Turtlenecks in Czech

Thursday, Jan 11th

We started our last day in Vienna with a tour of the Schönbrunn Palace, an incredible sight which lies majestically over the city. This was our first site for the “PLU recruitment photos,” staged group shots featuring our PLU banners. After having some fun with the photoshoot, we put the cameras away and proceeded into the palace for a tour. Our guide did a fantastic job showing us around 40 rooms, all of which were marvelous to see. One of these rooms housed a performance by a young Mozart and his sister, after which Mozart jumped into the queen’s arms and asked her to marry him. After we finished inside the palace, Matt, Jeffery, Megan, MariHa, and I ventured around the courtyard and garden area behind the palace. We had a great time exploring the beautiful scenery in good company. Eventually we made our way back into the suburbs where we came across a play structure. This entertained us for much longer than it should have, but, to be fair, it was much better than any play structure I've seen in the states. Farther along the way, I came across my first souvenir from Vienna, a teapot and cup set. The best part: it was completely free! Someone had left the box on top of a dumpster, fully intact. One man’s trash is another man's treasure, confirmed.

The view from behind the palace.

We managed to fit in one final excursion before our daily concert, Vienna philharmonic. With little time to spare, Matt, Jeffery, MariHa, and I made our way to the Mozarthaus, a historic museum hosted inside an apartment in which Mozart and his wife lived for several years. They told me not to take pictures, but I couldn't resist sneaking a shot of the original manuscript for his famous requiem. I also picked up my second souvenir, although I had to pay for this one. Our visit was a bit rushed as we needed to rendezvous with the rest of the group with enough time to secure adequate seats, or rather, standing positions for the concert. My feet were ready to give out on me by intermission, so I retreated to the back corner to sit on the floor with Aaron and Jeffery for the remainder of the concert. The second piece, Berlioz’s symphonie fantastique, was very lively and the last movement gave me the strength I needed to stand up again. Despite the s(tanding)eating situation, the concert was amazing and it was awesome to see Gustavo Dudamel conducting in person.

Friday, Jan 12th

After a great first few days in Vienna, it was time to catch the train for Prague. As you may have seen in Jeffery’s post, we brought along some wombombs for the road. I quickly learned that the best way to eat well and affordably was to load up at breakfast and seek out the best street food stands. With our pockets full of sustenance, we embarked on our first train ride and arrived in Prague about four hours later. This gave us just enough time to find a restaurant before our concert. We were pleasantly surprised to find that beer is cheaper than soda in Prague. Unfortunately, however, the food took longer than we anticipated and we were forced to ask the waiter to box our food for us as he brought it out. We downed our beers, grabbed some forks for the road (with the intention to return them at some point), and rushed back to the hostel to meet the rest of the group. We arrived at the concert hall with plenty of spare time, so Aaron, Carl, and I headed across the Vltava river via the Charles bridge. This was moments before the experience which would change our lives forever. Walking past us we saw a man eating something my friend Maddie told me I needed to try in Prague; only later did we find out they're known as trdelník, or chimney cakes in English. The only thing you need to know about them is that they are absolutely delicious. Aaron, Carl, and I realized the gravity of the moment as we took our first bites, and nothing has since been the same. We Americanized the Czech name and started calling them turtlenecks, which would come to be the buzzword for the entirety of our time in Prague; everything we said or did revolved around turtlenecks. As Dr. Powell put it, we were fixated.

We ended our first night in Prague with an amazing concert by the Czech Philharmonic, who put on a Dvorak violin concerto and Shostakovich symphony for us. The soloist, Jan Mrácek, was incredible and only 27 years old!

Saturday, Jan 13th

Our first morning in the new city featured a breakfast innovation inspired by turtlenecks and an excursion through the city as we attempted to find the venue for our first morning concert of the trip. The venue, the Lichtenstein Palace, proved to be very elusive for the group of lost Americans, and unfortunately this made us considerably late. We all missed the first piece, Haydn’s “Bird” quartet, and the last five or six of us missed the second piece as they closed the doors on us moments before we could make it inside. Seeing as this was the one concert for which Dr. Powell could not secure himself a ticket, there are speculations as to how intentional his misguidance through the city may have been; were we the victims of a deliberate sabotage driven by jealousy? Who's to say? Joking aside, I’m grateful I got to sit in on Mendelssohn’s quartet in E minor for the conclusion of the concert. The Benda quartet performed amazingly and I couldn't help but give them a standing ovation even though it seems this isn't a common practice in Europe.

Baguette stuffed with apple, brie, bacon, and honey, inspired by trdelník.

Following the concert, we congregated for a tour of the city which included the majestic Prague Castle. The tour was informative and taught us many things about Prague’s history, but much to the dismay of me and Aaron, there was no mention of turtlenecks. Our final event of the evening was a group dinner at Dr. Powell’s favorite restaurant in the city, U Fleku. We knew it would be an eventful night when the waiters slammed a pint of beer in front of each of us before we could even take a look at the menu. In what I'm assuming to be traditional Czech fashion, they kept a steady supply of shots and beers coming our way to ensure no one went thirsty.

Sunday, Jan 14th

On the agenda for Sunday was a trip to the Lobkowisc Mansion, but not before we perfected our breakfast turtlenecks. If you look at Aaron’s promo post, you will see the fruits of our labor: six gourmet flavors including everything from apricot kiwi to shakshuka bacon -- basically anything and everything we had at our disposal at the hostel breakfast buffet. Moving along, we made our way towards the mansion for a guided audio tour. My favorite part of this was hearing about the history between the Lobkowisc family and Beethoven. He dedicated several works to them, including his opus 18 string quartets and his third, fifth, and sixth symphonies. By far the coolest thing I got to lay my eyes on here was the original score to his fourth symphony which was about as thick as a phonebook. The audio tour was effective because it was able to play music and discuss historical facts at the same time. Another memorable part, for example, was the bit about Handel’s water music, which played in the background as the “tour guide” commented on a painting depicting the scene for which the music was written. Hearing the music while viewing the painting was powerful enough to make me feel immersed in the scene.

For best results, listen to Handel's water music.

We concluded our evening with a visit to the opera house to see Smetana’s Bartered Bride. Shortly beforehand, Aaron, Tomick, and I went clothes shopping; apparently Aaron had been feeling a bit underdressed at the last opera. I picked up a two-tone blue scarf which pairs very nicely with my go-to concert outfit for the trip, while Aaron bought a dress shirt, tie, and pea coat. Needless to say we walked out of that store feeling like a million bucks, or about 21 million koruna.

From the moment we got our (good) seats I was happy to find this opera experience to be better than the first. Not that the first was bad, but this one featured a thrilling overture, great practical effects, and a song praising beer to open the second act. The plot was also more captivating. This concert was certainly one of my favorites thus far, along with the Benda quartet and the Czech Philharmonic. Despite the incessant lack of sleep I’d been getting throughout the trip, we decided to stay out late as we had nothing scheduled for the following day. I had a great night on the town, firstly with Megan, Jeffery, and Alex and then later with Aaron and Matt. At this point (and well before this point, actually) it's safe to say I had fallen in love with Prague.