Our second to last weekend we all traveled to Karlovy Vary, a spa town in the Czech Republic. Even our Czech buddies came along! It was good to spend time relaxing in the sauna, Jacuzzi, or massage room before hunkering down for our finals.
Some photos of the beautiful town
We first went to the Moser Glass Factory, where we got to see glass being melted, blown, and shaped. Moser is a world-renowned brand in glass production, and we got to see some incredible works of glass.
One of the amazing glass works in the Moser Factory.
Glass blower in the factory
Czech buddy Barbora trying her hand at blowing glass.
On Saturday night, we did the mineral water tour in the town, visiting and tasting various mineral water fountains. We all bought our own mineral water tasting cups, and had fun tasting the mineral water. Some enjoyed it more than others as the water had a strong, unique taste.
Lena filling up her cup with mineral water
Some mineral water fountains we visited!
Some mineral water fountains we visited!
Edylwise tells it like it is. Credit to Katie (added by Mary 😉 )
On Sunday, some of us went on a hike in the hills of the town. The hike surrounded us with beautiful fall colors and provided some breathtaking views of the whole city at various lookouts.
View of the town from one of the lookouts on the hike
Some of the group at a lookout. Credit to Aidan
Some of the group on the hike. Credit to Aidan
Throughout the weekend everyone enjoyed the spa features of the town and our hotel. Whether time was spent in the spa, walking around the town, or hiking, it was a relaxing last trip as a program.
Recently, we headed out on yet another sleeper train. This time our destination was Krakow, Poland. Our first day was very relaxed, with a brief morning tour around the city and the rest of the afternoon free. A few highlights from the tour included hearing the trumpeter at St. Mary’s church (who plays every hour on the hour), seeing Igor Mitoraj’s Eros Bendato, or “The Head” as it is commonly known, and walking around the castle grounds.
Gardens at Wawel Castle
At the Wawel Castle. Beautiful Renaissance architecture!
Olivia and Edylwise listening to our guide.
Eros Bendato. Credit to Nicki
Day 2: Tours
Our second day in Krakow also began with tour, this time around the Kazimierz, the historical Jewish district. We were able to see many synagogues with historical significance in the city, including the Remuh Synagogue and the Izaak Synagogue. It was a cool chance to learn a lot about Jewish history in the region, and it was nice because we don’t often visit synagogues on our tours (generally we see examples of gothic or baroque architecture in Catholic churches).
Inside Remuh Synagogue
Cemetery at Remuh Synagogue
Izaak Synagogue
After our tour around Kazimierz, we had a brief lunch in the area. Many people ate zapiekankas, which are these delicious open-faced Polish sandwiches. A large one cost less than $3!
Katie and her sandwich!
Once we ate lunch, we visited the Museum of Polish Resistance, which is in Oskar Schindler’s former enamel factory. We spent a couple of hours there, but that wasn’t even long enough to fully appreciate the amazing exhibits that were there. After that museum, we finished up the day with our Cross-Cultural Psychopathology class.
Day 3: Free day
The weather was iffy while we were Poland, which meant that some of our tentative activities, like going on a bike ride around the area, weren’t able to happen. But that was okay! Because the free time allowed us to explore on our own on Friday. Many people went souvenir shopping, visited the main square more, or did school work. That evening, though, we all went to the Wisla versus Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza futbol game. Wisla won 2-0, thanks to our new favorite player Zdenek Ondrásek.
Go Wisla! Credit to the man sitting in front of us.
Katie captured an amazing PK by Ondrásek!!! Clearly, I was very excited!
Day 4: KL Auschwitz & Birkenau
Saturday was a tougher day but also an incredibly important day because we visited KL Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland. In the morning and early afternoon, we toured KL-Auschwitz, or Auschwitz-1, which was the main camp. It is a museum now, but the buildings are the originals (most of the exhibitions we saw were held in former barracks for the women). One of the hardest parts was seeing all the hair of the victims–nearly 2 tons of it. We also saw holding cells, where many prisoners would be kept for two weeks; a wall against which prisoners were shot; and one of the gas chambers and crematory. It was all very surreal.
Entering KL Auschwitz. It reads “Work Makes Free.” Credit to Katie
Barracks at KL Auschwitz.
