Prague Zoo

Saturday the international student club took a trip to the zoo. It was really hot (for spring) out side. The zoo is really nice, kind of like a park and REALLY large. Someone said it is 10.8 km of walking. I made sure I saw the elephants- they are my favorite, but the elephants in the St. Louis zoo have a nicer exhibit.

I’m not just traveling over here.

I am taking 8 classes at Czech Tech University. Studio is going well; I am designing a house in a former Soviet missile bunker. Above is an image of the 3D model I am making from the outside and below an interior view. The bedrooms, garage and family room are in the bunkers below and other living spaces are above in the lighter structure above.

Photography class has been interesting; dad gave me his SLR camera that is as old as Abi to learn how to use a “real camera” as my teacher calls it. The photos I have been showing you are a part of that class. This is one of my favorites.

In my art and architecture class I have been working on a watercolor of the image below. Next I am going to use color pastels and then do a charcoal drawing and step by step make it more abstract.
I call Creative Components and Detailing in Architecture = Doodling because that’s what we do during class. Usually people doodle when the teacher is boring, but in this case he talks for and hour (without stopping) and we doodle. I wasn’t loving this class until last week when he actually liked some of my doodles. I usually don’t doodle so it has been hard for me to start. Below is one that for some reason he liked, I’m not sure why. We draw it all by hand but I put this one on the computer. We have to turn in 3 doodles, one can be purely a design but the others are suppose to be a stained glass window, a heating grate or something real.

For History of Architecture we go on a lot of field trips to historic places in Prague. At the end of the semester I have to write a paper about how Italy is in Prague. When Prague was at it’s peak the people in charge brought Italian artist and builders to Prague to design important places. These places have been left the way they were because right after the peak of Prague’s history a sharp decline came and no one wanted to finance an expensive change to the buildings. Things have changed some since the tourist boom in the late 90’s. Here is a church that experienced this peak- it was beautiful.
In Czech Culture and Czech Language I am learning a little about Czech people and why they are the way they are and also how to say little things like “Dobry den, anglicky, prosim?” “Good day, (can we talk in) English, please?”

And finally, in my Computer Graphics class we are using the Adobe programs to design simple exercises and for the final we are designing one large thing. I choose to design my portfolio (so I can get a job in the real world). I have a quick portfolio, called a teaser, and now I’m working on a professional looking one for my large 14x17 portfolio. Below is one of the smaller exercises I did. We were supposed to change an image of ourselves. So I took this photo and highlighted what I wanted you to see. There is me with my reddish hair and smile and the Prague castle in the background…Emily in Prague.

Daytrip to Brno, Czech Republic

Every trip you learn something and this one the lesson was- buy bus tickets early. We got to the bus station and the 7:30 bus we planed on taking was sold out and there was not another one until 9:00 with 3 seats but we had 7 people. We decided, after a little confusion that we should go to the train station and get tickets- because the train doesn’t sell out and we shouldn’t have problems. When we got to the ticket window she told us that the first train was around 9:30 but we knew about 8:30 train she didn’t mention. She sold us a ticket and explained in Czech that we had to go to the other train station (lucky I understood what she was trying to say and headed that way). When we got to the platform the lady said we needed to get reservations (even though we thought we already had them) because this was an intercity train and that makes it special (=more expensive). We only had 15 min to get to the ticket window and pay the difference and get reservations- but we made it on the train before it left.

We ended up paying a lot more to get to Brno, about $25 on the really nice train, and only $7 to return on the bus. It all turned out ok and we had a great time.

The point of visiting Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, was to see the Villa Tugenhut. It is a very well know piece of architecture from the 1920’s designed by one of my favorite architects, Mies van der Rohe. The house was beautiful. It is modern architecture and on paper just looks like a few lines, but in person it’s amazing. Mies was known for his clean lines and details so I was sure to take photos of details so I could figure out how to incorporate some of his designs into my projects. There was an amazing glass wall with huge pieces of glass. Two of the 5 windows lowered into the floor, almost like a car window. It was so cool I took a video.

After the tour, we had lunch and saw some of the sites of the city before stopping for a hot chocolate. Brittany and I have wanted sandals that we can easily walk around town in and went into one store and found them! On sale!! In my size (10) and Brittany’s (6)!!! We found amazing since they are both hard to find sizes. YAY for new shoes!

A beautiful spring day in Karlovy Vary

Sunday morning Carrie, my roommate, Eric, Zach, Shaun and I went to see Karlovy Vary. We took the bus; it was only $10 round trip for the 2 hour ride. Karlovy Vary is a spa town and many people go there to drink the natural spring mineral water for there heath and even to recover from surgery. I didn’t get a massage, but I did get a much needed pedicure- finally!!

Mom and Dad in Prague

Mom and Dad took it easy on Monday while I worked on studio stuff and went to class. Tuesday we did the Castle walk and I wore them out pretty good. We started the day at Bohemian Bagel- of course and then took the tram to the castle. I have been saving a few new things for me each time that people come and visit so when I went to the Cathedral inside of the castle (for the 5th time) we paid to go beyond the entrance lobby. It was better then I expected. There was a pamphlet that gave information on important relics and alters and also a staircase that took you under the cathedral to where kings and the royal family were buried.


We also went to Le Perle de Prague. It is a very nice restaurant in the top floor of the dancing house, a famous modern building in Prague. The food was so good and it was really cool to be able to be inside of the Frank Gehry building. The light fixture reminded me of the Harry Potter movie when Harry is flying after the keys with wings.

