Mon, Aug 25th 2008, 07:53
This weekend we went on a short trip to Prague with my classmates from language school: Iker (Basque Country), Tessa (USA), Thomas (Holland), Katja (Russia), oh yeah, and Mike (Germany) too. Quite the international group!
We stayed in a hostel called Le Papillon for fifteen Euros a night per person. For that price I shouldn't complain, but for a hostel it was pretty sleezy and that's really saying something! I'm glad we only stayed there a night.
The first day we walked around a lot and I was quite impressed with the Czech Republic in general. I have heard many things about Prague, that it's beautiful and that it's a dirty tourist trap. I have to say that I agree with both views, but it did not hurt my impression of Prague in any way. I anticipated that there would be a lot of tourists and people trying to sell us things (it is the 6th most visited European city), so I was not surprised by it. But what I was surprised by was how interesting I found the city.
My favorite part was just to walk through the streets and see all the old buildings contrasting with the new shopping malls. It was a strange juxtaposition of the old and the new, the ugly and the beautiful, like many other eastern European cities I have seen. I liked it.
I liked the Old Town Square with the gothic cathedral, baroque church, and astronomical clock with moving figures.
I loved the views of Prague from Charles Bridge. It would be nice to take a boat tour sometime.
I have to say I wasn't too impressed with the castle, even though I had heard so much about it. To me, it was really unremarkable and boring. I was a bit let down after the hike up the hill, but the St. Vitus Cathedral up there was very beautiful with lots of colorful stained glass windows and where the relics of St. Wenceslas are kept. Also, the views from the castle of the city were amazing.
At one point we passed two Czech children playing basketball and Mike asked them in Polish if we could play with them. Katja and I watched as the boys played. The little boy, Marro, was very friendly. He spoke English and he was very surprised to learn that we were all from different countries. It was a memorable experience. He gave us some tips on what we should see, but strangely enough he didn't have much advice about Prague's bar scene.
Most of our interactions with the Czech people were pleasant. Most of them speak either English or German so we got along fine, and when we didn't they could understand some of Mike's Polish. I have to say that most of them were very friendly for Europeans.
The exception was at a restaurant we went to at the advice of our hostel's owner. We went because we were told we could get a free small beer if we ordered the goulash, a typical Czech meal.
Well, we were surprised when the beers were quite large, but they drank them and then ordered some more. When the bill came we had been charged for six beers, even though we should have gotten the first round free, and we were also charged for two colas when I had only had one.
When Mike confronted the waitress she came back with three smaller beers and said that these were the free ones and the big ones were not free.
Obviously she wanted to rip us off because we were tourists and she hoped we would either not care enough or not know enough of the language to argue with her. But she underestimated Mike, who argued with her in Polish until she relented, which was quite some time. My hero.
I have heard that this is one of the risks in Prague. Don't let it deter you from visiting, but just make sure you know what you are ordering and what you are paying for, because some people there do try to take advantage.
On Sunday Mike and I decided to go solo and take it more slowly than the day before. We had breakfast and then we went and saw Dark Knight in a theater because in Czech Republic they do not dub their films, so it was in English with Czech subtitles. So exciting! I waited so long to see that film, and it definitely lived up to all of the hype.
1 Comment(s)
Fri, Jul 4th 2008, 13:18
I just entered a photo for the challenge at Exposaroonie.
This is a web site that encourages people of all skill-levels to take pictures and submit them in their weekly challenges. Occasionally they have prizes.
The theme this time was Vintage. I'm not completely thrilled with my submission, but I figured I'd give it a try anyways.
Yeah, not so vintage, but oh well.
I would like to try to submit one again soon, except that the next one is a patriotic challenge, and I'm pretty sure they intended it to be American for the 4th of July and not German, so that should be tricky. But maybe I will think of something creative.
Check out the website and vote for your favorite submission. It doesn't have to be me, since there were so many better pictures submitted. Maybe you can even submit one yourself!
3 Comment(s)
Wed, Jun 25th 2008, 22:08
I was asked by someone, how do you register for absentee voting if you will be living overseas?
The rules may or may not vary by state. But in my state (Arizona), I just did a quick google search and found my state's Secretary of State web page.
I found this page which lists all of the states and their websites, but if you can't find it on the list, just do an internet search for "-your state here- Secretary of State"
At the Arizona Secretary of State website there is a link for information about voting, and once I follow that link, I see another link to information about Military and Overseas Voting.
Your state secretary's website should either provide an online form that you can print out called a Federal Post Card and Absentee Ballot Request (FPCA), or information on how to obtain one.
There are deadlines for turning in this form, which vary by state, and election type, so make sure you do this ahead of time!
In order to fill out the FCPA, you must know the mailing address that you will want to use overseas.
On the Arizona application, they gave me a few choices for how I would like to receive my ballots: by mail, fax, or email. Make sure that each option is available in your state and county before selecting it.
There was also the option of changing your political party at the same time, if you would like to do that. And some states require that on the application you provide your political party for primary elections.
You need to send the FCPA to the county clerk in the county in which you are registered to vote.
After I sent my FCPA (about six months before I was coming to Germany), I didn't get any response after three months, so I got kind of woried. I looked up their website again, found a contact to email in the voting department, and asked if they had received my ballot. They had (maybe they don't send you anything in return, or maybe my county office is a little slow). So if you don't get a response or are confused, you could try looking for someone to contact on your state's secretary of state website.
With these important elections coming up in November, you wouldn't want to miss the chance to vote! So if you are moving abroad, be sure to fill this application out ahead of time!
