Brace yourself!

May 5th-11th
This one is going to be long... but good!

Monday

After breakfast we all met in the lobby where our translator and tour guide joined up with us. She led us on a tour of the old part of the city and told us about some of the history of Prague and its important historical buildings. This was a very interesting tour although the kids grew pretty impatient after the first hour. It was hard to keep their attention because the translator kept giving a lot of detailed information, that didn't really interest the kids as much as she had hoped. She showed us part of the University in Prague, the building where Kafka was born, the Charles Bridge and Charles Alley. The tour lasted about 2 or 3 hours and by the time we were done, everyone was hungry for lunch.

We had wanted to all go out to lunch together at a place that the tour guide had recommended, but when we went in to the restaurant, most of the tables were reserved and they were yelling at us for trying to sit upstairs. We decided this was a bad idea and most of the kids wanted to eat at Subway and save money, so we decided to split up. Four of the girls stayed to eat with Sascha, Andrea and I at the restaurant and the rest were off. This time, we went back in and were seated immediately. It appeared to us, however, that the people working here hated tourists. I, of course, can definitely understand this, but then again think that it is an important part of what keeps them in business. The menu was only in Czech, which made it a little hard for us to understand what we were ordering. We could decipher a few things, but the language is of course very different from English or German. The waiter got angry when we asked him what the dishes were in English and hastily and rudely read through them. We ordered and then waited for our food. Somehow, the man misunderstood Andrea and brought beef instead of chicken for her and the other girls. This led to a long debate over what she ordered and I knew that she said chicken. The man became even more angry and walked away without saying anything. He came back with the order he had written down and pointed it out to us. Then he brought the chicken anyway. We were just glad to have our food. It was absolutely delicious as one could expect, we just had to overcome some obstacles to get it! I had ordered pork, sauerkraut, and dumplings. This is a traditional Czech meal. It can also be served with beef or chicken and there are two different types of dumplings, bread and potato dumplings. They both taste fabulous. The girls had ordered pancakes with fruit for desert and they looked amazing too. Unfortunately, I didn't have any room left for any. We feared getting the bill because we thought we might have to pay extra, but in the end the man was very nice to us and we didn't.

After eating we walked around the city some more and all sat down in a cafe. This wasn't the best idea because we were in the tourist section and payed triple the price for a coffee. We learned our lesson and didn't repeat this mistake. Later, we all separated and Andrea and I went to buy some postcards. We found really cheap ones and then sat at a restaurant having a drink as we filled them out. After this, it was time t meet back up with the rest of the class and then we went back to the hotel. Dinner was at 6 and there we planned to go out to a sports bar for the evening. I called my friend Marketa, who I met in Heidelberg and now works in Prague and told her to meet me there. She walked in the door and it was crazy seeing her again. Another reunion, two years after we last saw each other and things were as normal as ever! It was like no time had passed and we just picked up where we left off. We spent the rest of the evening catching up on the past two years and then we asked if she could tag along on the tour tomorrow and no one had a problem with this.

Tuesday

I woke up today and went for an early run with Viola, one of the students on the class trip. We had a nice half-hour chat while running and it was nice to get to know her better because she is a very sweet girl. After our run, I got ready for the day and went down to breakfast. I found Marketa after breakfast and then we were all off to Terezin, the ghetto where the European Jews were sent on their way to being deported to other work and concentration camps. I knew this would be the most depressing part of our stay. Appropriately enough, the weather was dreary and it even rained a little while we were there. It stopped, however, after we left Terezin. Fitting for the occasion, I must say. Our tour guide showed us around the cells and the rooms filled with giant bunks that had been overfilled with people and told us the stories about sickness and starvation that killed most of the people who came through Terezin. There weren't any gas chambers there. Most of the people who came through Terezin were however sent on and killed in the camps. There were very few survivors. Only two people managed to escape the ghetto because it was a fortress that was almost impossible to escape and it was heavily guarded.
After the actual tour of the ghetto and fortress, we went to a museum that recounted the history of the use of the ghetto. This was also very interesting, although unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to get to see and read everything. We took the bus back to the hotel and from here, Marketa and I went to grab lunch. We each had a gyro and then we met back up with the group and were off to the old part of the city again. Andrea was in search of a Pizzeria and we found one. Marketa and I just had coffee, while Sascha and Andrea ate. We found the Jazz club Agharta and planned to go there for the night. Unfortunately not all the kids wanted to go, but we turned out to be a good sized group. The band that played was fairly good and we had a nice relaxing night, while the others went back to the sports bar for the evening.