Wednesday I have class ALL DAY LONG- which wouldn’t be a problem if I was at K-State, but compared to my other days here in Prague it’s a rough day, I have 4 classes back to back between 8:45 and 3:30. Anyway, mom and dad had to entertain themselves during the day, and the US country presentation was that night so we went out for a late dinner in a restaurant I call the “neighborhood pub”. They have the best chicken meal I have found here.

Every Wednesday a different group of students from each country give a presentation about the country they are from; last week was the US turn. Our presentation went really well, we made a video of a road trip through America stopping in cities along the way and showing photos of what the city was known for while playing music about the city. I would say our presentation was the best so far- but I’m not biases.

Friday we got up early and took a train to Českĕ Krumlov. It was the most uncomfortable train yet. Usually in a cabin there are 3 seats on each side, so 6 people in each cabin well this train had 8 people in each cabin. It was crowded and smelly- people really need to shower more.

Cesky Krumlov is a cute little town. We stayed in a really nice apartment/hotel that was actually apart of one of the courtyards of the castle and not far from the town center. I had a room all to my self on the other end of the apartment and the bathroom was as big as my dorm room here in Prague.

We went to a jazz club that was really nice. There was a group playing named Work in Progress. And on Saturday night we went to mass at the Catholic Cathedral for Easter Vigil. It was huge and freezing, we had to stop on the way home to get hot chocolate so we could thaw out before bed.

Dad brought his old SLR film camera that he bought about 25 years ago. I am taking a photography class and our teacher wanted us to learn on a “real” camera as he calls it. So dad taught me how to use the camera and I just got my first roll of film developed today!! I feel like a professional with all of my gear on.

Sunday we got back on the train and luckily it was not as crowded. We stopped in Českĕ Budĕjovice and tried to take a tour of the (original) Budweiser Brewery but it didn’t work out and we ended up having a really good meal at their restaurant.

I took mom and dad to the airport on Monday morning- really early Monday morning. And then spent the rest of the day and Tuesday recovering from my two weeks of being a personal tour guide- I was pooped, but I had a great time.

Trip #2 (continued): Berlin, German

Thursday was another early day. We got up and spent some time in the pedestrian area of Munich. There is a great market that has the most beautiful fruit and flowers I have ever seen- it's like art with fruit and veggies. Erin and I picked up pieces of our lunch as we walked through, cheese, bread, apples and a bottle of wine to eat them on the train. I would love to shop there every day. Then we went up in the tower of the town hall to see all of the city-it’s huge. And we had to see the Glockenspiel before leaving town; it is so much better then the clock that is here in Prague.

One of the things I wasn’t able to do the last time I was in Germany was take an ICE train, it’s more aerodynamic and goes faster then other trains. It’s so cool. The second class seats are like 1st class airplane seats. Ohh I miss it- the trains in the Czech Republic are nowhere near as nice.

When Erin and I got to our hotel in Berlin, Mom and Dad were supposed to be there waiting for us… but they weren’t. I told the gentlemen behind the desk that my dad should have already checked in… and he said no he did not, he sent me this email saying that the plane was delayed and that my parents would be 2 hours late. So instead of them waiting for Erin and I to come in we waited for them. When they got to the hotel, we all went out for dinner and everything worked out ok.

Friday the four of us saw everything we could of Berlin. Erin flew home from Berlin on Saturday so we had to see what we could. There is a public bus that goes pass the main tourist attractions, which is really nice. There is some really nice architecture in Berlin. I got to see some great examples of modern architecture from the 1920’s and from today.

Sunday Mom, Dad and I headed back to Prague. We originally planned on staying a night in Dresden, half way between Prague and Berlin, but I had a studio mid-crit review that I had to prepare for. So we only stopped for a few hours, but were able to see most of the city. There is a great deal of construction in the city, because they are still reconstruction from WWII.

Trip #2: Munich, German

It’s been a while since my last blog because I have been so busy. Erin flew in on Saturday the 24th of March, but left St. Louis Friday. One of her flights was delayed because the airline lost the luggage for everyone on the plane, when they left an hour later only 4 people’s luggage was lost, and thankfully not Erin’s.

Sunday I showed Erin Prague castle and the walk to old down over Charles Bridge. We saw the changing of the guards and had had a tea/coffee at a little outside cafe. For lunch we met Brittany and Jeff at Bohemian Bagel, one of my favorite restaurants in Prague. Monday I had class in the afternoon so Erin walked around the city and didn’t get lost.
Tuesday Erin and I got up early and took a 6 hours train ride to Munich. We settled into hostel near downtown, and headed to the Hofbrauhaus. On the way there was this little shop that only sold felt- the WHOLE store was bolts of felt in every color. It was amazing. There was a heather gray bag hanging in the store front that was so cute and perfect that we both wanted one- until we saw the price… 77 € = $100 each!!! It was too much. We were so sad to leave the bags behind, but decided over the evening that we could make it ourselves and when we went back on Thursday we bought just the felt and it was only 20.50€ for enough felt for two bags and a pocket or two.

At HB there were some nice Germans who sat near us which was strange because according to Rick Steves only tourist go there. The pretzels were soooooo good!! And the beer was huge!

Wednesday we got up even earlier and took a train to Fussen, a small town 2 hours from Munich, in order to get to the Neuschwanstein Castle. We had some difficulty on the train and accidentally got off at the wrong station. We had 45 min until the next train came, so we decided to walk around the town. It all worked out in the end and we even made it to our tour times without having to change them.

We first toured Hohenschwangau, the castle of Maximilian, Ludwig’s father. It has a much better tour and they give you more information about the castle and the King and Queen who used the castle for holidays (vacations). The tour for Neuschwanstein was rushed and the rooms that they show are so detailed and elaborate- it really deserves more time.