That's a wrap

My Prague Blog is complete. I hope you had as much fun reading as I had writing. It's like a public book that we all can look back on, no publisher needed. Pretty cool.

My writing of course is by no means done. I'm done writing here, but I'll be writing on my other blog all the time, on whatever creeps into my mind. So follow me there.

Thanks for reading. It's been a blast.

In one hyphenated word: Life-changing

Ten countries, nine languages, five currencies, one semester.

I drove on Germany’s famous Autobahn, skied the Swiss and French Alps, drank Guinness in Dublin, saw the beaches of Barcelona, stood in Rome’s Coliseum, ate great pasta in Florence, hiked the hills of Cinque Terre, went to a carnival in Amsterdam, partied for Fruhlingsfest in Munich, visited the largest concentration camp in the world, sat in the stands in the best football stadium in Italy, cruised the canals of Copenhagen and perhaps best of all, lived for four months in a country that didn’t exist the day I was born.

I went to Prague with high expectations, never assuming they could be vastly overmatched. I was naïve. My semester abroad was nothing short of amazing. My perspective on life has completely changed for the better. I feel worldly, knowledgeable about subjects I never dreamed of understanding. I took the perfect classes. I learned all about the European Union, both politically and economically. My entrepreneurship class turned into a project for which I’m actually seeking investors and designers. Plus I learned some Czech along the way.

While abroad, I got some of my swagger back. I had a tough semester in the fall; I was so caught up in being the best journalist college newspapers had ever seen (an unachievable goal) that I forgot who I was and what life is all about (more on this later). I got really into the evolution of online media and technology, trying to understand more about Twitter, Stumble Upon, Digg, blogs and podcasts – words that I’m now seeing swiggly red lines under because they’re too technologically advanced for Microsoft Word’s dictionary.

Aside from school, I learned from experience of the best kind. I lived in Europe for four months. I met people from all over the world. I learned about the globe’s optimism for the Obama Era and the reason why Americans are so disliked (It’s sadly true: we really do live in our own bubble. How many European presidents can you name? They know all of our cabinet members). Living abroad has taught me how important it is to be worldly, well-rounded, knowledgeable about multiple subjects, not just sports. It’s cool to be able to actually discuss the issues regarding waterboarding or the impacts of new EU member countries joining the European Economic and Monetary Union.

Of course, I made a ton of friends along the way. I now have friends from Framingham, Cedar, Wisconsin and Prague, all of whom I can stay in touch with regularly via Facebook, a life-changing social tool. I’m going to miss the nights in Chapeau Rouge and the walks across the Charles Bridge. I had mixed emotions leaving Prague, but I knew my time in Europe was done. I left behind no regrets. Sure, I wish I had been more outgoing, because we all became friends after our trip to Poland in late April. I didn’t do as well in the girl category as I would have liked, but what’s done is done. I had the best experience of my life jam-packed into four short months. Now it’s time to turn the page. Allow me to explain.

During my last week in the Czech Republic, it all became clear to me. Life is one long autobiography. My whole life I hated change. I hated leaving Cedar and it was tough for me to adapt as a counselor because I wanted to be a camper for the first three weeks of that summer. I hated leaving my childhood friends in Framingham for college at first. Worst of all, until this semester, I was petrified of growing up too fast, dreading what comes next after this upcoming school year. Not anymore (although I don’t want to end my college career any time soon, but I know I will be ready when the time comes).

Like I said, life is about chapters, turning pages. You can’t be scared to close one chapter and start writing the next. I was sad to leave Prague, end my amazing European adventure, but I knew it was time to start a new chapter. I know this next chapter will include something great; it always does and I’m anxious to find out exactly what it is. There’s a happy medium between learning from past experiences and mistakes, and dwelling in the past. The former is essential in the book of life; the latter will get you in trouble.

Last semester I wanted to be the next Dan Shaughnessy straight out of college. I didn’t understand how the book of life works. Reading Mark Cuban’s blog helped me understand. He mopped floors at a computer company after graduating from Indiana. He bartended and slept on his friends’ couches in his mid-20s, all the while, learning, reading, understanding how things work, how life works. Now he’s a billionaire and owns the Dallas Mavericks.

I barely chose Wisconsin over Miami (Ohio). I wrote for the Badger Herald. I joined Delta Upsilon. I edited at the Badger Herald. Now my friend from DU got me a lead at NESN for the summer because of my experiences at BH. That’s how the book of life works. You write new chapters, new pages, occasionally flipping back for references, but never for too long. Blank pages need to be filled; new words on old pages would just create confusion.

I sit here in my kitchen and think about what just happened from February through May. It was truly life-changing, but I know I can never go back. And I’m OK with that.

It’s time to write a new chapter. I can’t wait for you all to read it.

