A Blog from Prague

Pictures, finally!

2008-08-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

I have finally uploaded photos from our family trip!

To see images about our adventures in Vienna, including visiting the fan area for the Euro Cup games, taking a carriage ride around the royal palace, shopping and eating downtown, and visiting the music museum, plus lots more, click here!

To look at our pictures from Rome--where we toured the Forum, Palatine Hill, St. Peters, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and much more (by bus and on foot)--click here.

And to see our pictures from Barcelona (a new city for me, and definitely one of my favorites!) click here. This city was so much fun, from the wacky street artists, outdoor pet stores, and gorgeous flower stands on La Rambla to the surreal buildings by Antoni Gaudi--there was too much to do in just 3 days!

Probably the most interesting of Gaudi's architecture in Barcelona was La Sagrada Familia, a modern day cathedral that has been under construction since 1882 and is scheduled to be finished by 2026, 100 years after Gaudi's death. This cathedral really is breathtaking, and it was fun to visit a non-traditional cathedral (it didn't look like all the others!). Hopefully I can visit Barcelona again to see it after it is completed with all of its 18 towers.

Along with all of Gaudi's works throughout the city, I also loved the Barcelona Pavilion by Mies Van Der Rohe. This building was a great example of modern simplicity at its best and certainly justifies the statement 'less is more.'

Barcelona was definitely the warmest city we visited in Europe, but we ran out of time to visit the beach. There was so much to see and do here, I would love to go back one day. Perhaps I'll visit the city of Girona and see all of the Salvador Dali museums... It was a great end to two weeks of fun and traveling. I think everyone had a good time!

A Visit from Home

2008-06-22T15:12:00.000-07:00

I am back in Prague after a visit from my family and traveling with them to Vienna, Rome, and Barcelona! The trips were wonderful, and I'm glad I got to share the experience with them. I think they enjoyed the trips just as much as I did. I'll update more later with pictures and a little about each trip, but in the meantime I'm going to enjoy my last few days in the Czech Republic before I head home on Thursday.

I can't believe my time here is almost over...this semester has been such an amazing experience. I've met so many cool people, seen so many beautiful cities, and learned a lot about the world. I do miss home, however, and I'm ready to go back. See you all soon!

Things I'll Miss:

1. Cheap public transportation ($45 for 3 months of unlimited transportation...can't beat that).

2. Fresh flower stands everywhere.

3. Hearing different languages everywhere I go.

4. Beautiful cities with great (old and new) architecture.

5. Traveling to a different country each weekend.

6. Friends from all around the world that I met in Prague.

7. Cultures that really care about not being wasteful, recycling, conserving energy, etc.

8. Visiting countries with such rich history.

9. Learning firsthand about so many interesting cultures, traditions, lifestyles, etc.

10. Not having any real responsibilities--just being able to enjoy where ever I am at the moment.

Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1. NO SMOKING.

2. Free refills (and free water).

3. Air conditioning.

4. English.

5. Cheap(er) food.

6. Seeing friends and family.

7. Eating something other than potatoes and bread.

8. Convenience.

9. Being able to read signs, menus, food packages, product labels, etc.

10. Enjoying what's left of my last summer vacation at home!

Life in Prague

2008-06-04T04:37:00.001-07:00

Since schoolwork has been winding down recently and the weather in Prague is finally getting nice, I have had some time to really enjoy this city I've been living in for the past several months--and I love it. There are so many streets to explore, so many parks to have picnics and see great views of the city, so many restaurants to try, so many theaters and concert halls to visit--I don't know if I'll be able to fit it all in before it's time to leave.

One of my favorite areas within Prague is Mala Strana. There are tons of interesting little shops, small parks, and cute little cafes in this area. It seems a little calmer than Old Town right across the river, and it's a nice place to just wander around. During our first couple weeks here, I found an awesome new and used bookstore in this area in which I bought the book I'm currently reading, Atlas Shrugged. The entrance to the famous Charles Bridge is in the heart of Mala Strana. In fact, there are two ways to access the bridge from this side of the river: the end of the bridge and the staircase, on which a few action scenes of Mission Impossible were filmed. Nearby, tucked in a courtyard, I found an interesting modern fountain of two men peeing. I heard that you can text your name to a certain number and these statues will write it in the water.
Not far from the Charles Bridge is Kampa Island and another one of the coolest parts of Mala Strana: the Lennon Wall. Since the 1980's, people have been painting John Lennon and Beatles-inspired graffiti on this once-ordinary historical wall. People are constantly adding to the wall, and the original portrait of John Lennon has long since been covered up, but you can still find pictures and postcards of what it originally looked like. In the late 80's, the wall caused an uprising of hundreds of students against security police on the Charles Bridge. Their movement later became known as Lennonism; today, the wall represents youth ideals such as peace, hope, and love.
Another one of my favorite places to visit lately has been Petrin Hill. On Petrin Hill stands a lookout tower which strongly resembles the Eiffel Tower. I have yet to climb its 299 steps, but I hear there are some great views of the city. There are several places in the park with great views, and since the park is so big, the views are all very different.

Here is the view from the funicular ride up to the top of the park. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I just love all of the orange roofs and colorful buildings. It's such a contrast from most of the cities in Europe, and I think this is one of the unique characteristics that makes the city so beautiful.

From further down the river in the park, there are some good views of the newer parts of Prague, including the Dancing House by Vlado Milunic and Frank Gehry.

Petrin Park also stretches over to reach Prague Castle, so there are also some unique views of the castle that you can't see anywhere else in the city. Petrin Park has so many different areas, from the grassy parts which are great for a picnic, to the restaurants, to the areas great for reading, to the hiking and biking trails, and the hidden surprises tucked into the hillsides, like abandoned houses and secret buildings--it would take days to see the entire park.

Besides just wandering around the city and enjoying the parks last week, we also went to see a soccer game! We headed over to Sparta Stadium to see the Czech Republic play Scotland. There are several Scottish students studying here at CVUT, so they invited us to come, and we ended up sitting in the Scottish fan section. It was pretty funny to see and hear their cheering methods with many of them decked out in kilts or Scottish flag capes and all singing Scottish songs and selections from The Sound of Music--especially in comparison to the extremely reserved (and silent) Czech fans. The game itself wasn't too exciting; nothing really happened until the last 10 minutes. But, in the end the Czech Republic won 3:1, and our Scottish friends were not too happy.

I've posted a few more pictures of Prague from the last few days, so click here to check them out!

Color & Composition

2008-06-03T16:11:00.001-07:00

My final class, Color & Composition, was an art class in which we could do a project of our choice as long as it had something to do with Prague. For my project, I decided to keep a sketchbook of the many important and interesting sights in the city. Not only did I enjoy drawing all of these images, but I am also glad I will have a sketchbook that will remind me of my time here in Prague that captures a much different essence than any of my photos ever will. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Tyn Church in Old Town Square

St. Nicholas Cathedral in Mala Strana

Municipal House

Prague Castle

And with that, I'm done with all of my classes! I got my last grade this morning and turned in my grade card this afternoon. It feels really good to be done. Now I'll have a little time to explore Prague some more before my next adventure...my family is coming to visit!

Creative Detail

2008-06-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

In my Creative Detail (aka 'doodling') class, we had to sketch with the intention of eventually refining those doodles into architectural details (door designs, windows designs, grills, etc) or jewelry designs. Here are a couple of my designs during the sketch phase:

Figure Drawing

2008-06-01T06:38:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite classes this semester was figure drawing. It was such a stress-free class because all we had to do was show up every Tuesday night and draw for a few hours (no homework!). While it got frustrating at times, I loved this class because I could work on my drawing skills, and I really saw improvement over the course of the semester.

