This weekend was our first trip with the program. We went to the Eastern side of the Czech Republic better known as Moravia. We stayed in the capital of Moravia called Brno. Our hotel was kind of outside the city, well kind of is an understatement. We WERE outside the city. But in true Callie style, this did not effect our ability to have a good time.



On the way there, we saw a really gorgeous church which was built in the 12th century. I don't exactly remember the name of the town it was in, but it was very rural and quite quaint. The outside of the church is known as the 'Gate to Heaven' and the detail on it was incredible. Inside it architecture and decor was very transitional. It is sooo crazy to be in a building that old.



Once we finally arrived to our hotel we were all pretty tired and didnt really have much to do anyways. So, all of the AIFS kids (about 70ish...) pretty much took over the hotel bar-area because the restaurant was closed for a wedding. A couple pivo (beer) and some fried cheese (very typical czech food) later we were happy campers. Our hotel was surrounded by forests so we then decided to go frolick in them. However, I then proceeded to fall on my face and bust my knee all up. Whateve. At least I busted my knee up in a Moravian forest.




The next morning we had a tour of the city of Brno. Obviously not as classy or amazing as Prague, but it had its moments I suppose. We saw about 3895820502252 more churches. They were all breathtaking. But nonetheless, it was a lot of churches.

Soon after we hopped back on our massive bus with cheap food from Tesco (the grocery store) in tow and moved along to the country side were we went to battle fields were Napeoleon faught. It was again...soooo pretty (I'm such a broken record.).




Finally, the highlight of our trip (or so most of us thought) we went to wine country and stoppped at a winery for some tasting. And free dinner which no one can knock.

The wine cellar was basically 10,000 degrees so we were all sweating like dogs. So that kind of sucked. The wine was delicious of course and we also had the Prime Minister of Moravia there to help us along with proper wine tasting etiquette. However, most people just chugged it down like it was a bag of Franzia. At the end, they sold us 2 bottles of wine from their vineyards for only 150 kc which is about $6. Can't beat that. Gotta love that krown.




On our last day, we stopped at some caves. We rode a sketchy boat unground in the caves also. It made for a good afternoon. We also discovered that Czechs love putting ketchup on top of their pizza. Not so appetizing.

All and all...it made for a lovely weekend outside of the city. It was really nice to see more of the Czech Republic outside of its gem...Prague.

After Julia and I had a late breakfast at some really expensive bagel place, I finally sat and planned out my trips for the semester. Holy hell I'm travelling so much I can't even believe it! Here is the laundry list (prepare yourself):

Sept 15-Sept 17 : Rome
Sept 22-Sett 24 : Vienna
Sept 29-Oct 1 : Munich (potentially...)
Oct 6-Oct 8 : Krakow, Poland
Oct 11-Oct 15 : Venice
Oct 23-Oct 29 : Up in the air, but its our fall break. We are thinking Croatia, Greece? Any suggestions?
Nov 3-Nov 5 : Paris
Nov 17-Nov 19 : Madrid
Nov 25-Dec 2 : My dad and brother are in Prague and we may hop over to Rome as well.
Dec 16-Dec 23 : Completely open! Hopefully Brett and I can plan something epic.
Dec 24 - Jan 2 : Austria

I know right. I can't even believe it! My semester seems soooo short and time is already flying. I start my real classes next Monday. I have decided to take Czech which will probably be the worst decision of my life but I am known for my bad decisions.

Ok...thats all for now. Will definetly provide updates when I get back from Rome!