The End Times, The Last Days, and all those dramatic titles

Ahoj!

What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been! It seems like yesterday we were getting home from an awesome trip home with our roommate Eva, now we are working on packing up to come home in just two days!  In that time we've been all over the place tying up loose ends, finishing school, and fitting in a few last trips...

For my belated birthday trip, Gracia and I went to the "Motherland", Sweden, for the weekend. Although it was a short trip, we were able to see a lot in Stockholm and it truly was a beautiful city! We started out as soon as we arrived by taking a ferry out to a nearby island in the archipelago. After exploring the small island, we found a seat on a rock by the water and watched the sunset over Stockholm then enjoyed some coffee in a little restaurant in the company of a boat captain. The next day we explored the Old Town and surrounding areas then made our way over to the island Djurården where we visited one of the coolest museums we'd ever been to, the Vasa Museum, which housed a huge well-preserved ship. Also on the island we walked around Skansen, a large park filled with examples of older buildings from all over Sweden and even a small town with reenacted shops and inhabitants. It reminded me of a much larger version of the Old Mill Museum in Lindsborg! Of course, we had to have some Swedish meatballs before leaving, so we stopped to have the traditional meal that evening in a nearby restaurant. After hearing a few familiar phrases that were obviously NOT Swedish, we realized that the owners of the restaurant were actually Slavic and several of them were from the Czech Republic! It created some lively attempts at conversation mixing Swedish, Czech, and English to get our points across. What a small world! The next day we left the beautiful country of Sweden after a quick, but successful trip. It's one of those countries that will simply require another visit!

As soon as we got back, we had to hit the ground running to get ready for finals the next week. Through the course of the next few days, we slowly checked classes off the list as we studied for, then took our last exams. My last final was Thursday night and Gracia's was the next Monday night. It was good to have some closure there, but also so strange to say goodbye to fellow students that we would, most likely, never see again. Although school was definitely not the favorite part of this trip :) it was also a good experience and created so many opportunities for meeting other people and getting to know the new culture. We're pretty sure we passed the classes... 

Also during the week, all of us at A1 Flats (plus a few other friends!) gathered here in the backyard to have the last get together with all of us there before we one-by-one leave the Czech Republic. It's a weird feeling to say goodbye to people you've spent concentrated time with over the course of several months. We had so much fun getting to know and hang out with these students, hopefully we will be able to meet up again sometime in the near future. 

During all this time, I was making last minute plans for the next weekend's trip to England with Hannah. It would be our final excursion before heading back home to the States. Hannah and I took off Friday morning and arrived in London, where we camped out for three days. London was really an awesome city, probably the most modern of any we had been to yet. We watched the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, took a ride on the London Eye, saw the Tower of London, Tate Modern, the British Museum (with the Rosetta Stone!), Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Parliament, and the Globe Theater. It was a busy few days! On Monday we parted ways, Hannah to meet some friends in Birmingham, and I to take a detour through the countryside before flying out of Birmingham as well. Taking the train from London, I stopped off to see Stonehenge and the surrounding area then stayed the night in Bath where I toured the ancient Roman baths still existing there. Another long train ride took me to Stratford-Upon-Avon to see Shakespeare's hometown and I finished it off by staying the night in Birmingham and flying back to Prague the next day (yesterday). The English countryside was absolutely beautiful and it was so much fun to see more history come to life! 

Meanwhile, Gracia took the weekend to study up for her last finals on Monday, which were frustrating but they're over now! She had a good time going with the Prudeks to church for the last time and got to hang out with a friend who we had met at Benatky. Most of the other students here at A1 were also in Prague for the weekend so she was able to hang out with them some more before splitting directions. One major adventure was going to a non English speaking hairdresser to get a haircut- it turned out great though! I greatly missed her and was so glad to see her when I got back! If this is what happens after just a few days apart, it may be an interesting summer :) 

Now all of a sudden it's the day before we fly back home and Gracia and I have been attempting to prepare for the journey. Our room is currently a collection of half-packed suitcases and piles of a semester's worth of living, hopefully everything will fit in our bags! Last night the Prudeks demonstrated their hospitality as we went over for dinner to catch up and at the same time say goodbye. It was great to see them again before we take off and we hope to stay in contact with them. They were such an amazing part of our semester here and we're so grateful! Today is our last day in the Prague and that certainly brings about mixed feelings. We're going to miss Europe a lot and have had such a great experience here, but at the same time we are SUPER pumped to get back and see you all! We'll be walking around Prague this afternoon to see the sights one more time and perhaps reminisce a little before finishing up packing, saying goodbyes, and taking off early tomorrow morning. Our flight will take us to Dallas where we will get to see Gracia's family and from there we'll make our way back to Kansas and a summer full of catching up with everyone we've missed so much. 

So now I'm going to sign off and get ready for the big day ahead. Can't wait to see you all, thanks for all your prayers and thoughts this semester, what an adventure it's been!

Love,

Laura

Eek....Only 2 weeks left!

Why hello there friends!

