Zürich Day 3

Last day of Zürich and the last day of the trip. It's been an amazing ten days exploring parts of Europe. I am so grateful for this experience and the new friends I have made. On our last day in Zürich Emily and I decided to rest up in the morning before our long day of traveling. Before lunch we walked around shopping before heading to Hilti a local restaurant that is 100% vegetarian but also has tons of vegan and gluten free options. The restaurant has the option of buffet style where you pay by the weight or all you can eat for the low Switzerland prices of about $50. In comparison a meal at McDonald's is about $15. I will never complain about the price of food in America again. Nevertheless Hilti food was absolutely amazing and I would be there everyday if there was one closer. After lunch we walked around town before picking up some chocolate and heading back to the hotel. Now this is where the adventure of the day began. We decided to go back up the mountain for dinner but this time we decided to take the train. After trekking up part of this mountain we took a short walk before getting on the rail car. The rail car took us to the top before another short walk to the restaurant. When we attempted to open the door we read the restaurant has unexpectedly closed early. Lucky there was a little park at the top of the hill to pass the time before the rail car returned. By the time we got to the bottom of the mountain it was almost 10:30 so almost all restaurant kitchens we closed. Luckily Hilti was still open so we got the world's best food two times in one day. Currently we are heading back to DFW completely exhausted but with the best memories and experiences. 

What's to come:

Monday morning I start my internship in Plano, TX at East West Ministries. I will be working in marketing and social media as well as traveling on a short term mission trip to India in mid June. 

Hilti Resturant 

The group 

Cheapest entertainment all trip. 

Cable car ride. 

Breathtaking views.

Zürich Day 2

After reading this specific post I'm sure it will be clear why I did not stay up last night any later than I had to to write a blog post. Let me start from actually Tuesday evening when we were discussing our hopeful plans for Wednesday. The idea to go to Üetilberg was thrown out there and we all extremely naive we're excited and ready to go! When we arrived at our end satiation we all got out and started walking up until we found the trail beginning. There were many varieties of paths with different difficultly and length. We're decided to take a bit of a longer path because it was considered easier than most of the other paths. We walked around taking pictures, laughing and having a good time. About two hours lager weal apparently missed where we were suppose to turn to go up and ended up making a giant circle on the bottom portion of Üetilberg. After what was to come that was from then on referred to as our warm up lap. After running into a few joggers, mountain bikers, etc (basically people who knew what climbing up this mountain entailed) we got back on a new path that should get us to the top. We climbed this trail which consisted of either steep incline with handrails or stairs for a good hour or so before reaching a resturant. From there we climbed up even steeper stairs for another 20 min before finally reaching the top. One we got to the top there was another observation tower, for some reason we seem to find those everywhere we go. After we made it to the top we had climbed about 110 flights of stairs accourding to our iPhones. Later that afternoon we decided to take easy and ride the water taxi around in a circle to get some picturesque views before going to dinner. That evening gown when we finally returned to the hotel I had only enough energy to climb in bed. Today (Thursday) Emily and I plan on going shopping and wandering around Zürich before we leave bright and early for the USA tomorrow. 

Views from the warm up lap. 

Before we knew what we had got ourselves into. 

The field was actually an old airport. 

Post warm up lap. 

Views from the resturant. 

Views from the top of Üetilberg. 

If you look closely you can see the alps in this photo by Emily. 

Travel Day & Zürich Day 1

Monday we spent much of the day traveling from Prague to Zürich which is why I did not blog yesterday. After arriving in Zürich we went to dinner before walking across the street to the movie theater to watch Pitch Perfect 2. Zürich is located in northern Switzerland so most people speak German but it's a bit of a Russian Roulette between German, French, and English when talking to people around Zürich. Pitch Perfect 2 was shown in English with German and French subtitles. I do not think I could have picked a more interesting movie to see in an international movie theater. For those who haven't seen the movie there are many cultural jokes made towards both Germans and Americans. The theater was smaller than a typical American theater and there were only about 20 people in our showing so naturally people could hear us talking before the movie and knew we were American. This was quite entertaining when jokes were made and the whole theater would turn and look at us. Also half way through the movie the screen just went black. Everyone else seem to know what was going on as we stared dumbfounded at each other. Literally mid scene intermission was called and everyone just took a little break before the movie picked back up. Tuesday morning we went on a walking tour of Zürich. Switzerland seemed to be picking up on the Texas flood as rain was coming down in sheets during our tour. I did not take many pictures today due to the rain, but hopefully tomorrow the sun will come out! For lunch we went to a restaurant recommended by our tour guide where we got the best hot chocolate ever. Switzerland is appeasing my inner chocoholic quite splendidly. My favorite thing about Zürich so far is the story book atmosphere. Perfect little buildings with flowers boxes snd crystal clear water sprouting from fountains. You can literally drink right out of any of the nearly 150 fountains located around frown. Zürich feels as if we are walking around a perfect Disney movie but man you pay for it here. An average hamburger is about $30 and Starbucks coffee runs about $9-$13. We are praying for sunshine for our day of exploration tomorrow! 

