About Me
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Lidice Pictures
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=409683023/a=159932039_159932039/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Lidice
Today I went to Lidice. This is a village about a half an hour outside of Prague and in World War 2 it was completely destroyed by the Nazis as revenge on the Czech people after the assassination of Heydrich. The Nazis executed all of the men in the town, sent the women to concentration camps and most of the children were also sent to concentration camps. The men actually had to walk past their friends and neighbors dead bodies to be executed themselves. Many of the children were murdered and I think it was only something like 17 children survived the war out of about 100 in the town. After killing all the men and sending everyone else away the Nazis burned the town to the ground and blew up all of the buildings. This was all to get back at the Czechs for the assassination of one evil man. The tour guide told us that one of the Nazi officers son came to the memorial and after the tour told her what his father did and said he was proud of him. I was disgusted when I heard this story, especially after seeing all of the pictures of the people and children who died and how happy they looked just days before. The memorial was actually beautiful but it was very strange to think that all of what is now just a grassy area used to be people's homes. There was also a church from the 1300s that was destroyed along with pubs and stores that were in the village. Walking through this memorial was very strange because it was beautiful but also haunting thinking about what it represents. It was also strange to me that there were a few families just walking and playing with their children as if it were a normal park.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Ccesky Raj Pictures
Here are the pictures from Cesky Raj!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=404121023/a=159932039_159932039/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=404121023/a=159932039_159932039/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Cesky Raj
Yesterday we went on a day trip to Cesky Raj. It is known as Czech paradise, or Czech Eden and it was true to this name. This region was so beautiful and we began our day with a short hike. It was about an hour and a half away from Prague and by the time we got there I had to pee wicked bad. But there were no bathrooms. I thought I could hold it but with every step I felt my bladder pinching (which is on my arm...inside joke haha). So that kind of took away from the hiking but the view made it worth it. We climbed over a bunch of rocks to get to the top (it wasn't that high but it was kind of steep). We could see the whole Czech countryside. I really enjoyed this part of the day because there were tons of rocks to walk over and around and I was definitely at the top of the Czech Republic. After we climbed over the rocks we made our way back down and desperate times came to desperate measures and I had to pee in the woods. As you may know, I went to summer camp for 10 years and never peed in the woods so this was overcoming a personal challenge.
Then after our hike we went to the Czech garnet factory and we saw people looking for garnets in piles of rocks, creating jewellery molds, putting jewellery together and the final pieces. It was really cool to see how they do this.
After the garnet factory we went into the little town to have lunch. Apparently the electricity was out in the restaurant we went to so we could only get certain foods. Joanna ordered spaghetti with sauce and I ordered tortellini. So the waiter brought us both spaghetti with cream sauce and ham. This created a few problems for us, including kosher, vegetarian and lactose intolerant. Luckily this lunch was very cheap and so we found cafe and got coffee and I got a cookie after. After lunch we went to a bead workshop and we saw a woman making beads and we were able to look at all the ones that had been made there and buy some jewellery.
After the bead workshop we went to a castle. The drive up to it was really steep and windy and narrow and scary to do on a bus. There were a few points where I saw myself falling to my death trapped in a bus. Luckily I survived but on the way down we had a few near misses with other busses and some pedestrians. The castle ended up actually being closed so we could only walk around it but it was made out of sandstone and parts of it were in ruins. There were a ton of rocks around it that we walked on and had a great view of the little town. Then we headed back to Prague.
Last night I went to this bar/club with some of my friends and it was a lot of fun. Some guy told me that I was a good dancer and I laughed at him because that is one of the most untrue statements I have ever heard. Today Joanna and I are going to go to a park and do some work outside if it gets warm enough because it is nice and sunny. Tomorrow we are going to Lidice.
Then after our hike we went to the Czech garnet factory and we saw people looking for garnets in piles of rocks, creating jewellery molds, putting jewellery together and the final pieces. It was really cool to see how they do this.