Wednesday

After breakfast today, we went to the monastery on the small side of Prague and from there we went up to the Prague Castle that sits on the hilltop with a beautiful view of the entire city. Here, me and a few of the girls wandered around the dome and then took the 287 stairs to the top of the tower, where we could see everything from above! From there we went along the Golden Alley where very small houses from that date to the middle ages reside. This is where we all met back up again and then we walked down through the small side. After turmoil over the day tickets, we split up into small groups and I went with Sascha to get lunch. We went back to another restaurant that the tour guide had suggested to us that was in a quiet, less touristy section of Prague along the Moldau River. The place was packed and as we were getting ready to eat somewhere else, a table became free. We sat outside because the weather was so beautiful and we ran into 3 of our students who decided they would join us. Here I had an absolutely delicious gulash with dumplings...MMmmm! Also typically Czech. This made the conversation a bit more interesting. I like Sascha, but he has a very dry personality and doesn't say a whole lot. After eating, I asked the girls if they wanted to join me in climbing the City Hall tower to get some pictures. They said yes and we split from Sascha there. The view was again amazing and the weather was perfect!! The girls and I stopped at a few shops on the way back to the hotel. Viola found me when I came in and asked me if I wanted to go running then so we didn't have to get up early in the morning, so we went for our jog. After dinner, the kids wanted to go back to the sports bar again because a German soccer team was playing (probably also because they could get really cheap beer there, just a wild guess!), but when we got there, the place was already packed. The boys split from Andrea, the girls and I hoping they would find seats for themselves. I was actually glad because we then went to a bar/cafe that was outside and right around the corner. It had a much nicer atmosphere. About 15-20 minutes later, the boys were back saying that they were asked to leave the bar by the manager because they were under 18. In Germany, kids can drink at the age of 16, but in the Czech Republic not until 18. We thought is was funny that they weren't served and had to laugh about it. Needless to say, I still find it funny that we were on a school trip and the kids were allowed to drink alcohol as long as they didn't get out of hand. Something like this wouldn't be allowed in the U.S., but then again maybe it would be better if it was because at least the drinking would be controlled if it was in front of a teacher, rather than hidden in bags and such. Just a thought.

Thursday

Today the kids were split up into groups and had to do a type of scavenger hunt and answer questions. The groups were picked at random and sent off at separate times. They then had to find all the answers and the group with the most correct would win a prize. I had planned to meet up with Marketa again today and she was bringing Petra, another Czech friend of mine from Heidelberg. She was able to come see me because May 8th is a national holiday in the Czech Republic, celebrating the victory over the Germans from World War II. It was great to see Petra again and we went for lunch after we met. It was wonderful to see the capital of Prague in the presence of my friends. It made the experience even better. They are very special friends of mine, even if I don't see them that often. At the cafe we ate at, we called yet another Czech friend of mine, who wasn't able to make it to Prague to see me. Hearing her voice for the first time in two years was also a special moment. I can't explain the feeling, but it's great to have friends from all over the world, who can share their culture, ideas and hearts with you. There's nothing quite like it.

After lunch, we went for a 2 hour walk through the old city across the bridge to the small side and through a park that I had been in two days ago. The weather was again the best I've seen while here in Europe and we sat along the river chatting and soaking up the sun. At 4 we left to go to Marketa's apartment. It was in a very nice area of Prague and the apartment was very nice and also large. It was nice to see where she lives and just relax and spend time with her and Petra before I had to see them off at the station. They were heading out for Olomouc, the city where they studied and where I visited them two years ago. We said our goodbyes and I was somewhat sad, but also very happy that I had the chance to see them again. I know it wasn't the last time, I will see them!

From the station, I went back to the hotel for dinner and in the evening we didn't have anything planned, so Andrea and I decided to have a drink and talk. It was a really relaxing night and a good end to a wonderful trip. I feel that I have a pretty close connection to her and a few of the other teachers here and this also makes me happy, but sad to know that I will be leaving soon... After this, I went back upstairs and joined some of the girls who were watching Germany's next top model and then I went to bed. Unfortunately, my roommates, although they wanted to live with me in a room, were not that social and didn't ever seem interested when I tried to start conversation with them.

Of course what would the trip be without some excitement! At about 3:30 in the morning, the fire alarm went off. My roommates weren't getting out of bed so I went out into the hallway to check things out. No one was leaving our floor, so I decided that it wasn't real. The Italians on the 3rd and 5th floors had been partying loudly every night we were at the hotel all through the night and hitting on our girls during the day (they're smart enough to not go for this!). Anyway, on this night, the Italians were smoking and set off the smoke detector. They then took the fire extinguisher and this set off the fire alarm. Apparently, my floor was the only floor that didn't exit the building. The kids on the 3rd floor along with Sascha and Andrea had all went outside in their pjs. I had seen a man who works at the hotel come to our floor and try to turn off the alarm, so I knew there was nothing wrong or he wouldn't have done this and he would have told us to leave. I was just glad to know it wasn't our students who did this.

