Prague Pt. 2 and getting back to the real world...

I realized in my last blog I didn’t define “we”!  I traveled and stayed with a fellow Susquehanna alum and English teaching assistant, Shayna and was also able to meet up with a fellow Académie de Rennes assistant, Erica!  It was great to have company and see some familiar faces when we were so far away from home for Christmas.

Monday was our second to last day in Prague, and we decided to take a day trip out of town to Kutna Hora, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  The main attraction there is the Ossuary, a church that is decorated with over 40,000 human bones.  The town is also known for its wine, and silver mines.  The first coins for the Austro-Hungarian Empire were coined in Kutna Hora because of the abundance of silver.  On the day that we visited Kutna Hora was like a ghost town, but it was definitely worth a visit to see the Ossuary. 

A bone-crest in the Ossuary (it was at least 5 feet tall!).

Tuesday we visited a few things that we had been meaning to see, including watching the Astronomical clock one more time.  This was the one day where we made our tourist mistake and ended up paying more for a slice of ham at the Christmas market than we paid for our delicious Christmas dinner!  To remedy this mistake we headed back to the Globe for dinner where I had peach juice (it was more like a smoothie than juice) and a burrito.  It was probably the only chance I’ll have to eat some tex-mex while in Europe and it was worth it!  We also took a piece of carrot cake to go (with real cream cheese frosting!).  The Globe is definitely worth a visit if you’re in Prague.

We started our long voyage home on Wednesday morning, and I finally arrived in Guingamp on Thursday night (it was a LONG day and a half!).  I was then able to spend New Year’s with one of the teachers that I work with at the middle school and her family, along with their friends.  It was fantastic!  We ate wonderful food and drank great wine and champagne.  This morning I learned that it is a tradition in France for the youngest people in the family to call the older family members and wish them a Happy New Year.  Although I like the idea of that tradition, I won’t be taking part in it this year, so this blog will have to suffice!  Work starts again on Tuesday so it's back to teaching until my Dad's visit in February.

Happy New Year and here’s hoping that 2012 is as amazing as (or better than) 2011!