This information is only based on my own internet search and personal experience. If you have any questions, or for information that may vary by state and county, please contact your county clerk!
2 Comment(s)
Fri, Apr 11th 2008, 05:12
My favorite web sites
The following are some fun/useful/amusing websites that I have discovered, and I thought I would share them with the two people who read my blog (Hi Mike!).
Pandora Radio (unfortunately I can't use this anymore since it is only available to listeners in the U.S.) At this website you can submit songs or artists that you like, and then according to those, the website will play you songs that it thinks you will like. You then continue to tell them which you like and which you don't, and I suppose that eventually it will only play things you like. Very cool.
AllRecipes.com This website allows you to make a profile where you accumulate favorite recipes. You can also submit your own, and rate others' recipes. I have used it many times to figure out how to make things from home. (The site also converts the measurements!)
Trip Advisor I have found this site to be very useful when planning a vacation. It shows hotel reviews and ratings.
PostCrossing This is the postcard exchange that I joined. You can send up to 5 postcards at a time, and once they are received, your address is randomly given to another user. I have received postcards from all over the world! You can see some of the postcards I have received here.
The Advertising Slogan Generator I blogged about this one earlier. It's not really useful, but it's definitely amusing.
YouTube you probably all know about this one, the site allows people to share videos and you can spend a lot of time looking through them
IMDB this is an internet movie database. You can find information on every film and filmstar. Also gives you ratings, so you know which ones to skip, and message boards, for when you don't understand the movie (Cache, anyone?)
Top 10 Incredible Sound Illusions I just found this the other day, it's best experienced with headphones, and some of them are really cool!
One final favorite is someone I have discovered since I moved to Germany, where the only English speaking television channel I receive is CNN International: this is Richard Quest!. He is a news anchor who also has two shows on the channel: Business Traveler and Quest. I have only seen Business Traveler, but the main thing I like about Richard is his accent and his enthusiasm. He is a real hoot. I recommend you check out the shows if you get the channel.
1 Comment(s)
Wed, Mar 26th 2008, 16:22
It's late and I can't sleep. I've got visions of blogs dancing through my head. Are they too boring? Are they too stupid? Do I need a title? Will anyone even care? I promise the next time anything interesting happens to me, you will be updated.
The Advertising Slogan Generator
Good to the Last Mike
Moms Like You Choose Mike
Nobody Does it Like Mike
When You've Got Mike, Flaunt It
But I'd Rather Have a Bowl of Mike
Mike is Good For You
Come to See the Softer Side of Mike
Wouldn't You Rather Be Mike?
Probably the Best Mike in the World
Mike Just Feels Right
Half the Mike, All the Taste
Are you as easily amused as I am? Try it out with your name, or any other word, and prepare to be easily amused for about 3 minutes.
1 Comment(s)
This weekend we went on a short trip to Prague with my classmates from language school: Iker (Basque Country), Tessa (USA), Thomas (Holland), Katja (Russia), oh yeah, and Mike (Germany) too. Quite the international group!
We stayed in a hostel called Le Papillon for fifteen Euros a night per person. For that price I shouldn't complain, but for a hostel it was pretty sleezy and that's really saying something! I'm glad we only stayed there a night. 
The first day we walked around a lot and I was quite impressed with the Czech Republic in general. I have heard many things about Prague, that it's beautiful and that it's a dirty tourist trap. I have to say that I agree with both views, but it did not hurt my impression of Prague in any way. I anticipated that there would be a lot of tourists and people trying to sell us things (it is the 6th most visited European city), so I was not surprised by it. But what I was surprised by was how interesting I found the city.
My favorite part was just to walk through the streets and see all the old buildings contrasting with the new shopping malls. It was a strange juxtaposition of the old and the new, the ugly and the beautiful, like many other eastern European cities I have seen. I liked it.
I liked the Old Town Square with the gothic cathedral, baroque church, and astronomical clock with moving figures.
I loved the views of Prague from Charles Bridge. It would be nice to take a boat tour sometime. 
I have to say I wasn't too impressed with the castle, even though I had heard so much about it. To me, it was really unremarkable and boring. I was a bit let down after the hike up the hill, but the St. Vitus Cathedral up there was very beautiful with lots of colorful stained glass windows and where the relics of St. Wenceslas are kept. Also, the views from the castle of the city were amazing.
At one point we passed two Czech children playing basketball and Mike asked them in Polish if we could play with them. Katja and I watched as the boys played. The little boy, Marro, was very friendly. He spoke English and he was very surprised to learn that we were all from different countries. It was a memorable experience. He gave us some tips on what we should see, but strangely enough he didn't have much advice about Prague's bar scene.
Most of our interactions with the Czech people were pleasant. Most of them speak either English or German so we got along fine, and when we didn't they could understand some of Mike's Polish. I have to say that most of them were very friendly for Europeans. 
The exception was at a restaurant we went to at the advice of our hostel's owner. We went because we were told we could get a free small beer if we ordered the goulash, a typical Czech meal. 
When Mike confronted the waitress she came back with three smaller beers and said that these were the free ones and the big ones were not free.
I have heard that this is one of the risks in Prague. Don't let it deter you from visiting, but just make sure you know what you are ordering and what you are paying for, because some people there do try to take advantage.
On Sunday Mike and I decided to go solo and take it more slowly than the day before. We had breakfast and then we went and saw Dark Knight in a theater because in Czech Republic they do not dub their films, so it was in English with Czech subtitles. So exciting! I waited so long to see that film, and it definitely lived up to all of the hype.