After the garnet factory we went into the little town to have lunch. Apparently the electricity was out in the restaurant we went to so we could only get certain foods. Joanna ordered spaghetti with sauce and I ordered tortellini. So the waiter brought us both spaghetti with cream sauce and ham. This created a few problems for us, including kosher, vegetarian and lactose intolerant. Luckily this lunch was very cheap and so we found cafe and got coffee and I got a cookie after. After lunch we went to a bead workshop and we saw a woman making beads and we were able to look at all the ones that had been made there and buy some jewellery.
After the bead workshop we went to a castle. The drive up to it was really steep and windy and narrow and scary to do on a bus. There were a few points where I saw myself falling to my death trapped in a bus. Luckily I survived but on the way down we had a few near misses with other busses and some pedestrians. The castle ended up actually being closed so we could only walk around it but it was made out of sandstone and parts of it were in ruins. There were a ton of rocks around it that we walked on and had a great view of the little town. Then we headed back to Prague.
Last night I went to this bar/club with some of my friends and it was a lot of fun. Some guy told me that I was a good dancer and I laughed at him because that is one of the most untrue statements I have ever heard. Today Joanna and I are going to go to a park and do some work outside if it gets warm enough because it is nice and sunny. Tomorrow we are going to Lidice.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Pictures from the Netherlands!
Here are my pictures from my trip to the Netherlands! Don't confuse the miniature pictures with the real thing!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=370770023/a=159932039_159932039/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=370770023/a=159932039_159932039/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Vienna Pictures
I know its a little late but here are my pictures from Vienna.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=368439023/a=159932039_159932039/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=368439023/a=159932039_159932039/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
This weekend I went to visit my friend from camp, Nadine, in the Netherlands. She lives just outside the city and I stayed with her family, it was a lot of fun.
Thursday: My flight got into the Amsterdam Airport around 2PM. Nadine met me at the airport and then we took the bus to her house which was about 4 minutes from the bus stop. When we got to her house I just put my stuff down and then she showed me around her town. I had to ride a bike which was quite the experience considering I haven't ridden one in years. Once I was on it was fine but it was higher than I was used to so I had to reteach myself how to get on and off. It was also even more embarrassing since Nadine was going with no hands, texting, putting on her coat and turning around and I was staring straight ahead praying I wouldn't fall. But anway, we walked around the town for a little while and then just hung out and walked around near her house for a while.
Friday: After being locked out of the house for a little while and Nadine's mom coming home with the key we went into Amsterdam. The firsts thing we did was go to the Anne Frank House. The line looked really long but it actually went pretty quickly. The house was very interesting because we could see wheere they lived, hid and guess at what it felt like to be there. Her diary was also there and it made it very real to see that and to also see interviews with Miep Gees and Otto Frank. After the Anne Frank House we had lunch and then went to to Van Gogh Museum. This was really cool because the Colors of the Night Exhibition was there and we saw the Starry Starry Night Painting, which was very impressive to see in person. Then we walked around the city for a while and saw the Red Light District and just the city in general. The Red Light District was very strange and we just walked fast because we were some of the only girls there (besides the prostitutes). On the way back to Nadine's house we had this really good ice cream that was ice cream mixed with whipped cream.
Saturday: In the morning we drove to the Madurdam which is a park with models of the entire Netherlands in miniature. As we were driving there we drove through the Hague and I got to see a ton of the country, which is reallyy beautiful. Madurodam was really cool and I saw the couple places I was in and then the models of a ton of other places. You could also put money in or press a button to make some of the models move, so of course we did this at the candy factory model and it gave us a little Mars bar. After Madurodam we went to Scheveningen (?). This was a town right on the North Sea with a bunch of restaurants. We went to one of them for lunch and then we walked around the beach and I got a picture with my feet in the water which was wicked cool. We also walked on the pier and saw a man bungee jumping. Then we got ice cream and drove back to Nadine's house. That night I went to a volleyball tournament with Nadine's family. It was really fun but I suck at volleyball so I felt kind of bad for my team.
