Pics from Prague and Greece

sunset in Mykonos through the windmills

sunset on the beach

Paradise Beach

Group of Aussies I met and watched the football game with

entrance to Paradise Beach

Dance Club we ended the first pub crawl i went on in

small canal through Prague

Me and one of the girls from the family I met from Utah at the Peace Wall

Me looking down on the town from the Castles edge

Prague Castle from Charles Bridge

What a week...4 countries in 9 days!

Captains Log: It is currently 11:00AM and I am sitting in classroom B "watching a film for class"

My week journey of self discovery started last Saturday morning when I flew out of Newcastle to London Heathrow. Two girls from our group who were going to catch a cruise in Rome were on that flight with me. We parted ways at Heathrow and before I knew it I was off to Prague.

Prague was beautiful. Such a Bohemic city. The castle was much like anything else we have seen so far on any of our field trips. It was very gothic style architecture. The whole city was dotted by red rooftops and perched atop a hill was the massive castle (one of the top 10 biggest in the world)! The first night I was there, I did the Prague Pub Crawl. It was relatively cheap and I got a shirt along with it. We started off with an hour of unlimited Beer, Vodka shots (watered down...yet still strong), and absinth shots (phew...it was rough). We then got free welcome shots at the following bars we went to. We ended up in one of central Europe's best dance clubs. It was 5 stories tall and the dance floor was all LED lights and were sound enhanced.

I walked all over Prague. I liked traveling alone because I could cover a lot more ground in a shorter amount of time. I didnt have to wait for anyone, or try to accomodate to anyones likes/dislikes...I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I ventured through some back alley ways and side streets and finally found the John Lennon Wall (which really has nothing to do with John Lennon). It was really cool to see. It was a large wall that has been repeaditly graffittied over and over again. Almost everything had the basic "peace" message. There were quotes, and inspirational sayings and really cool pictures. I happened to meet a lot of Americans at the wall too. A couple studying abroad in London, a man from North Carolina, and a family from Utah....and an asian photographer from Hong Kong who kept telling us to get space inbetween all of us and then he wanted a jumping photo. It was great fun.

Shopping in Prague was cool. They have major stores like anywhere else, but it was overall pretty cheap. They had signs on lamp posts in the streets that had a big M for McDonalds and an arrow telling you how far away it was from you (such as 50M ahead). The World Cup was going on then and they had a large screen set up in the Old Town Square and a bunch of food stands and a couple beer tents (kind of like a Riverfest set up). Beer was only 40 CZKs...which was like $1.70USD. and their Budweisser was the best ever. I am not sure why, but it is better than the stuff in the states.

My journey came to an end in Prague after three nights. I was sad to leave because I didnt get to venture into the newer/more modern Prague or the business district. But I was excited for the sunny shores of Mykonos at Paradise Beach. Granted I had to make my way to two different airports in Swizterland before I ended up in Greece.

As we landed in Mykonos...I saw the baron countryside and was thinking...what did I get myself into? There is nothing here! We got to my resort and my opinion quickly changed. It was so nice to just sit on the beach for 4 days and not have a care in the world besides seeing old naked people or getting sunburnt. I managed to make friends with several people here. A group from South Africa, and an Aussie from Perth. Walking around in the town of Mykonos, was crazy. Literally every building was white, with similar colored decks/porches. It was pretty, but I felt I was in a labrynth and managed to turn myself around several times. The alleys were filled with shops and cool places to grab some food and such. I watched the sunset in the harbour/port area and managed to capture a few stunning pictures.

Overall I had an absolutely fabulous time traveling. Even though I was alone, it forced me to meet people and that is what I wanted to do the most was meet people from all over and establish a connection with them (in hopes that I could go visit them someday). It was scary at first traveling alone, but I got over that and went into it with a clear head and was ready for anything. I have nothing but good stories and memories to take away from this experience, and I would undoubtably travel alone again someday, but its always nice to have a travel buddie...It was nice to finally see people I knew again when I got back to the castle.

Next post...various pictures from my trip!

Oh...Hey Switzerland.

Captains Log: It is currently 3:05 PM and I am in my third country in 5 days waiting in the Geneva, Switzerland Airport.

