my stomping grounds are castles and forts

hey all,

so yesterday aifs took us on a castle tour where we we explored two castles: orlik and zvikov. both of these castles were built during the 13th century, so you can imagine how fascinating they were. the first castle had been refurbished a few times, and so the furniture and decor was from as early as the 15th century and as late as the early 1900s. the first castle had cabinets full of swords and uniforms and diaries of past kings and queens who once dwelled there. one of the hallways in orlik had approximately 300 rifles lining the walls, which of course i (drew) thought was awesome. and there were over 2000 deer heads hanging on the walls throughout the castle chambers and hallways.








the second castle, zvikov, was set on a cliff which was 200 feet above a river. zvikov hadn't been refurbished like orlik. it had ruins of the original structure all around the grounds. i thought this castle was much more interesting than the first simply because it hasn't been touched since it was built in the 13th century. also, the actual grounds had been inhabited since the time of Jesus' birth. in one room in particular, there were paintings of the 12 apostles, as well as Jesus on the walls. they were faded and worn, but still very interesting. at the end of the tour, we climbed a set of (really narrow, really steep) stairs that led to the roof of the castle where we were able to see the surroundings of the the castle. alongside of the castle ran the vltava river which was lined with a vast forest. it was really beautiful.










in other news, alie's friend kate (weiant) visited prague last night. kate is student teaching on an army base in germany, approximately 2 hours away. they had dinner together and walked around prague castle. i was really happy that she was able to catch up with an old friend. she had a good time, and it was a breath of fresh air for her to hang out with a like minded friend.

as for me, i'm slowly beginning to pick up on the czech language. it's a really difficult language to learn because they use very few vowels. our teacher often says, "czechs don't need vowels." he says it in a joking way. i really do like the intensive czech course, but i'm anxiously waiting for the rest of my classes to begin on monday the 17th. i'm excited to study in a place where classical music is so popular. in fact, the other day during class we had our window open and the czech philharmonic (who's building is nextdoor) was practicing. it made me smarter (haha)! it's also really crazy to look out your school window and see a castle standing high on a hill.

overall this place is pretty amazing, so you should definitely come visit! it's starting to feel more and more like home as every day passes. but it will never feel like medina. i miss and love everyone! i'll post again soon.



love,
drew