Arrival at Masaryk and Orientation Week

My first full day in Brno was Monday, Sept. 9.  That first week was the international student orientation.  We had a lot of stuff we needed to do.  We also didn't have Internet access in our dorm the first week, which made a lot of things very hard.  

The first few days had really good weather.  It even was hot; it was definitely T-shirt and shorts weather.  That didn't last long.  It started raining in the middle of that week and has been rainy and cold ever since.  Some of the people took pictures of the sun the other day because we hadn't seen it in so long.  I plan to take pictures of Brno, but I will do so later when it's not overcast all the time.  

We had several things to get done the first week, including signing up for many things and figuring out how to do basically everything.  As international students, we had to register with the Czech police.  

Banking was another big hurdle.  For some reason, they run on a reimbursement system for international students here.  My fees for the entire program have been paid, but for some reason, they have us pay everything again and we will get reimbursed later.  We have to pay a monthly rent for the university dorms (which doesn't make sense).  The rent is 3000 Czech koruny, or crowns, a month, about $176.  We are also given a meal stipend to cover our meals. I will talk about the meal system later.  Back to the banking.  To get this housing and meal stipend, we have to open a Czech bank account, where the university deposits the money so we can pay the university (does that make any sense?).  Our program fee also covers things like 4 trips, some of our books, and a few other misc. expenses, which we pay and then get reimbursed for.  That first week, to pay for the housing, meals, trips and everything really depleted my banking account at home, so if you are feeling in a charitable mood, donations are accepted :) .  We have to set up online banking for this account to get our stipend and pay, which was a headache.  I have been to the bank so many times to take care of everything, I could probably get there blindfolded by now.  The cool/scary thing is since the exchange rate is $1=17kc, I feel really rich when I withdraw money from my bank account.  I got my first stipend paid into my account a couple days ago and some more should be coming soon.  

During the orientation week, we also had our first Czech language courses.  The class had about 20 Americans and Canadians in it.  The first day was just normal pronunciation and the normal first day stuff, so not really exciting.  The next day, about 6 people showed up.  I missed the days that week because I was either at the bank too long or I was in Prague at the end of the week.  I still haven't been to the class because they forgot to tell us when and where it meets.  I think I will just audit it--show up and learn when I feel like, but not actually register and do the homework if don't want to, just learn the language.  More information will be coming about my room, the food, classes and other things.   

Getting to Brno

I hurried to eat my pasta at the Rome hostel so I could head to the metro station.  I took the train to the end of the line and then got a bus to go to the airport.  The airport Ryanair flies out of is the older, smaller airport.  Ryanair is a discount airline, without assigned seats.  So, everyone rushed to get in line to be first to board.  I alone just sat and waited, while everyone else stood for a 1/2 hour.  We had a small shuttle bus take us to the plane.  They started loading only the back entrance, but they opened up the front entrance at the end, so I was one of the first to go in there.  I got a window seat and fortunately no one sat in the middle, so I had plenty of room--all without having to worry about hurrying to get a place in line.  This is where my luck ended, though.  

We got to the Frankfurt Hahn airport around midnight.  I had reserved a hotel room near the airport.  Since I had to leave early (and it cost over $10) I didn't get the breakfast, but they billed me anyway and wouldn't let me cancel it when I checked in.  After packing things to get ready to go, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning.  I ate the breakfast--a European-style one with lunch meat and cheese.  So, even though there are signs against this, I paid for it, so I made myself some sandwiches to eat on the trains that day.  The bus to Frankfurt left at 6:15 and arrived at 8.  I got on a commuter train to go up to Marburg (an hour north) so I could pick up my luggage from Herrmanns and then took a train back to Frankfurt.  The train to Vienna left a little before noon.  The 7.5 hour trip was ok, although it was rainy part of the way, ruining the scenery.  Also, Europeans smell.  Really badly.  Badly enough that I want to gag every time I get on public transportation.  The guy next to me was no exception.  Fortunately, he got off soon.  

