go to 33rd st but instead we accidentally took the wtc subway but it turned out to be good because we did a lot there. We saw where ground zero is and then we walked around and realized the Brooklyn Bridge was right there so we walked that it was awesome and the weather was perfect it felt so good outside much nicer then being 103 degrees like home. After we did that we decided to walk Wall St. We saw the New York stock exchange and the Trump building. We then took the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty up close it was really kool. After we took the subway back to Grove to meet Ryan and go to Target to stock up on some food. When we got back to the apt Mike had food waiting for us it was yummy. We then watched True Blood and played wii then went to sleep.

New York 6/27

Gena called and woke me up saying her plane was on time. Ryan and I left the apt at 11:30 and Genas flight arrived at 1:11 we were late getting there bc we took the subway and it takes a while to get there from here. We picked up gena w her big backback on her back haha and came back to the apt to drop off her stuff and she took a shower and got ready. When we left the apt we met up with mom and rich at time Square and got totally soaked when we got out the subway. Of course it started raining when we got out. Next we decided to go have some drinks since we were waiting on mom and them so we went to a Bourbon st bar bc they had cheap hurricanes and we drank those then mom called to see if we wanted to go see Toxic Avengers, an off broadway play, we were going to but mom couldnt here me on the phone when i said yes to get the tickets so it was a bit of a mix up and we just stayed at the bar while they did that. After we met up with them and Gena and I ate with them at a place ccalled Mercury it was pretty good. After we met w Ryan and walked around and saw the public library, walked in front of the crysler building, and saw where vogue magazine is, then we went in Grand Central Station. We then took our separate ways and went to sleep.

New York 6/26

I woke up early to have mom meet Ryan and me at his work, Newsweek..we all ate some breakfast there which I just ate like 8 pieces of lol and then Mom and me went to China Town..I wanted to buy a wrist purse for Europe so we were looking and the Chinese people take u back in a secret room and have all kinds of knock off bags it was a little scary at first but I found what I was looking for. I also got a long dress for $20 which I can wear to our formal night in Prague!! We were going to meet Ryan for lunch but he had a lot of work to do so mom and I ate at alittle coffee place and split a turkey sandwich on croissant..After we shopped some more around there we went back to the upper east side o do a little more shopping I didnt get nething but mom did..We later met up with Ryan and ate at a Mexican restraunt then we walked around and came across Christopher street!! When we went down Christopher st we saw a mini drag queen parade which created controversy. After we walked around Ryan and I came back to his place and went in the hot tub then played some more wii. Mike and I played Mario Kart for like 4 hours haha it was fun!!

New York 6/25

Thursday Ryan had to work so I met mom at the museum of Natural History I took the subway for my first time on my own and I took a wrong one but I ended up making it there (a little later then expected) When I got there I was starving so I decided to try my first New York hot dog and I must say it was pretty good. The museum was pretty cool it didnt really look like the movie night at the museum..They did have dum dum...After we went to the museum we walked through Central Park it was very pretty! Later that night we met up with Ryan and all his friends and went to eat at the Acme bar and grill. It was excellent I must say we got boiled shrimp as an apetizer and I got crab cakes as my meal sooo yummy! After we came back to Ryan and Mikes place and played Wii, we played mario party 8..im addicted to it now! Then we went to sleep.

New York

I left for New York Wednesday June 24th so I could get there for Ryan's Birthday! My plane ride of course was miserable. My first flight the air conditioning didnt work so it was ridiculously hot and my second flight was OF COURSE delayed and there was a screaming kid for the first and last 30 min of the flight. Once I got off the flight Ryan met me and we met mom Rich and Sammie at there hotel and went to eat at an italian restraunt. Ryan and I had steak it was pretty yummy and we drank a lot of wine. My first time really drinking it, im trying to aquire a taste for it it worked that night..haha After we ate we picked up my luggage from moms hotel and went back to Ryan's place. His place I must say is awesome. You can see the statue of liberty from his window and they have 2 hot tubs a sauna a pool a theater room gym a poker room and pool tables...its like staying in a nice hotel. I pretty much passed out when we got to his place I was exhausted. I must say I like New York there is a lot to do and I feel like I get a lot of excercise because of all the walking we did.