15 minutes left in Prague

Checked some things off the bucket list yesterday: paddle boating and Prague zoo (Munich's was better). Just walked around the city and got teary-eyed. This amazing chapter in my life is over. Cab's coming in 11 minutes.

Peace, Prague. Reflection blogs will be written in the airport/planes today. Will be posted from 20 Cider Mill Rd. tonight.

Bad business decision

I've been working out at the Prague YMCA (funny, I know) for the past month or so. I recently discovered the awesomeness of the sauna below the weight room.

So today I go there a little "under the weather" after a long night (more like morning) at Karlovy Lazne, the 5-story club by the river with Dana Katz and visiting friends. But, to my surprise, the Y doesn't open the sauna until 2 p.m. (I went at one). Of course, that got my business wheels spinning.

Saunas are perhaps the best hangover medicine ever to grace the Earth (I went back at two). Alcohol literally seeps out of your pores for 20 minutes and you feel like a million bucks when you get out (it's the only way I'll be able to finish this paper this afternoon).

Anyway, if the Y marketed its sauna for what it is -- the best hangover cure ever -- and opened it in the morning, they could see some serious newfound cash flow. Some people have to be productive before 4 p.m., you know? I just don't happen to be one of them.

Donation made

Remember that post about Hotelscombined.com? Well, they actually did put my blog on their March 2009 charity list, saying that they donated $2o to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in my name. Feels good.

Around the world party

Last night we threw an awesome party in Templova. Each room was a different country and had a different drink. We were Nigeria (jungle juice: vodka, juices and assorted fruit), 4A was Mexico (tequila poppers), the girls next to us were Czech Republic (flaming B-52 shots: Kahlua, Baileys and absinthe on fire), the guys from the first floor were the Confederacy (apple pie shots: vodka, apple juice and whipped cream) and the third floors guys were Russia (white Russians). I was quite proud of our jungle juice, to tell you the truth; it was truly a thing of beauty. And the cops never came, which was amazing, but Radka and Marta from CEA did, which was awesome.

Our buddy Fink got us a deal at this club called Duplex; we had to pay a 50-crown cover instead of 300. Great night.

And now I'm writing my final paper of the semester on EU countries and NATO. 3,000 words due Monday. Fantastic.

Done with finals. Home in four. Max just left this morning.

International NBA marketing

Just got back from shooting hoops with a couple of 11-year-old Czech kids. They spoke decent English. I asked them who their favorite NBA players were. Of course one said Kobe and the other said LeBron. Figures.

I asked them if they liked Paul Pierce, to which looked at me, wiggled his hand and said "50/50."

Oh, and for the record, "alley-oop" is apparently a uni-language term.

They're not big on ice over here

I wanted an iced coffee to jump start my day of studying this morning. I pass a Starbucks on my way to school every day (think the Soviet Union thought there'd be a Starbucks in Old Town Square 20 years ago?), but it wasn't open yet (imagine that, at 9 a.m.). So I went to McDonald's which is right by my school. I ordered a large iced coffee. He pours the coffee in, then adds 1/3 of a cone's worth of vanilla soft serve ice cream and hands it to me (anyone who knows me well enough can imagine my reaction to that). No top, no ice.

I hesitate, then think about it for a second. A coffee float. Genius! Add a little Bailey's to it and now we're really talking. A Hard Coffee Float. Or maybe some Jameson: an Irish Coffee Float.

I'm copyrighting both when I get home next week. Can you copyright drink names?

We need a page out of the Euro playbook

I'm not exactly Mr. Green, but I do care about the environment. Which is why I think we, Americans have a thing or two to learn from the Europeans on recycling.

Most people here (Prague) recycle their beer bottles, because they get more than the equivalent of five cents back on their return. Our beer bottles are noticeably recycled; you can see the marks of old labels.

Why don't US beer companies jack up the prices of cans and bottles, then offer a, say, 50-cent (not the rapper) refund per return. Then everyone would have to recycle and everybody wins.

Of course, I'm being naive; I know beer revenue is handled by the beer companies, while recycling refunds are given by the state, but come on, there's got to be some sort of subsidy to make my proposal come to fruition. It's not exactly the human genome project.

Twitter gadget explanation

Read this to see why my Twitter links are all of a sudden on the right side of your screen.

We need Obama back

Those couple of 70-and-sunny weeks post-Obama turned out to be an aberration. The whether in May has sucked so far. I have to wear a sweatshirt during the day (highs of mid-50s) and the sun has rarer than steak tartare. I've got a lot of work before I head home in 11 days, but hopefully I'll find some time for a reflection post or two. I have a lot brewing upstairs.

A taste of Scandinavia

I went to Denmark not really knowing what to expect. I had that luxury, of course because I was staying with Corey, so no prior research or planning was necessary on my part, which was nice.

