Sunday morning marked the perfect weekend trip - the first trip I have gone on since my arrival in the Czech Republic where it did not rain during some part or most of the weekend! Yet another glorious, sunny day! After breakfast, I went with everyone to the Demänovská Ice Cave. The caves were quite pretty, but not as impressive as the Macocha Abyss, located near Brno (I have pictures up on an earlier blog). The tour lasted only about an hour or so. It was fun, but I would have preferred to be outside in the sun than in a [View Full Entry]

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On Saturday, I woke up to a room flooded with warmth and light from the sun - I couldn't believe it - two whole days of such beauty! The bus took me to the Vratna Dolina Valley, which is a valley located in Mala Frata mountain region. For about 2.5 hours, I engaged in one of the most strenuous and rewarding climbs in which I have participated. The day was so beautiful and it felt so great to stretch my body that I simply could not complain, but many of my fellow climbers were not as optimistic and loudly proclaimed their [View Full Entry]

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The morning dawned brilliant and warm, with promises of a lovely day and hope for an eventful weekend. After wishing Amichai a very happy 22nd birthday via Skype, I boarded a bus that took me to a small town called Piešťany, famous for its sulfur healing waters and beautiful surroundings. A few people loitered in the sunshine as they walked to various destinations and I had the chance to meander through the town and see the abundance of shops and aquatic activity centers. The smell of sulfur from the springs was present and unpleasant, but kept largely at bay by the [View Full Entry]

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Question: What do you get when you let 30 students have unlimited wine for 4 hours? Answer: One funny bus ride to the dormitory! On Tuesday evening, I had the pleasure of sampling some wonderful Moravian wine at a traditional Vino Sklep (I hope that's right), which is a wine cellar. ISC organized a wine outing so that we could "get a taste" of the Czech Republic (as if we haven't drank our weight in Starobrno or Pilsner Urquell beer - KIDDING). We arrived around 6 pm and a guide led us in tasting 7 different wines, which included a variety [View Full Entry]

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Sunday, April 13th, was our final day in Bohemia. The sun thankfully was out to greet us again and the day was much warmer than Saturday. As we had done previously, we had breakfast in the hotel and then turned in our keys. The main attraction for the day was the ZOO Dvůr Králové. The website for the Zoo is http://www.zoodk.cz/home_en.php if you want to see more... When I first saw the itinerary, I thought, I am not 5. I do not want to go to a Zoo! When I got there, however, and started to look at the animals, I [View Full Entry]

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Hello All! I am so pleased and honored to hear that a lot of people are reading my blog! No pressure... right? ;-) Well, I have just returned from a small weekend excursion to Eastern Bohemia, which is the other major region or area in the Czech Republic. (The city in which I study, Brno, is in Moravia). I had a really interesting time and have lots of great photos to share with you! On Friday, April 11th, the group left the dormitory at 7:30 for a town called Litomyšl, which is known for being the birthplace of composer Bedřich Smetana. [View Full Entry]

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Sunday was true to its name; the day dawned bright and warm. Emily and I lingered over our breakfast and when everyone else went to take last-minute photos, we did the opposite. We went back to to sleep until it was time to check out of the hotel and board the bus. We were on the bus only a few minutes before we got off again to tour the Wieliczka Salt Mine. The salt mine was actually fascinating. I mean, a place that tells you that you can lick the floors and walls (but not the statues) has to be pretty [View Full Entry]

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You may have picked up a pattern so far... all of my "excursion" days tend to start a bit earlier than I prefer and this was no exception... we met as a group to walk to breakfast at 7:50 am. Breakfast, I am happy to say, was served in a beautiful restaurant a few blocks from the hostel. After breakfast, we spent our grey morning walking around the city, seeing all of the tourist-y sites. My friend, Emily, won a plush dragon in the morning's breakfast trivia game. There is lore about the dragon, but I will tell you about that [View Full Entry]

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I have been to Hell. I have been to Auschwitz. I would rather not talk about my experience there because I found it more than incredibly difficult. My words will only fail me and seem frustratingly inadequate. I know this, inherently, to be true. For once, I am speechless. Perhaps, it is better that way. Perhaps I shall find the words to explain to you who do not know or have not seen. But not now. I cannot. I did not take any pictures there because I thought it morbid and disrespectful (for me, personally) to do so. I will never [View Full Entry]

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On Friday, March 28th, 2008, I began my exploration of Poland. My first stop was Auschwitz and Auschwitz - Birkenau. As I have said, I don't wish to talk about it because it was terrible to even visit. Please do not think me crass or heartless if I move quickly from it in conversation. I must say, however, how confused I felt about how to approach the weekend. How could I honor what I had seen? Should I even go out with other people for drinks or dinner? Would it be wrong to continue to do tourist things the rest of [View Full Entry]

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