I thought I would send a quick update to let you know about the recent events in our lives. The past couple of weeks have been spent out of Prague and have been amazing. The first weekend in May, we took a little weekend trip to Budapest, not a city I had on my list but I definitely should have put it on there. It was Hannah's birthday trip and definitely one of my favorite cities we have visited so far. The beautiful of it was a mixture of all the cities we had seen so far with a little Eastern influence mixed in. I think staying with friends also helped the whole weekend be that much more enjoyable. We saw an amazing castle, a delicous tea house, a masive parliment, a cute little restaurant, and the Turkish baths. Note: If you ever go to Budapest, GO TO THE TURKISH BATHS for the whole day! It was amazing! Everything we did there was simply wonderful. Happy birthday Hannah!!!

This last weekend we went home with our roommate, Eva, to her little village in Austria. My first impression of Austria wasn't the greatest (this coming from the trip to Vienna at the beginning) so I am really glad we had the chance to go back and give it a second go at it. The country side was simply heavenly and her family made us feel so welcome and loved. We even got wild honey from her grandmother who is a bee keeper! It was the most relaxing weekend away I have had here. I actually didn't want to come back to Prague. :) While we were there we were able to see where she lives and works. There was even an exhibition in her town and two other towns that told the history of the Czech Republic and Austria. That was really intersting. I have been learning so much history here even about the United States that I didn't know before! :) On Saturday while we were there, we got to witness some wedding traditions in the village. Eva's brother was the "wrong" bride and the groom had to ask a series of questions to find out where the real bride was. It was really funny and hard to explain. :) There are some pictures on facebook of it. Sometimes I wish we had traditions like that in the U.S. That would be so much fun.

This week has been a little more relaxed with my projects turned in and starting finals. I know that usually starting finals means that life gets more stressful but so far that is not the case with me at least. I think next week is a little hectic for Laura. All her finals except one are next week. I had one this week. I have two next week and then two the following Monday. I like having them so spread out because it give me the opportunity to focus on one at a time and really study for it.

Anyways, this weekend we are going to.....SWEDEN! It is Laura's b-day trip (I know, a little late, but better late than never. eh?) We'll post as soon as we can about it!!!

We love you all and excited to see everyone in just a couple of weeks!!!
Gracia

One month = lots of adventures!

Ahoj friends!

It's been so long since we last updated, this is going to require several "chapters" to update!...

Chapter 1- The Wanderings

For our spring break, we had an about a week and a half off school to go on our adventure of choice. You've already heard some about Gracia's- Bradley came to visit and they got engaged! In the meantime, Beth and Darrin came to Europe for some vacationing and I met them in Rome on Friday the 27th. We got to hang out in Rome for Friday evening (exploring the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, and nearby area) and then all day Saturday (the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, The Spanish Steps). After renting a car on Sunday morning, we drove through the countryside to the hilltop towns Cevita and Orvieto then ended at Assisi where we spent the night in a farmhouse hotel. The next day we toured Assisi in the sunshine then drove on to the beautiful town of Siena for an evening enjoying the fun atmosphere of the active central Piazza. We took our leave from Siena early the next morning and drove to Florence, home of the David statue and the Uffizi gallery. Although we encountered some rain, we still had fun walking through the market in town and the galleries were so amazing! From Florence we went on to Pisa, where we left our rented car (which we had fondly nicknamed Max). Guess what stop we made in Pisa? If you guessed a tower that seems to be leaning, you're correct! We climbed to the top and, of course, took a few pictures of us doing our part to hold up the building! After Pisa we took a train to the seaside towns of Cinque Terre, where we enjoyed a complete change of pace and scenery. One hike, boat ride, and ocean wade later we were on our way to Venice to meet Bradley and Gracia. Venice is exactly like you see in the pictures with the narrow canals and gondola's everywhere! It was so great to relax, walk around, and take our own little gondola ride. Plus, we were in the company of the newly engaged couple, which was so much fun! I have to take a special moment to note the exceptional gelato of Italy, which we taste tested frequently. We may never look at ice cream the same way again! Our next adventure was to take a train through the Alps to Salzburg, Austria. We only had a day in Salzburg, but we thoroughly enjoyed the castle tour, random parade (complete with costumes), Easter decor around the city, and a few scenes from Mozart's life and the Sound of Music! A comfortable night tram whisked us right back to Prague where we camped out for the next few days.

Chapter 2- The Adventures Continue

It was so much fun to have Darrin and Beth in my home-away-from-home city! Our friends Fred and Kelly let them stay at their house while they were out of town, so Darrin and Beth were only a 10 minutes walk away from my apartment. Although I had to go to a few classes while they were here, I also got to show them around the main parts of Prague. It was a LOT of walking, but still fun, especially since the weather has magically changed to spring! Sunshine has replaced snow and we can actually see the sky these days, which is really encouraging. So hanging with me here in Prague, Beth and Darrin went to Paris and we followed shortly, arriving on Saturday afternoon. Paris is such a beautiful city! Climbing the Arc de Triumph, exploring the Louvre, admiring and scaling the Eiffel Tower, enjoying an outdoor cafe, and many other beautiful adventures quickly filled up Saturday and Sunday. Darrin and Beth unfortunately had to part ways with us on Monday morning, I had such a fantastic time traveling with them! We girls slept in a little bit, then enjoyed a last meal on the lawn by the Tower, soaking up the Paris sunshine!