Prague was spectacular! I would love to go back already. A chicken skewer in a bagguette and a beer (best Budweisser EVER!) for only 140 CZK...which is roughly $6.50, all while people watching in the square watching a little World Cup Action.

Last night I met 6 guys who were in Med School, and the day after they took their boards they started their two week travel throughout Europe. We went to "Prague's Only Australian Pub"...not sure what makes an australian pub australian or an irish pub irish, but it was pretty laid back. I met a guy from Melbourne (go figure that I would meet an Aussie in the Australian Bar; and a girl from chicago, and other guy from England.

Overall, Prague is very fun, and there are a ton of little shops along most streets. My travels have been exciting, and I have not run into any troubles at all. The only down side to traveling alone is when you are eating alone, and I am starting to forget what i sound like: until someone says something to me in whatever language they speak, and i respond in english and then they either walk away for keep talking to me in that language like i understand. or they start english.

Just killing time now. Up next is a quick flight across the Alps to Zurich, and then around 6:20 AM tomorrow my time, I will be off to Sunny Paradise Beach!

a view from one side of Charles Bridge

the magnificent Castle

me at the wall

an evening on the street

me up by the castle looking down onto the city

Czech'n out Prague!

Captains Log: It is currently 4:00PM here in Prague, and Im sitting in the lobby of my hostel trying to upload some pics after a long day of getting lost in the city.

Prague is amazing. It is very bohemian and gothic (style). The castle is completely different than the castles I am used to seeing in England...and its nice to not here every little bit of history about every little monument or building or clump of rocks for once.

My flight into Prague was about a half hour late from london, but I arrived safely and in one piece! I set up camp in my room, took a shower and walked around a bit. I then went on one of the biggest Pub Crawls EVER! It was soo much fun, but Absinth = NOT GOOD. It was free absinth shots and vodka shots and crappy beer for the first hour. Then we went to about 4 other places and got welcome shots there. We then ended in one of Europes biggest dance club. (It was 5 stories, but I only remember seeing 3....)

I started my expedition this morning by heading out towards the castle, over Charles bridge. I think hiked for what seemed forever until i reached the castle. When I got there, they were in the process of their changing of the guards so that was cool to see.

Then I had a traditional Czech meal...goulash. it was basically beef stew in a bread bowl. It was realy good.

I ventured on somemore and finally stumbled upon the John Lennon Wall. I thought it was really neat. Its obviously changed a lot over years because people keep adding onto things and going over others, but I had a good time. I met a photographer from Hong Kong, a family from Ohio, and a couple from Australia. Came back to upload some pics and let everyone know what I have been up to. Gotta find something to eat again in a bit I suppose and then seeing what the night has in store for me!

me hugging a rock in the prehistoric henge....gotta make a circle of rocks fun somehow!

Me ontop of Helm Craig in the Lake District.

Me along Hadrians Wall.

Housestadts fort along Hadrians Wall (where we started our walk)

laying in what could have been a number of things back in the Roman Empire....

Lots-o-Rocks!

Captains Log: Its almost 1pm and yes... I am still alive. Killing time before our field trip orientation.

I know its been a while since I last wrote, but we have been extremely busy with a lot of things. I was trying to finalize my week break, and stay ontop of school stuff.

Last weekend we went to Hadrians Wall and walked along a portion of it. It was moreso a hike than anything because when it was built, they followed the lay of the land and some hills were quite steep. We passed "The Robin Hood" tree....apparently in Prince of Theives, there is a scene where Robin Hood rescues a man out of a tree, and we passed that, so that was kinda cool i guess. We made the hike in just under an hour, and a couple of us raced to the finish, becuase it made it more fun for some reason.

We couldnt have asked for a better weekend for our field trip. We have lucked out with some gorgeous days so I hope that keeps up. After Hadrians Wall, we went to the notorious Lake District in eastern England. It was stunning. This region is surrounded by craigs (bigger than a bluff--yet smaller than a mountain) and it makes this area unique. I went on a motor boat tour around a lake in Keswick for an hour and just enjoyed the scenery. We also went to the school house where Woodrow Wilson went to school, and some went to the Beautrix Potter Gallery. The Lake District was extremely quaint and a typical little village. We also visited a Prehistoric henge of stones ( a circle of rocks....much littler than Stone Henge). In Keswick we also climbed a craig which was a lot tougher than a lot of us originally thought. The climb took us about 45 minutes, but some points in it seemed straight up. We met a little English boy named Michael on the way up, and he was about 9. He was really funny, and just climbing and jumping around the whole way. He was fascinated that there were so many Americans around him.

