September 7th, 2013

Our first weekend in the Czech Republic was spent not doing what most of the kids in our program were doing, drinking uncontrollably but rather we spent our first weekend in our Czech buddy's hometown, Cerveny Kostel.  We began our adventure with a train ride on a train that was built in...drum roll...Czechoslovakia.

Once we arrived we were driven (an illegal activity for us students) to a castle  (Státní Zámek Náchod) an exclusive adventure.  My Czech flatmate was a tour guide last summer so we got the keys to the castle (literally) and were able to go behind all the ropes and see everything up close.  The castle was used by royalty of many different cultural backgrounds.  Rulers from Germany, Poland and the Czech lands all held power in this castle.  The castle stopped being lived in at the beginning of WWII when Germans were holding power but were forced to leave by the Czech people as an anti-Nazi movement.

"Hron from Náchod founded Náchod castle in the mid 13th century. The Náchod castle has a rounded tower and palace, which are typical of the bergfrit/keep type. In 1544 Zikmund Smiricky bought the castle area and rebuilt the castle to the Renaissance style."

(Státní Zámek Náchod)

(Státní Zámek Náchod)

(Státní Zámek Náchod)

(Státní Zámek Náchod)

(Státní Zámek Náchod)

(Státní Zámek Náchod)

(Státní Zámek Náchod)

(Státní Zámek Náchod)

(Státní Zámek Náchod)

(Státní Zámek Náchod)

(Státní Zámek Náchod Celler)

(Státní Zámek Náchod)

(Státní Zámek Náchod)

After the tour of the castle we went and looked at the farmers market that was going on in the castle square.  Our Czech flatmate (Marie) wanted us to try this drink that is made in the area, in the US it is called mead.  It was 20% alcohol and probably one of the most disgusting things ever...  I then decided to comfort myself with a traditional Czech dessert trdelník that is normally served around Christmas time.  It was a doughnut covered in sugar and cinnamon, and it was amazing.

(Trdelník)

After we finished at the market we went to dinner on the side of a mountain in the Czech countryside.  We got there around sunset and it was one of the most beautiful places on earth.  The dinner was amazing and then we got to meet Marie's family.  They gave me homemade liquor from Romania that was made from blueberries.  It was 20% alcohol and they gave me a wine glass full, it was painful to drink.  They did give us fresh fruit and mini sandwiches and talked to us about Czech politics so overall it was a good night.  We got to stay in a charity house where Marie's mom works and it was far more homey than our completely white apartment.  It was a nice break from the city and was a good night in the Czech countryside.

Oh, and then we took a quick trip to Poland because...well we could. :)

(Poland)

(Poland)

(Poland)

(Poland)