However, before I got into THAT story, I can work to update you on my previous trip to Prague, Cracow, and Auschwitz with my class. After saying goodbye to my mom and a wonderful week in Italy, I spent five days traveling through Eastern Europe with forty other MUDEC students and four teachers. As I may have explained in a previous entry, every MUDEC student is enrolled in a “base course.” There are four options for base courses, and I am enrolled in a history (of course), the Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler. The class is taught by Emile Haag, one of the most amazing, knowledgeable, and respected teachers I have ever. Dr. Haag has been teaching Luxembourgish students for forty years and knows his material like the back of his own hand. (Side note, that’s an awful expression, I have a hard time explaining the back of my hand, you have a better chance of me explaining every detail of the Facebook homepage.) Haag began teaching at MUDEC before he even spoke English, writing out his lectures and translating them and then reading them aloud. Apparently he was fluent in a year’s time. Now, he needs no help, and sits in the front of our class and tells us the story of World War Two. For him, and for his students, it is not about learning history or lecturing, but rather a true story, horrific and spectacular, that has shaped our current world. He is a Britannica Encyclopedia. If I am ever on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, he will absolutely be my phone call.
The first stop on our trip is Prague, where all forty students were to meet for two nights and to explore the city that everyone loves. Praha is a students’ dream, famous for its beauty and pub-crawls, as well as not being on the Euro. A blessing in and off itself. And, I was one more student won over by its charm and lack of EU monetary value. Prague is a beauty because, unlike most European, cities, it was not bombed out and completely decimated. Compared to Munich, where ever plague states “after being destroyed in 1944, so and so was rebuilt…” Prague still has old world charm, complete with bridges, monuments, castles, cobblestone roads, and red roofs.
We met in Prague on the Tuesday after Easter and were treated right away to a traditional dinner, complete with pork knuckle, duck, and cured cheese. It was an experience, but I have to say, the good thing with broke students, is that they’re usually starving and up to trying anything! Tuesday night was a low key one for everyone after a day of traveling, and most people headed to bed at our hotel.
Wednesday, on the other hand, was a long day. We started the day bright and early and headed out on an all-day walking tour of the city. The class was divided into two groups, but luckily I was with most of my friends so it worked out. Our tour guide was young and interesting and did a great job of keeping us entertained. The tour was definitely long, but Prague has a fascinating history, from being part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire to Nazi invasion to a more recent history of communism. We learned how each part of their history has affected the city, and the Czech Republic as a whole. We spent the morning in the main part of the city, where I became quickly enamored with the main market square. Since it was Easter season, there were open markets swarming the open square. Each booth sold everything, from chocolate covered fruit (Taylor’s and my favorite) to decorated steins to a traditional Czech pastry. My favorite thing sold in the markets accompanied a not so pleasant tradition. According to years past, on the Monday after Easter guys will go around with decorated whips and beat girls up. In return, girls must present them with a painted egg. Apparently this will bring good luck. The market had millions of painted eggs for sale (I indulged) but I have to say I wasn’t too appreciative of the tradition. As our tour dragged on, (it was nine hours after all) Taylor, Jordan, and I took the liberty off getting separated from the group and meandered back to the center square, where we ate fresh kebabs, fruit, bought eggs, and listened to live music amongst the swarming crowd.
Before ditching, I hesitate to call it ditching, we’re good students, I swear, the group went across the river that separates Prague into two parts and up a large hill to the old Prague castle. It was so cool to see something so old, and we got to see the old quarter where royal and important people used to live. However, we were unable to go into a lot of the important sites due to a visit by our very own President Obama. Barack ole boy was in Prague signing a nuclear arms treaty, so we had to force our way through swarms of media trucks and keep out of roadblocks. However, it was cool to know our president was right there. We all got a little nostalgic for home. The trip up the hill also offered some spectacular views of Prague!
Another important site on our tour was the old Jewish ghetto. This has one of the oldest still functioning synogogues in Europe and was also the site of what Hitler hoped would be a museum to “an extinct race.” The ghetto was located in an unwanted part of the city, lower than the rest of the city and considered swamp land. Our tour guide told us how the Nazi’s did not invent the idea of labeling the Jewish people with the star of David, but rather that this system of marking the Jewish was prevalent in early history. We also saw the old Jewish cemetery. The Jews were only given a certain of land to bury their dead. Because they do not believe in cremation, they were forced to start burying bodies in layers. Some layers were seven deep. Taylor had been on a previous tour of Prague and told us how her tour guide had related the design of the Prague Jewish cemetery to the design of the Berlin Holocaust memorial, with all the different layers and sizes. It was definitely an interesting comparison. It was eye opening to see how the persecution of the Jewish people really predated the Nazi’s.
One highlight of the two-day stay in Prague was the infamous pub-crawl. Our class is made up of about 40 people, so we decided to do a little group bonding and head out on a different kind of tour of the city. We all met up at the clock tower (not as cool as the Glockenspiel in Munich, but pretty awesome nonetheless) It was an awesome night as our group got closer, had inside jokes that most of us will never forget, and had a great time.
I think we were all really sad to see our trip in Prague end, as most of believed it would be the highlight of our base course tour. We were to hop on a bus and drive to Auschwitz, Poland. We all wished we’d had more time to explore such a cool and different city. We lucked out, the bus ended up being hours late and we were told by our teacher’s to again go explore the city. Taylor and I took the opportunity to have some coffee by Charles Bridge and watch the sights and listen to the sounds of the city before running into more people in our group and heading again to our favorite location, the city square. I was really going to be sad saying goodbye to this!
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