Computer Graphics

2008-05-29T03:49:00.000-07:00

In my Computer Graphics class, we learned more about the programs in the Adobe Suite: Illustrator, In Design, and Photoshop. Here are a couple examples of my projects from the semester:

My final poster for our class exhibition (made in Illustrator) which is also the home page to my digital portfolio (created in In Design).
A composition made in Photoshop that merges two images together (the tunnel is in Glasgow, Scotland, and I took the photo of the bike in Vienna, Austria).

Studio!

2008-05-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

This semester I took a design studio that did several small projects with an emphasis on furniture design.

Our first project was to design a logo for our personal design company.
Then, we had to translate that 2-dimensional logo into a 3D form.
Our third project was to design jewelry for a client of our choice. I designed these earrings which are based on the 'tree of life' symbol for Natalie Portman to relate to her Jewish heritage.
Our fourth design was to create a chair similar to those designed by Michael Thonet. He used the technology of steam bending wood to create cheap, sturdy chairs that could be mass produced quickly.
Our final project was to design a modern chair for a historical building in Prague. We could choose from the Gothic Vladislav Hall in the Royal Palace of Prague Castle, the Romanesque church of St. George in Prague Castle, the Baroque church of St. Nicholas, or the Art Nouveau theater the Municipal House. I chose the Municipal House and designed this chair using the principals of the Art Nouveau period: organic lines, plant-inspired motifs, and highly-stylized, flowing curvilinear forms.

This chair can be used as a single chair or joined with a second chair which is its mirror image to create one large chair.

Photography at Letna Park

2008-05-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

Many people have been giving me a hard time about not actually going to school this semester, so I thought I'd include a few posts with the work I've been doing. These photos are some of my work for my photography class and were taken at Letna Park, a huge, beautiful park overlooking the city of Prague. The park itself is a fun place to visit and people watch, and the gorgeous views of the city make it even better.

Paris

2008-05-25T12:19:00.001-07:00

After being back in Prague for about 48 hours, we headed to the airport to begin our next great adventure...Paris! Upon arriving in Paris, we quickly learned that this is one of the biggest and craziest cities in the world (probably because we ended up at the central metro station on a Friday at rush hour...pure chaos). Chaos aside, we were ready to see the city.After navigating the 14+ metro lines in the city, we got settled in to our hostel and decided to go to the Louvre for the evening. We also were extremely lucky in Paris with free museums...the Louvre is free on Friday nights if you're under 26, and all of the museums in the city were free on Saturday night that weekend. The Louvre was really big, but we were able to see the majority of it in a couple hours. We definitely could have spent longer, but honestly, most of us were getting pretty tired of going to museums and churches.

Of course we saw the Mona Lisa, but my favorite part of the museum was the sculpture garden. They had so many interesting sculptures of people...all with different facial expressions and poses. These two busts were pretty amusing--the one in the back with his shocked and disgusted face, and the one in the front with his tongue in his cheek.

We began Saturday morning with a modern art museum, the Pompidou Center designed by Renzo Piano and Richard and Sue Rogers. The most notable feature on the exterior is the escalator tube that runs along the length of the building. The interior was also quite industrial, but it had really interesting suspended signage and some really awesome design.

The sign outside of the museum said the entrance was free, but we missed the fine print that said that didn't take effect until 8:00 pm. So, we didn't actually visit the entire museum, but we did spend quite some time in the modern design shop which was very similar to the types of products on display in the Danish Design Center. There were so many innovative and classic product designs, furniture designs--I could have spent all day there. Among my favorites was an amazing Moleskin sketchbook exhibit with famous architects', designers', artists', and photographers' sketchbooks from around the world. I also loved the mini Vitra chairs (scale models of classic chair designs). I've always wanted to collect them all, but with the cheapest one being over $100, I think I'll just have to keep dreaming for now. I did, however, purchase this when I got back to Prague: a business card holder featuring some of the Eames' best chair designs. Just a little inspiration and motivation so that maybe someday I can design something

half as good as they did...

After the Pompidou Center, we wandered around the rest of Paris and saw Notre Dame, the Conciergerie, Hotel de Ville, Les Halles, Place de la Concorde, the Champes Elysees, the Grand Palais, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Moulin Rouge, and the Sacre Coeur Basilica in between rainstorms and with a very mutilated umbrella. All of the sights were cool, but the weather was less than desirable for sightseeing. We ended our night back at the Eiffel Tower in hopes of going to the top, but they kept closing it due to the weather, so we decided to come back the next night.

On Sunday we decided to begin our final day in Paris with some modern architecture, so we headed out to a major business district in Paris called La Defense. Here, the main attraction is La Grande Arche, a 20th century version of the Arc de Triomphe, but instead of celebrating military victories, this arch is a monument to humanity and humanitarian ideals. We decided not to go to the exhibition center at the top (reachable by the elevator suspended in the center of the arch) but instead just wandered around the area listening to the creepy art-music (or just weird noises) being blasted from gigantic speakers at the base of the arch. There were some cool features underneath the arch, such as the tension structure which made some fun light patterns on the ground as well as the glass panel maze behind the elevators (see the rest of my pictures).

We spent the rest of the afternoon moving slowly through some parts of the city we had not yet seen (and stumbled upon a street band made up of French students) before having dinner and going back to the Eiffel Tower. This time, we were able to go all the way to the top, which was a little intimidating in a glass elevator. Despite the super cold wind, we got to see some amazing night views of the city. After seeing the Eiffel Tower one last time, we were able to say farewell to Paris, and I headed back to Prague early the next morning.

It's been a nice change of pace being back in Prague and just getting to relax and really enjoy this city without feeling like I have to see it all in 3 days. I've been doing a lot of exploring as well as finishing up my schoolwork, so there will be more to come on that later.

In the meantime, click here to see my pictures from Paris. Happy Memorial Day!

Santorini Island

2008-05-24T05:33:00.001-07:00

After trekking all over Athens, we were ready to get to Santorini Island and relax. The ferry we took there was great--it was gigantic--almost as big as a cruise ship. We were a little surprised by the difference in weather, though. Santorini was really cold, and we were supposed to be going to the beach everyday! We were a little disappointed about the temperature, but we enjoyed the scenery of the island nonetheless. On our first night on the island, we went to the city of Fira. We climbed up to the top, passing shop after shop and restaurant after restaurant. Surprisingly, even though this was supposed to be the beginning of the high season, there was hardly anyone on the island. The restaurant and shop owners were practically begging us to come in just so they could have a customer for the night. The views from the top of the city were absolutely gorgeous--just like you see in the movies.
The views from on the water were also stunning. I loved seeing the different layers of rock and the formations of the island mixed with the little white and pastel-colored buildings lining the top.
The next day, we went on a guided tour of the island. In the morning, we hopped on a boat that took us to our first destination: the active volcano right next to Santorini. We hiked to the top of the volcano where there were yet more amazing views. Here I am feeling the heat coming from the active part of the volcano. They told us we were safe on the volcano because they could predict an eruption six months to a year before it would actually happen. Near the hot spot, there were also a few other spots that were smoking--really the only visible evidence that this volcano could possibly erupt again someday. Otherwise the little island looked pretty barren--just a bunch of lava rock. After the volcano we visited some hot springs at a nearby island, and then moved on to another city on the main island for lunch. Here, we rode some donkeys to the top of the city! This was probably the most fun part of the day. The ride was hilarious--they donkeys wanted to race each other to the top of the hill, but they stubbornly obeyed the trainer who was following us up the hill. At the top of the city, we enjoyed kebabs for lunch at the only restaurant in the city. They were delicious, but we had to hurry back to the boat for our final destination of the evening--they city of Oia.