Friday

In the morning we woke up and finished packing. We met in the lobby after breakfast and turned in our keys. Then we had to wait to get our deposit money back from the hotel. This was complicated, as they tried to short us 30 Euro and we had to wait until this was fixed. From the hotel we headed to the station. We arrived about an hour and a half before the train was to leave, so some of the kids went and bought food for the train.
To our luck, the train was delayed another half an hour and when that half an hour was up, twenty more minutes and then an hour and a half later our train from Budapest to Hamburg arrived. We were going to arrive late in Kiel and were unsure of the connection which we would be able to catch. Fortunately, we were able to get an ICE from Hamburg and only arrived about 30 minutes later than expected. The train ride seemed to last an eternity though because we had been waiting on it for so long. Sven, Andrea's husband met us at the station and Viola's mom, the girl I went running with had brought Andrea flowers and Sascha and I chocolates for taking the kids on the trip. I thought this was very sweet and thoughtful of her. The kids were off and so were we. They dropped me off at home and told me they would call me on the weekend, since they were planning to cook out because the weather was so nice. I thanked them and then went up to my room, looked at my pictures, and went to bed.

Saturday

I didn't sleep in today after the long journey. I woke up from the sun and went running around 8. I met up with my assistant friends around 10:30 and we left for Rendsburg in a black Mercedes Benz, for which Siobhan had won a free weekend rental. They had planned a cookout for the day at her place. It was funny riding with Siobhan in a car in Germany. First of all, she is from Northern Ireland and therefore used to driving on the other side of the road, second of all the car was an automatic (she got this in case Dee or I would have to drive for some reason) and she is used to a standard and thirdly, she didn't know where she was going and Dee became the navigation system with the atlas map! We made it to Rendsburg without getting lost or hurt! I was impressed. They went shopping, while Heather and I waited for them to get back. Everyone else arrived around 2 or so and we fired up the grill around 3 or 3:30. It took us a while to get it going, because the coals weren't that great, but finally it was ready for cooking. The first thing we put on the grill was the chicken. I had cut it into strips and Rebecca had put on the flavoring. Dee and I cooked the chicken and we placed the potatoes wrapped in foil on the coals to cook. After everything was ready, round one was eaten. Round two, the hamburgers were then cooked by Nick. We had salad with them and then round three was sausages, which I could only eat a half. I hadn't eaten this much meat in a long time because it is expensive (same as at home). Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we had been yelled at by a woman who lives in the complex where Siobhan lives. She told us that we had to put our grill where the other one was, only later to be told by the landlord that we could put it wherever we wanted. He actually MADE us move it to a grassy spot on the lawn, where he said it would be much nicer. It was really funny, because he sounded so angry when he was doing this based on his tone of voice, but he wasn't mad at all. I was just frustrated, that he wouldn't leave us alone. But silly me, “Ordnung muss sein” The Germans favorite quote: “There must be order.” Marshmallows and a cookie that Alex made were our deserts. Basically we had been eating for 5 straight hours...

This is where the movement has to come in! So we were playing ball, I was doing flips and Siobhan was juggling in the yard. I think we should start a traveling circus act! We also made up a game that we called Schlesi Ball (short for Schleswig-Holstein, our state). This consisted of Siobhan juggling knives in the middle of a giant circle of six people, three of whom were throwing balls to each other, and three of whom were tossing clubs to each other. Basically total chaos, but one would expect nothing else coming from us! Martin even taped this and it looks insane! We also made friends with the neighbors and their kids. They were grilling out too and the two little boys decided to play ball with us. The one kept kicking Dee's soccer ball over the fence and into the other neighbor's yard and we made him go get it. The little one wanted to learn baseball, so Alex and I took turns pitching to him. I have to admit that we were successful because he was hitting at the end.

Around 9:30 or so we left Rendsburg for Kiel. After we parked the merc, I came home and went straight to bed. Andrea had sent me a message saying they would be grilling tomorrow at 6.

Sunday

I woke up and went running and then just spent the rest of the morning and afternoon relaxing. Anke, my roommate, asked me if I wanted to go and get some ice cream with her so we walked up the road to her favorite place, bought an ice cream cone and sat outside in the sun. It was warm, but still windy. Later, I rode my bike to Andrea's and her sister was already there. Two of her other friends that I had already met once before were coming over with their 5 or so month old daughter (Andrea's god-child). I had seen the mother when the baby was still in her belly, so I was excited to get to see the little girl. She was absolutely adorable with huge blue eyes. Sven got the grill going and put the first round of meat on it. This was steak. I haven't had steak the whole time I have been here, so I was actually really excited and it was delicious! I had another piece (they were smaller) and then they gave me a piece of pork and yet another small piece of steak. I couldn't eat any more after this, although they tried to give me a sausage, I had to politely decline. I knew there was a reason that I hadn't eaten much for lunch. I was on meat overload from yesterday and today! You didn't hear me complaining though. After dinner, the others left and I stayed a while longer talking to Sven and Andrea. We had a coffee and watched the pictures on their tv that Andrea had taken while we in Prague. Her pictures were very good too. She took a lot more of the kids, which made me happy because I had a lot of the city. After this we went back outside for a while and then around 11:30, I decided it was time to ride back home and get to bed. I thanked them for the lovely evening and went home.