A Brewery Tour and Jewish Ghetto

Our last full day in Prague, we decided to split up and venture out of the city for some sight seeing.  Anna and I headed to Terezin to see the concentration camp while Mike and Mike went to Pilsen for some beer drinking.

Anna really wanted to see a concentration camp and I was curious to see how Terezin compared to Dachau, so it was the perfect excursion for us while the boys went beer tasting. I found Terezin interesting because not only was there a concentration camp, the entire town was a Jewish ghetto, so many of the buildings and the town square were used during the war in some fashion. It wasn't used as an extermination camp, but tens of thousands of Jews died there because of the overcrowding and poor conditions.  We were able to go into the museum, walk around the concentration camp and see the town square.  It was an interesting day trip outside of Prague and pretty easy to get to via the bus.

Meanwhile, the boys were in Pilsen where they grabbed lunch (and a Pilsner of course!) before their brewery tour.

Give this guy a beer and you'll always see a smile on his face!

We met back up at the end of the day for dinner at Cestr in Prague.  When Mike and I went to Prague a year ago, we stayed with the scholars who were there and they took us to this great steak restaurant called Cestr.  I'm not even a huge steak fan and I loved it! When Mike and I realized that we were going to be in Prague for our anniversary, we knew that we had to go.  Plus, we wanted to show our friends our hidden gem! We ordered way too much food, I had a great glass of lemonade while everyone else had delicious wine, and none of us were disappointed.

It was a great last day in Prague, even though the majority was spent outside of the city.  We each got a chance to explore something new and then come back together to celebrate our anniversary!

Prague Castle with the Ficks

Day two in Prague was spent at the castle, which is on the other side of the Charles Bridge from the Old Town.   It provides some great views of the city, as well as some great sight seeing itself.

All I really remember about the Prague Castle from our last visit was the walk uphill to get there.  We didn't go inside and the walk up the stairs to get there was a trek.  This time, my lack of lung capacity due to the little guy made that climb a little more intimidating, but I knew we'd go inside, so it was totally worth it (I'm also being very dramatic and the climb isn't that bad. I just like to complain.).

Once you make it to the top of the hill, you get to the castle, which is actually a whole complex.  You can walk around the complex for free, but to go in different buildings, you need a ticket.  We bought the middle ticket, which gets you into the mid level selection of buildings, including the cathedral.







After the cathedral, we went into the Old Royal Palace.

Anna was so excited to see this window where the Defenestration of Prague took place.  She was having flashbacks to her high school European history class!

We wandered around the castle grounds for a while

before bidding farewell to the castle and heading back across the Charles Bridge. Naturally, we had to take some photos.  

We asked this woman to take a picture of the four of us and ended up getting a full photo shoot!  I'll spare you the plethora of pictures and just share this one because I think it's probably the best of 20.

The guys didn't want a picture of them together. It's fine because there's no way to capture how happy those two were to be back together.  They were giddy all week.  Anna and I would walk behind and just laugh at how happy they were. There were lots of times where the four of us would be walking and Anna and I would go to stand next to our husband, while our husbands would go and stand next to each other.  #priorities. :D 

We ended the afternoon with traditional Czech street dessert, a trdelnik.  It's fried dough with cinnamon sugar on it (I'm pretty sure you can get other toppings, but the cinnamon sugar is my fave) and so good.  Not overwhelmingly sweet, but definitely does the job. The guys got their millionth cup of coffee of the day and we headed back to the hotel to warm up before going to happy hour in the lounge and dinner. 

The Ficks Come to Visit!

We love this experience we're on and there a plethora of experiences that we know we get to have that many other people don't.  That being said, one of the hardest parts about this experience is we don't feel like we've made any lifelong friends.  Part of it is that we travel so much so we aren't around on the weekends to hang out with Mike's classmates. A problem that I don't even feel I can complain about! That being said, when friends come to visit, we get excited! When they're our best friends, we get REALLY excited!  I think Mike was excited to have a guy to hang out with (most of his classmates are girls and then me) and I was thrilled to have Anna around to talk baby things with.  Plus, it's just fun to show off your home and new town.

Anna and Mike arrived around mid-morning on Saturday and we loaded them up into our car and headed west to the Czech Republic.  We originally had planned to spend the night in Cesky Krumlov since we had all heard great things about it, but some car trouble forced us to stop early in Prague.  Not a terrible thing!  We had already been planning to spend the following few nights there, so having an extra night there really wasn't that much of an inconvenience.

That night, we ventured out for dinner and Mike and Mike stayed out for a night of Czech beer drinking. Luckily, they were able to recover the next morning as we set out to follow our buddy Rick Steves on his walking tour around Prague.

That baby bump is starting to make an appearance!

I love Prague

I'm sure Rick Steves told us why this horse is upside down, but I don't remember and it just looks like a weird statue in the middle of a mall to me.