The city of Oia (or Ia) is famous for its views of the sunset. We arrived at the port and hiked the 274 steps up the (very steep) hill to find ourselves once again in a maze of shops and restaurants. We explored the city for a while and finally found a place to view the sunset. It was pretty, but I think it would have been even more spectacular on a less cloudy day. At the end of the evening, we were happy to get back on the warm bus that would take us back to our hostel in Perissa.

We spent our last morning in the city of Perissa on the beach. It had finally warmed up just enough that it was comfortable to lie on the beach without having to wear layers of clothing. The ocean, however, was still freezing. It was just enough time to read a little and relax before having to catch the ferry back to Athens for our flight that night. We got on our 4:20 am flight just in time to be back in Prague by 6:00 am, and we were exhausted, but our trip to Greece had made it worth it.

To see all my pictures from Santorini Island, click here.

Athens, Greece

2008-05-24T02:56:00.000-07:00

Finally, a little about my past couple trips!

We began our trip to Greece with an overnight flight into Athens. The traveling on this trip was even more exhausting than usual. We landed in Athens at 2:30 am Friday morning, and since the metro didn't open until 6:30 am, we had to sleep in the airport for a few hours. After catching up on some sleep and meeting up with some friends who flew in from Italy, we were ready to explore the city by late Friday afternoon.

We decided to begin our sightseeing with the new Olympic Stadium built for the 2004 Summer Olympics. There were some cool structures and interesting features, such as the arched walkway at the entrance and the louvered sunshade. Overall it was pretty impressive, but it seemed very odd since there were only about 10 other people in the whole complex besides us--definitely not what it must have felt like to be there when the Olympics were taking place. It also looked surprisingly run-down for having only been used four years ago.

We ended our evening in Syntagma Square, one of the central spots in the city. There was some concert going on, and it took quite a while (and an English-speaking performer) before we knew what it was all about. They were having some sort of earth and environmental action celebration...which turned out to be quite beneficial for us the next day because all of the sights in Athens were free!

We definitely took advantage of the free sights and tried to visit each one, if only for a few minutes. Our first stop Saturday morning was the Olympieion which had many ruins, including the Temple of Zeus, the Hadrian's Gate, some Roman baths, remains of houses, the Basilica of Olympieion, and the Temple of Apollo Delphinios, along with many others. From here, we had a nice view of the Acropolis. Before seeing the Acropolis, we stopped at the original (modern) Olympic Stadium, built in 1896. Not quite as eventful as we had hoped, so we headed for the Acropolis.

The Acropolis was really cool, and we had absolutely perfect weather that day. It was warm, but there was a nice breeze blowing so we were never hot. That (and the free entrance!) made this a great day for sightseeing. The sights were beginning to get crowded, but I think we just missed the major tourist season, so we never had to stand in line to see anything.

All of the old structures and temples were really interesting, and I tried my best to remember everything about them from my history class three years ago. Surprisingly, I didn't do too bad. My favorite building on the Acropolis (as well as when I studied it in history) was the Erechtheum with its caryatids (women columns). They're just so different from all of the other temples (which all start to look the same after a while). The Parthenon was also amazing, but I was a little disappointed by all of the scaffolding.

After walking down the hill from the Acropolis, we decided to climb this really big rock at the foot of the hill for one last really great view. From here, we also had an amazing view of the rest of the city, including the old town of Athens and the Athenian Agora. After some shopping time in the old town (there were so many amazing little stores with all kinds of handmade goods--jewelry, dresses, sandals, etc!) we visited the Agora and called it a day. Our feet were pretty sore from hiking up hills over the rocky ground, and we had an early ferry to catch to our next destination--Santorini Island!

To see all of my photos of Athens, click here.

Traveling, Traveling

2008-05-15T15:06:00.000-07:00

During all the craziness this past week, I didn't get a chance to post that I went to Greece for five days! We went to Athens for a couple and then to Santorini Island for some beach time. I've been back in Prague for two days catching up on homework (and checking out the movie set--there's the set by our dorms and another downtown outside a restaurant we ate at last night--where we got to see them film a scene!), but tomorrow I leave for Paris for the weekend! I'll post all my pictures and write about both trips next week.

In the meantime, check this and this out. Apparently that's what I missed last week when I was in class. I think the person who filmed those was in their dorm room (not the dorm I live in, but it's just around the corner from me). Pretty cool!

Excitement on the CVUT campus!

2008-05-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

We got back from Italy and realized a couple of streets on our campus were being transformed...into a movie set! We found out that it's the set for the new GI Joe movie that will be released next summer! It has quite a few big names in it, so I think it's going to be a fairly big movie. I was in class all day today, but a few of my friends just happened to be walking by while they were filming some chase scenes--they even got to see cars crashing and exploding! The signs on the street say they'll be filming until June 15th, so I'll have to stop by to watch. Look out for the movie next summer....maybe I'll be in it! Unlikely, but it's pretty exciting nonetheless.

Italia

2008-05-07T12:07:00.000-07:00

I'm back from Italy! Actually, I got back on Sunday, but I've been swamped with homework and classes since then, so I haven't had a chance to write about my trip yet. Italy was AMAZING. We went to so many different cities and really got to experience a little of nearly each piece of the country. Each city and little town was so distinct, but they were all so cool!

We started our trip in northern Italy where we stayed with some friends of a friend who are living in a smaller town called Aviano, about 45 minutes outside of Venice. That afternoon we took a train to Venice and spent the rest of the day winding our way through the city.

Venice was really pretty, but it was a lot smaller than I expected--especially the basilica in St. Mark's Square. Too bad everything in Europe is being renovated, though....all the scaffolding just doesn't make things look the same.
The next day we headed to Florence, which I also loved. They city was big, but just small enough that I never felt like I was going to get lost. The Duomo was just as gorgeous as all of the pictures, and we even climbed the 414 steps in the campanile (the bell tower) to get a better look at it (as well as an amazing view of the entire city). We went to the Academia museum and saw the David (he was so tall!), saw the Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi, the Duomo and Baptistry, and even got to stay in the beautiful Tuscan countryside.
We stayed in the "Hostel Heart of Tuscany" which was about an hour outside of Florence, but they picked us up right from the train station and took us back into town each day, so it was really quite convenient. To make things even better, we had originally booked rooms in the hostel, but our friends decided to join us, and the hostel was too full for all of us, so they gave us our own private house (which used to be the old winery) in the villa! The villa was complete with an infinity pool and the whole area was just absolutely gorgeous. We almost ended up staying longer but decided we should just spend the next day in Florence and head out to visit friends in Orvieto.