A view out the train window

I arrived at the Vienna west train station at 7:30 p.m., in plenty of time to catch my bus at 8:30, or so I thought.  The buses left from the airport so I had to take an 8:00 shuttle bus there for 6€ ($9).  The bus stopped at the south train station and reached the airport at 8:33, just in time to see the bus I needed take off.  It was the last bus of the night to go to Brno, so I started freaking out.  It was also pouring this entire time, to make matters worse.  I called the program director in Brno and asked what to do.  He said there was a train leaving from the west train station--the place I had just come from.  I didn't want to pay the 9 bucks again, so I begged the driver of the shuttle bus and showed him my receipt for the ride a half hour before.  We again stopped at the south train station on the way to the west station.  Once there, I did not see my train on the list of departures.  When I asked at the counter, I was told that train left from the south train station, where I had stopped at twice in the past 2 hours.  I was able to take a city tram there for 1.70€.  I finally got on the train about 10:30 p.m.  It was a leftover from the Soviet days.  Everything was in Russian.  There were reserved cabins, which all were empty, but locked.  If you didn't have a reservation, you got to stand in the hallway--which was 2.5 feet wide--for the entire hour-long trip.  So after standing forever, I got off at the first stop in the Czech Republic, Breclav.  I had been using my Austrian Eurail pass, which was okay in Austria, but not good in the CR.  No ticket places were open at 11:30 p.m. either.  Nothing was in English and there were some ticket kiosks, but only in Czech.  I knew what train to get on, however, so I did and hoped for the best.  This one looked more like a cattle trailer than a train. Same story with the standing in the hallway.  When a train official came by and asked for my ticket, I feigned frantic searching.  She asked what stop (I think) and I said that I was going to Brno, the first stop.  Since it was the first one, she let it pass.  I got to Brno about 12:40 a.m.  

Standing room only...or sitting room on suitcases

My train "seat"

The information I had about how to get to my dorm was for taking transportation during the day...only night trains were running at this time.  I asked a girl who appeared to be in college what I do and where I go.  She told me the tram to take and the stop for my dorm.  I went to the stop and didn't see anything remotely resembling a dorm.  No one was on the street to ask.  So I just sat with my suitcases and waited for anyone to walk by (at 1:30 am).  Eventually, a couple people came and told me how to get to the dorm.  It was a few blocks away and up a steep hill.  The front desk is open 24 hours/day, but the check-in person didn't speak English, so I had a hard time getting all the paperwork ready to move into my room.  I finally did and reached my room at about 2:30 am, where I found my roommate fast asleep.  No Internet meant I wasn't able to contact my parents to tell them I had arrived (4.5 hours late).  By this time, I was very happy to just go to bed, after having traveled all day and getting only a few hours of sleep the night before.  

Rome, Day 3

On my third and last day in Rome, I headed to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill areas. Throughout my entire time in Italy, I had learned that if I wanted a good picture with myself and a good background, I needed to have someone who spoke English take the picture. I had a lot of pictures taken where I or the landmark was cut out of the picture or I was placed directly in front of the landmark. Like many places in Italy, there were English-speaking tour groups all over, so I would just stop and listen to a guide for a while and learn a lot for free.

The Colosseum

A different angle of the Colosseum

An interesting view of the Colosseum

The inside of the Colosseum

The underground passageways in the Colosseum, where animals and gladiators were kept

The Roman Forum area had many ruins, including Caesar's temple which is a shrine located where Julius Caesar's body was burned after he was assassinated in 44 BC.  

The Roman Forum area

The Arch of Titus

The Temple of Julius Caesar

The Basilica of Constantine is one of the ruins.  The remaining arches are huge, about 75 ft.  There were similar arches directly across from them, supporting a roof 130 ft. high.  

An arch of the Basilica of Constantine

Parts of the Forum, the Basilica of Constantine to the left

Roman ruins

Yet more ruins

Part of the Palatine Hill area

I met back up with my Australian friends that afternoon and we wandered around Rome a little more.  We went to the Castle Sant'Angelo, which has a very interesting history and was built as a tomb for Roman emperors but has served as a castle, prison, refuge for popes, and as a museum.  We stopped at a market on the way back to the hostel and I bought Italian sunglasses for 5€ ($7.50).  Back at the hostel, I only had time to quickly eat my free pasta and then head to the train station to catch the subway to get on a bus to get to the airport to head back to Germany.  

