It’s been a busy week for students as classes begin! In our Political and Cultural History class we learned the Theory of Number 8 – a neat way to recall major events in Czech history by remembering years which end in the number eight; in our Cross-Cultural Psychopathology class, we’ve started to discuss Western vs. Eastern ideas of psychology, including individualism and collectivism; the Czech Language class is learning numbers and useful phrases; and in our Art and Architecture class we reflect on our understanding of Classical architecture by visiting buildings in Old Town.
A group walking tour of the city took us to Prazsky Hrad, or the Prague Castle — where the current Czech head of government still operates. Unfortunately, the day we visited the flag was not raised, indicating the president was out of the country. Sights of the St. Vitus Cathedral and Old Town were beautiful, however, and we made sure to take lots of pictures.
According to our guide, within the cathedral there is a special door with seven locks and seven unique keys which are kept separate by seven important government officials. Behind this door? The Crown Jewels!
Towards the end of our tour we visited a part of the city known as Lesser Town and saw the John Lennon Wall. We also visited one of the oldest trees in the city, located in a Church garden where Beethoven spent time composing when in Prague.
We finished our first week in Prague with a meet and greet with our Czech roommates and a trip to the Opera!
The opera we went to see, The Magic Flute is a children’s story about a land between the sun and the moon, princes, queens, trials, magical music, and ultimate triumph of good. The orchestra and vocals were beautiful and I couldn’t imagine a more elegant venue. I don’t speak any German, so I was relying heavily on the subtitles — as I suspect many of us were — but it was truly a magical evening and a wonderful way to escape of this weeks unrelenting rain.
That’s all for now! Toodles from Prague!