On the second day in Florence I made a trip to the Palazzo Pitti art gallery. I went there to see a painting (the Madonna and Child by Murillo) which my great great grandmother had copied during her days as a copy artist. The painting has been hanging in my Grammy's living room ever since I was born, and I have always loved seeing it each time I visit her. Seeing this painting proved to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, however. First of all, the museum was HUGE! We only had a couple of hours left in Florence before our train left, so I thought that was more than enough time, but we almost missed it! Once we got in line to get into the museum, we realized we actually had to buy tickets on the other side of the building before getting into line. After looking at the line we were already in and the ticket line, we knew we wouldn't have enough time to buy tickets and still make it into the museum in time. So, we made it through security and into the museum courtyard, and we thought we were in. However, it turns out you need a different ticket to get into each of the areas of the museum. Luckily, we talked one younger ticket taker into letting us into the museum gardens. They were so pretty, and we had a great view of the city from there. On the downside, you still needed another ticket to get into the museum galleries to see the paintings. We were about to give up when a couple in the gardens asked us to take their picture. In return, we asked if we could buy their gallery tickets, but they ended up just giving them to us as a gift for the photos! We finally made it into the galleries and were nearly running through the museum to look for the painting. Like I said, the museum was gigantic, and we were about out of time. After searching an entire floor, we realized it was on a completely different floor, so we headed down there. When we finally found the painting, it was in about the third to last room of those galleries. I had almost given up--swearing I had either overlooked it or that it was in one of the roped off areas. I would have been so sad if I had been that close and missed it! When I finally saw it, I recognized it immediately. Conveniently, there was a bench right in front of it, and I was able to sit and just admire the painting for a while. I must have had a pretty awe-stricken look on my face (due to the fact that I had finally found it--just in time, and because I was seeing a little part of my family history in person) because all of the other museum-goers noticed my intent stare and also stopped and looked for quite a while. After seeing the painting, I felt like my trip to Florence was complete. I had just enough time to grab a couple postcards, eat more gelato, and hop on a train.
That afternoon we took a train to Orvieto where a lot of the K-State architecture students are studying. There are two different programs in Italy, and several of the students from the other program in Santa Chiara visited us in Prague during their spring break. I've really enjoyed visiting our friends over here, seeing where they go to school, how they live, and what types of projects they're working on. Orvieto was a cute little town, but it was a lot bigger than I imagined. Above is a photo of the duomo of Orvieto, which I heard has the most ornamented facade of any church in Italy. We went out to dinner at one of their favorite pizza places and just hung out and caught up with all of the people studying there.
The next morning we took another train to Rome. WOW. There was so much to see in Rome--it was incredible. The city was so big, and there was entirely too much to see, but it was wonderful. I think we hit all of the highlights, but there were many more sights our friends recommended that we missed out on because it just wasn't possible to see it all. Each place we visited was so cool, and it was amazing to be seeing all of the things we had spent so much time learning about in our three semesters of architectural history. St. Peter's was gigantic, and I think that's one of the reasons it was so impressive. We've been in a lot of cathedrals, and after a while they can start to get a little boring, but St. Peter's was definitely not boring!
The Colosseum was also so incredible and big! It's so cool to imagine actually being there and thinking about how the Romans actually used each of these buildings and monuments--and the sheer fact that they could actually build these things always astonishes me.
The Pantheon was also amazing. Everything looks exactly like the pictures, but there is no comparison to actually visiting and seeing everything for yourself.
The Trevi Fountain was way bigger than I thought, and it was probably one of the coolest things in Rome. It was so pretty and such a nice place to just sit and enjoy the city (despite all of the crowds and guys trying to sell you things every five feet). There is just so much to say about all of the places and sights in Rome, but I think my pictures probably show it the best. This city is definitely one of the best places I have visited so far! However, after a ton of walking and some very sore feet, we were happy to move on to southern Italy for some beach time.
We ended our trip in Sorrento, which is about an hour from Naples. We were planning on going to Naples as well (especially for the pizza!), but decided against it when we heard it was dangerous, and honestly, we were tired of seeing sights all the time. We wanted to relax in the sun, and Sorrento was the perfect place. From the huge rock cliffs to the little houses tucked into the hillsides, the whole coast was so picturesque and beautiful. We stayed in a camping village in a little green cabin, and the grounds had a restaurant, mini market, swimming pool (which wasn't open yet), and a private beach! The beaches in Sorrento are actually just giant rocks, but we were glad to be in a warm city where we could just lay outside by the water and read a good book. The city of Sorrento was also very cute--a very touristy city, but really nice nonetheless. It was the perfect end to an amazing trip!

I have a TON of pictures of my trip to Italy, so be sure to look at them! Here are links to my albums for Venice, Florence, Orvieto, Rome, and Sorreto.

Another voyage begins...

2008-04-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

I'm off to Italy in the morning for 10 days! It will probably be quite a while before I post again because I will be enjoying Venice, Florence, Orvietto, Rome, Naples, Sorrento, and probably Capri! I'm excited, but I expect it will be a whirlwind trip trying to see all of the buildings we have studied in history, see K-State friends, and probably spend some time on the beach. Hooray!

A Visit to the National Gallery

2008-04-19T05:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took a field trip to the National Gallery in Prague for my Color & Composition art class. It's hard to believe, but that's the first art gallery I've been to here in Prague, probably because we've been gone so much lately. The museum was HUGE, and we only went to a small section of it. I'll probably try and go back on one of the free admission days and see the rest of the exhibits. The main area of the museum is a seven-story atrium, which was awesome. While art museums are typically very spacious, all of the different areas are usually closed off from one another, but with this atrium and all of the overlooking balconies, we could see all of the different areas from anywhere in the space. It was also wonderfully daylit from the giant skylights and felt so open.
One of the coolest exhibits was this elevator. The designers called it a "functional exhibit." It was just a big glass box (with a transparent bottom!) that went from the ground floor up to the very top floor of the museum. We rode it all the way up, which was fun, except I kept remembering the sign at the bottom that said, "limit your movement while car is in motion." I did feel it swaying a little...
There were so many different exhibits, from furniture design to architecture to photography in the 20th century to ancient Chinese architecture and decorative detailing. Most of the exhibits were really good, but some were boring and others were just downright disturbing. Here are some cardboard chairs designed by Frank Gehry. These chairs are made from layers of corrugated cardboard and reinforced by laminating. I've seen them several times in magazines and online, but never in person. I really liked them and the idea behind the chairs--simple, strong, environmentally conscious design that could be affordable for everyone. However, I doubt buying a Frank Gehry chair is affordable, and it's going to take a whole lot of big cardboard sheets (with a lot of wasted negative space) to cut out 50 or so of that shape to glue together, so they're really not that environmentally conscious either... Even still, the idea behind the chair has inspired a lot of other designers to consider making furniture from non-traditional recycled/recyclable materials, and hopefully with less waste. It has even sparked the AIAS Chair Affair design competition in which architecture students design and build cardboard chairs. I actually got to see the winning chairs from 2006 in Washington, D.C., and it was pretty cool to see what students came up with to take the concept of cardboard chairs even further and make so many completely different structurally sound and innovative chairs.

There were many exhibits on architecture from around the world, but the model above is of the Dancing House in Prague, also designed by Frank Gehry in conjunction with Czech architect Vlado Milunic. The building has been really controversial here in Prague; some people here love it, but others think it's extremely ugly. It represents a pair of dancers and has been nicknamed "Fred and Ginger" after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. I visited the building several weeks ago but have yet to get some actual photos of it.

Among all the other interesting installations at the National Gallery, this vortex-like sculpture was pretty interesting. All of those little lights were actually miniature TVs that had different videos playing on fast-forward or in some mode that resembled a strobe light. Pretty trippy. There were so many other fun and weird pieces on exhibition at the museum, so click here to check out my photos to see some of the other art I saw!

