Traveling for a Month Part Two- Prague

We arrived in Prague to meet up with Tierney who had spent the week there with her parents.  We were staying in an apartment in Prague 10 which was very nice despite being a little bit outside the city.

Tierney had a job interview the day we got there so we relaxed in the apartment and wandered around the neighborhood near the apartment exploring until she was done.  We then walked into city center to have a traditional Czech dinner.  I got beef goulash and it was not as good as I was expecting.  I ended up eating the beef and some of the pudding, but not much else.  I'm glad that I tried it but I will probably never get it again.

After dinner we wandered to Charles Bridge which has 1 to 2 million people walk across it each day.  It was beautiful at night and you get a great view of Prague Castle up on the hill.  My pictures don't do it justice.  In true Bridget fashion, I bought a post card of the bridge at night so there is at least one good picture.

Wenceslas Square

Wenceslas Square

Astronomical Clock

Cool building in the same square as the Astronomical Clock

View from Charles Bridge

End of Charles Bridge

Tierney and I on Charles Bridge

The next day we went back to city center and wandered around, looking at things during the daylight.  We saw the beginnings of the easter markets being set up, watched the astronomical clock chime, crossed Charles Bridge again, and just wandered the streets.  It was great to see Charles Bridge during the day and it was very cool because they had art and jewelry stands all along both sides, and just like everything else in Prague it was all inexpensive!

Cool Building by the Astronomical Clock in the daylight

Astronomical Clock

Astronomical Clock

Astronomical Clock

Astronomical Clock

Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge

View of Prague Castle from Charles Bridge

Me on the Bridge with Prague Castle in the background

Artist stands on Charles Bridge

We took a cable car up a hill that overlooks the city to go to a restaurant that had been suggested to us.  We figured since it was a nice restaurant in a good location and looked fancy it would be really expensive but I got lunch and a drink for around 8 euro!  we walked along the ridge of the hill after lunch towards the castle and wandered the grounds there.  They also have a cathedral within the Castle and we stopped in there to look at the architecture and stained glass.  We then were going to try to have dinner on the rooftop of a hotel across the square from the Astronomical clock, but they were full so we ate dinner on the outdoor patio instead and the food was very good.  We had a nice time relaxing over a leisurely dinner.  We stopped and did some shopping while heading to meet up with some other people from my study abroad group who had arrived in Prague that day.  It was fun to see them after not seeing them for a week (when we are used to seeing each other everyday).

Before the Cable Car

Cable Car track going up 

View from the top of Prague Castle

View of the city and the river

Observatory on our way to the restaurant from the cable car

Sign to the restaurant

The restaurant

My amazing lunch for $6- yes Mom, you guessed it, that is Rocket on top

View from our table

Watching the cable car from the restaurant

sign in Czech telling us how to get to the Castle

Cathedral at the Castle

Inside the cathedral- the colors on the left are from the stained glass windows

One of the stained glass windows

View of Prague from Castle

Castle Gardens

The next morning we decided to head back into town for breakfast and to check out the easter markets now that they were in full swing before heading off to Salzburg.  We wandered around the easter markets for a while, they were spread all around "Old Town" which is the city center.  We also got some yummy chicken skewers to eat as we headed to the car and a traditional pastry with cinnamon sugar on it.

The traditional pastry

Next installment: Salzburg- hopefully coming in the next few days

Traveling for a Month Part One- Dublin and Paris

So I started my month of traveling off with a bus ride to Dublin at 7am.  The goal of this trip to Dublin was to visit places I had not been to before, and I was successful!  We spent some time wandering around the city the first day, and visited Trinity College to see the Book of Kells.  After seeing the St. John's Bible (another illuminated Bible which was commissioned by St. John's University) on multiple occasions, some of the glory was lost on me, but it was still interesting to know that it was from the 15th century.  When visiting the Book of Kells, you are also able to go up into the old college library and they still have shelves and shelves of old books up there.  We decided to call it an early night and relax to get an early start the next morning.

The next morning, we decided to do the "Hop on, Hop off" bus tour which has a set route that you can get on and off at any of their 21 odd stops.  The first stop of the day was Kilmainham Gaol, which is an old jail you can tour.  It was very interesting and I had a great tour guide!

I got put in a cell, luckily they didn't lock it

After that, we went to the Dublin Zoo, which was interesting because we got to see some familiar animals they have at the Minnesota Zoo, as well as some that I don't get the chance to see often.  The Minnesota Zoo is obviously better, but they do have a permanent Africa exhibit at the Dublin Zoo and the giraffe came right up and tried to lick us.

We were going to visit some crypts under an old church, but when we got there, we realized that the church was in fact closed.  To make the situation better, we walked a few blocks to the oldest pub in Ireland, The Brazen Head.  After our mid afternoon snack,  we walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral.  Inside, we got to look at all of the stained glass windows as well as the artwork.  There was a rehearsal for an orchestra concert going on as well which was grand to hear.

We took a 6am flight the next day to Paris.  The flight brought us about an hour and a half outside the city.  They had buses running from the airport to city center.  Once we got to city center, we attempted our first trip on the metro and passed with flying colors (thanks Ms. Jurewicz for imparting your knowledge 4 years ago, some of it stuck at least!).

I got to meet up with two of my good friends from high school who are studying abroad in Paris for lunch and they took us a great restaurant.  I was so happy to see them and get some inside knowledge about Paris.  We took our second trip on the metro to get to Sacré Coeur, a cathedral on a hill overlooking the city.  After we walked around the church, we wandered into the neighborhood behind it and found the artist quarter, which I had remembered visiting on my previous trip to Paris.  It was fun to be able to walk around and look at the art which had not been out the last time I was there.

On our way home, we stopped by the Arc de Triomphe and had dinner on Champs-Elysses, with a stop at the famous Ladurée for macaroons.

The next day we got up and went to the Eiffel Tower.  We decided to climb up to the viewing platform on the second level and then took an elevator all the way to the top.  This gave us some amazing views of the city.  After this we got some ice cream and walked around the adjacent park.  Then we made our way to Les Invalides which houses monuments and museums and Napoleon's grave.  It is all centered around the military, which got a little repetitive towards the end, but was still very interesting.  That night, we took a night cruise by boat on the River Seine and got to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night.

The next day, we went to Versailles and walked around the Palace.  I was glad to be back even though I had been there once before.  We met up with one of my friends later that night for ice cream and just sat on a Pedestrian Bridge and people watched for a few hours with her.

The next day we headed off on our next adventure...more to come...