Corey was right there when Ryan and I got off the plane Friday afternoon. Now, though Denmark may be less culturally different to the United States than the Czech Republic is, Corey’s abroad experience is completely different than mine. He signed up for a “mentor” to aid him with his transition, but other than that, he’s basically on his own. No CEA to buy his public transportation passes for him or tell him where to go and what to see, like they do for us. That, and there really aren’t that many American students in Copenhagen. There are international, English-speaking kids there, but the majority of Corey’s friends are from Canada and Australia. He lives in a studio apartment in the northern “slums” (I use that term lightly) of the city, so he was forced to meet people. It takes a certain kind of person to be able to do that, and Corey has obviously succeeded in doing so. A bit different from my situation, where there are a couple dozen kids from Madison just in my building. It is what it is.

We didn’t do much Friday afternoon, thanks to the weather (rain) and the Middle Eastern restaurant owners who apparently were unaware of the term “service.” Middle Eastern kabab, shawarma shops are all over Europe, by the way, but Copenhagen is the hub, for some unknown reason. Anyway, we waited 45 minutes for them to shave chicken off the spick and put it into a wrap. Granted, the place was busy, but the only reason it didn’t take over an hour was because a Moroccan guy sitting next to us started shouting in Arabic to the guys behind the counter to give us our food. (Apparently he’s a big Obama fan?) People started getting up from their tables to calm him down and I thought I was going to get shot within my first 90 minutes in Denmark. Not really, but it was pretty intense for about a minute.

Friday night it was raining but we went to this small club where this well-known Danish DJ was spinning crazy house music. Never knew Danes loved to rage so much. They do. I also didn’t know how expensive Denmark is. It’s not on the euro; they use Danish kroner, which is about 5.5 kroner to one dollar. Corey told me that minimum wage is something around 85 kroner (do the math… $17). Hard to believe, but after seeing the prices of things all weekend, it makes sense. Needless to say, we ate a lot of shawarma and not a lot (zero) of seafood along the canal.

Saturday the three of us went to Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park Corey had yet to go to. It was fun; we acted like 12 year olds for a few hours, eating crap and going on rides. Tivoli had a couple rides worth paying for, so it was a day well-spent.

Saturday night we went to a different club, which was awesome. Again, lots of house music (standard for European clubs), with some techno and my generation rap mixed in. One of the more fun nights of the semester, to be honest.

Sunday (the only day I took my camera out) we took a boat tour of the canals, which was the highlight of the trip. Copenhagen isn’t as canal-oriented as Amsterdam, but the city has enough to make a worthwhile canal tour. The canals empty out into the North Sea, facing Sweden. We could have taken a 30-minute train to Sweden, but Corey said it wasn’t worth it. So I saw Sweden instead of stepping foot on it.

The coolest part of Copenhagen is this strip (I forget the name of it, and Google isn’t helping) along the canal. It’s lined with restaurants and multi-colored buildings. Looks amazing in the sun with all the sailboats docked along the sides (see the pictures on the left). In that same area, there was an International food festival going on, so that was convenient for lunch. We basked in the sun for a bit after that, enjoying our last afternoon in Scandinavia.

Sunday night we went to Christiania, which is a part of Copenhagen not recognized by the government or the EU. Corey doesn’t completely understand it, so obviously I don’t either, but you can’t take pictures there and it’s a little sketchy. There’s a lot of weirdos there and a fair amount of open drug use. But it isn’t a dangerous place, just a little different. There was a live jazz band playing there, so we hung out there, keeping it low key on our last night. When you leave, you walk under a wooden sign that welcomes you back to the EU. Strange, but interesting.

Monday Ryan and I got up at 8:15 to catch our 10:30 flight. Corey, who was an incredible host, by the way, sent us off and that was that. My next traveling will be done in the direction of 20 Cider Mill Rd.

Oh, also, the Danish girls are as good-looking as advertised.

Thanks, Corey for a great weekend. Fifteen days left in Prague, well Europe, for that matter. Glad I’m not traveling anymore. I need to enjoy Prague before I leave. I’ve got a lot of work to do for school, but I should find some time for fun. Tomorrow night is our going away banquet for CEA. They say time flies when you’re having fun. They’re right.

Final trip of the semester

Tomorrow my friend Ryan and I are headed to Copenhagen, Denmark (if the Danish couple I met in Rome is reading this, please email me) for what will be my last trip of this wild semester abroad. We are staying with Corey, a friend of mine from DU, which is nice because we don't have to pay for a hostel or hotel. I wanted to go to a Scandinavian country before I left. Oslo, Norway; Helsinki, Finland or Stockholm, Sweden were atop the list, but the flight to Copenhagen was cheaper, plus I knew Corey is staying there. It's also nice to visit someone you know in a foreign city, since they know exactly what to do and where to go. Plus, at this point, they might have a bucket list of their own to accomplish before they leave, so you might get to do some extraordinary things while you're there.