Scandinavian Adventure

2008-04-16T01:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark to visit some friends that are studying at DIS there for the semester. It was such a fun weekend--visiting friends, seeing the city, checking out some cool Scandinavian design, and seeing what their school is like. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and took a mini tour of the city while enjoying some delicious gelato. There were a lot of interesting historical buildings mixed in with new, modern architecture throughout the city. On our tour we went down to the Copenhagen harbour to see the Little Mermaid statue, which was made in honor of Hans Christian Andersens's fairytale, The Little Mermaid.
On Friday we visited the Danish Design Center, which had several exhibitions on current Danish Design. The first one we saw was for the Danish design company, Muuto, which designs many innovative new products. We saw some awesome product design, and I loved the exhibit and the graphics that they used to display all of the designs.
Another exhibit at the DDC was called the FLOWmarket, a "supermarket selling consumer awareness." The whole exhibit was filled with empty containers with different "products" on them, such as "stress killers," "addiction liberators," "consumption moderators," "pollution dissolvers," and "renewable energy." Designer Mads Hagstrom is the director of the project, and he wants to change the way consumers buy, the way designers design, and the way we all live to make the world more sustainable and healthy for everyone. I really liked this exhibit, and while the ideas were not necessarily new, they were presented in such a way that had a strong impact and was quite inspirational.
On Saturday we went on a study tour with the DIS students to an open air museum that had over 70 examples of vernacular Danish and Swedish architecture dating back to the 1700's. The buildings were removed from their original sites and transported to this museum, and when the visitors walk through the museum, they can see the progression of the architecture from long ago up until the early 1900's. It was fun to learn more about Danish design and get to experience the way the DIS students are learning in comparison to CVUT in Prague.
On Sunday, we went to LEGO LAND! Since Legos were invented in Denmark, it was only fitting that we should visit the theme park dedicated to all things Legos. There were so many cool Lego sculptures all over the park! Near the entrance there was an entire Lego village, with scale replicas of Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and many other cities. It was pretty incredible, and if you see photos, you almost can't tell that the cities are actually Legos and not real. There were also several replicas of monuments from the US such as Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty. And, because Lego Land is a theme park, we got to ride lots of fun rides! They were mostly for small kids, but there were a few cool ones for bigger kids. The coolest ride there was called Power Builder--in it, you get a card with a smart chip in it, and you go to a computer screen, enter your height, the level of intensity you want, and what moves you want to do. Then, you and one other person sit in a little seat which is at the end of a robot arm. When the platform moves out from under your feet, you are like a piece of equipment on an assembly line, and the robot arm picks you up and spins you in all different directions--up, down, sideways, upside down, and backwards! I thought it was such a cool idea for a ride--that you get to interact and choose your experience. The whole thing took place in a big, dark room with a few neon lights and techno music playing, so it really set the mood for the ride. We ended the day at Lego Land in the shop, which had a section that was like a candy store! There were bins after bins of loose Legos--all different colors, shapes, and sizes (as well as little pieces like the Lego people heads, trees, animals, etc.) that you loaded into a bag like bulk candy and paid by weight. All in all Lego Land was awesome, and I even heard rumors that they might be building one in Lee's Summit...

On Monday, we took a little day trip to Sweden because it was just so close--only 45 minutes away. We visited the city of Malmo (pronounced Malmu). It was a cute little city, and we were able to see all of the main attractions in the city in a couple hours. The main sight to see there is the tallest building in Sweden: the Turning Torso by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The building was pretty cool and looked different from every angle. It consists of nine cubes with a total of 54 stories and a 90-degree twist from top to bottom. Behind the Turning Torso there was a fun little park and playground next to the Western Harbour as well as a series of modern apartment buildings that were built for the European housing expo. Malmo also had a lot of cute little shops and outdoor cafes, so there were tons of people out just shopping and sipping coffee all afternoon.

I really had an awesome time in Denmark, and it was good to see familiar faces from home and just get to spend some time with them. I am happy to be back in Prague now for a few days. Traveling can get so exhausting!

I have finally gotten all of my pictures up to date, so click to see pictures from last weekend's trip to Geneva, Interlaken, and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as this week's photos from Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmo, Sweden. The photos of Copenhagen are in a new Picasa web albut because I ran out of room on the first one, so just use the link here and you should find them. I'll be putting all my future pictures in the album if you have it bookmarked. Enjoy!

Swiss Alps...Swiss Cheese Fondue...Swiss Chocolate...MMM

2008-04-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took a bit longer trip to what I think will end up being my favorite country...Switzerland! It was so gorgeous--I just couldn't believe that everything I saw outside was actually real! We started the weekend in Geneva. It truly was an international city, built around the lake with some of the prettiest blue water I had ever seen. There were so many parks and green space, too, so it was relaxing just to sit in the sun and watch the sailboats. We took a bus to the top of the city, and I think we actually crossed into France for a couple minutes, but I will definitely have to go back in order to say I've been there.
The next morning we went to Interlaken, which I had heard was beautiful, but when we arrived there was a snowstorm and there were so many low clouds we couldn't even tell we were in the mountains. I was a little disappointed because we had planned on going hang gliding when we got there, but it just wasn't possible. Instead, we found a spa in town and got to try out some different saunas, steam rooms, and whirlpools, which made up for not being able to enjoy the outdoors.

The next morning, however, we woke up to the most beautiful day ever--perfect for hang gliding! The view from the top of the mountain was breathtaking, and hang gliding was AWESOME! It was so much fun, but over way too soon. Here is a picture of me in flight with my pilot Ed. I loved just being in Interlaken--such a cute little mountain town with hardly any residents and even fewer tourists because skiing season is coming to a close. It was nice and peaceful, and with a day like Monday, I could have stayed there forever the scenery was so amazing.For our last stop we visited Zurich. I also really enjoyed this city--another small city (although large for Switzerland, but much calmer than Prague). I like cities of this size where you can spend a couple hours and see all the main sights and still have plenty of time to relax. We spent a lot of time on the main shopping mile, which is equivalent to 5th Avenue in New York. After a long lunch and some souvenir shopping, we decided to call it a day and head back to Prague. It had been nice to stay in one place for a day, but I will be headed out again tomorrow to go to Denmark to visit a friend. I am really excited to see her and see Copenhagen!

I am working on getting all of my pictures from Switzerland online, but in the meantime I have uploaded all of my photos from Glasgow, Scotland, so click here to see those!

Fish & Chips

2008-04-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took a trip to Scotland and stayed with a friend who has been studying at the Glasgow School of Art. We had such a fun weekend, and it was interesting getting to see where other K-State students are studying and how their life is different from ours here in Prague. We visited both Edinburgh and Glasgow, and I have to say I loved them both. It's hard to compare the two because they are very different, but I know I could have spent more time in both cities. My only regret about the trip is not getting to go up to the highlands and see the beautiful Scottish countryside. We did, however, get a little preview on the trip between cities and at Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh.

I haven't had much of a chance to write about the trip because we got back late Monday night, and I've had a lot of homework to catch up on since then! It's been especially crazy because we are leaving for Switzerland tonight, and after I get back at 5 am on Wednesday morning, I leave early Thursday morning to go to Copenhagen, Denmark to visit another friend and see some awesome Scandinavian design. I can't wait to get to Switzerland and see the beautiful scenery. We will be visiting Geneva, Interlaken, and Zurich. I am excited about all of these trips, but I know the time will fly by--all the while I'm supposed to be working on projects for all of my classes! But as I've learned here, it will all work out, so I should just enjoy myself!

I've uploaded pictures from Edinburgh, Scotland, and I'm working on getting the ones from Glasgow uploaded as well. Click here to view the Edinburgh photos--enjoy!

Kutna Hora, Munich, Prague, oh my!

2008-03-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

After a busy week with friends visiting, we had an even busier weekend full of trips! We started the weekend on Friday with a day trip to Kutna Hora to see the Sedlec Ossuary. It looked pretty much like all of the pictures we'd seen--lots and lots of skeletons. The chandelier above is actually made out of all the bones contained in the human body.

