happy thanksgiving!

wow,

it's been quite a while since we've written on here. sorry for the delay, we've been busy with school and other events. nevertheless, we are back to update you on the recent ongoings in our lives.

since we last posted, a lot has happened: alie turned 22, we protested a nazi rally, we visited a church made of bones, and we celebrated thanksgiving. i'll start from the top...

alie's birthday was a big success. i planned a little celebration for her at a trendy club/restaurant in the city. i made a reservation for 15 people, and over 20 came, so we were both very pleased. alie felt loved (because she is). everyone ordered drinks and appetizers like hummos, grape leaves, soups and other dishes. a few of the girls bought alie a chocolate cake from a local bakery. it was delicious.



november 10th marked the anniversary of crystal night, where the nazi occupation began in prague 69 years ago. on that night nazis stormed through the city, destroying jewish storefronts, killing many jews, burning down synagogues, and hauling jews off to concentrations camps. the still-thriving neo-nazi group in prague attempted to march through the jewish quarter in commemoration of that day. alie and i took part in the protest to prevent their rally from occurring. heavily armed swat teams patrolled the city all day. when evening came, we stumbled upon a confrontation between the neo-nazis and the police force which was an incredibly intense moment to witness. we were shocked to see this hatred first hand. after hearing countless personal accounts of the holocaust from my professors here, i can't believe that people still deny its existence. ridiculous.







this past weekend aifs took us to a town in southern bohemia called kutna hora. kutna hora is famous for it's church made of bones called the kostnice ossuary, and the santa maria which is a beautiful cathedral with intricate stained glass. the santa maria is the largest of the 3 cathedrals in the czech republic. the bone church was really creepy, adorned with countless skulls and other bones. it was composed from the bodies of 40,000 people who died of the plague in the 1500s. it was a really frigid day, but we warmed up at a restaurant by eating heavy czech food and sitting by the fire.











as you all know, europeans have no reason to celebrate thanksgiving. however, we attended a lavish thanksgiving feast at the marriot that aifs reserved for us. we ate blackened catfish, venison, duck, quale, delicious pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, greenbeans, stuffing, hot cider, and of course turkey, among others. considering we were away from everyone that we are thankful for, the meal couldn't have been any better. plus, it was alie and my first thanksgiving spent together, so it was special in that regard. because we ate so much (who wouldn't? it was a free meal!), we waddled home feeling slightly sick. we've since recovered and are upset that we didn't steal more leftovers (alie brought tupperware). man, i could go for a nice turkey sandwich right now...





our last few days have been spent christmas shopping and museum hopping. hope you all had a great thanksgiving. we can't wait to get back to the states and celebrate christmas with you! less than 3 weeks!!!



love you,
drew