Back to Prague on Monday. After that, next time I board a plane will be May 26: Prague to London, London to Boston, landing at 9:50 p.m. local time. Wow.

My Prague bike excursion

Yesterday I went on a 3-hour (including a beer break, of course) around Prague, organized by the Czech language teachers at AAU for all the kids who take Czech here. It was fun. I was the only guy -- there aren't many guys in the Czech classes to begin with and Tyler didn't want to go. But nonetheless, we had a good time. Got to see the rural side of Prague, not just the tourist areas like Old Town Square and the Charles Bridge. We saw some people training for competitive kayaking (a big Olympic sport here) in the river on man-made rapids, which was cool. The highlight was crossing the river on a "ferry," which seemed more like an oversize canoe with a motor, to me. The 56-second "ferry ride" was a nice Czech experience, however. I'm a different man today because of it.

Northern Italy images

Milan mission accomplished

About a month ago, Jordan and I had a Facebook chat conversation that went something like this:

Derek: yo i wanna go to a serious soccer match before i leave europe.

Jordan: yeah that would be sick

Derek: ive been looking at matches and i wanna go to inter milan v. lazio may 2. i heard milan is the craziest place to watch a match in europe.

Jordan: id be down

Derek: flights on skyeurope are super cheap from prague to milan

Jordan: well i have no school that week so i could fly into prague then to milan then back to sevilla

Derek: i’ll book it right now, it’s 60 euro round trip

Jordan: lets race

Derek: done

Jordan: done

Derek: cya in a month

Jordan: word. peace

Derek: peace, ttyl.

So our itinerary consisted solely of one thing before we left: Get tickets to that match. It ended up being much more.

Our plane Friday night didn’t leave Prague until 7, so Jordan had three full days in Prague, which he was happy about. We left my apartment at five, not having written down the name of our hotel. We had one booked in Milan, we’d just need to find Internet once we got there. This would be a theme throughout the weekend (us being morons, not us needing the Internet, that is).

Milan doesn’t have an airport of its own, but it has two nearby. We flew into Bergamo and took a bus into Milan. We found an Internet café after trying to hustle a few hotels for wireless connection and figured out our hotel was only a 10-minute walk away. We checked in around 10 and decided to explore the city a bit with one goal in mind: Figure out where and when to get tickets to the match (which was Saturday night at 8:30).

After an amazing Italian lasagna feast, we walked around downtown in search of the night life scene. Now, the city of Rome is one gigantic museum. Milan, in comparison, is one giant mall. It’s the fashion capital of the world, with designer store after designer store. People come from all over the world to shop there and everything (clothes/accessory-wise) is absurdly expensive. Saturday we saw a Ferrari, a Maserati, a Lamborghini and an Aston Martin in one afternoon. Friday night we walked through the mall that is Milan, at which time everything was closed. We were nervous that there is no night life in that city, but finally we stumbled upon an outdoor bar, where a bunch of college-aged kids were hanging out and drinking. We met a group of kids, one from Egypt, one from France and one from Cyprus. I can’t say that I’ve ever met a kid from Cyprus and I can’t recall meeting any Egyptians anytime in recent memory, either. They were fun and helpful, told us that the Inter ticket office didn’t open until 5:00 at the stadium and that we shouldn’t have any trouble getting a pair. Good thing they told us, because we were planning on going down there (which was a metro ride away from our hotel) at nine in the morning. The Egyptian kid (who lived in New York from age six through high school, but was born in Cairo) took my number down and said he’d text me if they were going to play soccer the next day, or if they were going out Saturday night. My phone never beeped.
Saturday was our tourist day. We walked around the city, saw their Duomo (much different than the one in Florence) and did some window shopping at Georgio Armani and such. After a couple cigars on the river (tough life, I know), we ventured down to San Siro Stadium. We waited in line with a hundred or so people (I was expecting a lot more), got our tickets and had three hours to kill, which subsequently consisted of buying Inter scarves and jerseys and having another Italian feast. Before we knew it, it was time for kickoff.

To be perfectly honest, I was expecting it to be a little crazier than it was. Don’t get me wrong, the atmosphere was worth traveling for, but it wasn’t like I felt unsafe at any time (which was a bit disappointing). It was a lot like college (American) football, where the rowdy student sections are behind the goals and it’s calmer along the sidelines. No one was lighting flares or waving huge flags in our section, but behind the goal they were pretty wild. Inter was a big favorite at home and after a 0-0 halftime score, the hosts scored a pair of second-half goals for the 2-0 victory. We were exhausted and Jordan had a 6:20 a.m. flight back to Sevilla in the morning, so we just crashed back at the hotel after the game. That should have been the end of our trip. Little did we know, it was only the beginning.

