It was weird to see my family in Prague

It’s been a while since I’ve written we’ve got a lot of ground to cover. We will begin by jumping back to Thursday Oct. 28, which was a Czech National Holiday. As part of a gang of 7 people I flew to Amsterdam that morning. We decided to take a train to Utrecht. I had only known Utrecht from history class (the Peace of Utrecht which ended the War of Spanish Succession) It’s actually a really cool city with classic Dutch architecture, windmill and all. Of the two hostels in Utrecht we found the one that had instruments for us to play, tons of computers with free internet, and free food (apples, pears, bread, even cheese in the fridge) The cleanliness of the hostel however was not its strongpoint. On Friday we ventured to Rotterdam. Rotterdam is quite a switch, it’s incredibly modern and I actually felt like I was back in New York amidst all the skyscrapers. We also found an incredible restaurant called Bazaar. If ever you find yourself there I recommend the Bazaar Bazaar with fish, it was salmon, shrimp, calamari, and sardines over rice, more than enough for two. We found our way back to Amsterdam Saturday morning. I don’t want to go into too much detail because I don’t want any evidence should I go into politics or something, but I hit all the big stops – the Anne Frank House, the Heineken Experience, the Van Gogh museum, etc. The Heineken Experience is quite a tour which includes a ride that allows you to experience what a Heineken bottle does. It was a bit like “Body Wars” at Epcot but probably not for all ages. Suffice it to say the Netherlands are cool and everyone had a great time.

When I got back, my family had already arrived in Prague. Mom, Dad, sister, both Grandmas. My flight had been delayed and I had to keep them waiting for a bit. We had a good dinner that first night close to their hotel. I was delighted to learn that my sister, Sarah had decided to keep a journal of her trip (a paper blog, if you will) On Tuesday and Wednesday, I went about my normal day of class and internship and met up with the family for dinner. I took them to a Czech Mex place and a traditional Czech place that’s a local favorite of most of us who live in Machova. On Thursday I was able to meet up with the gang in the afternoon and Sarah and I got a chance to hang out. That night I brought my suitemates out to dinner with my family and everyone had a good time. I think my father enjoyed meeting some of his frat brothers. (my father as well as Dave and Barry are in A E Pi) Later I brought my sister back home to go out with us. She still has some time before she will be ready to party at an NYU in Prague in level. Anyway, on Friday we all went out to Prague Castle. The highlight of which was definitely the Toy Museum. They have an incredible collection of toys from the 19th and 20th Century including a collection of Barbies. The oddly translated plaques throughout the collection were worth the trip alone. Friday night was their last night in town and we went to Ambiente. It’s a little pricey and I usually stick to pastas, but since it was being picked up by Mom and Dad I went for the steak. I had an excellent time with my family and it was really cool that they were able to come to Prague. I know they had a great time too.

On the heels of my family’s trip my friend Alex Rivera came to Prague and I was able to go out with him last night. It was really good to see him and we had a great time all over Prague. So I’ve been a bit busy. I didn’t even mention that last week I had a midterms in Cultural History of the Central European City and in Czech. Plus there was the election, which I stayed up for hours to watch. I’m as disappointed as any young liberal, but I won’t be leaving the country (once I get back, I mean). The only way to hope for any change in the future will be if all those who feel disenfranchised by our current administration and congress work hard to make it happen.

Anyway, things are getting back to normal now that Monday has rolled around. Only excitement today was that I went to get a haircut. I had hoped for a simple trim to clean up the sides and the back; I hate it when hair gets in my ears. But as sometimes happens I got a bit more chopped off than I would have hoped. It was partly due my smattering of Czech and her limited English, but mostly I just never react when I’m sitting in that chair. Even when I don’t really like what’s happening I always just kind of sit there, and I’m not really sure why. Now I’m just counting down the days until fall break so I can go to Italy and finally see my girlfriend.