Chapter 3- The Aftermath

With fond memories of Italy, Austria, and France dancing in my head, I started in to another week of school. It's been sinking in that we actually only have a few weeks left here, which has compelled me to think about what I'd like to do with the time we have left. The past two weekends have been so relaxing as we've stayed here in Prague and the weather has been for the most part, amazing! Last weekend we took a fun excursion to the zoo and got to go to the small church plant, Milovice, with Fred and Kelly. This Friday myself and my flatmates (Hannah, Eva, and Gracia) spent the morning at Karlstejn castle about 30 minutes outside of Prague. It was such a beautiful area and fun to hang out with the girls! Saturday I grabbed a cheap set of paints and a canvas that I had bought earlier and spent some time painting a view of Prague from Letna Hill. Today we went to the International Church of Prague and went out to eat with a few friends we had met the first time we attended there. This evening we participated in a round of Risk, Prague version, handmade by one of the guys in our program (a colored map of Prague as the board and coded pistachio shells for pieces!). Although at this point you may not believe we even go to school over here anymore :) we have, in fact, been working on projects, presentations, and homework as well! 

It's a little sobering to think that this may be my last official weekend in Prague- the next few will be filled with a last round of traveling. I can't believe how fast the semester has gone, I'm sure that the rest of our time here is going to fly by! It has certainly been a whirlwind adventure the past few weeks and I apologize for not updating more frequently... hopefully this "novel" wasn't too long! 

We're missing you all SO much and love you lots,

Laura

The End

footnote: there are lots of pictures of all these adventures on facebook, be sure to check them out!

Exciting News!

Hello again from Gracia!
I know I just posted but I have exciting news to share. J So as you all know as of the last post I was waiting for Bradley to show up after his plane was delayed in coming to Prague. Well, he made it all in one piece bearing gifts. We had reservations at an amazing and oober (word taken from Lizy. J) romantic restaurant on the Vltava River with a view of the Charles Bridge, so as soon as we got back to my apartment we quickly changed to go and eat. Well Bradley took a lot longer to get dressed than I did so I was patiently waiting and wondering what was taking him so long. It turns out he was setting up a birthday present for me that had been jostled during his flight. The gift was a beautiful antique jewelry box with a lock on it (a lock that just happens to match the skeleton key he sent me a week earlier for my birthday). I opened it and there was a plaque with my favorite Bible verse on it (Jeremiah 29:11), some Dove chocolates (my favorite), and my class ring (which I thought was a little strange but later made sense). I pulled out the shelf in the box to find a bunch of treasures including a poem he wrote on a picture of us, more dove chocolates, huge plastic diamonds, and a REAL DIAMOND RING! As soon as I saw that part he took the ring box from the jewelry box and got down on one knee and PROPOSED! I said yes of course, so this means Bradley and I are now engaged!!!!!! Just thought I would let you all know. We didn’t have much time to celebrate before we flew off to our reservations at Kampa Park Restaurant. The dinner was picturesque and beautiful! I got to wear one of my new dresses and Bradley looked very handsome in his blue button down shirt and kaki pants. Just so you know I was surprised. I had thought that he would propose sometime when he was here but I didn’t know where or when and the way he did it never crossed my mind. It was a pleasant surprise that is for sure. :D
Thank you for all your love and support!!! We are very excited to start planning FOR REAL and not just daydreaming.
We are now off to Venice to meet up with Laura and her family, so until next time!
Love,
Gracia

The End of March and the Beginning of Spring

Hello Friends!

March is nearly over and I thought I should update before I have more to say after Spring Break. :) (You will thank me later, I promise.)

This month has gone by super fast and yet super slow at times (That happens when you are waiting for your boyfriend to come and visit you.). After Ireland we spent some time doing some homework (kind of) as well as a little opera culture and a Thai Massage (Did Laura mention that? hmm...Not sure if she did or not.) The opera was eh, okay, but the Opera House, now that was AMAZING! The massage was wonderful as well (compliments of Bradley for my birthday. :))

Last weekend I turned 20 (I have officially entered the world of non-teenism)! It was an exciting day (It was a little dampered by the fact that I had Sociology and International Relations Midterm so study for.) filled with letter opening, present opening, and a wonderful Nacho Bar put on my lovely flatmate, Hannah. :) On Monday, I was pleasantly surprised by a chocolate cake delivered to my flat (Thanks to Skyler, James, and Caleb.). It was a nice distraction from studying and good motivator to take the test and come right home. :) I am happy to say that I think I passed (with flying colors) all my midterms.

In the meantime last weekend, my beautiful friend, Laura, took a little trip back to the good ol' state of Kansas for her brother's wedding (I missed her.). From the little I have heard about it, i believe it went very well and she had a good time. She made it back to Prague 10 minutes before we were planning on leaving to see the Cinderella Ballet. It was a crazy story but she was suppose to be back before lunch but because of missed flights and mechanical difficulties it was past dinner by the time she made it. Poor things almost fell asleep during the ballet (It was good but a little different version than we knew. Again the Opera House was beautiful!). After rushing through her midterms and booking a last minute flight to Rome, she finally repacked her suitcase and flew to Italy to meet her sister and brother-in-law for a long awaited vacation in her dream location on Friday.

This weekend I have been passing the time with facebook, shopping, sleeping (I haven't felt the best but vitamins and cold meds are taking care of that. :)), and waiting anxiously for Bradley to get here. He is on his way now and will arrive only nine hours later than expected (Praying all the flights continue to be on time and Paris isn't too complicated.) Oh I also did some homework. That was fun. :) I should sketch some too........

