So have you ever climbed a cell phone tower? you know, those big, metal tower things? i did today! went on a run, hiked up book mountain (actually has a book in a metal case at the top for people to write their names in – i sure wrote mine!) and then saw The Cell Phone Tower about 50 yards away. i had heard about other people climbing it so i figured what the heck and climbed alllll the way to the top! wow. good thing i’m not scared of heights :o) the freakiest thing – about half way up it starts to sway a little…
ANYWAY – so the czech republic weekend trip was absolutely amazing!!! this was our ave sponsored trip so we didn’t have to pay for everything – always nice. the short and sweet of it (because i do have a midterm to study for) : drove to praug friday, arrived in the evening, found our hotel after several wrong turns, and then split up to explore the night life of praug. what a BEAUTIFUL city!!!! i’ve gotta say it’s on my favorites list FOR SURE! the only city in the area not to be bombed during WWII, most of its old building are still there in all their glory. we (laina, rachel, and I) decided that praug is the perfect place to be with a boyfriend. oh well :o)
we got some food, did some shopping, just enjoyed looking at the city, and met some guys ;o) the first two wanted to take us clubbing later, the next three were actually from michigan and were pretty excited to meet somebody else from their state. it’s always nice to meet people from a place you know. it’s a little wierd how you automatically feel a connection to them ever though you have never met before.
anyway, the next morning i got up early and went out with mary and jacob to get some breakfast and walk around before our tour led by Mrs. Healy who actually grew up in czech. after the tour we split up again. rachel and i got off the beaten trail but managed not to get lost. a highlight of our detour was finding a rather unique czech consignment shop. we then drove to a small village with some crazy name i can’t remember where we spent the night in the parish hall. before going to bed though, the healys took us out for dinner and then we went wine tasting.
the wine cellar owner was amazing! his cellar had at least 3 secret rooms (complete with moving walls!). one of the rooms was made so that when you stand in the middle it sounds like you’re talking into a microphone. another entrance was made low on purpose so that everyone who entered had to bow to the statue of the patron saint of wine cellars. this guy was awesome! he really had a passion for what he did and loved sharing it with others as well. i’ve never tasted so many types of wine. we all slept very well that night :o)
next morning maureen and i went exploring, met some locals (who didn’t speak a word of english), found a teeter totter, got scared by a giant german shepard, and got invited for some vodka (at 8:30 am!) at this random old guy’s house. no thanks. we made it back in time for mass (the church was completely packed – standing room only) and then had a traditional czech brunch and hit the road. stopped at a czech castle (very beautiful – lots of woodwork) on the way, got some trail mix and yeah, that pretty much brings me to the end of the trip! so now you can check out the pictures!http://pictures.aol.com/ap/viewShare.do?shareInfo=qehO4z9cYlkmqkQr7HJUAUux%2fIYNy1yRQsIpYlKOujBWGd%2bBXiXp6w%3d%3d