Monday, Jan 15th
Our first free day of the trip was full of excitement, although unfortunately I was feeling under the weather for most of the day. Matt met up with his friend Lexi, who happened to be in Prague, and joined me, Aaron, MariHa, Megan, and Rachel as we ventured around the city. Our first stop was a small pub in which we were shown how to properly take a shot of absinthe (we were all a bit confused when the waiter brought it to us on a plate with spoons, some sugar, and a lighter). After this we decided to find the best trdelník in Prague, or at least according to a previous traveler’s blog post. Upon arrival, I have to say I was certainly impressed. But after MariHa threw in the towel, I got to finish the rest of hers which had been made fresh moments before. I didn't think it could get much better but the warm toasty dough and the melted chocolate disagreed. The downside to this is that my stomach felt the repercussions of eating one and a half trdelníks in one sitting for the rest of the day. Aaron and I experienced the retaliation of the Czech pastries all the way up the hill as we trekked towards Prague castle to show Lexi the sight we’d seen the day before.
We finished our excursion with a return to the hostel. The group decided to make a quick pit stop before checking out the instrument museum, but Aaron and I decided that we needed the rest after we got back into our beds. We met up with about half of our class a couple hours later at the Fat Cat pub. As we were ordering, we realized there was a special guest dining alongside us: Edwin Powell, DMA. As it turns out, our professor had looked up the best pubs in Prague and settled on the Fat Cat for dinner.
Tomick blessed a group of us later that night with a lesson in swing dancing and a trip to a local club where we put our newfound skills to the test. The dance floor was very intimidating at first, but after awhile we decided that lesson wasn't for nothing and we stepped out onto the floor. As mediocre as we may have been, it was a great night and we even got to burn off a fraction of the beer we’d drank throughout the trip.
Swing dancing at the club!
Tuesday, Jan 16th
Originally scheduled for our last day in Prague was a group trip to the instrument museum, but after we learned it was closed, Dr. Powell arranged for us a visit to a national gallery instead. We got to peruse traditional Czech artwork and relics, as well as some from China, Japan, and India. After this the group parted ways, half of them made for the open-air market while the other half of us followed Dr. Powell to the John Lennon wall. Matt and I had a little photo shoot and got some mulled wine before meeting up with the rest of the group for a boat ride down the Vltava river. Apart from the complimentary wine and apple strudel, we got to enjoy a beautiful sunset and view of the city.
The Vltava river running through Prague.
Our last event of the night was a traditional Czech folklore dinner and dance show. We got to enjoy talented musicians, dancers, and bottomless food and drink. Several of us even got chosen to join in the dancing, including Rachel, Megan, Matt, Tomick, and myself. Great food and entertainment made for a great night.
Wednesday, Jan 17th
Jeffery and I started our final morning in Prague by making some fruit salad turtlenecks for the train ride ahead. Our first train took us to Dresden, where we briefly stopped for food before our next train would take us to Leipzig. Aaron and I wandered around for a bit in search of food, but our primary objective was to find a free bathroom. We gave up and decided to submit to the €0.50 bathroom toll after about ten minutes. Aaron deposited his €2 coin only to find the machine didn't give change back. We proceeded to make that bathroom trip the best of our lives in effort to get our money’s worth. We then headed back towards the train and started browsing the bakeries and food stands only to find Jeffery running towards us saying we needed to go now. We darted for the train before we had any chance to grab bite. Apparently there had been some confusion with the train booking and we had to hop on a different one. Aaron could have had a better experience in Dresden, but nevertheless we were headed for Leipzig with a free evening waiting for us.
After we arrived, we checked into our rooms and then wandered around a little bit. The city is beautiful with a huge plaza and big modern buildings full of shopping, restaurants, and cafes. Not far from our hostel is the St. Thomas Church where Bach wrote a considerable amount of music. We took another class photo next to a giant statue of him before we were turned loose to find dinner. Ironically enough, our first meal in Germany turned out to be Vietnamese.
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