My adventures around Europe : Adventures to Bratislava, Prague, and Dresden!

Week 2: Field Trip 1 - Bratislava, Prague, and Dresden

Currently I am sitting on a train, drinking wine and eating cheese, on my way to yet another beautiful city while typing my blog- I would have to say life is pretty good! This week was full of lots of adventure and many trips! It started out with having Monday class cancelled so a small group of us decided that we wanted to take a short trip somewhere! We got to the train station early in the morning and bought a ticket to Bratislava, Slovakia. I was very interested to learn more about this country since it has such a tight relationship with the Czech Republic. Czechoslovakia split up into two separate countries in 1993. It was a peaceful break between the two counties and they still consider themselves very close friends. It was fascinating to learn about all of the similarities that these countries still share, but also the differences between each! We were able to visit St. Elizabeth’s Cathedral, St. Martin's Cathedral, parks, the President’s House, and many more historical locations. As the sun was setting we made our way up to the top of the hill to the castle and see a breath taking view of the entire city.

The Presidents House in Bratislava.

St. Martin's Cathedral

St. Elizabeth's Church (also known as the Blue Church)

Inside of the beautiful Blue Church

One of my favorite views! We were able to make it to the castle at the top of the hill just in time for the sun to set! Such a beautiful view of the city of Bratislava.

The Castle at Bratislava, Slovakia

We got back from Bratislava on Tuesday afternoon right before class, and then Thursday morning we back on a train again. Our entire group was on our way to the beautiful city of Prague. I absolutely fell in love with this wonderful, majestic, and stunning city! Although the Czech Republic is one of the least religious counties in the world, Easter is heavily celebrated here. The city was packed with tourist from every country who came to celebrate the holiday. Easter markets are in every square where you can buy hand-painted eggs, hot wine, sausages, tredelniks, crepes, and much more! All of these foods are so delicious and hard to stay away from! These markets are not the only way they celebrate Easter, there is also an unusual tradition that has been passed down for many years now. The tradition is that men take sticks from a willow trees and lightly “whip” the women with them and in return the women give the men a present. Although this sound horrible, it was started because they believed that the willow tree was good luck and that by whipping women with a part of this tree, it would bring fertility and good health to the women. Our group was walking in a square when a pack of little boys ran up to us and started whipping all of us girls with their sticks. It was very fun to be able to be part of their traditions!

The Easter Markets in Prague!

All of the trees are decorated beautifully for Easter!

These sausages may be the best things ever from the Easter markets!

The willow tree whips sticks!

The beautiful hand-painted Easter eggs!

When we arrived Jan and Martin gave us a tour of the beautiful city of Prague. They showed us the Prague astronomical clock, which is an attraction to many tourist, and a huge crowd gathers every hour to hear the ringing! This is also the clock that is in the Harry Potter movies! We were also able to visit many cathedrals like St. Vitus, Tyn church, and many more. Then we made it to the famous Charles Bridge! It was crowed but very beautiful and so interesting to learn about all of the statues on the bridge. Later we found the John Lennon Wall where, like all other tourist, we all snapped many photos by all of the creative art.

The Prague astronomical clock!

The cathedral at Namesti Miru!

A stunning view of the Prague Castle and Charles Bridge.

I am in love with Old Square with the Easter Markets!

Our Lady Tyn Church in the Old Square at night!

The three UNL students at the John Lennon Wall!

I love all of the little cafes in Prague!

A delicious breakfast at Cafe Louvre.

On Friday we all went to the Prague Castle. Although the walk up to the Castle was tiring and long, the sight at the top was breath taking. We could see the entire city of Prague from the top of this hill. Here we saw the changing of the guards, the palace, and The St. Vitus Cathedral. I can’t begin to describe the beauty and history that was treasured in each of these beautiful places.

The Prague Castle!

The Beautiful St. Vitus Cathedral where we attended Easter mass.

The inside of St. Vitus Cathedral is unbelievable!

We took a short day trip to Dresden, Germany on Saturday. Like many places we have been before, the sights and history were unbelievable. We saw the Lutheran Cathedral with a statue of Martin Luther outside. This church was circular inside compared to the Catholic cathedrals, which are a knave style. This circular style was made to have more of a central and involved congregation. I absolutely loved how inviting and welcoming this stunning church was! In 1945, during World War II, Dresden was bombed and terribly ruined. This church was not able to survive the bombs and had to be rebuilt. We were able to climb to the top of tower at the church and see a majestic view of the entire city of Dresden! After that we visited an art museum and then roamed around the city. Of course we also ate way too much food!

The Lutheran Church in Dresden, Germany.

The was the cross from the church when it was bombed.

The view from the tower of the church couldn't get any better!!

Of course you have to eat a lot while you are abroad:)

Sunday morning we were back in Prague, ready to celebrate Easter!! A couple of us woke up early and made the trek back up to the Prague Castle to attend Easter mass at St. Vitus Cathedral. It was amazing to be able to celebrate the most meaningful holiday in such a beautiful church. However, the service was in Czech so I had no clue what was going on. Also, since the cathedral was built in the 1300s it was so cold that we could see our breaths. Later that day we visited the Jewish ghetto in Prague. Here we were able to go to many synagogues. One synagogue was turned into a memorial and every Czech Jew that died in the Holocaust had their name inscribed on all of the walls. It was breath taking and heart breaking to see over 80,000 names bordering the walls of the synagogue. The upper level of the synagogue had a display of pictures that children drew about how they viewed the Holocaust. This display was absolutely humbling to see. We also saw the Prague Jewish cemetery. The cemetery was elevated because there are about six layers of bodies under each tombstone. It was such a shocking sight to see. This experience makes me eager to learn even more about the Holocaust and for our trip to Auschwitz in a couple of weeks.

The names of Czech Jews who died in the Holocaust are printed around the walls of the synagogue.

A few of the pictures that children of the Holocaust drew.

The Prague Jewish Cemetery.

On all of our trips this week, we made sure to eat plenty of heavy Czech food and enjoy some of the most beautiful sights in the world! I can't wait for all of the other new adventures we have yet to embark on!