Into the City

Ahoj everyone. I'm writing to you at 9:15am this morning and updating everyone about my day yesterday. It was quite exhausting with the many cultural encounters I came across.  Breakfast at the hotel is very limited, so I chose the healthy way with yogurt, granola, and a hard boiled egg.  From there, the ten of us took the metro (which is VERY easy to use) to our classroom.  The metro stations here each have a beautiful theme to its architecture.  The main station near the hotel looks like something our of LEGOworld if you ask me:

Cool huh? So we get to our classroom (a three story flat) that was turned into a study workshop for us. There is a kitchen, a bathroom, two classrooms, a meeting area, a computer work station, a greenroom, a project room, and a balcony on the top of the roof. Very beautiful. Beneath the school/apartment flat is one of the best bakery's/cafe's in Prague.  With it's elegant yet simple lighting, it has beautiful delectable desserts, and great smelling coffee.  In the back, there is a small courtyard with a lot of greenery (trees, plants, shrubs, and vines tangling up the walls) and a small fish pond.  Here is a view of the courtyard from the balcony of the classroom:

From the school, we went to lunch at a very nice restaurant.  It had a selection of italian foods that were quite good.  I had a really nice espresso machiatto, with some shrimp and cherry tomato risotto.  Once we were finished with lunch, we were split up into groups and sent on a 'scavenger hunt' into the city to look at different art and architectural buildings.  Me, Emily, and Taylor were sent into the heart of the city to visit a more modern, art/club full of different collections of art (including some floating sketches above the ground, and a projector room with several Polish videos and documentaries playing).  From there we sat at the bar, had a drink, and reflected on the artwork.  Our next stop was the National Theatre. So we decided to walk along the lovely cobblestoned streets to get there, walking alongside the Charles River.  It was closed for renovation, but still a very big and historical piece of the city that was interesting to see. Here are just a few pictures of my day to sum up a couple things:

Beautiful walkway through the city. Right near 'The Roxy' modern/art club.

Classic touristy photo in the old town square. 

After we finished our 'scavenger hunt,' we ended up at Letni Letna (a carnival here in Prague).  It wasn't like the carnival that we American's immediately think of. It was more of a laid back shop/drink/eat/lots of tents feel.  There were a couple activities to do, but it was more about the cultural atmosphere and the celebration of family and friends.  There was also a really nice acrobatic performance at the carnival.  From there we all decided we were hungry, so we tried somewhere different. It was called Klub Architektů, a restaurant in an underground cellar with a metallic bronze setting.  It was a little more pricy, but very cool.  We ordered a few drinks, and I ordered the meal pictured below:

My dinner: some turkey schnitzel.

It was very tasty.  As the night came to a close, we hopped on the tram, got lost, hopped on the metro, got lost, and then found our stop and went back to the hotel.  It was quite an adventure. But tomorrow seems promising as we go deeper into the city.