Odrazy

(Translation: Reflections)

I feel that my posts so far have been play-by-play of my day, and that isn't really all I want to do with this. Unfortunately my ability to get online has been very restricted, so that's all I've really been able to do. We had all been hoping that once we got to Prague we'd be all set, but because most students don't move in for a few more weeks, we don't yet have internet in our rooms.

I have all semester to talk about Prague, so I want to reflect a little bit on the trip to Munich.

If I had to describe my first impression of Munich in two words, it would be beer and bikes. Both are everywhere, which probably explains how people there drink so much yet stay so thin. People in dress clothes, skirts, dresses, heels, all ride bikes. In front of every building there were at least 25 bikes, and when the bike racks were full people locked them everywhere. Almost every single street had bike lanes as well. I honestly came closer to getting hit by bikers than I did by any cars! Once I get a chance to put up my Munich pictures, you'll see that just about EVERY SINGLE PICTURE has a bike in it.



The other part about Munich that I found hilarious was that those traditional German outfits are actually popular. There are high class stores that sell them, and there are marketing campaigns for them all over the city with models making it look like it's high fashion. We all immediately thought HALLOWEEN COSTUME when we saw them, but the 80 euro price tag quickly changed our minds. Even the outlets for them were expensive. (Yes, they have outlets for that.) I was just surprised 'cause I had expected that to be a more historical type of dress, but apparently it's not just the tour guides and waitresses that wear them.



In terms of Prague, the city is beautiful. We went to dinner at a pub in Old Town last night, so we saw the Charles Bridge and the castle at night. They look like something out of a fairy tale. The subway system is ridiculously simple, so that definitely won't be a problem, and I know my address and carry a map so if I mess up I deserve whatever happens! Today our program showed us some of the places we will need to go, like their office, so we got to see the major sights again during the day. You feel like these places can't be real buildings or that they're just there for decoration, but they're not. It's almost like walking down the street at an amusement park except that it's all real.

I'm meeting up with Jenny in a bit since I'm finally here. Tomorrow is orientation with the actual school I'm going to, and then I need to run a million errands and get some essentials including a towel, cell phone, pillow, and food. (Food is a whole 'nother issue that I'll get to soon!) Anyway, tomorrow will be busy, but busy here is much different from busy at home!

Thanks for all of the comments! Unfortunately I discovered an H&M here, so I will be adding to the clothing collection. And apparently books are going to be pricey so I don't know how large that collection will be!