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Global Management Certificate
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Czechia
Žižkov
Fresh off the plane–a 14 hour journey, give or take–we headed straight to our apartment, nearly too tired to take in the billboards in Czech on the way, much less the rough English of our Uber driver. After some rest, we headed back out, eager to explore the new surroundings that would be our home for the next 5 weeks. A cafe across the street was our first stop, and our first experience with the idea that french fries are called chips in more places than England. Lavender lemonade and chocolate cake may have also been involved. Upon revisiting our tiny two-person dorm (with six to a suite, one bathroom, and the smallest kitchen you ever did see), we realized that everyone else who was spending their first day buying floor fans had the right idea. We hailed another Uber and took our first jaunt downtown, to Tesco. It was our first glimpse of the beautiful architecture characteristic of Prague, and of the Vltava river that cuts through the city and lays the foundation for the iconic bridges crossing it. After a disconcerting experience with a store clerk who wanted absolutely nothing to do with us, we headed back to catch up on sleep, knowing it would be important if we were to start school the following Monday with any brainpower left.
Of course, we couldn’t sleep long before heading out Sunday for a more thorough exploration of downtown (little did we know a later tour would cover this). After rehearsing a few key phrases such as “check please” (platit, prosim) and “beer” (pivo), we took our koruny past trdelnik stalls and Bohemian crystal shops to Old Town Square. We whirled by Gothic chapels clawing into the sky, the famous Astronomical clock covered up and under construction, candy stores with barrels full of sweets, Angelato’s, cute crafty stores, and perhaps best of all, a restaurant with great reviews, sparkling beer, and crayfish bisque with lemony tofu.
The aforementioned tour was the next day. Our guide, uncharacteristically peppy and engaging (the tourism industry is still new to Czechia, like their name and EU membership, and heavily influenced by the “national pastime” of complaining), took us back to the square and, starting with a sewer grate showing a sword-in-fist giant hand protecting the historically vulnerable gates of Prague, led us to a great library for refreshments and a view down a mirror-floored well created by books. We took in the city’s long and crazy history, panting up cobblestone hills on the way to St. Charles Bridge. Just before it was the related 135797531 Muzeum, which commemorates the commencement of construction at 5:31am on July 9th, 1357. We gazed in awe through the railing, littered with padlocks with names scratched or drawn onto them, and took in our first view of the majestic Prague Castle. Then we began across, history unfolding before our eyes in the form of the famous statues, with renovated ones shining blindingly gold in the sun and the oldest coated in matte black. We took in the music of entertainers and the art of vendors, rubbed the appropriate statues (worn back down to their original gold to clue us where to touch) with our left hands for luck and wish fulfillment, and carried on to the rich part of town. Unfortunately this rich part of town has a troubled past, with lines drawn horrifyingly high up on buildings to mark the water levels of past floods, and graffiti covering the John Lennon wall. We stopped to explore a church, with a massive golden pipe organ, tall stained glass windows, and the most striking Gothic arches over the roof (we also explored a trdelnik stall). One very taxing walk up an impossible number of stairs later, we were in sight of Prague Castle, and the rest of the city. A side trip took us through the barracks of yore, where tiny cobble alleyways led to almost comically small houses and doorways so short that I had to nearly double over to make my way inside. The day ended with a gorgeous garden at the foot of the hill, populated by pure white peacocks.
Then began school! And as importantly, the cafeteria, with our first real experience with Czech food (rich in meat, potatoes, and gravy; and distinctly lacking in spices).
Soon after was another field trip to another view of the city; more strikingly at that point, an ancient Czech graveyard filled with noble corpses and the bodies of heroes. The jaunt ended with Kingswood Cider at a beer garden, and we went our separate ways; for at least half of us, that way was to Cafe Louvre. Potato gnocchi, sparkling strawberry mint lemonade, and strawberries and cream ice cream filled our stomachs while the modest pricing of high-class food filled our hearts. We took the tram back, comfortable by now with its workings and its free-ness (included with our student package).
Our next class excursion was to Kutna Hora, a neighboring city memorable for the Sedlec Ossuary. There, thousands upon thousands of skeletons were arranged in dark but beautiful sculptures, from a large family crest to ornate goblets to a massive and creative chandelier attended by cherubs. Those whose bones could not be placed in artwork were piled carefully into large caverns adjacent to the main chamber, with one small tunnel near their base where you can look in and quickly see the candlelit humeri fade into pitch black. After we emerged blinking back into sunlight and the land of the living, we explored another old and beautiful chapel, were led on tour, and stopped to disperse for food. Two others and I found a cafe where we sipped clearly unpasteurized milkshakes and ate Czech burgers. While we waited for the rest of our group to return home, we explored souvenir and candy shops, and one ice cream stand with simply incredible citrus flavors.
Our next days were consumed with school: adjusting to classes, our cycle of Czech professors, vending machine coffee, and Czech snacks like the chocolate wafers of Horalky. Before we knew it, my friend and roommate and I were off to London. See below for what that was like!