When we got back to the hotel, I fell asleep while Jordan was in the shower. He woke me up to set my alarm, since his phone was dead. That was a mistake. I half-asleepily (I like to make up words) set it for 3:30 p.m. instead of a.m. Needless to say, when we woke up to the sun rising, we knew we were screwed. Sort of.

On the plane to Milan we saw this amazing-looking lake along the Alps just outside Bergamo. We made it our mission to go there Sunday. I had a 7 p.m. flight that I decided to skip, since I could book a relatively cheap flight to Prague Monday because I don’t have classes until Tuesday. So that’s what I did. And boy was it worth it.

After about an hour bus ride, we found Lago d’Iseo. It was arguably the coolest place I’ve ever seen; cooler than Cinque Terre because instead of the Mediterranean Sea across from you, there are Alps foothills. And to our left, were the actual, still-snowy Alps, as we stood in gorgeous 70-degree sun. Unfortunately, the kayak rental shops were closed because of a holiday, so we couldn’t go on the lake, but we had ridiculous gelati (plural for gelato) instead (the best dessert I’ve ever tasted) and walked along the coast for a few hours. Great day.

(Wow, I’m making us sound like a gay couple).

Back in Bergamo, we found an Internet café to book a hotel for the night, which was easy enough. I booked a flight for Monday and after one last Italian feast, our weekend was over. We hopped on the 5:19 a.m. bus to the airport (Jordan had a 6:20 flight; mine was 8:35) and flew back to our respective cities. Another successful, action-packed, European adventure.

Only one more left: Copenhagen, Denmark this weekend. Honestly, I’m burnt out. Copenhagen makes seven travel weekends in a row for me; 10 out of the last 11. I’m exhausted.

Home three weeks from today. No regrets.

Back to Italy

Jordan and I are off to Milan tonight. We still don't have tickets to tomorrow night's match. Should be an adventure. Perfect thing is, the Celtics' Game 7 starts at 2 a.m. there, so hopefully I'll be able to stream it in the hotel. I've missed quite the series.

Roster link

In keeping with the link theme, take a look at the 2009 Western Oklahoma State Junior College baseball roster. You'll notice both Framingham prospects Luis Rodriguez and Ruben Rivera are redshirting this season. But if you look up, you'll see that the team ace is Danny Almonte from the Bronx. Yes, that same Danny Almonte that was illegally hurling 81-mile-per-hour heaters past kids three years younger than him in the 2001 Little League World Series. Small world in the land of Oklahoma junior college baseball.

Look what I stumbled upon

My parents' wedding announcement

How funny is that?

Back to my roots

I've been having some sports writing withdrawals. I couldn't help myself, so I wrote a Badger Herald guest column, printed in today's paper.

Poland: The perfect balance

Two 9-hour overnight train rides, a day in the heart of World War II and a day and a night in Krakow, Poland combined for yet another unforgettable weekend for me during this semester-long adventure in Europe. Historically overwhelming, then some fun.

Friday night, about 20 of us from the CEA program – along with Radka and Marta, our CEA supervisors, who are awesome – boarded a 9:15 train from Prague to Krakow, which was interesting. Each room fit six people and no more. You could sit six on the ground level pre-sleep, which transformed into six “beds,” three on top of each other on each side of the “cabin.” The comfort level was minimal, but we got enough sleep to be able to function the next day.

The train arrived in Krakow at about 6:30 a.m., a pleasant time for a bunch of college-aged kids to be risen from their less-than-ideal slumbers. We got on a bus, which took us to our hotel. Of course, it was too early to check in, so we all left our bags in the storage room and re-boarded the bus, headed for Auschwitz.

Auschwitz is difficult to put into words. Somewhere between 1.1 and 1.5 million people were killed there, tough numbers to fathom, although being there somewhat helps with the reality of it all. Standing in a gas chamber is also a bit of a life-altering phenomenon. Really makes you appreciate the privilege to wear Oakleys and a polo whenever you feel like it. It also makes you wonder how such a horrific scene could actually happen in the 20^th century, let alone last for four-plus years.

Our tour of the concentration camp lasted about four hours, four hours of a lot of silence, head shaking and some tears. Again, very difficult to put into words, but I’m certainly glad I went. Everyone should go, not only to turn history lessons into reality, but to help prevent such future catastrophes. Even after being there – at the biggest concentration camp in the world – it still boggles my mind. How? Why? Really?

You picture Auschwitz as cold, dark and dreary, partly because Poland is freezing in the winter, but also because all the pictures you see are in black and white. Being there on a cloudless, 70-degree day makes it kind of surreal, but standing on the train tracks where so many innocent Jews from all over Europe, who had no idea why they were there unloaded trains only 65 years ago adds a sense of reality to the experience, despite the weather.