Well, I hope all of you had a fabulous Spring Break (Since most of you are back at school by now. Unless you are too cool/too old for school and didn't have Spring Break, in which case I hope you have been having a great life.). I heard Summit went amazing! I know I speak for Laura when I say we wish we could have gone and experienced it too. Maybe next year....

We miss you all sooo much! Thank you for your prayers and we are praying for you!

Love,
Gracia

Ireland wanderings

This past weekend, Gracia, Hannah, and I had the opportunity to travel to Ireland! I was worried that because it was such a short trip we be abl

e to get a good feel for the country, but it turned out to be the opposite; all the random adventures we had certainly turned into an awesome experience! Here's a basic idea of our 

whirlwind trip (with a few random details thrown in there...).

Friday:

*Got to the airport via taxi after missing the bus by 5 minutes (got there 5 minutes before the gate closed)

*Flew in to Dublin and found our way to the bus station to catch the 2 hour bus ride to Kilkenny (were the last ones on the bus right before they shut the doors, with one seat left after us)

*Arrived in Kilkenny, found our hostel, and did a little shopping on High Street

*Enjoyed the evening scenery of the castle, river (complete with swans...), side streets, and churches

*Had coffee and dessert at a fun restaurant then found a small pub advertising live music

*Listened to "the Kilkennys" (Irish accents, acoustic guitar, mandolin, celtic hand-drum, bass, and an occasional flute/pipe) play folk songs, often joined by the locals in the pub

*Slept comfortably in our hostel (which was much warmer than our hostel in Vienna!)

Saturday:

*Made breakfast in the kitchen at our hostel then went in a few shops

*Took a tour of the Kilkenny Castle (we were able to take off our coats outside because the sun was shining, it was amazing)

*Sat outside at a cafe and had coffee and scones

*Toured a historical restored house with a rooftop garden

*Enjoyed the rolling green hills out the windows on our bus trip back to Dublin

*Made it to the hotel (almost lost Hannah's wallet, but thankfully we got back to the previous bus just in time for search and rescue!)

*Went to eat in Swords, right outside of Dublin by our hotel, (had to run through the rain to get there) and enjoyed sitting and talking for the rest of the evening

Sunday:

*Took a taxi back to the airport to catch our 6:50 a.m. plane!

It was a truly enjoyable trip, even though we could've wandered around Ireland for much, much longer! This past week has meant another set of classes and such, it all goes so quickly. Although the plan was to go skiing this weekend, the details got mixed and we ended up not being able to go. However, instead we decided to make Friday Gracia's "un-birthday" since I'll be at home for my brother's wedding on her real birthday. We throughly enjoyed coffee, Thai massages, and an evening at the Statni Opera where we watched La Traviata!

I promise, we really do go to school here too :)

Love you all and miss you,

Laura

Kutna Hora and the bones

Hello my dear friends!

It is now my turn to blog and as usual I have procrastinated and I am sorry for that. Sometimes it just slips my very forgetful mind. :)

Moving on....This past week we (Hannha, Laura, Liz, Emily, Caroline, Logan, Clay, Nick, Patrick, and me :)) went to this town called Kutna Hora which is known for its bone church and St. Barbara's Cathedral. It only took about an hour to get there by train and it was under $10 round trip. The first thing we did there when we arrived was visit the Ossuary, or the bone church. It was rather creepy at first but once you got past the fact they were once living humans with lives that were extinguished by the Black Plague, it wasn't that bad. :) Actually it really wasn't but that could just be me and my scientific mind in awe of the anatomy creativity.

This is the outside of the church. It was not very big but it made up for it on the inside. :) The outside was surround by a cemetary that apparantly is highly sought.

This is part of a pile of bones that is strategically placed so they will not fall down. This was a bit on the creepy side.

The most distrubing part about this is I could have just reached out and touched them.

The chandelier made completely out of bones. So beautiful...I think I want to decorate my house like this. (Just kidding!)

After visiting the church of bones we went out for lunch at a small restaurant we found nearby. It was good but I have had better. :) We made it to the really touristy part of town and from there our group split up into two groups which made it a lot easier to move around. I went with three of the girls and went in some little shops and then headed to the cathedral.

It was very beautiful and the walk reminded me of something out of a movie. The cathedral is the big building in the distance. We spent the rest of the day wondering around to an Italian Palace with a cute little courtyard and then made it home by around 9:00 pm. It was a good day.

As for the rest of the week, it has been spent doing school and site seeing some of the city for our Art and Architecture class. On Sunday we went with Fred and Kelly again to church in Benetky. It was fun and we were able to talk to a girl our age who spoke English. This next weekend we are headed to Ireland, my birthday trip. :) We are really excited about and will update you on how it goes. Love you all! God Bless!!

Na Sheldanou! (Goodbye!)
Gracia

A List of Random Things

Dobry Den! (good day...)

     It's already been a week since our last update and, as always, we have had so many adventures! This past weekend we stayed here in Prague and were able to relax a bit, see the Castle Museum ("required" homework for our Art and Architecture class...), and celebrate one of our friends' birthdays. On Sunday we connected again with Fred and Kelly Prudek, our missionary friends, and went with them to a small town about 1/2 hour outside of Prague. We had such a great time catching up with them and the drive through the countryside was really beautiful. The congregation we attended was a small church plant of attended by about 20 once a month. One of the great things was that Fred preached in English and then it was translated into Czech so we were able to hear it in both languages! Our ears perked up when we all started singing "Come, now is the time to worship..." as well- we joined in English when we couldn't figure out how to pronounce the words in Czech. Afterwards we used our very limited Czech vocabulary and spoke with a few of the members who knew bits of English. Although we are completely lost whenever Czech is spoken in sentences, it's really fun to have those moments where we can pick out some words or phrases we recognize. 