We ventured in to the Czech/European version of FAO Schwartz, which was fun, even for four adults.  They have a merry-go-round in the store and a slide that goes from the second level to the one below.  Mike even found a life size bear.  He's now determined to get one for the nursery when we get back to the states.  

The entrance to the Charles Bridge

After our walking tour, we went and got Mexican for lunch.  I'm always glad when guests don't want German food because, as good as meat and potatoes are, I can only eat but so much.  Czech food is basically the same, so I was glad they weren't dead set on Czech food.  Plus, who can resist a good burrito?

That afternoon, we headed to Jewish ghetto which was super interesting.  Mike Hogan and I didn't do that last time, so I was glad to add something new to our itinerary.  The main attraction of the Jewish ghetto is the cemetery where they think over 100,000 bodies are buried, but there are also six synagogues you can go in and there is all sorts of Jewish history throughout.  While there was almost too much information (a trend we've noticed in European museums), we all learned a lot about Jewish history. It's definitely worth an afternoon if you're in Prague. 

We retired to the hotel for a little nap and happy hour in the lounge before heading out to watch the Ravens' game at an Irish pub.  How's that for cross cultural? Eating at an Irish Pub in the Czech Republic while watching American football.  It was a great way to end our first full day in Prague and we went to bed with tired feet and happy hearts.  It's fun having your friends visit. Really fun.  

A Weekend in Prague

One of the great things about the Olmsted experience is that there are tons of people all around the world to visit.  They actually encourage you to do so!  Mike and I hadn't visited anyone in the program yet, since we had done a lot of travelling in Turkey and the few international trips were to places that didn't have scholars. Prague was on our list, especially since it was sometime seat of the Holy Roman Empire, which was a rival to the Ottomans.  It worked out well to do a three day weekend trip there this past weekend and there is a scholar and his family from Mike's class there who offered to host us and show us around.   We were thrilled to take them up on the offer and get to experience this part of the Olmsted program.

We never know what our airport experience is going to be.  More often than not, our flights leaving Turkey are delayed (the Turks aren't the most punctual people...), but everything about this flight was smooth and enjoyable.  We even arrived early!  

Patrick, the Olmsted scholar, arrived a little bit after we landed.  His family (his wife, 3 year old son and almost 2 year old daughter) went to get their Christmas tree from the Christmas tree farm.  They drove there with their SUV, planning to put it on the roof of their car and drive it home.   I guess that's not how people in Prague do it because the man running the farm didn't have any string and didn't know how to tie it to the top of the car.  Patrick had to run out and buy string so that he could tie it to the car!  What an Olmsted moment!

Anyways, after Patrick picked us up, he drove us through the city and gave us a tour.  We dropped our bags off and said hello to Stephanie (his wife) and the kids before heading out for an actual tour of the city.  Patrick is an amazing tour guide and knew all sorts of facts about the different spots in Prague.  I felt like I was on an official tour! Prague is a beautiful city and even though it was dark and a little rainy, I was already hooked.  

We returned to their house where we were greeted by Claire, another Olmsted scholar in Dresden, Germany.   Stephanie had prepared dinner for us all and it was fun to just hang out at their house, eat dinner and catch up with everyone.  After dinner, all of us headed out to one of the smaller Christmas markets in Prague for true Czech dessert, Trdelnik.  It's fried dough covered with sugar and other sweetners.  Delicious. 

The Sullivans called it a night while Claire, Mike and I headed to a Czech bar called the Beer Museum.  Definitely worth it if you're in Prague, but I would make a reservation if you can.  When we got there, all of the tables were full or reserved.  Claire spotted a guy sitting by himself and asked if we could sit with him.  He agreed, which was fun.  He's from Bosnia and lives in Prague.  He was telling us all sorts of things about Eastern Europe and how things have changed since he was a kid.  Very interesting.  After a few drinks, though, we had to call it a night.  Traveling is exhausting and I am always tired by 10:30 or 11:00. 

The next day, the Santa was coming to the Embassy, so Patrick and family went there, while Claire, Mike and I set out to explore the city some more.   It had stopped raining and the sun was out, so the city looked beautiful.  

Wenceslas Square

Our first stop was Wenceslas Square, which is pretty famous.  Plus, there was a Christmas market, so Mike was happy to grab a late breakfast of sausage.

They had a live nativity, which really just seemed to be a bunch of animals in a pen, but I guess it was cool.

For a country that is 85% agnostic/atheist, they really know how to decorate for Christmas.

After we finished at the Christmas market, we walked around the city.  Izmir isn't the most aesthetic city in terms of architecture and Prague definitely put it to shame.  

We wandered into the main square, Stare Mesto, which has an astronomical clock that is always on the list of top things to do and see.  When the clock strikes on the hour, the little figures on the side dance around.  Tons of people gather around to watch this, but Patrick told us it was on the list of most disappointing tourist attractions, or something like that. I have to agree.  We happened to be there at the top of the hour to see it, but I'm glad we didn't plan anything around it.  