After our tour, we got back on the bus for another 90-minute drive back to the hotel in Krakow. We all needed some physical and mental relaxation after the morning’s activities. Max and I shared a room, which was nice (good work, CEA).We had a sauna in our room, the only sauna in the entire hotel (don’t ask me why it was in our room), which we took full advantage of that afternoon (and Sunday morning). Max and I went into town (which is very underrated, if rated at all) with some girls out to a late lunch/early dinner. We walked around for a while, came back before going out with nearly the whole group that night to a club downtown. Also very underrated nightlife in Krakow.

Although Poland is part of the European Union, it, like the Czech Republic, is not yet on the euro. The Poles’ currency is the zloty, and the exchange rate is about three zloty to one dollar. It ended being even cheaper than Prague, which shocked me. I guess the further east you go, the cheaper things get. I only spent about 120 zloty, or $40 the entire weekend, since the trains, hotel, tours and Sunday’s dinner was paid for by CEA (originally with our money, but still, it’s a nice mid-semester gesture).

Another cool thing I noticed was the true versatility of the English language. As Americans, we expect people to be able to speak and understand English (so nice of us) because it is supposed to be the world’s universal language. But actually seeing Radka (a native Czech speaker) speak to the Polish hotel receptionist in English was cool. Both speak English as their second language, but were using it because neither spoke each other’s native tongue. Does that make me a dork because I think that’s cool?

Sunday we had a formal tour of Krakow. Castles, cathedrals, churches. They were all interesting, but to be honest with you, I’m pretty castle-cathedral-churched-out at this point. But Krakow is still an awesome city, with a river splitting it down the middle with grassy banks you can (and we did) lay on. Sunday night we boarded a 10:45 train back to Prague, six to a room. Got back at 7:00 this morning. Another weekend, another country. It isn’t getting old, either.

It was nice to go on a trip with our group (CEA is broken up into three groups since there are so many kids; each group goes to Krakow a different week – we were the middle group, sandwiched between the two). We all bonded well and had a great time together. I wish we had done a trip like that earlier in the semester. I finally feel like I know everyone in our group now, which wasn’t the case prior to this weekend. We told Radka that, so they can change it for next semester. At least we have four weeks left.

Jordan comes to Prague tomorrow. He and I are going to Milan, Italy Friday for Saturday night’s Inter v. Lazio Serie A match. Don’t have tickets yet; just gonna wing it. I thrive on just wingin’ it.

'Never a dull moment'

The abroad stories never end. Most are good. Some are bad. Last night we had one of the latter.

We went to this club called Radost with a bunch of people from our building. Normal night, everyone was having a good time. Until I turn around and half of Tyler’s face is covered in blood. I didn’t see it, but apparently he mouthed off to some guy, who then smashed a glass on his face.

So Tyler has a pretty deep gash above his left eye, blood everywhere. One of the bouncers calls an ambulance and I go with him to the “emergency room.”

Culturally, Prague is great. Health care, however must not be one of their top priorities. The guy in the ambulance asked for cash from Tyler. No way was that happening. We get to the “emergency room,” Tyler still bleeding pretty well and a guy goes in ahead of him. If the extent of this guy’s injury was a hangnail on his pinkie finger, I’d be surprised. He looked fine. They deal with him for 20 minutes or so, Tyler still bleeding. Tyler then wants water. The “supervisor” walks me across the courtyard to a vending machine with Pepsi and 7up. No water in the emergency room. I know; it’s a lot to ask. Finally they take Tyler in. After 20 more minutes, I knock on the door, the “nurse” swings the door open and the lock cuts my hand. Actually, I just wanted to fit in blood-wise. Anyway, I look at the “nurse’s” computer, and she’s playing video games. Some place. The “doctor” gives Tyler three of four stitches, finally, and we get the hell out of there after about two hours of mayhem. Back to Templova by 5:30 a.m. No big deal, except Tyler looks like Frankenstein’s brother today.

Off to Poland in a few hours. I’m not gonna lie, it’s tough not to be home this weekend. Celtics playoffs, Red Sox-Yankees, Bruins wait for Round 2, NFL Draft. And I’ll be in a concentration camp for it. Who would have thought?

Thank you, Mother Nature

For raining out the Red Sox game yesterday. Today's 12:35 EST start time was five minutes after the beginning of my Eastern and Central European Integration into the EU and NATO class. I've been watching Wakefield flutter knuckleballs for over two hours now, while kids present powerpoints and my professor lectures about internal security affairs.

Don't worry, there's no final in this class, just a paper. Mine obviously won't be related to today's class.

