Arrival In Praha

We left Berlin at 8am and headed to Dresden and Prague on 7/8. I am writing this on the night of 7/8.

            Today was lyyykkee schhoooo 3XcitTinG! Nawt! -_- We sat in a damn bus majority of the day. However we stopped in Dresden. I think it took us about 3 hours to get to Dresden from Berlin….not totes sure because I tried to rest most of the way so I lost track of time.

            We got to Dresden and did an hour bus tour and then an hour and a half walking tour. We were in smaller groups of like 25. Today I was the ignorant American. I got in so late from the night before that I didn’t bother to google, or ask one of the 195 students, or a staff member, or anyone at the hotel for that matter what the weather might be for Dresden. I used my own judgment the night before and I decided to lay out jeans, sandals, a tank with a lace back (so essentially like half a shirt) and a thin sweater. Cooooooooollllllll move Al. Literally, I was very cold. We were on the bus majority of the time so it was like OK then, but once we got to Dresden it was a bit drizzly which was not very fun when it came time for the walking tour. Oh well live and learn.

            We had the same guide for the bus and walking tour. Idk his name but he was an older guy who was very eager and cheery. When I heard him speak to us I was so thrown by his accent. It wasn’t quite like the German accents I had been hearing in Berlin, slightly different. I can’t really explain it. Then our actual bus driver explained that in Dresden they have some weird ass Saxon accent, so that explained it!

The other odd thing was the dude had a lisp. Nothing wrong with that at all, but it made me wonder…..does he only have a lisp when he is speaking in English? Or does he also have a lisp when speaking his native language of Saxon or German? (or whatever its called) Like, you know what I mean? Does language have an affect on that or is it constant no matter what you’re speaking. Someone google that ish and get back to me, I’m real curious.

Here’s what I got out of the Dresden tours: the city is old, it was destroyed, and now its back. Ta-da! Not much, I know. The guy was kinda hard to follow and it just honestly wasn’t that interesting. I will say it is charming and pretty and has very cool buildings…..just not exactly sure what is what or the exact origins, dates, and important things about them all. Zoops.

The one thing that did really interest me was when we got inside the cathedral. They had this sculpture that was a modern art representation of “La Pieta”. Personally, La Pieta is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. No lie. I know it’s just a statue, but I really can’t even think of the words to describe its perfection, beauty, and emotion within that statue. When I saw it in Rome in 2009 I made sure to get quite a few pics of it. So they had a modern representation of that statue, which was pretty cool to see. I will post pics at some point. The representation was very unusual looking and you would never know it was La Pieta, unless someone told you.

After the walking tour four of us girls had lunch together. Nothing that legit, just a sandwich and salad. I got a hot chocolate to try and warm me up. It was pretty good. One thing I’ve noticed about when we go out to restaurants is that, we all have separate checks when it comes time to pay. Which makes it super easy when breaking down who owes what when you go out in a big group. Its just funny because when you ask to split the check several different ways in America, your waitress seems to like bitch and moan and make its seem like you just asked her to personally cook your meal or some big hassle like that. So obvi its not that hard to do if they’re doin it aaalll the time over here!

            Another thing I noticed (that’s not at all related to anything I’m talking about) is that there are NO toilet seat covers. Why didn’t I remember or know that from when we were in Italy in 2009?! I was really surprised. Oh and its just pretty nast.

            After Dresden we got back on the bus and drove for another 3 hours, I think. Driving through the German countryside was very beautiful. Cute small cottage like homes that were few and far between and it was very green and lush. We arrived at the hotel in Prague around 7ish. I was so tired. Even though I was on a bus and resting most of the day it just wasn’t very comfortable. I felt like I was on a plane flight all day. While arriving into Prague our bus driver made a few announcements to us. Here is what he had to say: Prague is known for its pickpockets, they speak Czech, they DON’T USE THE EURO (Dad you were right!!! I should have listened to you! We have to exchange our Euro for their currency the Crown), and they like to scam Americans that want to ride in cabs. So it seems suuuppperrr safe here!! (sarcasm).

            All of GIF is in one hotel this time. ITS. SO. NICE. Again, I will post pics eventually. I have a new roomie who goes to Gonzaga, we only saw each other for like 5 mins because we then went to a buffet dinner in the hotel as soon as we arrived. Dinner was some weeiiiirrrrddddd food man. I was thinking about it on the way over, and wondering if it would be like the German food and boy was I wrong! I though German food was weird, no, no, no, no, no THIS stuff is. And I call it STUFF because I honestly cannot even tell you what it is. I had some dark brown stuff (and I’m not even joking or trying to be funny I seriously don’t know what it was) and then I had tomatoes because that was the only thing at the buffet I recognized. Then I walked back over to the buffet after I ate that stuff because I was still hungry. At that point they had put out some plain pasta. So I grabbed a plate of that with butter. I know I eat like a 5 year old.

            After dinner everyone in GIF was planning on going to some 5 story club. I was going to go, but the more I thought about it I just really can’t. I’m too beat and 3 nights out in a row has for sure been a lot for me, so I decided to pass. Yes, yes the FOMO is fading.

            Off to get a good nights sleep so I can make up for not going out tonight! Opening Tour has felt like its been about two weeks long. Although, it is something that I am SO glad GIF offers. For my lack of going out tonight, tomorrow I will be celebrating* our safe arrival in Prague and looking forward to more Opening Tour adventures that lie ahead.

*To my Mers: you got that one right? Hahahah miss and love you both :)