Charlotta v Praha: Praha Days & Praha Nights

I've been in Prague for exactly a month from today! I've been in class for 2 weeks now. They are all going well & I feel like I am learning so much about Czech history, culture, & art. Not to mention, the classrooms are absolutely gorgeous:

I'm taking five classes including Elementary Czech Language, Gothic, Baroque, & Modern: Arts in Bohemia (an art history course focusing on Czech art/architecture), Life & Culture in a Totalitarian Regime (a really interesting class where we learn about the Czech's life under Nazism/Communism), Prague as a Living History (a WALKING tour around Prague where we get to learn about all of Prague's landmarks) & Czechs, Americans & Europeans: Cultural Contrast & Common Ground (a practicum type of class where we discuss with the international students about differences in our cultures and conduct interviews).

On Friday we did a day trip to Litomerice, a small town about an hour north from Prague. It was an adorable little village which had stayed intact after the war (like Prague) and therefore had a lot of old buildings. We did a walking tour of the town and then ate at a Czech restaurant located in a series of underground tunnels. After that we went to a castle/palace on the outskirts of town where our program director's parents used to be the landowners!

Litomerice

Town square

The city walls

The palace

Inside the palace

Disturbing statue in the palace...

Decorative ceiling (and an angled shot of myself)

The herd (sp?) of palace Peacocks!

Everybody on the trip!

Then afterwards our program took us to the most amazing wine tasting! Czech wineries mostly specialize in bilé vino (white wine, my favorite). The wine was delicious, a million times better than the cheap stuff I'd been buying in Prague. It was a great ending to a fantastic trip.

The next night we decided to make crêpes at our house for our friends birthday. It was a huge success! Sometimes it is just nice to stay in (far away from the heavy Czech food) and relax. Grocery shopping is so cheap here, which is also a plus!

Asparagus, potato & brocoli, and pepper & shroom crêpes

Yum!

Observations made so far:
-Hummus does not exist in Prague. With that said, I asked my Czech buddy, Jakub, and he directed me to this small obscure arabic store in which hummus comes in a can & kinda smells like fish. With that said, I've still been eating a lot of it.
-Prague, although mostly full of picturesque buildings & cute little cafes, is littered with KFC & TGI Fridays. Both are acronyms & I've asked several Czech people who have no idea what either stands for, but still cite them as some of their favorite restaurants.
-When addressing a Czech person, especially females, the context of the name within the sentence changes the ending. Whenever my Czech teacher points to me in class she calls me "Charlotto." In addition to that, all Czech female surnames must have the female endings. So even when talking about, lets say, Michelle Obama, on the news, she is referred to as "Michelle Obamová". Therefore, my official Czech name is Charlotto Hellmuthová.

Lately, I've been feeling like a true ex-pat here. Walking on the streets people will approach me for directions and I will (usually) be able to point them the right way! At stores, clerks address me in Czech even after I say "Dobry den" or "Ano" or "Dêkuju" (although quickly realize after my blank stare that my Czech is extremely limited.) I feel 100% comfortable with the transportation system, although lately since the weather has been nice, I choose to spend a little extra time just walking around...