Besides seeing the church in Kutna Hora, we made our way to the Easter carnival--which we were not expecting at all, but it was a great surprise! We spent the afternoon riding rides and getting cotton candy. Easter in the Czech Republic is quite different than in the US. We learned about some of their traditions from the Czech students and our studio teacher--first, the boys make braided whips from pussywillow twigs to whip the girls (lightly, of course) to bring good health and chase away any bad spirits. They also douse the girls with cold water for a similar purpose. The girls in turn give the boys colored Easter eggs (much like in the US). In Germany, on the other hand, Easter is a very religious holiday, and the only things that are open are churches and beer halls.

On Friday night when we got back from Kutna Hora we took a midnight bus to Munich, Germany. On Saturday we took a tour of the city...and our tour guide was right, there was no way you could have toured the city on your own and fully understood what you were seeing. There is such a rich history to Munich, but most of it is hidden from someone who doesn't know what to look for. For example, most of the city was destroyed during WWI and WWII, so nearly all of the buildings in the city are under 60 years old, although they all look like they've been standing for hundreds of years. It turns out, Hitler had the Nazi party photo-document the city beforehand so it could be rebuilt later. When they did rebuild it, they made everything look old so no one would know the difference. Above is a photo of the Glockenspiel on the Rathaus, or Old Town Hall. Along our tour, we also stopped in the Viktualienmarkt (the main food market along with a huge biergarten) for a traditional German lunch--bratwurst! I have never liked it at home, but it was pretty good in Germany.

Later that day when it got a little warmer we went out to the English Gardens. They were really pretty--it's actually just a big park (over twice as big as Central Park!). In the summer, there's a nude sunbathing area right in the center. A little too cold for that this weekend...

On Sunday we started our day by heading towards Olympiapark to see the site of the 1972 Olympics (when the Munich Massacre--where members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and murdered by Palestinian terrorists--took place). The site was huge, and I'm sure we didn't even see half of it. There was another Easter carnival going on here--mainly for the children of Munich--with clowns, magicians, and of course, lots of traditional German food!

Right next to Olympiapark was BMW Welt, a giant complex of BMW buildings intended as a "multi-functional customer experience" with exhibition space and showrooms, so we decided to stop in and look around. The buildings were amazing--so high tech and such a contrast to the historical architecture we've been visiting for the last 5 weeks. The cars were pretty nice as well...

We finished off our day in Munich with a trip to Nymphenburg Palace. Another giantic building with gardens that stretched even further. Even though it was freezing outside, there were plenty of local runners out for their daily jog at the palace. So surreal...

We made it back to Prague just in time to catch the last day of the Easter festival and eat plenty of traditonal Easter festival treats. A sort of strange pizza, corn on the cob, a chocolate covered strawberry and banana skewer, and a chocolate crepe. Delicious. We also saw plenty of boys walking around with their whips looking for some girls. It's so interesting to learn about traditions from other cultures, however strange and silly they might seem.

I have uploaded all of my pictures from this weekend, so there are a lot of new ones to see! To see pictures of Kutna Hora, click here. For Munich, click here. I've also added more pictures of our adventures in Prague last week (including my birthday and our Ghost Tour where we toured the haunted streets, buildings and pubs of Old Town--pretty lame, but it was a fun night to spend with our Italy friends), so click here to view those.

Lots and lots of school work to do this week before I head to Scotland for the weekend!

Birthday Party!

2008-03-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

On Monday I turned 22! For my birthday, we went out on this jazz boat that runs up and down the river and shows some great views of Prague. The music and dinner were amazing, and we all had a great time. It was also St. Patty's day, so we made sure to visit and Irish pub as well. People here love St. Patty's day just as much they do in Ireland, and every pub in the city was packed.

We've been busy with our friends from Italy who are in town this week, going to lots of museums and touristy places. There is an Easter festival going on in Old Town, so we've gone there several times to check out all the souvenirs and delicious festival food. Tomorrow night we're going on a ghost tour of Prague to find all of the haunted places in the city. On Friday we're going to a little town in the Czech Republic called Kutna Hora to visit the famous Sedlec Ossuary, a small Roman Catholic chapel which is decorated with 40,000-70,000 skeletons--yes, a church made out of human skeletons. Very creepy. We should get back just in time to pack and take an overnight bus to Munich, Germany where we'll spend the weekend. Then, hopefully we'll get to enjoy the Easter festivities in Prague on Monday (Monday is the official Easter holiday here) because we have the day off school!

Český Krumlov

2008-03-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend we decided to spend some time in the Czech Republic--starting with a day trip to the town of Český Krumlov in South Bohemia on Friday. Český Krumlov is in the very southern part of the Czech Republic, almost touching Austria and Germany. It is situated within a horseshoe bend of the Vltava River, making it appear almost like an island when viewed from above. This is one of the cutest towns I have been to, and it was such a nice change of pace from the large city of Prague. The trip was really fun, and due to the rainy weather, we had the city nearly to ourselves.

We arrived in the town just in time for an awesome traditional Czech lunch, then we headed up the castle. As you may have noticed, the Czech Republic is famous for their castles, and this town was no exception. The castle complex here is second in size only to the Hradčany castle complex of Prague. The castle had a gorgeous tower and some even more spectacular views of the city from the tower. The whole complex is even guarded by bears! (Although the bears must have not liked the rain much either because we never did see them.)

The rest of the day we just wandered through the town, taking in all of the sights. It would be nice to go back when the weather is better and just sit on a bench near the river and enjoy the quiet town. We also visited (another) torture museum. Apparently where there's a castle, there's also a museum about all of the awful things that used to happen in that castle. This museum was way more graphic than the one at Loket castle, and much scarier as well.

We came back Friday night because on Saturday, some of our friends who are studying in Italy came to Prague for their spring break. It's been nice to see some more familiar faces and get to show them around the city.

If you want to see more photos of our trip this weekend, click here. It is such a pretty town, so check them out!

Vienna!

2008-03-10T06:00:00.001-07:00

This weekend we took a trip to Vienna, Austria! I love love LOVED that city. Everything about it was wonderful--from the architecture and the restaurants to the wide open spaces (there were so many parks!) and all of the bicycles--I wish we could have stayed another day.

We arrived on Friday afternoon and immediately searched for a restaurant. We went to one recommended by the girl working at the hostel called Centimeter, which supposedly sold big hunks of meat by the centimeter, but the only thing we could figure out that was actually sold that way were sandwiches. A little disappointing, but the food we got was decent, and the portions were outrageous! I also sampled the Wiener schnitzel (something you have to do while you're in Vienna, but I'm glad I didn't get a whole plate of it...that's a LOT of fried veal). On the way back to the hostel, we stopped for some ice cream at Zanoni Eissalon Garda which serves the best ice cream in Vienna (the gelato in Prague is good, but this ice cream was outstanding--plus they actually give you a decent size scoop). By the end of the trip I think I had tried 6 flavors...

On Saturday, we decided to do all of the touristy things and see all of the sights of the city. We started out at the Secession building, an Art Nouveau structure built in 1897 by Joseph Maria Olbrich. Even though it was built so long ago, the building still looks very modern and was quite inspirational, especially all of the plant and flower graphics covering the building.

Next we moved on to Karlskirche Church, the Opera House, St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Haas Haus, Museumsquartier, the Parliament Building, the City Hall (Rathaus), and the famous Riesenrad Ferris Wheel at Prater Amusement Park.

