Praha and Roma

What a magical five days it's been! I can't believe how much I've been able to see, and I've been lucky enough to share it with such wonderful company: my mom's sisters Barb and Kye both are here traveling through Europe with me. We've packed as much as possible into every day, so I can't describe everything in as much detail as I would like, but I'm going to attempt an overview here, and if you ever want to hear more I'd love to tell you in person.

I picked Barb and Kye up from Tegel Airport on Saturday the 23rd, and we headed over together to Hauptbahnhof, where we boarded an express train for Prague. On the way we met a young man and his parents who are from Prague and were going home after a two-week bike trip. He offered to answer any of our questions and we happily accepted the offer, talking for an hour about things to do, places to eat, and how to get around. In Prague we took a taxi (Tomáš had explained how to avoid a taxi scam) and checked into our hostel, which I had booked based on a recommendation from Hilary. From our excellent location we wandered into the Old Town Square, watched the medieval (from 1410) astronomical clock chime, wandered across the north bridge to get a view of the famous Charles Bridge, walked through Malá Strana (the Lesser Town), tried a sweet and delicious Czech pastry called a trdlo, and walked back across the river on the Charles Bridge.

Barb and I with the Charles Bridge behind us

The clock tower and the Týn Church (with the two towers)

That evening we stopped by Zvonice, a restaurant in an old belfry, but because they were crowded we tried another one of Tomáš's suggestions, U Medvidků (which means Two Bears), and enjoyed some traditional Czech cuisine and beer. After a long day of travel and walking it was some much-appreciated nourishment!

Sunday we spent most of the day at Prague Castle, which is the biggest castle complex in Europe. It was extremely impressive. We hopped a tram across the river to the castle, and spent most of the day going through the Old Royal Palace, St. Vitus Cathedral, exhausting ourselves by climbing to the top of the South Tower of the cathedral, and seeing St. George's Basilica and a house where Kafka once lived. We also walked through the beautifully terraced Gardens Below Prague Castle before leaving the complex. We then took the funicular up Petrín Hill to get a different view of the city, and we talked ourselves into climbing the Petrín Observation Tower, which is shaped like the Eiffel Tower (sorry Tomáš). The Petrín Tower is on Petrín Hill, and though it is only 60m tall, from the level of the river it is as tall as the Eiffel Tower in France. It really was a great view. The architecture of Prague is stunningly dramatic, and you can see that from up close as well as from the hill.

St. Vitus in the Prague Castle complex

The three ladies

Inside St. Vitus

Charles Bridge and the Old Town, looking out from the South Tower of the Cathedral

Barb and Kye in the gardens

Monday we moved on to Rome! We manged to get to the airport, to our gate, and to Rome without any trouble. It was late afternoon by the time we were settled in, but we had time to see the Colosseum. Wow. Such a marvel, in terms of size and age, but when you think about what it was used for you can't help but get a little chill. After a panini and gelato break we walked around the Roman Forum, but it was too late to go in. We also walked by the Pianna del Campidoglia, Vittorio Emanuele II Memorial (which is huge), the Trevi Fountain (where I threw a coin in so I should be coming back to Rome someday!) and finally the Spanish Steps. We found some delicious pizza on the way back to the hotel, where we collapsed.

Kye, me, and Barb in the Colosseum

Above the Roman Forum

Vittorio Emanuele II Monument on Piazza Venezia

Trevi Fountain

Tossing a coin in the fountain

Tuesday was our full day in Rome. We started the day swinging by St. John Lateran before visiting the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, which I just found incredible, and so far is one of my favorite things about Rome. I love the piecemeal aspect of the Forum, how many different structures were there and what meaning and use they had, and I can't believe how old they are. After the Forum we ate lunch in the Vatican area, and then decided to sign up for a tour to do the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's. I learned a ton while hitting the highlights of the museums, which are the second biggest in the world. The Sistine Chapel was unbelievable. I don't really know what more I could say. I decided to go up in the dome of St. Peter's, because I can't say no to a good  view, and just soaked in the luxury of seeing all of Rome before me.

Overlooking the (very old) stadium on Palatine Hill

Vatican City and Rome from the top of St. Peter's dome

I descended the dome and exited into the massive St. Peter's Basilica, which despite the fact that they were beginning to close it up for the night was impressive. Barb, Kye and I decided to walk through the lively Trastevere area for dinner, and I had some amazingly tasty spaghetti with bacon in a fun atmosphere. We came back to the hotel a little earlier last night, to do some planning and decision making about the next leg of our trip. And now here I am in Florence! It's wonderful, but we still have one more day here so I'm going to save the rest of my comments until I can talk about the entire trip.

Overall it's just been an unbelievable summer vacation. I am seeing so many huge things that sometimes I just don't know how to describe the experience. But I am so thankful for this opportunity, and for the fact that I am sharing it with two of my aunts, as well as getting the chance to talk about my semester with them. I've loved walking through these two very different cities, and getting a tiny bit of the feel of them. I do miss Berlin and I certainly wish I could communicate with people as well as I've realized I can in German, but I'm getting by.