today, I'm a machine...

First off, I'd like to apologize for the lack of creativity pumped into this post. I'm in a technical, get-stuff-done sort o' mood, which isn't exactly conducive to funny quips and interesting stories. However, I did kick so much ass today that I think I'll be back to my wordy self in no time...here's what I accomplished in the last 24 hours:

• slept for 11 hours. Our room is like a cave...
  
• one hundred loads of laundry. No joke. The washer/dryer here is teeny teeny tiny, and you can wash approximately 2 pairs of pants at once. Don't even think of drying them, that'll take three days. I wish I was kidding.
• researched train tickets (times, prices, options) for this weekend's trip to Budapest, Hungary and Bratislava, Slovakia. Gotta keep adding stamps to that ol' passport...
• went to the main train station to look into buying the tickets I'd researched. I knew exactly which trains I wanted, what times they left, the whole nine. I'd expected that we'd pay 3,000K ($150US) each, but upon mentioning a 'group ticket' I'd read about, we got the whole sha-bang for 1,600K ($82US) each. Woot!
• used a photobooth at the train station to (finally!) take a pic for my International Student Identification Card...which will lead to more discounts.
• researched, compared and booked hostels in Budapest and Bratislava (thank GOD for Excel spreadsheets...they come in so handy!)
• made a rockin' dinner of chicken tikka masala and whole wheat cous cous. It's not San Jose indian food, but it'll do...it was super tasty.
• found 6 different things (on clearance!) to buy online at Target.com. Although I'm yet to complete the purchase, I'd like to pat myself on the back for finding things a bit outside my comfort zone. It'll be so fun to have a 'present' to open when I get home in May.
• sent 5 e-cards, because they're fun.
• made a list of the thousand things I'd like to offload onto my Mom and stepdad when they come visit in 11 days...I'm traveling light for the 23-day adventure, folks! (fingers and toes and eyes crossed that they'll be willing to take a suitcase home...pretty puh-leeeese?)
  

Wow, this post could be considered incredibly boring. Now that I go back and read that looooong list, I have to post it, though.

hehehe

(note: no, this is not Kali Lou...this is one of her buddies from LOLcats.com)

4 x 4

I realized that it's been forever since I did one of these, so here one be:

4 words/phrases I overuse:

• like
• your mom
• that's what she said
• I know, right?!

(I mean, seriously, how old am I sometimes?!?!)

4 awesome things about Prague:

• trains (Metro, international, all of 'em...so cheap, easy and efficient)
• beer is cheaper than water
• a relatively strongish dollar makes things pretty inexpensive
• amazing architecture...castles, abbeys, mansions, churches. I'm not sure I'll see everything in my six weeks here!

4 unawesome things about Prague:

• dog droppings on the sidewalk. Sick.
• smoking is allowed in restaurants and bars, and therefore my clothes and hair reek of smoke. Ick.
• some Czechs don't seem to like Americans much...even when we're mellow and blending in, they spot us and dislike us (disclaimer: I've noticed that this is more prevalent with the older Czech generation, which I had heard of before arriving)
• the language - a word'll be made of 8 consanants and 2 vowels, with three different accent marks. Language learner friendly? I think not.

4 computer programs I'd be lost without:

• the internet (that counts!)
• Excel (I could probably make a spreadsheet about spreadsheets...I'm a dork.)
  
• Word
• any photo upload aide (I refuse to decide between PhotoShop & BreezeBrowserPro, or the classic ol' Nikon program)

weekend plan

This weekend we're venturing out to Cesky Krumlov, an old medieval town 4 hours outside of Prague. I've heard brilliant things about it, and it will be nice for Rob (and the other T-birds) to get away from work for a bit.

This does mean, however, that since my laptop will not be making the journey with us, that I won't be posting until Monday...sorry.

I will leave you with one more reason that I love the Czech Republic, however. Rob and I tried out a local microbrewery tonight (for anyone keeping score, that's like 4 unbroken : 1 broken one now...). The Marzen reminded me of no-pool-pool-parties at Casa LG, and then I tried something that made my heart melt: coffee beer. Sigh. Don't ask me how they do it, but it was fantastic:



Hope ya'll have a fun weekend! : ]

flying solo in Euro

Pat, pat, pat. That's the sound of me not-so-silently praising myself for accomplishing a grande trip goal yesterday: I took a train in Europe, alone. Since college, I've been hearing about jaunts that friends took while backpacking, and the personal growth tied to it. I'll be the first to admit that I could stand to grow a bit, and had been dying to try it myself. So I did...

I got up bright and early Wednesday morning (7:45am to be exact, which is a full 2 hours and 15 minutes ahead of my current routine, thankyouverymuch) and hit the road. I'll admit, I was a bit nervous. What if I couldn't communicate with the ticket salesperson to buy a ticket? What if I got on the wrong train? What if I couldn't figure out how to get back? All silly questions, I knew, but I was a little uneasy, just the same.