A couple nights ago we had a fire in the pasture again. We had almost 25-30 people there. It was awesome. we had about 5 locals hang out with us for the night and a couple of the interns here at the castle who eat with us came down. Another group of students from Ole Miss have arrived and are here for about 2 weeks. We wont see much of them though becuase our break week starts Saturday!

Last night Bri and I had the opportunity to go to the beach again with my local friend Chaz. Its EXTREMELY weird riding in a car on the left side, without having a wheel or pedals in front of you, and looking up and noticing the rear view mirror is facing the wrong direction, so you cant see out. It was a fun experience though. Chaz has a little 2 door toyota yaris (? not sure on model) and we went to Loughonton Beach. We climbed around on some rocks there and just relaxed for a while.

Last Saturday we all went to the Lemon (a local pub) to watch the USA vs. England World Cup game. It was crazy! We thought we were going to get assaulted just being American. I had a wager going on with two local friends I met, and Im glad we tied, because I saved on two pints =^]. Tomorrow I plan on going out again to watch the England vs. Algeria game. I think I can actually wear my English football jersey to that game, and not have any problems.

We are off to Holy Island tomorrow, and then Saturday I am leaving Alnwick at 8:30AM for Newcastle to catch my flight to Prague. Ill be in Prague for three nights, and then I am off to Mykonos, Greece for 4 nights. I cannot wait to lay on the beach and just relax and have "Zac time". I will try to post more frequent over break week because my rooms should have wifi access, if not, the lobby will have internet I can use. I will post pics up from Hadrians Wall and the Lake District after our field trip orientation.

Cheers!

Coastal Castles week Pics.

a view of the coast from inside the castle grounds.

Bamburgh Castle...Right off the coast of the North Sea!

Kelly, Hannah, Bob, Jamie and I inside a room at Warkworth Castle.

Me at Warkworth Castle...The "keep" or state rooms in the background

Me and my local mate, Chaz (Charles)...hes one of the locals that we have tended to hang out with more since weve been here

WOAH! LOOOOONG Week!

Captains Log: Its currently 5:32 and am finally laying down on my bed after an incredibly long week.

Started out with classes on Monday. We had our first session at Lion Heart Radio on Monday as well. We learned how to use the equipment and how to play songs on air. We will be sitting in on Boydy's (the head guy) show ths monday and then next week we start our own shows!

Nothing too exciting has happend during the week...mostly the reason I havent posted in a bit. But reassuringly I am still alive, have all my limbs and am functioning.

I had a pleasant surprise on Sunday evening. My friend from high school, and St. Cloud (Katie Champion) stopped by the castle for a couple days with her family. We celebrated Bank Holiday on Sunday night and met some more locals.

Wednesday night we had a campfire in the pasture and had a blast. We got yelled at for being too loud. Many of the people here with me seem to not observe their surroundings before acting or thinking about something before they do something....its just their way all the time, and they are used to everything just handed to them or available whenever they want it.

Our field trip yesterday was to the Coastal Castles. We had a marine biologist with us too and we went rockpooling. I stole/borrowed old boots I found that someone had left in the basement from a previous semester, and looked ridiculous but i had a blast! We walked for what seemed like an eternity yesterday along the coast. For once, it didnt rain; and it ended up being a gorgeous day. My camera battery died in the middle of the second castle we saw. It was dissapointing but i just soaked in as much as I could.

After we got back, several of us went to New Castle for the evening and most of today. We just got back not too long before I started this post. We went out and enjoyed not being cooped up in the castle. We had no intentions of partying until 6 am (when this club we heard of was open until)...but a couple of us made it to 4 am. The sun rises here at about 3, and we were astonished at how bright it was soo early. I had the most phenominal pizza last night from a small little pizza place on the way back to our hostel.

We spent most of today walking around and shopping. I got a football jersey! (yay england) and a couple shirts. We are going to grill out tonight, but we all want naps because we are just dead beat right now.

I will be posting pics soon! It takes a while, but they will come soon.