I feel like most of the bloggers here are apologizing profusely for neglecting their blogs. Obviously, I’m guilty of this too (and no less sorry!) but I enjoy the fact nonetheless. I think it really proves how great of a time we’re all having here in Aix. Yes, there’s plenty of schoolwork to go around. To be honest I wasn’t expect such a heavy emphasis on the study part of study abroad but I’m fairing well in that arena- don't worry, Mom. But there’s also lots of travelling and exploring and experiencing and memory making going on too. I’ll fill you in on how I’ve been dealing with that now:
Lauren, me, Bethany, Serena- Brno
Fall break was a while ago but it still feels like I just got back. Three lovely friends and I took a bit of an unusual path but I was exposed to so many new things that the sleepless nights and heavy bags didn’t bother me the slightest. First we took a quick afternoon flight from Marseille to London (specifically Bishop-Strotford). We spent the night there and saved something crazy like 300 euro by not going directly to our desired destination. We were all dying to try fish and chips but, of course, there were no pubs nearby. At all. So we settled for some classic American BK. But the server gave me two free bottles of orange juice (still nice even though I don’t like orange juice!) We managed to make it to our 6 AM flight to Brno, Czech Republic. It was my first time anywhere east of France and for that reason alone would have been exciting, but the three-hour train ride to Prague provided for a BEAUTIFUL tour of the countryside. It was amazing and green and lovely. We were all excited about trees with orange and gold and brown leaves because, living on the Mediterranean, we didn’t see much autumnal change in our little Aix. When we finally arrived in Prague (or Praha if you want to be legitimate about it) we were all gob smacked at how pretty it was. We spent hours wandering the streets until we decided to actually go to certain locations.
Could you tell I'm a tourist?- Kafka's square, Praha
First we saw the New Old Temple, then the opera house, then the Astronomy Tower, then the birthplace of Franz Kafka, then King Charles’ Bridge. I know, that’s a lot for one sentence but if I dedicated enough time to write a description that each one deserves you’d have about ten more pages of blog post to read.
My favorite of all those spots had to be King Charles’ Bridge. I think we timed it perfectly- walked over it once in the setting sun and then back again in the nighttime. It was so beautiful and so Praha. Of course, this week in my European City in Literature class we started reading The Trial by Kafka so I didn’t fully appreciate being in Kafka’s city until a little too late. That doesn’t mean I don’t find value in it though. We made a point of trying traditional Czech fare and had some beef goulash for dinner (delicious and filling) and then some hot spiced wine (also delicious and filling) while walking over the bridge at night. It was a fantastic visit, honestly.
Just to save you from a ridiculously long blog post I'm going to break up my fall break into two (at most three, scout's honor) posts. You'll just have to wait until next time to find out about Budapest and Milan. Thanks for reading!
Amities,
Margarita
My favorite of all those spots had to be King Charles’ Bridge. I think we timed it perfectly- walked over it once in the setting sun and then back again in the nighttime. It was so beautiful and so Praha. Of course, this week in my European City in Literature class we started reading The Trial by Kafka so I didn’t fully appreciate being in Kafka’s city until a little too late. That doesn’t mean I don’t find value in it though. We made a point of trying traditional Czech fare and had some beef goulash for dinner (delicious and filling) and then some hot spiced wine (also delicious and filling) while walking over the bridge at night. It was a fantastic visit, honestly.
Just to save you from a ridiculously long blog post I'm going to break up my fall break into two (at most three, scout's honor) posts. You'll just have to wait until next time to find out about Budapest and Milan. Thanks for reading!
Amities,
Margarita