One of about 150 fountains located around town. Water is crystal clear and tastes absolutely amazing. 

Not even rain can get us down!

Hot Coco! 

Zürich, Switzerland

Prague Day 4

This morning we headed out to a little cafe before taking a hike up to Petrin Lookout tower. When I say hike I mean we should have actually brought hiking gear. After spending last summer working in the Ozarks Mountains at Camp Ozark I thought I would be prepared for what was in store today. Let me tell you though cobble stones and incline paths are not the smartest mix. After we hiked up a hill we climbed the spiral stairs to the top of the tower. Picture do not do this places justice at all. The views we got from the castle the past two days were just blown away by the views from the tower. After our hike back down the hill we found the cutest gelato shop. We spent some time relaxing (aka catching our breath) before wandering through local gallery's and shops. Tonight for dinner we went to a restaurant called Švejk Resturant U Karla which makes traditional Czech food all gluten free!  Tonight we are spending the evening packing to wake up bright and early to head to Zürich! 

Petrin Tower 

View of Prague 

Gelato shop! 

Gluten Free Czech Food! 

Prague Day 3

Yesterday we had every intention to continue our adventure in Prague today bright and early but our bodies thought differently when we all woke up completely sore. Today turned into one of my favorite days as we wandered around the streets of Prague and sat in restaurants and cafés just absorbing the atmosphere. Walking through the streets of Prague I found an local sketch artist I was extremely excited to get a beautiful sketch of Prague. We wandered back up the hill to Prague Castle and the gardens to get more scenic views and out of all things we found a Starbucks right at the top of the garden. Why by local amazing espresso for a good price when you can buy overpriced Starbucks (completely sarcasm). We spent the evening wandering the Jewish quarter with a local guide who filled some of the gaps from yesterday's tours. The Jewish quarters which is was used to be the slum of the city now is lined with the worlds highest end designers and the most expensive housing in Prague. Prague's architecture is simply fascinating building dating as far back as medieval buildings are intertwined with every variety architecture throughout time. The streets are narrow and everything is built extremely close to each other and built up. All of the streets used to be 6 or more feet lower but due to flooding the streets were built in higher and floors that use to be street level became basements. In Prague there is a constant alley like feel except for the few squares and the area near the river. Tomorrow is our last day to check a few more things off our to do list in Prague before continuing this adventure in Zürich! 

Emily and I enjoying some lunch. 

View from castle hill. 

Charles Bridge at sunset.

Old-new synagogue. The oldest active synagogue in Europe. 

Meet your newest Czechspert.

One three hour tour turned to two four hour tours around both sides of the river in Prague today. Yesterday my knowledge of Prague consisted primarily of the top facts on Google. Today we spent the entire day walking the city with Pavel a local Czech who conducts free tours throughout Prague. After today he said we were certified Czechsperts. With my new knowledge instead of explaining eight hours worth of Czech a history I decided to share the top 5 facts I didn't know before today about Czech Repblic.

1. Czech Republic national anthem is called Where is My Home which originally written for a comedy play. 

2. Czech Republic was primarily saved during WWII because Hitler planned to retire in Prague. 

3. The Astrological Clock has 365 names, one for each day of the year. Once having a child you must name your child from an approved list of names. The government took a child away when a family came up with a new name until the name was change to an approved name. 

4.Defenestration (a new word I learned today) means chucking people out the window. Which was quite common for killing people in previous centuries. 

5. Condoleezza Rice wrote her doctorate distertstion over the Soviet Union and Czechoslovak Army in World War I and World War II.

We are playing tomorrow a bit more by ear so we will see what adventures are to come! 

Astronomical Clock and Old Town Square

St. Vitus Cathedral 

St. Vitus Cathedral 

Prague Day 1

We took the morning to catch up on some much needed rest before going out and exploring. Before coming to Prague I had some knowledge about the city but I did not set any expectations. Today we walked the streets of Prague simply taking in the city around us. So far we have seen Wenceslass Square, Old Town Square, the Astronomical Clock, Charles Bridge and the John Lennon Wall. Charles IV first had stones laid at 5:31 am on July 9, 1357 which comes out as 1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3-1 (year, day, month, time) he's was known for his interest in astrology and numbers as well as his extreme superstition. Also the John Lennon wall was created shortly after his death even though he has never been to Prague. As the week goes on I hope to know and understand Prague more. As of now I would define Prague as a city of beauty and mystery. It will be interesting to see how that changes over our few days here.

Wenceslass Square

Old Town Square 

Old Town Square 

Austronomical Clock 

Austronomical Clock 

Charles Bridge 

Charles Bridge 

John Lennon Wall