The Flight Back

It sounds as if I'm supposed to write about the extremely fun day of flying back to St. Louis. In the morning, most of us woke up around 5 AM Prague time (10 PM St. Louis time on Friday). We had to be outside with our luggage by 6 AM. We got a van ride to the airport. It was great not having to carry our stuff around on the subway and buses. There was little traffic at 6 in the morning so we got to the airport in a jiffy. There were also very few people at the airport so we didn't have to do much waiting around there either. A few people did go over the weight for free luggage though. Thankfully the people at the airport in Prague were more forgiving than in St. Louis when we left for Europe. After we got to the gate to wait for the plane, we saw that security was at the gate rather than at the entrence to the terminal. We all then split up to grab some breakfast (some preferred airport food over the free breakfast at the hotel). After going through security, I believe Keaton got patted down, and then we got on the plane. Most of us were in the last three rows. As we were about to land at Heathrow, there was an "emergency" at the control tower causing them to evacuate. With no one in the tower we couldn't land so we had to fly around for a while then land elsewhere to refuel. After waiting on the controllers to get back to back, we left for Heathrow once again. We got in to Heathrow two hours later then we would've but we were going to land quite early any way. At Heathrow we did the normal security stuff and Keaton got selected for a random screening. One machine said his bag had explosives and another said he didn't. They sent him back through security and made sure he was clean. We all went and grabbed a snack (before we had some airline lunch and dinner food) and checked in at the gate. They did some more random checks there where a large group of us had to get out carry-ons checked. Grace had to go claim her luggage because they claimed there wasn't a name tag... even though there was a tag. We then took our fun 8 hour flight across the Atlantic to Chicago. We had to wait on the tower at Heathrow again because they were busy (or some other excuse that I would make up). We still don't know the "emergency" was from when we were going to land. The flight was long but cool. We sat in the middle section near the rear of the plane except for Keaton who sat in his fancy business class. They had some good in-flight movies such as Avatar. Before we landed in Chicago, there was a good amount of turbulence. It was a lot of fun. So people farther up screamed at one point as if we were on a roller coaster. On the approach, we flew just north of downtown Chicago were we could see the Sears Tower (it was rename, yes?) and the Navy Pierre. When we landed, we had some more security and customs. Anna had to remove a lighter she bought for her brother because they asked if she had a lighter or matches. They had to bring up her bag and remove it, but that didn't tale long. We then had three hours to kill at O'Hare. After we left for St Louis around 8, it was dark. The city of Chicago looks beautiful at night with all of the lights. We were flying to the west of Chicago but still could make out the city and some of the big buildings downtown. Behind us on the way back were some SLUH students coming back from Spring Break in China. Hayley liked sitting in front of Pandas (they had cool panda hats). The flight was only around 45 minutes and it was cool to see the Arch and the rest of downtown as we flew by. It is much harder to pick where you are in St Louis than it was over Chicago. We are much more spread out. Well, we landed, got off to grab our luggage and see our families for the first time in weeks. We all went home and got some much needed sleep (well, most of us did)

Now, we are all having jolly, good times in school. It's great fun to be catching up at week of JBS classes!

Friday- Last Day Abroad

After touring around Prague for the last time as a group we split up to venture out on our own for a while in the beautiful city. Will, Claire, and I chose to revisit a small park by the waterfront. Here we enjoyed the gorgeous scenery and rode a small train (intended for small children) in a circle. The train was complete with a smoke stack and seat belts (It only cost about 30 kr or $1.50 for the three of us). After a sleepy afternoon by the water we joined Frau Russell, her Czech friend, and Sophia in visited a near by church service. The church was naturally over-the-top Baroque style and utterly gorgeous. But the service itself seemed rather somber aside from the beautiful singing. We finished the night with a huge Prague meal, where the Czech waiter was dismayed by the prospect of young American teenagers. Frau Russell ordered pig leg. We also enjoyed "Prague's Coke-Cola" a dark liquid that tasted like licorice. All in all it was a great day and we hit the sack promptly after dinner in preparation of the early morning to come.

~Anna

Thursday- Karlstein

On Thursday morning after breakfast, we headed towards Karlstein castle. We took a train for about a half hour and then arrived at the base of the castle. Along our hike up to the castle, we stopped for some coffee and cake. After getting refueled, we continued the hike up to Karlstein. There were many souvenir shops along the street. Once we got to the top of the castle we looked around it for a little bit. Then at one, we had a guided tour. Some parts of the castle were of limits to see, but the rooms we visited were very old and beautiful. Also, the view from the castle was breathtaking. After touring the castle we began our journey back down. Claire and I sprinted down from the castle to the restaurant we would have lunch at because we both had to use the restroom. We went back to the same restaurant we had coffee at for lunch. After lunch, we walked to the train station and then headed back to Prague. We went back to the hotel and were given about two hours of free time. Some people napped, or checked their emails. Sophia, Carly, and I went to the square in Prague where the Easter Market was set up, and looked around until we had to return to the hotel. We all met up and went to an ice cream cafe before the shadow show. After having a little snack (we were still pretty full from lunch), we headed towards the theater. The show included shadow dancers and skits. I found it very entertaining. After the show, we were all exhausted and headed back to the hotel for some sleep. It was a long day, but it was all a lot of fun!