     After church, we went on a driving tour through some small towns, ate lunch, and bought tickets for a train ride home (Fred and Kelly had more to do there that afternoon). It was our first train ride experience and it involved a lot of guesswork. Fortunately, we guessed the right train to take us to Prague, UNfortunately, we got off on the wrong stop! However, we soon found a metro stop and from there were able to get back to Kobylisy to our apartment without further ado. 

     Although we've really enjoyed getting to know the other students here in the flats and in our classes, we all have noted that many of them are study abroad students from the US as well. We were pretty surprised that we didn't have more interaction with students from other countries. However, our roommate Eva from Austria has been so much fun to get to know! Last night she invited a few of her friends over, some that we had previously met, and made us all some traditional Austrian food (pork and dumplings) for supper. We found ourselves hanging out with students from Poland, Germany, Finland, and Italy- it was so much fun! Not to mention the food was great...

     Well I really enjoy telling all about what we've done, and I could go on and on, but instead I decided to write down a little list to fill you in on some random things that we experienced, or that we have been learning, on our adventures.

A List of Random Things

*Don't stand by a street with potholes when it's raining, when cars drive by they have the capability of splashing large amounts of water all over you- it doesn't just happen in the movies

*Tex-Mex food in Europe is good, but its strange to hear a Texan accent in the middle of Prague

*Don't try to buy dry baking ingredients by the look of the package, you may end up with cornmeal instead of sugar

*It's necessary to plan ahead and leave early if you want to be on time, the trams don't wait

*Milk labels here are different and its good to know what the difference is between 1.5% and 3.5% before you head to the grocery store (3.5% is almost cream)

*Small differences in pronunciation or spelling can make a huge difference in the meaning of a word, don't take it personally when people laugh at you and your attempt at language

*Always have your tram pass on you, because the guys with badges really do want to see them

*When in doubt, wear extra layers- its a lot different to stand in the cold for 15 mins. as opposed to a 3 hour tour

*Getting lost is one of the best ways to become familiar with the area, you never know what interesting things you'll stumble across

*When you order coffee, don't expect "regular drip" coffee, its much stronger than you expect it to be... side note: we are now addicted to it

*Never underestimate the importance of a neighborhood Potraviny (small grocery store), they're good for last minute groceries- especially when you have 4 girls sharing a small refrigerator

*On that note, it is possible for 4 girls to share a 6 ft. x 5 ft. bathroom

The list gets longer every day...

     To finish up, I wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! My birthday was such a relaxing, fun day and I was so blessed by everyone's thoughts, prayers, notes, and gifts. I felt so loved!

Well I'm going to sign off here, we're headed to complete another Art and Architecture assignment this afternoon by visiting a very old part of town called Vysehrad. Hope you are all having a fantastic week! Miss you!

Laura

....in Vienna on Valentine's Day

Dobry Den!

As many of you know, we (Hannah, Laura, and I went with a couple of our friends from the other flat) went to Vienna this past weekend. Other than being cold most of the time, we really had a fabulous experience. We traveled by bus (Student Agency) and it was a very pleasant experience. We enjoyed a movie and a latte while looking the passing scenery. I don't think it can get much better than that. We arrived in the late afternoon on Friday and found our hostel, which wasn't that bad. It did lack heat but after you put all your clothes on and got under the covers it really wasn't too shabby. :) No really it worked out fine. That evening we spent just wondering around and trying to get used to the fact that the language we were now hearing was German and not Czech. I don't know about the other girls, but my brain was confused. :) We found out that a lot of the city shuts down at about 8:00 pm so that was a little different. So, because of that we ended up heading back to the hostel and going to bed earlier in order to get up good time to start our sightseeing the next morning. Saturday, Valentine's Day, started with a nice warm breakfast at a nearby cafe that was inexpensive with a coupon we got from the hostel. Afterwards we set out to explore. We found several antique stores and little shops that were very interesting to search through. (You can see pictures on Laura's facebook). The picture at the top is one of the statues at the Hofburg Palace. The palace was incredible. I want to live there. :) For lunch we just had some snacks we got at a grocery store because our breakfast was so big. We stumbled on a market (rather we went in search of) that had all sorts of veggies, fruits, clothes, scarves, and many other random things. It was a sort of flea market. It was fun but after the sun went away we descided to find a warm cafe to have some coffee in. Oh, (Uncle Jeff and Aunt Taya, you will like this) I found those chocolate eggs that you always bring back for us. :) I was so excited I bought two boxes. :) It was our Valentine's presents.
Later that evening we went out for dinner to celebrate. It ended up being hard to find a place because in Austria, most places close early on Saturday and are closed on Sundays. We did find one though and it was a lot of fun. After filling our tummys we went ice skating at this amazingly huge outdoor ice skating place. It was a lot of fun. What a fun filled Vienna Valetine's Day it was.

