Petřín Hill

On Saturday, Katie and I trucked up to Petřín Hill to see what is supposed to be the best view of Prague.  After having been there, I would definitely have to agree.  It was a really gorgeous day (Blue skies!), so we were both really looking forward to it.  Enjoy!

Very excited about waiting for the tram!

Memorial to the Victims of Communism at the bottom of Petřín Hill by Olbram Zoubek

The entrance to the FUNicular to the top of the hill

The funicular

Prague

Prague and funicular tracks (I really enjoy the word funicular.  Funicular.)

Different Prague view

Observation tower that looks like the Eiffel Tower.   It used to be their communication tower.

Sad gardens in the middle of winter

Segways!

Observatory

Me and my boyfriend

Nice sculpture

Monastery?  Not really sure...

Another angle

Can't you see how excited Katie is to get back on the funicular?

Out the front window on the way back down

Prague through the window

Sculpture near the tram station that I'm still not sure what it is

Swans on the Vltava River

Assembled photo of Prague for the Hill

Groceries and Bowling

Thursday night was quite the adventure.  First, a little grocery shopping with my roommate.  You never think about how much you recognize things based on printed names instead of what they look like until you go to a grocery store where you can't read any of the labels.  It's good times.  Second, NYU took us out to the end of one of the metro lines to a mall to do some bowling.  Point of note--the "mall smell" is the same in the Czech Republic as it is in the United States.  Very odd.

Our local Albert grocery store, about 2 blocks from Osadni

Miranda surveying the merchandise

Trying do decide how economical she wants to be

Fruit section

Czech mall

Food court.  It's very oddly similar to back home.

NYU invades the bowling alley!

Katie doing her very best

Katie, Lizy, and Vivian

More Czech beer.  Seriously, it's cheaper than soda here.

Even the bowling scoreboards are the same!

An intellectual discussion

Very excited about the bowling experience!

Old Town Square, etc.

These are some pictures I took of the area around the NYU academic center (Malé Náměsti - Small Square) and Old Town Square (Staromĕstské Náměsti) on one of the days this week when it was really nice out.

On Mánesův Most (Bridge) looking back toward Prague Castle on the way back to my tram stop at dusk

Basically the same picture, but around noon with one of Prague's glorious trams

Cobblestones!

Some buildings and a really cool sculpture made of metal letters (I'm pretty sure the building on the left is the Philharmonic)

More buildings and a tram stop

Butcher's shop

Old Town Square through some buildings

Cool walkway near the academic center

NYU academic center (the blue one on the right).  I get to climb to the 4th floor of this building every day (4th floor European, mind you--5 flights of stairs)

The second academic building called Richtrův Dům.  NYU has the entire first floor.

Old Town Square

More Old Town Square

Same picture just vertical--that's the Astronomical Clock on the left

Astronomical Clock

Close up on part of the clock

Old Town Square again

Statue in Old Town Square

Close-up

Cool buildings

Archway

Another cool building

Back in Old Town Square

French tourists trying really hard to get a good picture.  They tried about 8 times.

Church in Old Town Square

Crowd assembled to watch the clock chime

It was really pretty today too, so expect more pictures soon!