Kutna Hora, Hluboka nad Vltavou, Ceske Budejovice, and other places I can't pronounce.

Thea and I (and sometimes Rudi!) have taken a few trips to some small Czech towns in the past couple weeks. First, we went to Kutna Hora, a little town about an hour outside of Prague. Kutna Hora is famous for its bone church. Buses of tourists stop here, but we were lucky enough to get there pretty early and beat the crowds. The church is seriously morbid and a little weird really, but it was cool to see nonetheless.


Apparently this chandelier is made from every bone in the human body.


The Schwarzenbergs Crest made out of bones.



We also saw the very beautiful, St. Barbara's Cathedral and had delicious lunch, and some Czech wine!











Our next stop was Hluboka and Vltavou, don't even ask me how to say it, I've given up on learning anything other than hello, please, thank you, and you're welcome in Czech. But, it was this beautiful little town with a fairytale castle sitting at the top of the hill. We took a train and spent the day exploring this massive castle that was once home to the Schwarzenbergs, a royal Czech family. We took pictures, climbed the tower, took a tour, and had some ice cream.




Pretending to be royalty :)





















After that, in a nearby town called Ceske Budejovice is a huge Czech brewery called Budweiser Budvar (the original Budweiser if you ask me, but that's debatable). So we took a tour, and got to see how the beer is made and got to sample some pivo too. It was really cool for me, since I didn't know that much about the brewery process to learn what goes on, but Thea and Rudi are brewmasters so they were teaching me too. It so cool to me that beer is such a huge part of the culture here. I love it!

Prague like a local.

So I'm super behind, but after my wonderfully fun week in Estonia, I returned to Prague and got to spend about two weeks exploring this lovely city and even some other towns in the Czech Republic. It has been so much fun, and I truly have gotten to see the city like a local. I have the metro and tram system down, and after spending a few days completely on my own, I have fallen in love. Prague is so beautiful, it feels smaller than it is and the culture and history is so rich here. The time that I get to spend with my sister is absolutely amazing. She shows me her favorite spots, stores, and the best restaurants and pubs of course, and even the cool places around her neighborhood.

Of course, I had to see all the beautiful churches and buildings around Prague to start. I saw St. Vitus Cathedral, the Prague Castle, the Old Town Square with the astronomical clock, the Lennon Wall, and a few others. I have absolutely loved Prague. It's different when you get to spend entire days wandering around by yourself. You find interesting places and things and it's honestly really fun.

One night, we were wandering around Old Town and there was a wonderful little Italian festival going on. So we had wine, prosciutto and fresh melon, and cheese for dinner. Then a spritz, which was something I've never had before too. I think it was then that Thea and I decided we wanted to go to Italy out of all of the places we were considering for our little week get-away.

The Beatles fan in me came out and I absolutely loves the Lennon Wall and I even drug Thea to the overpriced Lennon Pub for a beer. -overpriced being like 2 American dollars :)

But my time in Prague has been absolutely wonderful. I've found my favorite bakeries and coffee shops, a park to run in, bookshops and stores that I love. I check out a new cafe almost day, except for my now favorite Cafe Jen, which is just down the street from Thea's flat.

But all in all I absolutely love the Czech Republic and I can't wait to come back and study here in the Spring.


Our Lady before Tyn Cathedral in Old Town Square.


The astronomical clock.


Stopped for coffee and dessert at the Grand Cafe Orient in Old Town. Delicious!




Sitting on St. Charles Bridge.




The Italian Festival where we stopped for dinner and drinks.




St. Charles Bridge










Golden Lane at the Prague Castle












The Lennon Wall


Had to add my name :) Later learned it was a crime.










The Lennon Pub


Drinking some wine in the park. Later found out that wasn't allowed either :)

One day we went to the Prague Minibrewery Festival at the Prague Castle. It was so much fun and the beer was as always delicious. My goal was to try them all but I think some very bad things would have happened if I actually did. Thank god for the Tavern (the best burger I've ever eaten - take notes Nebraska) after all of the free tasters :)




After a few too many tasters, we decided to ask for a full one to go :)





We even decided to brew our own beer one night! It's still fermenting in the closet so I can't tell you how it tastes. I wish we had a store like Beer Geek in Nebraska! I could finally have a hobby!



One day I explored Lover's Hill (yes, alone) and the Strahov Montastery. Monks liked to brew their own beer and the St. Norbert's Amber Ale was the best beer I've ever had. A mini brewery called Matuska might give it a run for its money but I definitely got one to take home! The views from the monastery were absolutely beautiful and there was a really cool historical library too.