Since I had no international travel plans, I was able to really start immersing myself in the Czech lifestyle. Especially since most of our friends are from all over the world, it was nice to really get involved in the Czech culture. I found a good routine, some great (and cheap!) pubs and cafes and learned a lot about the culture of the Czech Republic.

Click continue reading for more on House Party Weekend, Czech Hockey semifinals, Kutná Hora, Bucknell visitors and more interesting Czech culture facts!

House Party!

Okay, not that kind of house party. A Czech house party! My Czech buddy that met me on my first day in Prague, graciously invited me and a couple of friends to his house, just outside of the city. He cooked us dinner on a lava stone which is essentially like an indoor BBQ. It was absolutely delicious!

After dinner we alternated playing American and Czech games. They taught us Jungle Speed, Golf, Bluff and a game with scary animals on cards that involved lying. Jungle Speed was my favorite. It was a game similar to Egyptian Rat Screw but with a stick in the middle that you had to grab, instead of slapping the pile. It got REALLY intense. We also played twister and DDR (classics).

Slavia Praha!!

Slavia is one of two Prague Hockey teams. Holly and I went to watch them play with some of our friends. Now, the Czech Republic is known for breeding hockey players such as Dominik HaÅ¡ek, Roman ÄOechmánek and Jaromír Jágr. This game however, was nothing compared to the NHL. There were almost no fights and no dramatic goals. It was still fun to cheer for Slavia. Especially because all the cheers were obviously in Czech, so we would just scream what we thought we heard. A favorite was one that included the phrase, "Sushi sushi, money, money!"

Slavia also has a strange tradition where at the end of the game the entire team sat and faced the fan section. The fan section then erupted with cheers and screams to celebrate the victory. I had never seen anything like it! The crew at the hockey game! My roommates Holly, Caitie and Staci, and friends Pamela, Ana, Javier and Daniel. Kutná Hora

I went with three friends to Kutná Hora, but this happened to be the day after some very important World Cup Qualifying games. Because the games were being played the Americas, none of us got to bed before 4 a.m. Our train left at 10 a.m. Not much time to sleep. Luckily, we got on the train with a full 30 seconds to spare and immediately fell asleep. Lady Fortune was apparently on our side that day because I woke up just as we were stopping at Kutná Hora. We get to the door of the train, but my friend, Pamela, is apparently incapable of opening it. She keeps pulling and we keep laughing and we ended up standing on the wrong end of the door as the train starts up again. So we had a quick pit stop in Cáslav before heading back the direction we came, to Kutná Hora.

We eventually figured out the train door and arrived in the quaint town in the Bohemian region of the Czech Republic. It used to be the second largest city in the Czech Republic and is famous for its silver mines, St. Barbara's church and Sedlec Chapel. St. Barbara is the patron saint of miners, which makes sense since Kutná Hora's economy is based on its silver mines.

Sedlec Chapel is a Roman Catholic chapel which is decorated entirely with bones. Yes, human bones. In order to make room for new skeletons during the time of The Plague, a monk took on the task of exhuming skeletons and decorating the inside of the church. There is at least one of every human bone in the main chandelier.

Sedlec Chapel in Kutná Hora

Emily Rendall Comes to Prague!

A fellow Bucknellian, studying in Edinburgh (pronounced "Edinburra") was on spring break and paid Holly and me a visit.

Our visitors! Emily and Katy.

It was awesome to have another Bucknellian around and it was great because I was finally able to do a lot of the touristy things that I hadn't done yet. I finally got to go inside the castle, instead of just walking through it, which is free.

We got sucked into taking a boat tour along the Vltava. I creepily took a picture of our ferry driver. The Prague Castle view from the river! After our tour we visited the Old Town Square. The square was already bustling with all the Easter Markets!