I took the Metro to the train station about 40 minutes before the train's departure and successfully purchased a roundtrip ticket (thank God I'd written down my train info, since I had to show it to the salesguy that spoke verrrrry little English). I managed to find where the outbound trains (which obviously leave from a different locale than Metro trains) depart from, and I got to stand and wait and wait and wait for the platform number to be posted. I breathed a sigh of relief (really, what's the big deal?!) when I plopped into a seat.

success, round 1

After an hour trip out to Kutna Hora, I had one final obstacle to maneuver. The train I rode takes passengers to the Kutna Hora Hlavni Nadrazi station, the town's main station (hlavni nadrazi = main station - or something like it - in Czech...see, I can speak the language). To access the town, there's a teeny tiny train that goes to the Kutna Hora Mesto station. Cool. Now, Rick Steves briefly mentioned a transfer, but aside from six words saying that you take a second train, I wasn't sure what to expect. I scooted off the main train and attempted to ask the little train's conductor how to pay for my ticket, certain that he'd fine me 1,000K on the spot if I boarded without one. Since he spoke zero English, we did some wierd pantomime thing and I got on...without paying. Ugh. I thought to myself, "If he's trying to rip me off because I'm clearly a tourist, I'm going to go ballistic," and sat down. Luckily, you could actually buy your ticket on board, and I did, for the low low price of 18K round trip (approximately $0.85USD). Schweet.

mini one-car train

I got into the little town of Kutna Hora a whopping 8 minutes later, and was surprisingly surprised (yup, I meant to type that) at how itty-bitty it really was. I'd read that it was a silver mining town, and home to the first Czech mints back in the day. Like all European towns (I'm learning), it has a gorgeous church and a pretty courtyard somewhere within town limits. I'd also read about an alchemy tour, and a Vietnamese market (sidenote: in the running for oddest experience of my life = hearing a Vietnamese guy speak Czech. So weird that I'm shuddering a little as I type this). Other than that, I knew it was a little town where finding an English speaker wasn't likely...

I told you it was a little town...this is one of like 13 total streets/alleys

it appears as though some Western culture has hit Kutna Hora...the kid on the left was sporting saggy, baggy jeans and a faux-hawk. nice.

Finding the sights in town was easy, since it was small and I had a map. The market offered a smattering of random shoes and sweatshirts and jackets, a few canvas bags and scarves, and some wierd lawn gnomes and deer. There weren't multiples of anything, so it reminded me of a garage sale, or they'd just found the stuff laying around somewhere and chose to sell it. Oh-kay...saved my moolah for elsewhere. I wandered the streets and came across St. Barbara's Cathedral, which was beautiful (even if there were construction scaffoldings along one side). Did I go inside? Nope, I'm good...


I sought out to find the silver mine museum next, which was less than impressive. In a little tiny building off a random road, 7 or 8 people sat and waited for a tour. Um, is it a tour of a museum? Am I really not allowed to check out the museum without going on a tour in a foreign language? I'll pass...

I found some lovely views next, and then headed to the alchemy museum. As Rick suggested, the tour was run by an eccentric Englishman. I didn't expect, however, a one-on-one tour with a slightly smelly man, whom the term eccentric doesn't quite cover. Before we began, he mentioned that he had to leave for an appointment 10 minutes after I arrived, but managed to talk (waaaaay over my head) for a full 40 minutes. Most of the talking took place in a cool, leaning tower that the building had been built onto, with an amazing ceiling (what is that called, when it's all fancy? a facade?). I queried if it was wood or plaster, only to find out that it had been carved out of a single block of stone in 1513. Holy crap:


After our 10/40-minute tour, I was free to roam about down in the basement, an actual former alchemist dwelling. I'd had my fill of Kutna Hora at this point, and was ready to catch the train outta there. Knowing that trains left only every two hours, I hustled through the basement on my own and skipped on out. On my way back to the Mesto train station, I saw the Englishman tour-guy walking his dog. An appointment, eh?

a cool, random candy machine that caught my eye

I got back to Mesto with about eight minutes to spare, and was ready to rock. The ride back to Prague was uneventful, and I was so inspired by my new solo-traveling skills that I ventured to a teashop that I'd read about...

my chai n' mixed nuts at Dobra Cajovna

the place is adorable...you sit down and are presented a thick menu (which explains 100 teas in detail) and a bell. when you've selected your tea, you ring the bell and a tea-pro comes to take your order (and give suggestions, as needed). the shop is teeny, dark and awesome.

All in all, I'm proud of myself for my successful adventure...yay!

this one goes out to all my SDSU kids...

Since, as far as test scores go, we've lived in the not-so-lovely shadow of the University of California San Diego for 9 years now (wow, has it really been that long?!), I was beyond tickled to find this staring me in the face today:

UCSD sends acceptance email to WRONG LIST

Thanks, UCSD administrators, for giving me renewed ammo against Rob and my other Triton-homies.

Prague street food = way better than tacos

During our Saturday afternoon wanderings, we stumbled across two of my favorite things: H&M and food! After seeing the prices at H&M, I must admit that I was more excited about street food. We were lucky to discover that Prague will host an Easter/spring festival over the next 3 weekends, and we took full advantage of the food booths.

Up first was a trdlo, which we lovingly refer to as a bread bracelet. It's a wad of dough rolled out into a snake and rolled around a huge wooden dowel. Then, the dowel is rolled to smush the dough together, and the whole thing is rolled in cinnamon and sugar. The doughy dowel is then baked/roasted spit-style over a wood fire.

The finished product is like a giant, piping hot churro. For a whopping 50K (a.k.a. $2.50USD), you'd better believe that I'm heading back again. I even found an all-the-time stand that sells them near our apartment...yesssss.

Rob was pleased to find wood fired sausages...just imagine the delicious smells that were floating above us.