So its been awile...

I promise to get better about posting... Prague has been wonderful to get to know and explore.
The kids in the program are are vibrant and exciting to be around. I am enjoying all of them. We have done several group things since being here such as bowling night, Communist Museum, Budweiser Brewery tour, dinner in a monastery, Astronomical Clock Tower tour,
skiing in southern Bohemia, Prague Museum and Model, Czech National Museum, Charles University Botanical Garden, Kampa Modern Art Museum... just to name a few. It would be much better if I had an explanation for all of these but alas I don't have the time. So, if you are interested in any particularly, then just ask... I will share.

"Prosek is nothing like skiing"

So this is Prosek... A little portion of Praha (Prague 9) created in the 20's during the Communist era.


Complete with a vast variety of Soviet block-housing.

This semester my goal is to make Prague 9 feel as if it is in some sort of association with Prague 1,2 and 3 (Tourist areas: Old Town, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle).

Tomorrow is pin up for analysis... "What is the sense of the city?"

Cesky Krumluv

We are supposed to be awake and ready in the lobby by 6 am to catch our train... but my roommate Lindsay and I dare to roll out of bed around 1/4 till just to make things interesting.

A group of about12 students and the legendary Art Rice took the metro to the central station in Prague. That was when it was determined that Andrew decided that it would be a good idea to leave his passport back at the pension...



He made the train in record time. Our train took us through southeast Bohemia where we got off in a little town called Cesky Budejovice, the origin of the beloved American Budweiser.



So heck, let's take a tour and drink Budweiser Budejovice straight from the tank... the best and freshest Bud I will ever have.



From there we wandered around the town's centre and went back to the train station to catch a train with ONE CAR! This wound us further southeast to the town of Cesky Krumlov.

Off the train, there is snow everywhere and we walk with our packs on our backs, winding down the hillside when suddenly the largest castle in Europe is standing before us...
So we walk along a river and cross a bridge through the aqueducts of the castle. This is the entrance of the most beautiful mid evil village I could ever imagine.



All of the buildings are painted bright colors and there is snow, cobble streets and breath taking vistas back towards the castle.

We settled into our hostle called Krumlov House (awesome) and then headed to dinner in old cellars and had pretty much a medevil feast. It was amazing. From there we went to a gypsy bar and listened/danced to a gypsy band and drank the local beer.

The next day I woke feeling awesome so I went on a run with Art Rice (training for a marathon on his 60th bday), Lindsay and our new pal Bryan. We ran for about an hour, twisting and winding through all the cobble streets in the town. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. That day it snowed and covered the entire town in powder. So we headed to a cafe with our sketch books and drew the afternoon away.

Later that night we climbed the largest hill south of town and overlooked the snow sprinkling down on the village. So... we sled down the hill.. caught some major air. Then warmed and dried ourselves off and headed to dinner in the coolest restaurant ever! It was far below ground in these catacombs and our dinner was served by a wench. Awesome.

Our last day, I took the opportunity to climb up to the castle and took some amazing pictures of the city. Then we hopped on a bus for 3 hours back to Prague.

What a wonderful trip it was and I would recomend it to anyone who visits this part of the world. It was amazing!

So when in Amsterdam...

The first leg of our trip was to Amsterdam. We flew out of Prague airport in the afternoon of the 15th and landed safely in the Netherlands later that evening...

From there we hopped on a train to Central Station and then a tram to our stop on the Princengrat Canal. That night we found food and entertainment...

The entire trip consisted of walking the canals of the center city, eating a little bakeries and cafes, and drinking at the local pubs. An expensive city but definitely worth a visit.

Finally in Prague

So after 15+ hours of Travel.. We have arrived.
View from our room

With 20 pieces of luggage between 6 travelers, it all made it!
So we have settled into our pension (hotel) thanks to John who had everything set up for us... from the travel from the airport, currency exchange, beer ordering, hotel assignments, etc...

So far all we have had time for is to eat, catch up on sleep and write home.
Karen on facebook; Lindsay writing home

Today will be unpacking our huge suitcases and compiling 2 weeks worth of clothes into one bag for our upcoming travel to Holland and Belgium. We might also get in some sight seeing...

still packing...

So I have made a dent in the huge pile of stuff that I have. Everything I own minus the few things I am taking to Prague will be in boxes probably by the end of today! I getting very excited about Prague.

Apparently there is snow! Check these out (courtesy of my buddy John)



Ok back to packing

praha in 7 days

so i am getting pretty darn excited, nervous, anxious... etc. taking the time now to pack my apartment, bags, life...

i am taking 2 bags literally large enough for me to fit in and a backpacking pack. i am sure my luggage will out weigh me... yep pretty sure.

so for any one interested in chatting me up while i am away: video, email, IM and voice.. you can find me at:

lornagraphic@ymail.com - for all of your web chat needs
allen.lorna@gmail.com - for all of your general email and gchat needs

for some reason the google web chat has a few bugs and doesn't work with my web cam. no worries though, any one interested in web chatting me will make a yahoo account. which i must say is much better than what google is offering in the way of gadgets and IM'g.

Anyways I better get to packing...