On a whim Saturday night we decided to go see the opera La Forza del Destino at the State Opera House. We heard there were standing room tickets for 2 Euro (that's $3!), so we knew we couldn't pass that up. While the opera wasn't my favorite type of musical/theater, I was really glad we went. It was worth it just to see the inside of the opera house and hear some good music. Afterwards, we headed to Cafe Sacher to indulge in the famous Original Sacher Torte and Viennese coffee, which is supposed to be some of the best in the world. The cake was pretty good--after all the hype I was expecting something a little different, but I still enjoyed it. Mmmm chocolate cake and coffee.

On Sunday, we got up really early to get in line (free standing room this time) to see...the Vienna Boys Choir! So so cool. When they first started to sing I got goosebumps. They sing every Sunday at the 9:15 Mass in the Hofburgkapelle chapel in Hofburg Palace. I thought the church would have been huge, but it was quite small, holding maybe a couple hundred people (all tourists). They were hidden up in the choir loft for the entire service (which was all in German) until the very last song. It was kind of funny seeing the awkward young boys that can make such beautiful music. Afterwards we enjoyed an enormous brunch nearby.

To end our trip on Sunday afternoon, we visited the Albertina art museum downtown. They had some awesome exhibits, including a large collection that included pieces by Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Kandinsky, Pollock, Rothko, and many others. Afterwards, we went back to the large park in front of Hofburg Palace to enjoy the sun, people watch, and nap before heading back to Prague. After all of the amazing things we had seen and done over the weekend, this was still definitely one of the highlights. Such a great relaxing end to an awesome trip!

If you want to see more pictures of my trip to Vienna, click here. I've also uploaded photos from the buildings in Prague that we visited last week, so click here if you want to see those. Enjoy!

This is what homework in Prague looks like

2008-03-06T05:29:00.000-08:00

After getting our studio assignments on Monday, we decided to go visit all of the spaces that we can choose from to inspire our furniture designs. They were pretty incredible places, and I'm glad we got the chance to see some more of the important landmarks in Prague.

On Tuesday we started out at Prague Castle and visited Vladislav Hall of the Royal Palace.

The ceiling here was just so cool. I loved the Gothic arches that formed flowers and star patterns over the entire hall. It was so simple yet extremely complex in other areas, and all of the stonework was beautiful.
Next we went to St. George's Basilica, a Romanesque church also in Prague Castle. I wasn't as impressed with this space as the other, but it had some nice frescoes and a cool wooden ceiling over the main space.
I probably enjoyed the iron railings the most in this church, though. They were really cool and should be good inspiration for our creative detail class (the one where we have to design some architectural detail such as an iron railing, grill, window, door, etc.).
After we were done at Prague Castle, we headed down the street to the Baroque church of St. Nicholas. This was probably the most intricately detailed church I have ever seen. While some might say that it is gaudy looking, I think it's important to appreciate the architecture for the style it is and the amount of time and effort it must have taken to design and build. I can't even fathom having to draw each single little detail and the level of craftsmanship that went into its creation.
Some of the details were especially intriguing to me. I have noticed a reinterpretation of the Baroque style gaining popularity over the years (through companies such as Brocade Home) and can see the detail of this door becoming the pattern for many products such as textiles or wall covering.
On Wednesday we went to our Art Nouveau space, the Municipal Hall. This building serves as a theater, and we will probably go into the main hall (we only visited the lobby because you had to pay a considerable amount just to see the theater space for a couple minutes) when we go see a play or concert soon.

This building was also very interesting and had a ton of cool details in the handrails along with several fun mosaic tile floor patterns.

I'll post more pictures of all the spaces (and some of the exteriors) next week. Tonight I'll be getting ready for our weekend trip to Vienna, Austria! Have a good weekend everyone!

Brunch...probably the best meal of the day

2008-03-03T01:34:00.001-08:00

This weekend was rainy and cold, so we decided to spend most of it indoors lounging around. On Saturday, we got up late and went to brunch at Radost FX, a restaurant and lounge by day and a nightclub in the basement in the evenings.
Although it took over 2 hours for that one meal, it was totally worth it and such a relaxing morning just enjoying some wonderful food. I had the Elvis Lives! (a toasted bagel with crunchy peanut butter, bananas, and honey served with a gigantic fruit salad on the side). Probably one of the best meals I've had here (I know it wasn't traditional Czech, but it was delicious).
Most of the restaurants and clubs around here have such great personalities and are each so unique. I loved just being in the restaurant--the atmosphere and decor was funky yet elegant--just a fun place to be.

Here are just a few photos of Radost FX. I'm sure we'll be going back there soon. Their dinner menu looked pretty enticing as well...
Well, class has officially started. We went to studio today and have about 5 assignments due Thursday. Yikes! We'll have 4 projects over the semester. The first is a logotype design for ourselves as a designer, the second is to translate that logotype into a 3D sculpture, the third is to design a piece of jewelry for a client of our choice, and the fourth and major project is to design a contemporary chair for a historical building in Prague (we get to choose from 4 spaces they have assigned). So, this week we have to visit all 4 of the buildings and sketch inspiration for our piece of furniture. It is so amazing to be able to interact with the local historical architecture to serve as inspiration for our designs. The 4 spaces all have different architectural styles: Baroque, Gothic, Romanesque, and Art Nouveau, so we'll get to pick a style that we like in order to design something contemporary with great respect to the historical style. We'll start visiting the sites tomorrow...I'm glad we'll finally be seeing a few more sites around Prague!

Prague is a cool place to be

2008-03-01T01:22:00.000-08:00

Well, nothing too eventful has happened since our adventure in Budapest. Except we all broke down the other night and had a completely American evening. We ate at Bohemia Bagel, which was amazing. I wanted to order everything on the menu: pulled pork sandwiches, turkey club, cookies! (I haven't really seen cookies since I've been here). I settled for blueberry pancakes which were delicious. Plus Bohemia has FREE REFILLS! I get so thirsty here...the drinks are tiny and each cost at least $2, which is sometimes as much as your meal! The food here isn't that bad, but I can only take so much meat & potatoes. Afterwards we went and saw Sweeny Todd. A very good movie, but extremely gory.

This week we visited many classes to try and figure out our schedules. Here's what I think I'll be taking:

Studio (furniture design of some sort)

Figure Drawing

Color & Composition (abstract art)

Creative Detail (designing architectural decoration like an iron gate -- ie doodling)

Photography

Computer Graphics (Photoshop, Illustrator, & InDesign)

I'm pretty pumped about my schedule. This is the part of me that originally wanted to go to art school but eventually decided interior architecture & product design sounded just as fun but a little more practical. All of the professors seem awesome and really excited to have all of the Kansas students here (they really like Kansas for some reason...I think they have high expectations for us!).

No exciting trips this weekend. We decided just to stay in Prague and check out the city a little more. Little did we know it would be pouring down rain all weekend, so we'll see how much sightseeing we get done. We did visit the Salvador Dali exhibit in a gallery in Old Town Square yesterday, though. It was a little different than I expected, but fabulous nonetheless. Hopefully this rain clears up so we can spend some time outside! This city is so cool, and I can't wait to see even more of it every day!

B-B-B-Budapest

2008-02-26T06:10:00.000-08:00

Well, we are back from Budapest, and I'm happy to say that our first trip was a great success! Budapest was such a fun city and also very beautiful. Every square inch was full of something different and unique. We all loved how eclectic each place was--it really gave the city character. We also met new people along the way, and we were pleasantly surprised at how friendly all of the locals were with us.