Cari looking through the names of 4 million people who died at concentration camps during the Holocaust. The names of 2 million people are still unknown.
Evan, Jeremy, Teddy, and Edylweiss looking through the names of 4 million people who died at concentration camps during the Holocaust. The names of 2 million people are still unknown.
The latter part of the afternoon was spent at Auschwitz-Birkenau. This is the camp with the infamous railway station, although it was only added in the last year of the camp’s existence. When we were there, we saw the bathroom barracks, the men’s barracks, and the women’s barracks. We also saw the ruins of the gas chambers and crematory and the registration room, which the Nazis had tried to destroy. Additionally, we saw several chimneys that stood where former barracks had deteriorated over time because preserving all of them had not been important during the Communist era. One of the most haunting, things, though, was seeing the ditches where the human ash was dumped. People had the chance to walk the grounds either in groups or on their one, which was nice because it allowed us to reflect however we chose.
Chimneys at Birkenau
Railway at Birkenau.
Several of us commented on how it was such a beautiful fall day weather-wise, which felt ironic. Still, the experience was powerful.
From the room where 4 million victims’ names are listed.
Day 4: Wieliczka & Nowa Huta
For our last day in Poland, we went to the city of Wieliczka where we toured the salt mine. It is one of the oldest salt mines in the world, and there are many amazing salt carvings throughout it. In fact, there is even a chapel where mass and weddings are still held!
Walking through the mine. Credit to Katie
Chapel in the salt mine. Even the chandeliers were made out of salt crystals! Credit to Katie
Chapel in the salt mine. Even the chandeliers were made out of salt crystals! Credit to Katie
Group shot down in the salt mine. Because salt was so valuable, kings would have salt busts as a sign of importance! Credit to Jennifer
After the salt mine tour, we went to Nowa Huta, which was created during the time of communism. It was fascinating to see the grey neighborhoods that were created for efficiency. We also saw a Arka Pana, a Catholic church that looks like Noah’s Ark and sparked a lot of controversy when it was built in the 1970s.
Main square in Nowa Huta.
Arka Pana in Nowa Huta.
We had yet again another great weekend trip! One more to go–Karlovy Vary next weekend 🙂
Recently, we went on two clinic visits for our Cross-Cultural Psychopathology class. Our first visit was to the Psychiatrická Klinika, where we listened to a lecture from Professor Fratisek Krch on eating disorders and then had to the opportunity to meet and talk with two of his patients.
The entrance to the clinic. Credit to Rachel.
Brandon and Julia are ready for the lecture! Ken and Prof. Krch talk in the background. Credit to Rachel.
Our second visit was to the Institute of Sexuology, where we first listened to a lecture from Professor Ivo Prochaska about gender dysphoria. We then were lucky enough to meet two transgender individuals and hear their stories, as well as ask them questions. Finally, we listened to a lecture on paraphilic disorders from Professor Petr Weiss, who is well-known expert on such issues. While this portion of the visit was not the most comfortable, it was an interesting learning experience.
Teddy smiles with Prof. Prochaska and his associate.
Prof. Weiss begins his lecture.
All-in-all, the clinic visits are great because they are when the cross-cultural psychopathology component of our program is witnessed firsthand.
Over the weekend, we made a brief trip to Česky Krumlov, where we toured the castle and its gardens and were also able to see St. Vitus Cathedral, the Egon Schiele Art Centrum, the Seidel Photo Museum, and various fairytale museums (as marionettes are very popular there).
A view of the castle.
A view of the town from the castle.
Castle gardens!
Fountains at the castle gardens
The town is incredibly beautiful, with cobblestone roads and both Gothic and Renaissance architecture. While I know this is horribly clichéd to say, it honestly felt like going back in time.
The lobby of our hotel.
A typical building we saw when walking in Česky Krumlov. Notice the frescos!!!
However, I think it’s safe to say that the highlight of the trip was our dinner on Saturday night. We ate a hearty meal at U Dwou Maryí, but the real treat was the Roma band that played for us for over two hours. There was so much energy and clapping. Naturally, the night ended with us dancing and trying to sing along. Katie (the always ready photographer) took a video, so you can see for yourselves!
Katie and Jeremy enjoying their chicken and pheasant!
Jeremy & Brandon smiling over the cabbage cakes. They were our “dessert.” Apparently, they’re very tasty with beer, but most of us were drinking hot chocolate (because it was so DELICIOUS)!