More from Munich

Germans definitely know how to party

Had you been on around Yawkey Way just after Keith Foulke’s underhand flip to Doug Menkiewicz in 2004, your opinion of Boston would be a bit skewed – positively if you like to party; negatively if you’re more of the museum type. Granted, FC Bayern Munich hadn’t just won the Champions League, but being in Munich for Frühlingsfest was the equivalent of being in Madison for the Mifflin Street block party in May. Arguably the most fun weekend of the semester thus far. At least party-wise

But to be perfectly fair to the city of Munich, I thought it was an awesome city regardless of Frühlingsfest. Friday morning at 7 a.m., six of us (none of my roommates included; all five from downstairs) took the bus from Prague to Munich. We got there just after 1 p.m., immediately checked into our hostel (which was probably the nicest I’ve stayed in thus far) and were on our way. Our room had a Camp Cedary feel to it, with twelve wooden bunk beds and wooden floors. Maybe that’s why I liked it so much. We met a bunch of those kids’ friends from home (north shore Chicago), so our group filled 11 of the 12 beds; No. 12 ended up being a normal American, which was a nice luxury. So we dropped our stuff off and headed to the beer halls that we had heard so much about. Honestly, what did you expect?

They didn’t disappoint. These beer halls sit hundreds of people, teenagers to grandparents, all drinking liters of beer at a time out of huge steins, eating sausages, pretzels and sauerkraut (all amazing, pre- and post-beer, by the way). That started at about 3:30 and ended around 8. Then came head-to-pillow contact, which was supposed to be a quick pre-evening nap. Woke up at 2 a.m. with eight missed calls from Becky and Sam. I’m usually not a deep sleeper.

Saturday we were on a mission. The rest of them had to be because they had a 1 p.m. bus home Sunday. I was smart and booked the 11:40 p.m. one by myself so I had more than one day in the city. Great decision. I randomly ran into some Madison folk who were taking Lenny’s Bike Tour around town. My group wanted to do Mike’s Bike Tour, which cost 24 euro. Lenny’s was free, pre-tips (needless to say Mike and Lenny don’t get along. No joke.) Saved me about 16 euro. Another great decision, considering we did the same exact tour as Mike and Co.

Munich is cool because downtown has so much Word War II history, but within biking (or walking, really) distance, there’s huge, fields, streams and gorgeous scenery. The tour took us trough all of it, the coolest part being the river surfers. Our guide told us that in WWII, they built a mad-made wave-maker (for lack of the real term) in the river to please the soldiers from California. It’s still there, and the Germans love it.

After the tour, it was time for Frühlingsfest. The Fest is basically a carnival for adults. It’s a regular carnival with rides, games and food, with a huge tent where the real fun happens. Under the tent was a live German band, decked out in traditional German attire, singing everything from German drinking songs to “Beat it” by Michael Jackson. With steins in hand, everyone (hundreds, many also in proper attire) is singing, dancing on the tables and cheersing liter after liter. Best bar in the world.

I met Becky and her roommates in the tent, on purpose and ran into Russell Thaw in the carnival, post-tent. Didn’t even know he was in Munich at the time. Small world, in the most literal sense.

Needless to say, there wasn’t much to the night after the tent, except for one carnival teacup-ish ride (thank god I didn’t puke). Didn’t see midnight on back-to-back nights. Can’t tell you the last time that happened.

Sunday was my own personal day. The Prague boys were leaving at 1, Becky left at 9:30 and Sam’s phone wasn’t working. Didn’t see her the whole time, unfortunately. So I decided to be productive. I went to the Olympic Park, where the 1972 Olympics were held, the BMW Museum and the Munich Zoo all by myself. Each was cool in its own way, the zoo being my favorite. I couldn’t tell you the last time I was at a zoo, but this zoo had everything: zebras, elephants, tigers, lions, sharks, penguins, polar bears, gorillas, baboons, wolves, flamingos, you name it, it was there. I was honestly fascinated by the primates (of all variety). They’re so human-like. You’d think we were closely related or something.

The zoo also had a pretty sweet aquarium with all sorts of fish and aquatic animals (I guess that's why they call it an aquarium). I was standing behind a German family, staring into a tank when I heard a 7-year-old girl say something along the lines of: "Cheiststein zeichenbach deutchzeich Nemo!" Sure enough, there was an orange and white fish that looked just like Nemo. I laughed out loud and had to walk away.

After the zoo, I was beat. I streamed the Red Sox game on my computer (thank you Martin, and thank you again in advance for tonight), then took the 11:40 bus back to Prague. Got here at 5 a.m. and went straight back to bed.

Another weekend, another country (although technically I’d already driven through it) added to my list, which is getting rather long. Off to Krakow and Auschwitz (Poland) Friday night on a trip with CEA, our program. Should be a bit of a different atmosphere.

