a hezký víkend

To remember the day St. Wenceslas, Duke of Bohemia and patron of the Czech state was murdered by his brother in 935, there were no classes today. In the United States, we wouldn't have a day to remember some event that happened in the 1st century. The holiday, however seems to be the equivalent of President's Day in the United States, a day when some stores are closed, some are opened, and school is closed. I thought I could have an entirely free day until my supervisor called to asked me to come in. I spent the beautiful warm afternoon (there aren't many of these days left!) in front of a computer, inputting information into a spreadsheet. Such is the life of an intern.

'Hezký víkend' means 'good weekend' in Czech, and it was a good weekend. The weekend started with semi-crashing a dinner party at a professor's house. My friends who are actually in the professor's class, were invited to his house for pizza and drinks, and also to meet some actual Czech university students. My friend and I, neither of us in MOA, tagged along to see what this was all about. It ended up being a great time: there were Czech students, also students from Kazahkstan, Belarus, etc. A really international crowd. I was looking forward to speaking to some of them, however I still stuck with the American crowd. Still, it was great talking to some Americans who have been in the Czech Republic for a while now, to hear their experiences in Prague, and to soak in all their knowledge of the city. They suggested Monday Trivia night at a hostel, which we are going to try next week. Apparently big money can be won at these trivia nights, good chance for me to get some inflow of cash.

On Friday and Saturday, I went on another school-sponsored trip, this time to Český Krumlov, a little town in southern Czech Republic. According to Wikipedia, C. Krumlov is a city, but it is nothing like New York City, or even Prague. The only city-like characteristic it has is the narrow and crowded streets. Anyways, we were there just in time for their St. Wenceslas celebrations. There was music of all sorts in the square and a medieval-era market. We visited the castle, the tower, as well as the Eggenberg brewery. The castle didn't have a regular moat, but a BEAR moat. Wonder how many bears were in the moat while the Eggenbergs/Schwarzenbergs lived there. The castle also had the oldest operating Baroque theater. From atop the castle tower, one could see the entire city plus the Bohemian coutnryside. We were also really close to the Austrian border, so there were many bus companies providing rides to Salzsberg and Vienna.

The one night at C. Krumlov was a lot of fun. We ate a tavern that specialized in open grilling. It was like Korean BBQ/Hibachi, with the meat being cooked in front of you, in one huge grilling thing. I think it was supposed to replicate the ways people in the 15th century cooked. But it was good stuff. Afterwards, the St. Wenceslas celebration was still going on in the town square, so after a stop at the hostel for warmer clothes, we went out to sit and enjoy the music. The next morning, at the same square there were some folkdancing as well. Wish I could have stayed longer to see and enjoy the rest of the festivities....

Back to being a studentka tomorrow. I have my first Czech language quiz on everything we should have learned during the intensive Czech classes of orientation week. Tomorrow also marks that I have been here for one month. October begins this weekend!