Last weekend, because our program did not have a specific excursion scheduled, people seized the opportunity to travel to different countries on their own. A few people have been kind enough to share some of their adventures and photos. If you would like to comment on any or all of them, you can click the comment link that is at the top of the post, or you can click the title of the post (this will take you to the specific post’s page) and leave a comment in the ‘Reply’ section. Happy reading!
I spent the weekend in Berlin– an especially interesting time to be there since our assigned reading this weekend was about East-West German relations. Photo highlights: the festival of lights taking place at many famous landmarks (the Brandenburg Gate is pictured), police vans arresting rowdy soccer fans by the dozens, checkpoint charlie, a communist propaganda painting, and the Holocaust memorial.
Those of us who went to Vienna for the weekend had an absolute blast! We visited three art museums and saw many pieces by outstanding artists like Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Ai WeiWei, and more! We toured St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the Viennese Opera House, and two imperial castles (Hofburg and Schönbrunn), and we overlooked the city from the top of a Ferris wheel (Wiener Reisenrad) that was constructed in 1897. Our trip wouldn’t have been complete without eating lots of schnitzel and drinking coffee in Viennese cafes with a giant slice of Sachertorte, or the Austrian specialty chocolate cake with apricot filling that was first created in Vienna! 🙂
At Cafe Central for a traditional Viennese breakfast! Freud and Trotsky and other intellectuals would hang out here!
Taken at a Viennese flea market!
Flea market!
Visiting the gardens of Schloss Schonbrunn!
Enjoying a traditional “heuriger” meal outside the city at a vineyard!
Edylwise, Lianne, Olivia, and I had a blast in Vienna this past weekend! On Friday, we went to the top of the North Tower of St. Stephen’s Cathedral for a beautiful view of the city.
In the afternoon, we took advantage of a free tour of Vienna and tried the Viennese signature Sachertorte (chocolate cake).
Mozart’s House
We spent the majority of the day Saturday wandering around the Schönbrunn Palace and gardens.
We chose the perfect weekend to go to Vienna, because Saturday night was the annual museum night! About 130 museums in Vienna were completely free from 6pm-1am with a 12 euro pass. We went to a show at the Spanish Riding School , an exhibit about Franz Joseph I, a modern art installation at the Winter Palace, and the mumok (museum moderner kunst stiftung ludwig wien) or the museum of modern art.
Watercolor Mozart painted as a boy.
On our way back to the hostel, a cat decided to join us and follow us inside (totally not our fault). Sunday we saw the Alberta art museum.
Last weekend Mary, Kaitlyn and I went to Salzburg, and had a busy but enjoyable weekend! On Friday we first went to the Hohensalzburg Castle, which can be spotted from almost anywhere in town. It’s balconies offered amazing views of the entire city, and we did a quick tour inside the castle.
View of Salzburg from Hohensalzburg Castle
After the castle, we visited Hellbrunn Palace, which has the relocated Sound of Music gazebo on its grounds. It is also known for its beautiful garden and trick fountains. We took a tour of the trick fountains not knowing that we would be getting sprayed by trick fountains throughout the entire tour! It was an unpleasant surprise, but in the end I think we were glad we did it.
Hellbrunn Palace Gardens
Trick fountains at Hellbrunn
Friday night we went out to dinner for my birthday to a yummy, traditional Austrian restaurant. Mary ordered the Schnitzel from pork, and we all tried the Austrian specialty.
Saturday we went on the Sound of Music Tour, and as a huge fan of the movie, I was excited when our tour guide could sing every song from the movie. We began at Leopoldskron Palace, which was used as the backyard, terrace, and lake in the movie. After, we went to Hellbrunn Palace to visit the gazebo, old news to us at that point. Around Hellbrunn Palace was the pathway Maria ran along towards the house singing “I Have Confidence”. We drove by Nonnberg Abbey, the abbey used in the movie, and eventually ended up in the nearby town of Mondsee. Although Maria and the Captain supposedly got married in the abbey, the wedding was actually filmed in the Basilica St Michael in Mondsee. We walked into the church and witnessed an actual wedding happening! The tour ended at the Mirabell Palace Gardens, where scenes from the song “Do Re Mi” were filmed.