Appropriate time for reflection, thanks

I’ve been meaning to write this for a while, but now seems to be as fitting a time as ever.

Five weeks from today I’ll be boarding a plane back to Boston, meaning I’ve been living in the Czech Republic, traveling Europe for exactly 11 weeks now. I feel like I’ve accomplished so much in such a short amount of time, both mentally and physically. But obviously, I couldn’t have done it alone.

At this time in my semester-long adventure overseas, I feel obliged to give thanks to those that made this all possible, most notably my family – you know who you are. I’ve received endless support from all of you, both monetarily and morally throughout what has been the most exciting 11-week span of my life (not to mention my entire life, but especially during this trip abroad). For that, I can’t thank you enough. You’ve inspired me to not only keep up with this almost-daily blog, but to pursue endeavors I never could have dreamed of experiencing a mere few months ago.

The appropriateness of this appreciation comes just two days after the tragic loss of longtime family friend Mitch Schecter, my 5^th grade soccer coach, father of fellow Framingham Badgers, Adam and Erica. My condolences go out to the entire Schecter family, especially Adam, who’s become one of my closest friends over the past few years.

Times like these make us remember what’s truly important in life, family of course being No. 1 atop a list of many.

Mine is certainly no exception.

2 European hygeine notes

While walking to get my haircut this afternoon, I was reminded of this, for obvious reasons:

1) Shaving is definitely not as customary here as it is in the States; it's not just a fairy tale. On the hike in Cinque Terre, I saw a French woman with easily more armpit hair than me. And I'm not exactly lacking in that department, either.

2) Deodorant should have been my No. 15 for things I miss about home. We'll call it "optional" here; and that's putting it mildly. The lovely aroma of B.O. often fills the air on your average metro ride or trip to Tesco (their version of Wal-Mart). I can't tell if they know they stink and just don't care (or they like it?), or they're completely oblivious to their own stench. I hope it's No. 2, but that's pretty sad in its own right.

(Just got back from Munich this morning. Post coming soon.)

On the road again

I contemplated staying in Prague this weekend since I've only done that once since February, but ultimately I decided that would be the wrong decision. This weekend is Spring Fest in Munich, which is supposedly the little brother to Oktoberfest held in, well, October.

The theme of this semester is "no regrets" and I don't want to be sitting in Framingham or Watertown (NESN studios) or Madison or Columbus, Ohio, for that matter, thinking, "Man, I wish I went to Munich for Spring Fest." That's why I'm hopping on a bus at 7 a.m. tomorrow and coming back around 5 a.m. Monday morning. I'm staying with a bunch of kids from my program and a bunch of their friends from various other Euro cities. It's also Becky's birthday, so she and some of her roommates from Florence will be there and Sam is coming from Dublin.

Jordan and Drew just got back from Munich and said it was their favorite European city they've visited thus far, Paris included. Bound to be a good time.

No regrets.

Top 14 things I miss about the States

Not that I want end my journey anytime soon, but still, there are some things I miss about the other side of the pond.

In no particular order:

1) My own room. Sharing a small room with two other kids gets old pretty quickly. Not that I don't like Max and Tyler, but the phrase "alone time" hasn't existed for me in 10 weeks.

2) A dishwasher. Hand-washing dishes, silverware, pots and pans isn't exactly causing me to break a sweat, but it is a bit of a hassle.

3) A dryer. They simply don't exist in this entire continent.

4) ESPN. Well, English TV in general. I do enjoy CNN International, but a station change would be nice every once in a while. I can't wait to post up on my couch and listen to Kornheiser and Wilbon call each other knuckleheads. I even kind of miss Tony Reali.

5) Chex Mix. Ham-flavored potato chips just don't get the job done. I couldn't even finish a whole small bag. I don't think that's ever happened to me before.

6) Buffalo chicken. From Andrea's will be my first lunch when I get home.

7) Using my cell phone without rationing minutes. Walks to and from school are so much more boring. Thank god for podcasts.

8) Texting the shit out of people. 165-minute classes are that much more brutal. Thank the same god for wireless Internet.

9) Free water. Screw paying for bottled water at restaurants. All I want is tap water. Is that too much to ask for?

10) Eastern time. I woke up today for class and the Red Sox game wasn't over yet. It started at 4 a.m. and ended after 8. I couldn't even watch the NCAA Championship game. It started at 3.

11) Talking sports. No one gives a damn about American sports out here. Except Tyler.

12) A non-twin bed. Actually, I don't even have that at home.

13) Good deli meats. I'm getting sick of salami and sausage.

14) Driving. No freedom with public transportation.

I don't mean to sound spoiled, but I am living in the Czech Republic, for crying out loud!

Amsterdam adventures