Excursions

Karlovy Vary is located east of Prague and is full of wonderful sights to see! Our first stop is to Moser Glass factory. Moser is one of the finest makers of glass in the world and it was very exciting to see how the glass blowing process worked.

(Inside the Moser Glass Museum)

(A glass maker forming some of the glass and cooling down with a Pivo!)


After Moser we headed off to visit the Becherovka Liqueur company. Becherovka was originally used as a medicine and is still said to have a sort of "healing power"

(A group of guys in front of the Becherovka sign)

We did a tour of the Becherovka museum and got to taste their 3 different types of liqueurs, the overall favorite was the Lemond one. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures during the tour, but during the tasting it was okay.

(the entire group before sampling Becherovka)

After the Becherovka tour we had a walking tour of Karlovy Vary, the city famous for having around 60 healing spring that are famous for curing metabolic diseases. People from all over the world travel here to drink from them.

(One of the hot springs, but not one people drink from)

After touring the springs we took a lift up to a hilltop overlooking the city, then had some free time after to explore. Overall it was a great excursion!

(view of the city)

The Long Weekend!

This weekend a group of around 20 of us would travel to Ibiza, Spain to visit one of the world's nicest beaches. The trip started out with a minor bump. The french ATC went on strike and it made flying a mess. My flight was delayed 2 hours, but a group of 6 traveling from Bergamo, Italy had their flight canceled. They would not be able to join us this weekend in Ibiza. After our delay we were finally in Ibiza!

View from our apartment's balcony

The weather was 75 and sunny the whole weekend.
Picture from the Beach
All of us enjoying some seafood

The weekend was a lot of fun, it was nice to relax every morning on the beach. Four days in Ibiza seemed too short, but you can't complain when you are returning to a great city like Prague!

Weekend Travels!

Last weekend a group of 8 students and myself flew to Amsterdam for 3 nights in a beautiful city. We arrived and the weather was a perfect 70 degrees and sunny! We made our way from the airport to our hostel and then grabbed some dinner.

(Kevin giving a thumbs up in the street)

The next day all of us would venture to the Heineken brewery and have the "Heineken Experience," it was a lot of fun and educational.

(Matt, Mike, Eric, Mark)

After the Heineken tour we all ventured over to the "I Amsterdam" sign. What a cool sight to see! We took some pictures in front of the sign then headed over to the park to hang out and enjoy the beautiful weather.The next day we took a canal tour and visited the Anne Frank house. Then we went back to the hostel and soon enough it was time for lunch so we all tried the Kebabs and Gelatto. We would finally need to pack up and head to the airport. What a great weekend!

Excursion to the University Brewery!

The location of the second excursion for Prague students was a bit closer to home. Actually, they walk by it every day. Students spent the afternoon learning a brewery situated right here on the university campus. The brewery is a teaching and resource tool for students at the Czech University of Life Sciences. Prior to the tour, both Czech and American students sampled the beer and traditional Czech hors d'oeuvres. The social was a good time for the American students to spend time outside of class with their Czech friends!

Exciting Weekend Adventures

Students in Prague enjoyed exciting weekend trips to destinations all over Europe! Following a half day of class on Thursday, students from the Prague trip traveled by plane, train, and bus to a variety of locations including Vienna, Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam. From the sound of the stories, it seemed to be an exciting excursion for all!

Students in Vienna enjoyed the beautiful Schonbrunn Palace, a sprawling estate on the edge of Vienna. They were pleased to find out that Vienna's love for gelato matched their own! A student that visited Berlin simply said, "It rocked!" Highlights of the trip included the Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, and Reichstag building. Stay posted for more exciting adventures!

Megan and Erin enjoying gelato in Vienna!

Excursion to Budweiser Budvar Brewery (Budějovický Budvar), České Budějovice, and Český Krumlov

Ana and Hanza, our Czech coordinators, planned a whole day of events around the South Bohemia region in the Czech Republic. The first stop was a WWII monument recognizing the last battle of the war in the Czech Republic on May 11, 1945. From there we traveled on to see a small neighboring town and church, then moved down the road to the famous Budweiser Budvar brewery.

Budweiser is one of Czech's most popular beers, and has been brewed solely at the same location since the 1800s. We got a great tour around the brewery, and got to see each of the many processes in making beer. The bottling room, full of large machines moving empty, full and recycled bottles to the different stations for washing, filling and packaging, was especially interesting. After the tour, the brewery restaurant served us a great lunch of potato soup, salad, wiener schnitzel and crepes for dessert.

Ceske Budejovice and it's Cerna Vez, or Black Tower, was our next stop. We climbed its 225 steps to reach the top of this great tower overlooking the city.

We then visited the stunning town of Ceske Krumlov, and its Castle Chateau. The rain didn't stop us from having a good time walking through the cobblestone streets to the base of the huge castle. Once inside, we were taken on a tour that described the castle's history starting back in the 1300s! After our tour in the castle, and a few stops along the way for photo taking, we headed to dinner and then back to the campus.

So far, all has been great here in the Czech Republic!

Orientation to the City of Prague

Monday, May 17, 2010:

Today, we got a tour of the campus, and went into the city center. While on the tour in downtown Prague we saw most of the city's most beautiful sites. Today was full of pictures, "Czech out" our shutterfly website for more of the amazing adventure. Prague 2010 Shutterfly Pictures

(Students, Mark, Matt, and Eric)






(Students gazing at the beautiful Prague Castle and Cathedral)










(The entire group of American and Czech Students with Prague Castle behind)





(All the guys standing in front of the John Lennon Wall)

We have arrived to Prague!

Ahoj!

The group has made it safely to Prague, and we are all very excited to be here! We have had an eventful few days learning the campus, public transportation routes, and the whereabouts in downtown Praha. The Czech students and coordinators have done a great job of making the group feel at home here in the Czech Republic.

Our welcome dinner was a hit, we were served delicious chicken and steak, sandwiches, salad, french fries and cake. Not to mention the great pivo (beer in Czech) and Becherovka (a very famous Czech liqueor). It was a great night to get to know each other more, as well as to get to know the Czech students.

(Student Managers, Sean Odneal and Mike Swigunski with Anna Vichova, a Czech Counterpart)