The next day we checked out of our hostel and took an informal tour of the city by tram. We ended up finding another palace that I can't remember the name of and a beautiful chapel that I also can't remember the name of. (For names and more places that visited, go to Laura's new albums. :)) It was relaxing and fun. The trams were warm. :) We headed back to Prague in the evening with another adventure behind us knowing that whatever you say, if it ends with "in Vienna on Valentine's Day" it will always be that much more amazing.


Love,
Gracia

P.S. Today is Laura's Birthday. :) I had fun. hehe...and so did she. We had cake, sang Happy Birthday, had gelato, opened presents, and ate pastries. Not all at one time, of course, but throughout the day we celebrated. Laura is no longer a teenager. Woowoo!

Happy Valentines Day!

Ahoj!

  Gracia, Hannah, and I are currently finishing up some packing details before we head to Vienna for the weekend! We're a little nervous since this is our first inter-european traveling, but we're excited too-as we've been saying for this whole trip, "it's an adventure!"

  Well, we just finished our first official week of classes and it was really nice to get an idea of what our semester is going to look like. We are both in a beginner's Czech course and I love being able to finally know how to pronounce things! The language is fairly complex and we may only be able to learn a few helpful phrases and such, but it is fun so far. We also share an Art and Architecture class, which will consist of lectures in class and then "field-trips" around the city to see what we are studying. The syllabus is full of excursions to museums, art galleries, and tours that will be great for helping us see more of Prague. Although we may have some difficulties figuring out how to balance homework (which isn't overwhelming, but it's there) and making the most of our experience (meaning traveling and taking opportunities we may only have once), I think we're up for the challenge! It's been really interesting to get to know more of our classmates, many of them are from the states just like us but we also have lots of students from other countries like Bulgaria, Albania, and Macedonia. With an amazing environment, it sure does make going to school easier...

  For instance, the other day I got up to go to school and left plenty early, since we don't have the tram schedule down to a science yet :) I stopped by the bakery to get some fresh bread for breakfast and waited for the tram with my earphones in, listening to some relaxing music. As huge snowflakes fell over the beautiful buildings, I couldn't help but smile as I watched the scenery out the tram window. A little old man sat across from me and smiled back at me (which was really exciting because many of the people don't hand out smiles frequently on the trams). Eating my bread from the bakery, enjoying the falling snow, I walked across the Charles Bridge and went to class... sounds like a fairy tale, right? That's what I'm thinking...

  

An update on the flowers: we have some new editions to our collection that are keeping Ruzy company now! Gracia received a package that contained some beautiful pink roses that will never die, and also three gorgeous red roses from Bradley for Valentines day! We also came home from classes late last night and found some yellow and white daisies sitting on our table from James, Caleb, and Skyler- how can you not smile with such an array! Thank you all, we feel so loved :)

Happy Valentines Day, we love you all. 

Talk to you more after Vienna!

Laura

The Life of the Traveling Pilgrims

Eeek! I found that you can change the fonts and colors! :)

So now that is out of the way...It has been a couple days since you have heard from us and that would be my fault. Our days have been full and we go to bed tired. Yesterday was very interesting and a lot fun so I will start with that. For part of our orientation our school took us on a tour of Cesky Krumlov about 2.5 hours away. We piled in a 15 passenger van and headed south. The town is a quaint small village that dates back to the 1200s. Although apartments and small businesses have been added to the outskirts of the town, the center still holds the appearance of the early decades when it was built. There is a castle and a beautiful garden that was used by the aristrocrats of the time. However, both were closed so we could only see the outside but it was still beyond gorgeous and unlike anything we had seen before. I think the most exciting moment though, was when the clouds broke a little and we were able to see the sun. It was the first time seeing its beauty since we have been here. They say that winter days are always cloudy but once Spring hits it will be sunny again. We spent the entire day there learning about the history of it. For lunch we ate at this medival restaurant that was fairly inexpensive and very delicous. After lunch we were able to venture on our own and site see a little. A couple of us went into this gorgeous historical Catholic church that had orginal architecture and paintings in it. We want to go back sometime but we will see. :)

Today Laura, Hannah, Liz (a friend from the other apartment), and I went to the International Church in Prague. The service was in English and we felt very much at home there. I think we will keep going when we are not out of the country. They have a lot of families and also students our age. During the service we heard about an opportunity to work with the English Language Program talking with Czech students who want to improve their English. We are thinking we might do that. We'll keep you posted!

Well so long for now and until next time! Thank you for your prayers. We love and miss everyone of you!

Gracia

Operation Vienna

Hello!

So we just booked buses and a hostel in Vienna, Austria for Valentines day weekend! We are really excited to get started planning our first excursion out of the Czech Republic. With a few more days under our belt of roaming around Prague, we're definitely starting to feel more comfortable and "knowledgeable" about it all. Today we had the opportunity to go on a guided tour through our school across the city and it was great fun! We discovered that many of the places we had already been to, but it was cool to hear the history behind it and actually learn about the amazing sights we had seen. A favorite stop was the St. Vitus Cathedral near the castle area; our mouths were hanging open for sure and we are planning to go back sometime because there was so much to take in (bunny trail: I figured out as soon as I stepped in the cathedral that it was the same one I had randomly chosen to base a bulletin cover drawing for Youth Sunday off of during my Jr. year... crazy!). 

Along with seeing more of the city, we've really been enjoying getting to know our fellow students along the way! Several of us have very similar interests as far as what we are looking to do while we're here and so it's nice having travel companions and English speaking students we can connect with. 