In front of the backyard used in the Sound of Music
The Sound of Music gazebo
Church used in the movie
Inside the church
The town of Mondsee
Mirabell Palace Gardens
After lunch, we took a cable car to the top of Mount Untersberg, which straddles the border between Germany and Austria. The cable car took us up 1776m, and the top had multiple viewpoints, all giving stunning views of mountains and the cities below.
The view from the top of Mount Untersberg
The view from the top of Mount Untersberg
View of the Hohensalzburg Castle from the Salzach River
This past weekend was an eventful one! On Wednesday night, we packed up our bags and left for Slovakia–by sleeper train! The cars were cozy, but it wasn’t an easy night’s sleep for most people. We arrived bright and early (around 6:30 am) and headed to a nice breakfast. Following breakfast, we visited Spiš Castle, which offered us our first look at the amazing views of the country. Afterwards, we ate lunch and spent time in Levoča before heading to our hotel.
View of the courtyard at Spis Castle
Some of the castle ruins, as viewed from the top of the castle
Cari, Lianne, Katie, and me inside the “Cage of Shame” in Levoča. Credit to Kaitlyn
On Friday the real adventures began! Many people hiked up Bystre Sedlo, which is part of the High Tatras. It was incredible how quiet it was up there and how clear the small lakes were. Jiri, who helps run our program here, was frequently heard telling people to channel their inner mountain goat. One of the most exciting and adrenaline-inducing moments came when we had to go over the summit using a chain rope, although we were all inspired when we saw that a dog was doing the same climb that we were (and not panting nearly as much).
A few people commented how this looked like the end of the world.
A nice shot of the mountains. Credit to Austin
Teddy and Caroline looking refreshed! Credit to Austin
Nicki, Julia, and Theresa battled the mountain and came out on top. Credit to Katie
Jeremy and the chain rope. Credit to Austin
Those who did not go on the long climb did morning hikes of their own and then spent the afternoon exploring Novy´ Smokovec.
Lianne on trail. Credit to Kaitlyn
Saturday was filled with mountain hikes as well. Eight of us went on another more intensive hike up Vychodna Vysoka. Once again, we were surrounded by gorgeous views. The summit we climbed was close to 8,000 feet high! Unfortunately, due to some uncertain weather conditions, we turned back early, but this did allow us to spot some mountain goats! For those who didn’t go on that hike, some planned hikes of their own and then shopped around, while others went on a more moderate hike with Jiri. (While everyone had a fun day, Alp, arguably, had the tastiest day; he went into Poprad and discovered Nutella donuts with cream cheese and caramel!)
Waterfall shot in Vychodna Vysoka. Credit to Katie
Rachel, Evan, me, Katie, Helen, and Ken hiking back down the mountain. Credit to Austin
Goat! Credit to Katie
Twin goats! Credit to Austin
Lianne, Jeremy, Edylwise, Brandon, Cari, and Lena are ready for their second day on the trails! Credit to Kaitlyn
What does the fox say? Credit to Kaitlyn
During the evening we all came together again and celebrated Ken’s birthday! Zoe deserves a special thanks for designing his card.
Brandon caught the big moment on camera!
We kicked off our last day in Slovakia with a raft ride down the Dunajec River, which runs between Slovakia and Poland. Our guides offered us interesting facts as we floated down, such as that there is an area in the Pieniny Mountains that is referred to as the Three Crowns because of its shape but also because a political meeting between three countries was held there. Also, the boats have pine leaves off the front of them that serve five functions: 1) decoration, 2) to prevent water from coming in the boat, 3) to demarcate the front of the boat from the back for those who may be drunk at night, 4) to form a memorial wreath in honor of those who fall into the river and die, 5) to act as a fan.
One of the guides preparing the front of the boat. Credit to Katie
Smiles for the rafting! Credit to Katie
More smiles for rafting! Credit to Austin
Traditional Slovak meal. Credit to Brandon
After the tour, we ate a traditional Slovak lunch that included a sauerkraut soup, sheep cheese gnocchi and pasties (sheep are a big deal in Slovakia), and sour milk (which tastes a lot like thin sour cream). The remainder of the afternoon was spent in Poprad, where people either went to Aqua City water park or sat in cafes doing homework. Our trip came full-circle as we took the sleeper train back home!
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