The clock tower is still beautiful and definitely worth seeing, though. 

There was a huge Christmas tree up in Stare Mesto as well

By this point, all of us were hungry for lunch, so I got a sausage, while Mike went with a pound of ham.  I wish I had a picture of this ham because it was massive.  I tried it and it was delicious, but we definitely weren't expecting something that big. 

Claire had been to Prague (it's less than two hours from Dresden) once before and knew kind of how to guide us around the city.   Our ultimate goal was to make our way to the big castle on the other side of the water, while also seeing some sights along the way.  

There are a lot of churches throughout the city of Prague.  Patrick said that a lot of them don't have mass or an actual congregation.  Instead, they have concerts and are more of an historic sight than an actual church.  This church that we went into was beautiful inside and out. 

I spy a castle....

After we crossed the bridge to the other side of the water, we had to climb a huge hill to get to the castle and the top of the city.   It was definitely worth the hike, though, because the view was breathtaking.  Prague is a gorgeous city and the weather was definitely in our favor.

I made sure to take advantage of having a third person with us so we could get lots of pictures together. Mike was less than thrilled.  Thanks Claire!

We circled around the castle and stopped for coffee/a bathroom break before stumbling upon this gate.  Isn't it cool?

There is a huge gothic church that is just as breathtaking as the other views of the city.  The line was long to go in, but it was definitely worth it!

It was crazy how different the church looked from the front and the back.  The back had tons of flying buttresses, which always make a gothic church look even more massive.

After taking in the beauty of the church, we stopped at the Christmas market nearby to get some mulled wine.    As we were walking out of the Christmas market, we were greeted by this view.  Not so bad, eh?

As we headed back, the sun began to set and the views of the city became even more stunning. 

We made our way back to Stare Mesto where we were supposed to meet Patrick, Stephanie and the kids.  It was Saint Nicholas Day, which is a big thing in Prague.  Saint Nicholas, an angel and a devil all come to the square to celebrate the day.  It was SUPER crowded and we quickly realized that there was no way to find the Sullivans.  Little did we know that there was no way for them to find parking, so it didn't even matter.  We were all pretty overwhelmed by the crowds and didn't feel the need to stay since we had been there earlier that day.   Instead, we stepped inside a beer brewery restaurant (guess who found that!) for a few drinks and an appetizer before going back to Patrick and Stephanie's. 

Stephanie and Patrick had made reservations at the local steak house and had a babysitter for the night, so later that night, we all headed out for a delicious steak dinner.  We had the most incredible wine thanks to the recommendation of Stephanie, who is pregnant and told us this would be one of the first drinks she had after giving birth.  Let. Me. Tell. You.  This was the most delicious Pinot Noir, if not the most delicious red wine, I've ever had. I'll be keeping an eye out for it wherever we go.   It was  a great dinner and a ton of fun just hanging out with everyone.  I've really missed having friends around  in Turkey. My friends back home are incredible and have been a huge support from afar, but I miss having friends physically close by.  This weekend was exactly what I needed.  We ended up staying up until 2am just hanging out after we got back from dinner and I think we all appreciated the company. 

Sunday morning, I quickly realized that I don't recover from staying up until 2 am quite as easily as I did in college, but we were up and dressed and ready because we had brunch with Stephanie and Patrick's upstairs neighbors who are TURKISH! Not only that, but they wife is from Izmir.  Stephanie prepared a delicious brunch and, after saying goodbye to Claire, we enjoyed a couple hours of brunch discussing Turkey while drinking Turkish tea.  It was a lot of fun and I think we impressed them with our knowledge of Turkish culture, politics and sights. Go Hogans!

We had an afternoon flight to Istanbul, which ended up being delayed (like I said before, punctuality ain't no thing in Turkey). Like the good Americans we are, we grabbed burritos from the burrito restaurant across from our terminal while we waited.  It wasn't as good as Chipotle, but it tasted great after five months without anything close to a real burrito.  Once we boarded the plane, we knew it would be close once we got to Istanbul. We arrived in Istanbul an hour late, which meant we had less than an hour to make our next flight.  Add in the super long line to get through customs and we thought we had to sprint to make it.  Luckily, the Turks are reliably unreliable and our second flight was delayed and we were able to get on just in time.  

Once we got home, I FaceTimed with my family to find out that Ben got into William and Mary early decision! Go Ben! I'm so proud of Ben and he's definitely worked hard enough to deserve this.  William and Mary is my mom's alma mater for undergrad and both my parents went there for law school, so they're big Tribe fans.  Although I am a loyal JMU alum, I am excited for him to go to his first choice school.  Go Benj! 

Overall, it was a great weekend with friends in a beautiful city.  It was a different experience staying with friends and we had a blast.  I definitely want to go back to Prague, maybe in the summer to see the difference between seasons. Until next time!