Also, we have a new exciting addition to the apartment... Hannah, Gracia, and I spent some time yesterday evening playing with markers and pastels to make pictures to hang on our otherwise white walls! They're random, but fun :) 

Love you and miss you,

Laura

Its been a week...

Well folks, we have officially been in the beautiful city of Prague for a week! If you were wondering, we are still in the Honeymoon stage of culture shock. We are not looking forward to the break down. Today was interesting in a very positive way. We had our orientation this morning and we were a little late but when am I not late? :) The orientation was only for CCIS students and there about 13 of us. Three of the students are in differnt apartments in Prague. It didn't last very long. They told us a little about changing classes if we wanted and getting our ID cards. Jana, our contact here, also took us on a tour of the campus which consisted of the building with the classrooms and offices and a building with the library and computer lab. The library is pretty awesome. Most of their books are in English and we don't have to buy our books. All we have to do is check them out. :) woowoo! So later Laura and I went back to the apartment to get my passport pictures because I couldn't find mine when Jana asked for one for our ID's. We had an adventure on our way. First we stopped in the tower that begins the Charles Bridge and for a small fee we could go to the very top. It was beyond gorgeous!!!! Lots of pictures were taken, in case you were wondering. :) When we got to our stop for the apartment we decided to stop in this little flower shop and we bought ourselves a little plant with pink flowers. We are going to name and as soon as we pick a name we will let you all know. :) At the apartment we finally finished unpacking and putting things in places. Today also included another trip to IKEA, this time with a list of things like towels and measure cups, and a trip to the grocery store to get cheep food. Buying food that is cheep and will last awhile is very hard but we managed to be very successful in getting filling food for cheep. Thank you Moms!!! Supper was delicous. Laura and I have been able to connect more with the other girls living here after hanging out with them today. It has been a lot of fun.

Address- hooray!

Hey! we just got our official address today, so here it goes...

Our Name

A1 Flats

Nad Hercovkou 9

Prague 8

182 00

Mr. Kafka

Don't forget to put USA down below the address!

Getting Settled

Ahoj friends!

Its been a busy few days (as if every day hasn't been busy so far...)!  On Sunday Gracia and I were able to go with the Prudeks to the church they attend in a village outside of Prague. It was really enjoyable to meet some people there and even take communion with them. We felt the community even though we couldn't understand a word of the service and we didn't know any of the songs- it was fun to listen at least! That afternoon we ate at the Ikea store and then spent some time looking around there. Although it was my first time to ever go to an Ikea, I felt right at home with the Swedish meatballs and lingonberries for lunch :) Later on the Prudeks drove Gracia, myself, and all of our luggage over to the apartments and helped move it all in. It was great to finally see our place, but we will definitely miss our "other home"! The apartment was really bare and unfamiliar at first but we spent some time rearranging and we're in the midst of settling in and so it's feeling more and more comfortable. While we were moving things around, some of the other students staying in the same building came down to meet us and we decided to head to a grocery store to stock up for the next few days. We had a lot of fun getting to know them a little bit and ended up playing Phase 10 for the evening in our apartment after the shopping. 

This morning we met some more of the students living here and also welcomed our 3rd roommate (yay Hannah!!). We spent the afternoon walking around the down town and showing everyone a few of our discoveries in the city, plus discovering more and more as we become more familiar with it all. It's so fun when we actually start to recognize things and feel comfortable with knowing where we're going! Sidenote: Gracia and I have found a little stand off of one of the metro/tram stops where we can buy cheap, but good, pastries! It may be our new favorite metro stop :) But anyways, this evening we all ventured out across the Charles Bridge to see some live jazz. The musicians were great and it was fun to hang out with the other students for awhile. Everyone has big plans to travel all over Europe throughout the semester- it definitely has me us thinking about where we would like to go as well! Tomorrow we will be heading to the school in the morning for our orientation. We all have SO many questions so it'll be nice to be more settled with the details, one of which being our mailing address (which we're still confused about...)!

Love you guys,

Laura

Pictures At Last!

People of the World!

We do have pictures posted but they are not on this blog. To see them you must go to Laura's facebook because we haven't been able to have a strong enough internet connection to post pictures here for some reason. We will try again later. Thank you for your patient. Everyday has been different and we never know quite how it is going to turn out. We started out shopping a little downtown because it started to snow today and we wanted to get some boots for the snowy days to come. On our way we picked up some tickets for a classical concert in the Municipal House-a gorgeous theater with architecture that blows your mind away. After a couple hours of unsucessful shopping we came across this amazing architecture that made up for our disappointment. We were able to go into this really really beautiful old church that words can't even begin to describe. We have some pictures to try and give it justice. After wondering around a bit we found ourselves at the Charles Bridge, which was a pleasant surprise because we thought we would have to take the tram or metro to get to it. We ended up at a Starbucks and stayed there messing around on the internet and loading pictures. That was fun. We lost track of time and had to basically run back to the Prudek's house to eat and change before the concert. We made it to the show just in time. It was so gorgeous and the music was amazing! Most of the music we either knew or had played before. We loved it. It was a good day...

Love,
Gracia

Starbucks and $5 jeans

Hey friends!

