Hi!! So today was the most cliche European vacation day. It was pretty crazy. So, it was Charlie's birthday, one of my friends (from Oklahoma). So, first Carah and I went early and took the tram to the only Starbucks in Brno for her favorite coffee. Then we dropped it off and surprised her. It totally wasn't my idea, Carah is actually the nice one in the room. ;)
Anyway, yesterday Carah and Charlie were invited by one of the receptionists at Vinařská to go to a castle that no one really knows about. And we were like, party on.
So we left at 12:15 to go with Iva (the receptionist, she's really young and actually from Slovakia) and rode the tram to Bystrc, a little part of Brno by Prygl reservoir. It's gorgeous, and it was a beautiful day, and away from the city. It reminded me of Utah, with the trees covering the hills, but without mountains. So we went on this boat ride, and it was lovely. Also encountered a nude beach. As in it was across the water and you couldn't really see anything unless you were looking. Which I wasn't.
Anywho.... So then we came to the castle, and it was gorgeous. It's called Veveří Castle, which basically means Castle of the Squirrels. Because I guess there are quite a few squirrels around there. It's really up there, in the "mountains". Not many people go there.
We walked around, and took a tour (in Czech, didn't understand any of it. They kindly provided English booklets for us to follow along. They usually only have English tour guides in the summer, and the castle closes in the winter because it's inaccessible with the boat and the little hike you take to get to it.) So that was lovely, and very European.
Then, we came home on another lovely boat ride. Then we tried langoše, which are like fry bread with mayonnaise and ketchup and cheese on it, but not exactly, and better.
Then we headed home on the tram. Wonderful news, I found the church on the way home. So yay! I know where to go on Sunday. :) it will all be in Czech, but that's ok. It made me happy. It reminded me that wherever I go, the church is there, and I have family, no matter the cultural and language barriers. That's a great comfort.
So after that, Kate and I sneakily pretended to go back to the dorms while everyone else headed to the wine festival, but we actually picked up a cake for Charlie and left it at the dorm. Then we went to meet everyone at this festival. Where everyone is happily drinking loads of Burčàk (which is why they have this festival, it's a young wine that everyone loves but they only have around for part of the year. So it's a big deal to these people) while I tried fried cheese. Which is as wonderful as it sounds. They know how to do fatty food here. It's the best.
After that we went to a park and hung out for a while, and you could see a lot of Brno. It's a very large city, honestly. We only see a tiny bit of it. But it's huge.
Then we came back to the dorm and had cake. And it was fun. My friends are all a little crazy, but I'm thankful for them. And this experience is really making me stretch, and learn how to make friends outside of my comfort zone, even when we are completely different. It's definitely helped me to adjust, especially since they are going through so many of the same things.
Anyways, that was most of the day. It was a good day.
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