Sunday: We slept in and did a little homework in the morning. Then we got back on the bikes to see all the flowers. The biking went much better this time, I only had one near death experience. Well, maybe two. Nadine lives in Lisserbroek which is right next to Lisse which is famous for the flower gardens and fields. The huge famous garden is there but we didn't go there because it was wicked crowded. Instead we rode around the town and around the fields which were wicked pretty. Then we sat at an outdoor cafe and I tried bittenballen which is a typical Dutch food that has meat in it. There was only a really tiny bit in it though so it doesn't count as me eating meat. Then we went back to her house and hung out for a while until my flight which was supposed to be at 7:30 but was delayed until 8.
This weekend was really fun. It was great weather most of the time which was really lucky.
For Howard: For breakfast we had these chocolate sprinkle things that actually tasted like chocolate and not just sugar on bread which were really good. I also had cookies that were like thing crunchy waffles with some sort of caramel in the middle. Then I tried the bittenballen and Nadine's mom made a strawberry rhubarb thing that was also really good.
Thursday: My flight got into the Amsterdam Airport around 2PM. Nadine met me at the airport and then we took the bus to her house which was about 4 minutes from the bus stop. When we got to her house I just put my stuff down and then she showed me around her town. I had to ride a bike which was quite the experience considering I haven't ridden one in years. Once I was on it was fine but it was higher than I was used to so I had to reteach myself how to get on and off. It was also even more embarrassing since Nadine was going with no hands, texting, putting on her coat and turning around and I was staring straight ahead praying I wouldn't fall. But anway, we walked around the town for a little while and then just hung out and walked around near her house for a while.
Friday: After being locked out of the house for a little while and Nadine's mom coming home with the key we went into Amsterdam. The firsts thing we did was go to the Anne Frank House. The line looked really long but it actually went pretty quickly. The house was very interesting because we could see wheere they lived, hid and guess at what it felt like to be there. Her diary was also there and it made it very real to see that and to also see interviews with Miep Gees and Otto Frank. After the Anne Frank House we had lunch and then went to to Van Gogh Museum. This was really cool because the Colors of the Night Exhibition was there and we saw the Starry Starry Night Painting, which was very impressive to see in person. Then we walked around the city for a while and saw the Red Light District and just the city in general. The Red Light District was very strange and we just walked fast because we were some of the only girls there (besides the prostitutes). On the way back to Nadine's house we had this really good ice cream that was ice cream mixed with whipped cream.
Saturday: In the morning we drove to the Madurdam which is a park with models of the entire Netherlands in miniature. As we were driving there we drove through the Hague and I got to see a ton of the country, which is reallyy beautiful. Madurodam was really cool and I saw the couple places I was in and then the models of a ton of other places. You could also put money in or press a button to make some of the models move, so of course we did this at the candy factory model and it gave us a little Mars bar. After Madurodam we went to Scheveningen (?). This was a town right on the North Sea with a bunch of restaurants. We went to one of them for lunch and then we walked around the beach and I got a picture with my feet in the water which was wicked cool. We also walked on the pier and saw a man bungee jumping. Then we got ice cream and drove back to Nadine's house. That night I went to a volleyball tournament with Nadine's family. It was really fun but I suck at volleyball so I felt kind of bad for my team.
Sunday: We slept in and did a little homework in the morning. Then we got back on the bikes to see all the flowers. The biking went much better this time, I only had one near death experience. Well, maybe two. Nadine lives in Lisserbroek which is right next to Lisse which is famous for the flower gardens and fields. The huge famous garden is there but we didn't go there because it was wicked crowded. Instead we rode around the town and around the fields which were wicked pretty. Then we sat at an outdoor cafe and I tried bittenballen which is a typical Dutch food that has meat in it. There was only a really tiny bit in it though so it doesn't count as me eating meat. Then we went back to her house and hung out for a while until my flight which was supposed to be at 7:30 but was delayed until 8.
This weekend was really fun. It was great weather most of the time which was really lucky.
For Howard: For breakfast we had these chocolate sprinkle things that actually tasted like chocolate and not just sugar on bread which were really good. I also had cookies that were like thing crunchy waffles with some sort of caramel in the middle. Then I tried the bittenballen and Nadine's mom made a strawberry rhubarb thing that was also really good.
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