Just CZECHin out Prague!!

It's about 8:00pm here in Uppsala and the sun still has yet to set! Like I said in my last post, it won't be long before the sun is out until as late as 2am!! (I think it sets around 9pm right now!). So with all this sunshine it's finally feeling like Spring and we're def taking advantage of it! I just got back from hanging out on one of the dorm's roof-tops, just chillin with friends while we bbq'd, got some sun, and listened to the boys play guitar. AND I wore flip flops all day, it's a pretty big deal considering the high was 57 degrees F (it just feels way nicer than that to all of us after the winter haha).

Anyways, one of my dearest and oldest friends, Carrie Winters, made the LONG trek overseas to come visit me this past week! We spent last Friday and Saturday exploring Uppsala and Stockholm!

Uppsala's Castle

The Cathedral at sunset!

View from the Castle...one of those breathtaking moments...

Inside the famous Vasa Museum in Stockholm...this ship sunk after within 30 mins after setting sail...so more of a museum commemorating Sweden's failure haha

In Stockholm!

Since you really only need half a day to see Uppsala and about a day to see Stockholm, we planned to make the most of her time over here and headed off to Prague for a couple days! After being over here for a few months, several different people have told me to go to Prague if I get the chance and I can now say that I'm so happy we did! Although it's hard to pick favorites, "Praha" (as it's pronounced in Czech) is def pretty high on the list! The city itself reminded me so much of the Renaissance Festival! It was so hard to imagine that people actually live there, because as you walked around the whole town felt like one big production! For instance, all the guards that stand at the different gateways are dressed in costume and blow a trumpet at the top of every hour. 

After settling into our hostel on Sunday morning, we spent the rest of the day exploring the city, which included a boat tour down the main river! 

The outside of our hostel...it was the nicest and cheapest hostel I've stayed in so far!

The town of Prague...

Cinnamon and Sugar coded bread made fresh!

Renaissance right?!

Charles Bridge...view from the boat!

After exploring most of the city ourselves, we decided it might be a good idea to know what we were seeing and why it was significant haha so we took an organized tour on Monday...

Our tour guide, Collin (he had a Scottish accent!)

Prague's Cathedral...notice the right tower is bigger than the left (this is because they were designed to symbolize Adam and Eve in that men are stronger and bigger than women...LAME! haha

The Astronomical Clock tower...known as the 2nd most overrated tourist attraction in all of Europe.

The Concert hall where Mozart played his first production of Don Giovanni. 

Prague's National Museum

The oldest, active Synagogue in Prague...this is located in the city's Jewish Quarter, where Hitler was planning to turn into a museum of an abolished race (thank goodness he never succeeded).

We also decided to embrace Prague's beer culture and went on what they called a 'beer challenge.' We went to four different pubs, got a free half liter of beer at each pub, and learned all about the Czech Republic's drinking culture: (1) Interestingly enough, dark beer is known as a woman's drink and lager is known as the man's drink...this is because they believe the darker beer makes womens' boobs grow bigger haha! (2) When saying 'cheers' you have to look the other person directly in the eye, then tap the bottom of the glass on the table, then drink! (3) There is a huge debate as to whether or not Budweiser was first brewed in the Czech Republic or the US...as a result there are two types of Budweiser in the world (both of which are sold throughout the world, but never in the same country together). So, being the worldly traveller I've become haha, I can now say that in my opinion, I've tasted some of the best beer in the world!

During our walk home from the beer challenge, we got to see the river glowing at night...which is truly one of my favorite things in this world...

View of Prague's Royal Palace from the river.

Finally, before we left on Tuesday, we had time to CZECH out Prague's version of the Eiffel Tower, which is located at the top of a beautiful park!

Overall, Carrie and I had a blast in Prague! It's a beautiful city with a great, old-time atmosphere! On top of the amazing experience, it felt so nice to share it with a truly best friend from back home! Her visit meant so much to me and will be one we never forget! Now that she has made it back to the US, I get to look forward to seeing my mom and Mike! They are currently on a layover in New York on their way over here as I type! Once they get here (which is now in approximately 10 hours!) we will head off to Stockholm, Norway, Ireland, France, and Italy...so it should be yet another adventure of a lifetime!