This is our group in front of the Danube River. The city of Budapest is divided in half by the river. One half is called Buda, and the other is called Pest. We stayed in a hostel on the Pest side, and visited a lot of the sites around the city on the Buda side during the day.

On Saturday we took a boat tour up and down the Danube. Above is a picture of the Parliament building which was absolutely breathtaking. It really didn't look real and took me by surprise each time I looked at it. We also went to the House of Terror, a museum dedicated to the Hungarians who died during communism and WWII.
This is one of the castles in Budapest. There were so many interesting sights along the river--and they were even more stunning at night.
On Sunday we explored the city on foot. The weather was absolutely perfect, and a nice relief from the 30 degree highs in Prague last week. At least it hasn't snowed here yet! (sorry, Kansas...) We spent a relaxing day wandering and seeing more of the city. Budapest is known for its spas and baths, which we wanted to see, but we weren't able to get into the building to look without paying.

Good news! I have uploaded a lot more pictures, so you can click on the following links to see them: Loket Castle, Karlovy Vary, and Budapest. I've also added captions (finally) so you know what you're looking at!

We've started visiting classes this week, and I'm really excited about all of the art classes we will be taking. We went to figure drawing tonight not expecting to do anything, but to our surprise, there were models there and we ended up drawing for 2 hours! I think that class will be really fun but probably the most challenging. Studio should be good also...I think I will be doing furniture design. We officially start those next week, so until then we have quite a bit of downtime, yet the days seem to go by really fast. Tomorrow's task: laundry. It's funny how the simplest things (like doing laundry and getting dinner) end up becoming an adventure.

Castles and Spa Towns

2008-02-21T16:53:00.000-08:00

Today we made our daytrip to the Loket Castle (aka Hrad Loket) and took a tour of the whole thing. Probably the most interesting (and creepy) part was the torture chamber/prison in the basement. At one point, we were all exploring on our own, and I lost sight of everyone else, so I decided to look in the prison (where everyone was supposedly headed) and ended up in what I swore was a haunted house. As I went down the stairs, I expected to hear voices of the people in our group, but instead I heard the sounds of torture and pain. The castle was pretty cool as far as castles go, and I really loved this view of the castle on the mountain.
The town, which was built around the castle, was so fun and cheery. I just loved all the bright yellow, green, and orange buildings. They can't help but make you happy. We ate in this restaurant (the tall yellow building) for lunch. The food was actually really good, but I'm pretty sure we got taken advantage of (we had to pay a lot more for a lot less food) because we were such a big tourist group.

After the castle we headed to Karlovy Vary, the spa town. There, we toured the Becherovka factory and then went to find the mineral waters. We found them dispersed throughout a colonnade in the center of the city. After sipping one, we determined they tasted like salty blood and we could probably do without their healing powers. But the town was picturesque nonetheless and a good way to spend the end of our day trip.

Tomorrow it's off to Budapest, Hungary until Monday. Have a good weekend!

A Stroll Around Prague

2008-02-20T12:10:00.000-08:00

Today we finally took a tour of the city! After 5 days, I finally feel like I've been to Prague and understand the city a little better. We started out at Prague Castle and went inside the cathedral.

The castle is located on a hill overlooking the city, so there were some amazing views of many other important landmarks in Prague. I love all of the orange roofs that cover the city!

After visiting the castle and many other historical state buildings, we crossed the famous Charles Bridge. Even though it was nearly dark, the bridge was still packed with people. The bridge was quite nice, but I hear it's even better at night. We'll have to make another trip there sometime soon. Interesting fact about Charles Bridge: construction on the bridge started in 1357 on the 9th of July at 5:31pm. Why such an odd time, and how in the world can I remember that? The date is a series of odd numbers: 135797531, which they believed would bring luck to Prague. Just in case you needed a little bit of trivia knowledge... On the other side of the bridge there is an awesome view of the castle on the hill.

After crossing Charles Bridge we headed to Old Town to conclude our 4 hour tour. Finally a familiar place! We have been there at least once a day since we've been here, so we've gotten pretty comfortable exploring that area. We ended the evening with dinner in Old Town and headed back to the dorms.

Tomorrow will be an early morning--we're going on a day trip to Karlovy Vary! Karlovy Vary is a spa town with many different mineral waters which supposedly have healing powers. We'll get to see (and maybe taste...I've heard they aren't so good...) the mineral waters, but I don't suppose we'll spend the day at the spa. We'll also visit Loket Castle which is nearby. It should be a really fun day...except for the forecasted rain...good thing I brought my polka dot umbrella!

I've also posted many more pictures of our trip around the city today in my online album. They are down below the previous ones. Click here to see them!

Dorm Life

2008-02-18T08:29:00.000-08:00

Here is our dorm at Czech Tech University. All of us have rooms that are shared with one or two other people and a common room that we share between six or seven students. The common rooms have a tiny kitchen and eating area and two bathrooms, one with a toilet, and one with a shower. We are told they are the nicest dorms the university has, and so far they've been pretty good. Going back to the dorms from an apartment is a little difficult, but it's a great way to be around lots of people all the time and keep you connected with everyone here.

I also have started an online photo album if you want to view more of my photos! Click here to view them.

We're here!

2008-02-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

We finally arrived in Prague after nearly 20 hours of traveling. Luckily, Czech Tech has a great international student club, and each international student is assigned a buddy to help us figure out how to do things and translate for us. When we arrived, our buddies brought us back from the airport, and we spent the evening filling out paperwork, seeing a little of the campus, getting our metro passes, and running to Tesco for necessities. I apologize for not posting sooner, but we still don't really have internet access. We will hopefully be up and running by Tuesday...

On Saturday, we were so jetlagged we accidentally slept through half of the day. We spent the afternoon getting more familiar with the metro and navigating the city. However, we still didn't get to see all the sights we were expecting to see. On Saturday night, a Czech student (who was an exchange student at K-State last year) and his friend showed us around the city a little and took us to a few pubs. It really is true that the Czechs love their beer. They were all downing liter after liter. Some guys drank 4 liters. That's like a gallon of beer! At the end of the night, we finally got to see the famous Old Town Square, which was absolutely gorgeous.

Today, we finally got to do a few more "touristy" things. We went back to Old Town a couple times and walked around in the daylight. The city really is as beautiful as everyone says. All of the buildings are in such good condition, and they are so eclectic. I can't wait to go back and actually learn about what I'm seeing. We should be taking a tour of the city with ISC (International Student Club) on Wednesday, so we decided to postpone any organized tours this weekend. We also had our first traditional Czech meal tonight! (So far, we had eaten at what I think was supposed to be an Italian restaurant--we had pizza--and a greasy little Chinese place which is very close to the dorms.) I had traditional Czech potato soup (which was served with a fried potato cake) and some smoked pork (which was very pink, looked like ham, and tasted pretty much like a hot dog) served with mustard and horseradish. It was actually pretty good, and I'd like to try some of their other popular dishes.

We also made our first trip to the grocery store (we have a shared kitchen in our rooms) which was interesting trying to figure out what everything was. We didn't get too much food because you have to carry everything back with you, and you also have to buy (or bring your own) bag to carry your purchases home with you (this is true of most stores except Tesco).

Tomorrow begins our orientation week, so it should be a day full of meeting other international students!

Packing Packing...

2008-02-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

Well, it's just about time to leave! I'm almost done with all my packing, and fortunately, both bags are way under the weight limit. They also have lots of extra room--which means I can bring home a ton of cool stuff! I just hope all of our traveling goes smoothly and the airlines don't lose our luggage...

The adventure is about to begin!! I'm going to miss everyone, but I will see you all in June!