Thursday, October 10, 2013
My friends and I decided that today would be a zoo day! We
let our inner 5-year-olds run free and gaze wide-eyed at the gorillas,
elephants, wolves, penguins, and many more. Prague’s zoo is ranked one of the
best in the world and it truly shows. The engineer behind the zoo must have
been a genius. The sheer design was amazing and my friends and I all
contemplated what it would be like to have a job that required us to design a
world-renowned zoo. There was a
chairlift to bring you down a hill from the African Animals exhibit to the
gorillas and as we rode down the lift, we were amazed at the views. It was such
a beautiful day and we stared in amazement at the landscape of changing leaves
and rolling hills. As an Angeleno, I feel like I haven't really experienced
changing seasons, so living in a place that has very defined seasons has been
wonderful.
My first real Fall! Look at the changing leaves!
(Photo credit: Anna Jinks)
Our new elephant friend.
(Photo credit: Anna Jinks)
Gorgeous scenery as we rode down the zoo's chairlift
(Photo credit: Anna Jinks)
This mama gorilla was so protective of her baby
Saturday, October 12, 2013
A definite perk of studying abroad in Europe is the ease of
travel to other major European cities. While I have already taken advantage of
this and plan on continuing throughout my stay here, I’m also taking the
opportunity to explore the Czech Republic. My friends and I have discovered the
beauty of a day trip and we’ve become quite good at making them successful.
Today’s trip was to a town in Western Bohemia called Plzen (pronounced Pilsen).
Perhaps you’ve heard of the famous Czech beer called Pilsner Urquell? Well,
Plzen is the hometown of that beer. We took a bus an hour west and headed for
the town center. We explored the Church of St. Bartholomew and climbed to the
top of the church tower. It’s the tallest tower in the Czech Republic, so it
wasn’t an easy feat, but thanks to the Santa Monica Steps, I was well prepared.
By the time we neared the top of the tower, the stairs had morphed into
ladders. The view was wonderful and we were all pleased with ourselves for
climbing so high. After the church/tower we headed to the Pilsner brewery. We
took a tour of the brewery and had a chance to taste unfiltered and
unpasteurized pilsner, fresh from the barrel. It was a bit cloudier in
appearance and had a heartier flavor than the filtered stuff, but it was good!
The underground cellars where the barrels of beer are held is around 8 degrees Celsius.
We were shivering and could see our breath so we were happy to have a little
beer blanket for the remainder of the tour. By the time we finished the tour,
and had a late lunch, it was time to head back to Prague. The trip was so easy
and I can’t wait for our next little excursion.
Czeching out,
Grace
A massive barrel of beer ("Pivo")
Dani and I are thoroughly enjoying our freshly tapped beer
The famous gates to the Pilsner Urquell Brewery. You can see these gates on every label of Pilsner Urquell beer
View from the top of the St. Bartholomew Church tower
Some additional photos:
It's officially Fall! I spotted this GIANT pumpkin at my neighborhood produce market.
My friend from Israel (he was on my Birthright trip!) was in Prague for a few days so I showed him around a bit.
(Photo credit: Adi Golan)
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