love/hate the czech republic

A prime example of my love/hate relationship with the Czech Republic:
In class today...
me: Sooo the royal wedding is tomorrow-who is excited??!! Is anyone going to watch some of it on tv?
honza: Tomorrow? Really?
me: Yes, Honza. Haven't you read about it in the newspaper or heard about it on tv? This is kind of important.
jitka: Well, yes of course Natalie.
honza: But there is something with more important tomorrow.
me: More important than the royal wedding? What is it?
vojta: It is the world hockey championships.
klara: what means 'royal'?

Easter Monday in south Bohemia

Easter Monday-the real holiday in the Czech Republic- was spent in the popular southern town of Cesky Krumlov. Ben and Gerry spent the night en route to Vienna while I made it as a day trip. It is a very historic small town of 15,000 with lots of character, great architecture and a fantastic setting in a bend of the river Vlatava. The best thing to do here is simply walk around and soak in the atmosphere along the river and go up to the castle grounds for a better view. We ate, drank the local Eggenberg beer, and tried to find as many 5-petaled roses engraved around town representing the founding Ruzmberk family from 1302. Enjoy the pictures from our lovely and relaxing day in Krumlov!

Easter in the Czech Republic

Since Christmas in the Czech Republic was so entertaining to hear about I thought I would share the equally humourous tale around the Easter weekend traditions. Growing up in the US I was used to Easter starting on Wednesday night and going to church pretty much daily through Sunday. The Czech Republic is.... different.

First off, since the majority of Czech people are athiest there is no mention of anything religious. Easter to them is more of a celebration of Spring. The big Christmas markets are in place again, this time decorated with bright colored ribbons and faux flowers making them the 'Easter markets'. Replacing the huge pine trees are massive eggs and instead of detailed ornaments there are hand painted eggs. The St Nikolas gingerbread cookies are now shaped as bunnies. Very festive!

My favorite part about Easter traditions here are the events that happen on Easter Monday. As traditions has it, boys are allowed to hit girls with willow branches woven into whips. Now this may sound violent, but the boys are actually doing the girls a favor- legend has it that as the boys hit the girls with these tree whips there are actually transfering the 'power' from the willow to the girl to ensure that she doesn't 'dry up'. This is to say that the girls will remain youthful and pretty and not turn into old hags. Since the girls are supposed to be thankful for this gesture they are expected to give the boy a present after being beaten by the branches. Presents could be anything from a hand painted egg, candy, or a shot of alcohol. Then they tie a ribbon on the end of the boy's whip as a reward. The more ribbons the boys collect.... the drunker they become. (This part is still confusing to me.. communication barriers I think)

So I have been warned to 'watch my back' on Monday and to bring a pillow with me to protect my rear end. With Ben and Gerry in town we are planning to go down to Cesky Krumlov on Monday so Gerry and I will definitely have to be careful...

Czech ice capades

How did I spend my Saturday night? At Tesla Arena watching a figure skating exhibition performance. It may seem strange at first but if you knew my flatmate and good friend Matthew it would all make perfect sense. He hearts figure skating. So when he found out that Sasha Cohen and Johnny Wier were coming to town he recruited anyone and everyone (aka Lauren and I) to join him for a magical evening.

It was actually really fantastic thanks to the Czech commentator between most acts, the Czech ice dance team, and the overall hilarity of seeing these professional figure skaters on an April evening in Prague. Johnny Wier topped it off by doing his last number to Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance', proving to me that figure skating is wonderful entertainment.

spring break 2011: central/eastern europe

What a whirlwind of a week-- I was SO excited about Erica coming to visit, then we had a FABULOUS spring break holiday (obviously), and now I'm back at school..

view from the top of Petrin (mini Eiffel tower) in Prague

When I picked Erica up at the airport it was as if the past 8 months happened in 1 day- we chatted non stop for the whole week, got to visit a very interesting part of eastern europe, and enjoyed the gorgeous spring weather. One reality-check moment was her getting to meet and spend time with my new friends and collegues here in Prague. It was strange at first to be sitting in the Zizkov beer garden with my Praha bff's AND sister, but after about 3 seconds I realized this is absolutely perrrfect.

After Erica stepped off the plane we were tourist-monsters. We spent our week doing walking tours, hiking up hills in Prague and Budapest, and walking off delicious 'traditional' meals. Needless to say the 6 hours we spent at the Hungarian baths was completely necessary and worth every HU forint. Mother Nature behaved appropriately and blessed us with a full week without rain (minus the 1-hour blip in Budapest, but we were already in the restaurant for dinner so nbd) and we even got sunburned thanks to the strong sun and temps in the 70s!

heavenly natural thermal baths in Budapest

I know that we would have a blast no matter the time or place, but spring in Prague is probably the best time to visit. The Easter markets are up, the forsythia plants in full bloom, and green grass and trees make a nice contrast to the colorful architechture and natural beauty already in place. We took advantage of every minute possible!

springy  sisters!

Photo review

Here is a slideshow of our trip so far! Sights include walking tour in Prague and our 3 days in Budapest, Hungary. Enjoy!