--Grace

Mittwoch

3.31.10

We woke up bright and early to catch our train to Prague. After a nice, relaxing trip (with seats that were assigned, so no trouble there!) we arrived in Prague at lunch time. We caught a U-Bahn and a quick S-Bahn equivalent to our hotel, checked into our rooms, and headed to pizza for lunch (we were all quite hungry). After lunch we went on a tour of the city led by Max (our tour guide who spoke about 4 or 5 languages pretty well). We went to the main part of town and saw the building where the Defenestration occurred. We also saw the market that only comes around during holidays, which had cute little boutiques (and places to get Tredlo's- a tasty pretzel like snack). We then walked along the river to a cemetery for famous dead Czechs. Realizing we were short on time we hurried to the U-Bahn to meet Irina (the woman who helped us find places to eat, and recommended Max to us) to eat Czech cuisine, which was quite nice.

-Claire

Montag in Berlin: bikes, Stasi, and ice cream

Viele Gruesse aus Berlin!

Today we spent our second jam-packed day in Berlin (and barely had a thought left for our classmates trotting off to class back in St. Louis)!

We left the hostel at 9 and headed off to Hohenshoenhausen, a Stasi prison for political dissidents deep in the heart of the former East Berlin. First, Cliewe, our guide, showed us around the old building (called the "U-Boot"/ submarine, because all of the cells were underground). It was dank and dark, and the torture instruments and tiny cells used for solitary confinement (this gruesome atmosphere might explain why not even the most camera-happy members of our group took very few photos...) He also guided us through the slightly better lighted and less depressing newer prison, which had interregation chambers instead of torture machines (he even explained a few of the methods of psychological torture used). Cliewe, like all guides at Hohenshoenhausen, had been a prisoner of the Stasi. He told us about his failed attempt to escape from East Berlin in 1984 (at age 18), and how he had been sentenced to one year of prison because of "suspicion of an attempt to escape". After 10 months in prison, the West German government paid for his release.

I liked Cliewe. His English was amusing but understandable, and he bonded with Frau Russell about their childhood furniture (apparently communist regimes in the CCCP and the DDR issued the same models of furniture, and the linoleum in the government buildings smelled the same. weird.)

We went out for a quick (but very satisfying) lunch, and Frau Russell showed us briefly around the old Jewish quarter before we caught the street car back East. We rented bikes and took a bike tour of Berlin (the waterproof bike capes provided by the company helped us stoicly ignore the cold and the light rain). During the first half of the tour, we were lead along the place where Berlin wall used to stand. Our tour guide, Sascha, who grew up in West Berlin, taught us a lot about attempted escapes from the East, the fall of the Wall, and various features about the buildings on each side of the wall (East vs West). It was very interesting, but when we rode back up to the bike shop four hours later, we were all much relieved (Some of us were particularly happy to see that the bike company had a bathroom we could use...)

Since then, we've eaten dinner and paid a visit to Frau Russell's favorite ice cream cafe (where we were served delicious and beautifully arranged frozen treats). Supposedly, the hostel's offered activity tonight is karaoke, and Grace and Carly were going to sing...but we haven't seen anyone singing yet. I'll keep you posted.

Tschao! Sophia

Hallo, Hallo!

So here's a recap of the last few days:

FREITAG: In the morning a few of our partners took an important prelude to the Abitur. Most of us got to sleep in and come to school later, though. When I arrived, the entire outside commons was rocking out to German techno beats as the students enjoyed Grosse Pause. It felt just like the senior lounge! After the test we all took quite a long Zug ride to Tübingen. THe university town, and Sophia's birthplace was cute and quaint but the weather was quite chilly and rainy. We ate lunch, did a little shopping, and headed back to the Bahnhof to go back to Stuttgart. At night, Kim, Anna's partner, threw a goodbye party. We listened to guitar, played fussball, and swapped photos. A couple of us then met up with some more Germans and danced the rest of the night in a disco.

SAMSTAG: Partners and family met at the train station around 11:00am to say goodbye. There we lots of photos, some tears, and loving hugs from Frau Abt. THere were quite a few glitches once we got on the train. It was supposed to be very modern and fast, but it was not. Some women stole our reserved seats and wouldn't move so we relocated to a different car that was quite crowded and old...Then we got off only to get on another train where women had stolen our seats. This time they reluctantly moved, though. After we settled into our lovely hostel (located on the only street in Berlin where prostitution is legal), we decided not to go to the cabaret show, like originally planned. Instead, we ate Thai food and sushi at a restaurant and debriefed on our time in Stuttgart, which we so dearly miss.

SONNTAG: After breakfast in the hostel, we trekked to Checkpiont Charlie museum. On our way, we encountered the Berlin halfmarathon contestants warming up. A few times we were forced to sprint across the runners. I think it was illegal. The museum was über crowded but fascinating. After that we toured the Reichstag. The building is a melange of every era and architecture imaginable. In our freetime, we split up but the majority of us rode on a seven person, round bicycle tour. Then we met again and attended a Wise Guys concert. I'm not really sure it was our kind of crowd...We had a late dinner at Vapiano, mmm.

Tchüß for now! -Carly

Rittersport Museum

Grüße von Anna!
Yesterday, instead of the usual morning routine of school classes, we went to the Rittersport Museum (a famous chocolate company in Germany). We walked through the relatively short museum which explained each step of the chocolate making process with interactive activities. We could here and smell (and of course later taste) the delicous componantes of a Rittersport chocolate. Also a map showed where each special ingrediant is found across the world. We then went for a casual hike around the area where for perhaps ten minutes both students and teachers enjoyed the phenomina of the toad mating season. Although this hilarious and akward beginning of life was observed, to the dismay of many the path was strewn with toad corpses. We promptly returned to the museum and ate delicoius cakes and drank coffee at the museum's cafe. To end the day we each bought our bodies worth of chocolate (getting almost every flavour imaginable).