Well each day sure turns out to be a different adventure! Today we successfully found our apartment and we were excited to discover that it's really close to the Prudek's house! Therefore, we already know the area and how to get where we want to go from it. Speaking of getting where we want to go, we're feeling much more confident on the transportation system. This afternoon we took a trip to the downtown shopping area in search of our new European wardrobe! The atmosphere was so fun as we walked down the cobblestone streets with a mix of old and new buildings on either side. We found some great deals (scarfs, a coat, and later $5 jeans!), which was really exciting. During the shopping excursion we located the Czech version of Wal Mart- Tesco! Here we'll find all the groceries and random items we need. Later in the evening we were going to attend an opera downtown, but we ended up at the wrong place and so missed the show. However, the buildings we saw were beautiful and we found our way to a Starbucks with an English speaking barista (he was even able to take my picky/complicated order with a smile...)! We decided to try for another concert tomorrow night at one of the many music theatres around Prague. 

Hope you are all doing well!

Laura

The Good and the Bad.

Hi! We are so very tired so bear with us as we try and recap on our busy last few days! So yesterday blew our minds away. We began by sleeping for 14 straight hours but when we woke up the adventure began. We attempted our first trip on the public transportation system which proved to be super exciting...haha. But really we are pros at it now! Although we never found our apartment, we never technically got lost. After a bit we gave up and took the Tram to the Old Town. Can I just say AAAAAAMMMAZING! You should come! :) Before seeing the beautiful architecture and rich history we only believed this kind of place existed in fairy tales. Yes it is that amazing! We hope to put of pictures soon but they can't even begin to give it justice. In the process of browsing around the town, we found our school, tried to open a locked cafe (hehe), went inside the Knights of Malta mini-Cathedral, found the US Embassy, and ate at the most delicous cafe ever....well so far. By the way, just so you know, European coffee is the bomb...I mean fantastic! Laura is laughing at my word usage because she is jealous...hehe. Ok, so we made it back safe and sound last night and that is when the jetlag took a hold of our necks and rung them tight. Meaning we didn't get much sleep thus the reason this blog is rambling on and on.

So today was not quite as fulfilling as we expected but why do we expect things in life when it is so unpredictable? We set out to meet with our contact at our school but we ended meeting the wrong contact. Apparently Jana is a very popular name here. hehe. To make this a long story short and wrap things up for those who don't like to read long updates, we eventually got our metro passes that will last for 3 months. It was our first day of truly experiencing the language barrier. Needless to say we never made it to our destination, IKEA by the way, because too we were too tired. But however, we have now not only mastered the Tram system but also the Metro system as well. And we also know a few random words in Czech such as black, bridge, hello, thank you, and street names that are fun to say.

Hope that wasn't too confusing. :) Love you and miss you all!
Gracia.

Czech at last

Ahoj!

Okay for all of those who doubted me when I told them "ahoy" was actually "hello" (thank you Missy), we found out last night I was right!! It's the "hello" you would use with your close friends.
Anyways, we just had our first night in the Czech Republic... we slept 14 hrs! After arriving in the Prague airport we were picked up by our missionary contact here, Fred Prudek. He gave us a little tour of the city as he drove us back to the Prudek's house. It was great to finally get to meet these wonderful people! Today we are hoping to conquer (in Gracia's words, conquer=get lost) the public transportation and see a little more of Prague. We are missing you all tons and hope you are doing well!
Love you!
Laura

London!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello World! Laura and I just arrived in London and by just I mean about an hour ago. The flight was awesome and it didn't seem like 9 hours. We got to watch a movie and some TV and slept some. Laura got a little more than I did. I just couldn't get comfy. hehe. So we are super psyched and stoked to be in London and on our way to Prague-a trip we have been planning and talking about for a year now. Thanks for all your prayers! We are going to need them. It is weird having to think in different currencies and realize you can't get coffee without converting money. :( So here we are sitting across from a Starbucks and missing you all already. Love you!

The reasoning behind it all!

So I guess I forgot to give a good introduction to our trip! For those of you who don't know already, Gracia and I started planning this trip about a year ago when we found out we both wanted to study abroad. From there we settled on Prague, in the Czech Republic, for its central location in Europe and thus easy access to lots of travel! The plan is to take a full 15 credit hour semester at the Anglo-American University of Prague (no worries, the classes are all in English!) while we have the opportunity to see parts of Europe and experience a different culture. The trip will be a full four months, January 26th to May 29th. Once in Prague, we will be staying in an apartment about 30 mins away from the school- we will shortly become very familiar with the public transportation in the city!  Although this will be a stretch out of our comfort zone, we are really excited to start this long-awaited adventure...

There's an overview, many details to come!

Our first entry

Hey there friends,

Welcome to our blog! We are hoping to keep updating you all on how our trip is going with pictures and some travel journaling etc. 

So without further ado...

January 25th, the day before we leave:

I (Laura) said my goodbyes to my family yesterday morning before we (Gracia, Bradley, and I) took off for Dallas to meet up with Gracia's family there. Here in Dallas we've enjoyed spending time with the Johnsons and now Gracia is packing...

So many details, so little time!

Tomorrow we will be taking off around 4:50 p.m. from the DFW airport. We fly from Dallas to London, which will take about 9 hrs, then wait with a 6 hr layover there. From London we will fly 2 hrs to Prague and the plan is to arrive close to 5:40 p.m. on the 27th! Please pray for safe travels, neither Gracia nor I have flown this long of a distance. 

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers, we are super excited and can't wait to have more to share with you!

Laura