My Australian friends and me

The Castle Sant'Angelo

While spending so much time with the Australians in Rome, I was soon picking up Australian slang and abbreviations.  I had toast for "brekky," talked about my home "uni," cooled down in the "air con," and ate at "Maccas," Australian for McDonald's.  In an effort to try new things, I tried Vegemite, a popular Australian spread.  Rachel Dengler told me she had heard it tasted like eating "hairspray and garbage."  I thought it tasted more like sweaty socks smell.  

Vegemite

Rome, Day 2: Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica

After touring the Vatican Museum, I headed to St. Peter's Square, the area in front of the basilica. This is where the Apostle Peter was crucified when this area was simply known as "Vatican Hill." After filling my water bottle with holy water from the fountain near the obelisk, I headed to the security area into St. Peter's Basilica.

In St. Peter's Square, where Peter was crucified

While the Swiss Guard is the official police/security force of the Vatican, the security search was done by people in normal security guard clothes. As with most churches in Italy, there was the official dress code, which only allowed shorts below the knee and for shoulders to be covered.

The Swiss Guard in front of St. Peter's 

No indecently dressed people allowed (and apparently, no one-legged people, either)

St. Peter's Basilica is simply HUGE. It would hold 60,000 worshippers (standing) in its 6 acres. That's more than the record attendance at ISU football games (56,000). Marks on the floor show where the world's other largest churches would fit inside. The atrium in front is larger than most churches. Right inside is Michelangelo's Pietà behind bullet-proof glass. The main altar is directly over the tomb of the Apostle Peter. The bronze canopy over it is 7 stories tall. Directly above the altar is the largest dome in the world, taller than a football field is long. Below the church is the crypt containing the remains of many popes, including John Paul II. No pictures are allowed in this area. JPII's tomb is very simple: a covering of white marble with a gold Latin inscription. A guard watches as people lay flowers, rosaries, and pay their respects.

St. Peter's Basilica, looking toward the altar

Michelangelo's La Pietà

The dome above the altar (more than a football field's distance away)

The way to the top of the dome passes through the inside of the dome, affording a view of the inside of the church, behind fencing. An elevator goes up halfway and then you must climb another 323 steps to the top. While buying my ticket up, I learned apparently "One ticket for the elevator" translates in Italian to "Two tickets for the stairs." The stairs were 2€ cheaper, so after trying to get just one ticket, I was just given one for the stairs, which I was told while in line for the elevator. So I went up the stairs (and beat all the people in front of me in line, anyway).

Looking down toward the church from the dome on the way to the top

A look out to St. Peter's Square from the top of the dome

Looking out toward Rome (the Colosseum is in the center, but hard to distinguish)

Near the statues on the top of St. Peter's Basilica

The souvenir stand on the roof of St. Peter's Basilica (sign above the door reads "Souvenirs")

Afterward, I headed back to have supper at the hostel. Later that night, since it was one of the Australian's birthday, we headed back out to the Trevi Fountain to see it at night and celebrate. 

The Trevi Fountain at night

Rome, Day 2: Vatican City and Museum

I should take this time to clarify: I am in the Czech Republic going to school, but I am trying to the blog chronologically, so I am still working on getting stuff from Italy. Anyway, on my second day in Rome, I headed out on my own to tour the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica. Since the Vatican is the world's smallest independent nation, it became the 13th country I have ever visited.

The wall around Vatican City and the exit of the Vatican Museum

The Vatican Museum has over 4 miles of art and history, starting from Egyptian mummies then moving to Greek and Roman statues on to Christian frescoes and finally some modern art (bleh).

A mummy from the Vatican Museum's Egypt collection

One of the many statuary halls in the Vatican Museum

One of many rooms of paintings in the Vatican Museum

After a few hours just wandering through the art, you come to the Sistine Chapel with the famous ceiling by Michelangelo. No pictures are allowed of the ceiling of the Chapel due to a contract agreement with the company that restored it (so they could sell expensive books and photos of it). I happened to "accidentally" click my camera while it was near my pocket pointing to the ceiling.

Many of the ceilings of the Vatican Museum were as artistic as the art in the museum

Frescoes by Raphael

More frescoes by Raphael

The famous ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (taken very inconspicuously and so not very well)

The Pope's tennis court?