SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

So...

These past two weeks have been some of the most incredible set of days I have ever experienced. The spring has arrived in Prague! Finally the sun is showing its face, and the temperatures have risen accordingly. We've all been wearing shorts and t-shirts and getting sunburned! Quite the drastic change from the first 2.5 months, where thoughts of the sun were just dreams of faraway places. The city itself has been reborn, with the arrival of the spring flowers, budding trees, leaves, sunlight, tourists (ugh). I have never noticed so many flowers in a city before. Finally the city is beautiful, it's impossible to not be in love! It does really suck that the weather will only be nice for our last 3 weeks, but I'm glad that it is here, no doubt.

Since the weather has been so nice, we have all been trying to go outside for every possible second of the day that we aren't in class. And we are all really far behind now because of it. You can definantly tell that its the last week of a design school semester, with everyone running out crazed. I've tried to keep an even keel, but even I have to admit that we might have "played in the sun" a little too much these past few weeks.

Some quick highlights:

Prague Zoo, which was insane. It was the first true day of weather bliss, and the flowers were blooming in full force. What a wonderful way to spend the morning. It only cost 5 bucks too! So many animals and interactive exhibits. Amazing views all over the place, too!

Blakeley and I followed this morning up with a trip to the incredible Petrin Hill, the large hill west of the city that overlooks everything. Again, the trees were exceptionally beautiful, the sun was shining bright, and we had a spectacular picnic on the slope overlooking the city. So that Saturday was 9am-9pm of walking/exploring/enjoying the outdoors. To say it was amazing would be understating it greatly.

I went rollerblading with Andrew and Blakeley on a ridgetop that overlooked the rolling hills to the west of Prague, also incredible. So many people were outside rollerblading and just enjoying the weather. We felt like a little kids again.

I went and ate dinner with Eleanor, Jessica, Lauren, Laura-Nelle, Gennie, and Bryan at a restraunt on the river with the Charles Bridge as a backdrop. With the sunset, it was incredible. I don't think we could have appreciated it as much if we had gone there, say, on the first week. We could've sat in silence for the whole dinner and been content, it was beautiful.

On Easter Sunday, I joined the philosophy students on an all day field trip to the President's Private Retreat. It was a huge property that the first president of Czeckoslovakia, Tomas Masryk, went to for 5 out of the 7 days of the week during his presidency. I felt like a VIP walking around there, it was immensely beautiful. And, we walked along a highway for about 30 minutes to get to it after taking an hour long train ride to get to the general area. It was definantly a unique Easter.

Our literature teacher took us to a rooftop that had a really cool, new view of the city that we hadn't seen before. It was cool to be high up in the air in the city, as opposed to a distance away from it. In this picture, you can see Petrin Hill in the background (the location of my amazing picnic mentioned earlier).

I've been throwing the frisbee like its my job, lately. If I have 30 minutes to kill before class, I'm grabbing somebody (most likely Blakeley) and headed to the park. We have also been kicking around the soccer ball, as well as throwing around a tennis ball we found. The weather has brought out the sportsmen (or woman) in us all. There is no better feeling than running around in the park with no shoes and no shirt, especially after the brutal winter I just went through.

I ran with Blakeley today (we finally took our cameras running!) and ended up at a really cool overlook that looks to the south of Prague. Very beautiful, a stunning panaromic picture. The sun came out just for us to take pictures! I've been running daily, sometimes both in the morning and in the evening. I can't wait to get back and run around the lake that is walking distance from my house.

We went to a benefit concert the other night, saw about 8 Czech bands play, from a variety of musical styles. My literature teacher is in one of the bands that played, they have been together for 30 years, since during the time of secret bands when the Soviets occupied and controlled Prague. This isn't my teacher, but this clearly demonstrates the intensity of some of the bands.

And lastly, here is a little taste of the flowers that I have been seeing. I have probably taken at least a hundred pictures of just flowers, the "micro" setting on my camera is AWESOME for this.

The only reason that I am typing this blog is because it is raining today, the first time in two weeks that it hasn't been sunny. I can't stress enough how much outside time I have been spending lately. No class? I'm outside. Break between classes? I'm outside. I have taken countless naps in the grass at the various parks around the city. And I have gotten sunburned at least four times. Quite different from January, Feburary, and March.

I LOVE IT!

-Terry

Oh, and Amsterdam was AWESOME. Maybe I'll write about that the next time it rains...

Also, I thought that beer tasted good when it was cold and we were inside at a bar. I am happy to report that it tastes even better outside in the sun in a beer garden.

berlin and good days

greetings! i went to Berlin this past weekend friday through monday. what an incredible city. so much history, art, people, and good times. i really can't put into words the things that we saw and did. it was a scheduled/included trip for the Landscape Architecture students, and the fashion students had the opportunity to join us as well, which almost all of them did. my professor, Fernando, has done the trip to Berlin for the past x number of years, so he definantly was a fantastic guide for us. we saw sooooo many things and had soooo much fun, it can't be put into words. ill try and work on putting pictures on the picture website, but cant promise when they will be up (time and effort).

but in other news... my tuesday was superb, here's how it went:

i just saw thehighlights of tiger's putt on 18 on sunday, and that got me super pumped. i mean, really pumped. really really really pumped. then i checked my email, and what do you know, i find out my dad got a hole in one! holy cow, what a good feeling!!!!! add to that that the temperature was finally warmish! i went running with blakeley and we both wore shorts and a t-shirt and it was amazing! i actually wore shorts for the first time the whole trip (a little overzealous, its cold in our building, but i had to do it, couldnt help myself, it was pushing 60 degrees outside!) we had a language class that was really amazing, we just spoke sentences the whole time and talked about holiday practices in prague etc and just had a really good class in general. what a great day! tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer!!!!!!

so maybe some more about Berlin: it was the most incredible city. we had such a good time, saw so many things, and took in a LOT of history. my brain is fried, really, from taking so much in. standing in checkpoint charlie was very powerful. i dont think ive ever been in a place that contributed to the happenings of the world quite like that before. seeing the wall - well, you can imagine how that drove home everything. it was just - incredible - too see all the history and learn about the oppression that the people experienced, but still see that it is a really thriving 21st century city that respects its history but pushes for the future. the art in the city was unlike anything ive ever seen, it was just so cool. there was graffitti alllll over the place, large murals on almost every building, and sculpture etc everywhere. definantly had a something that ive never seen in a city before. so cool. i am very happy. very happy.

i am going to amsterdam on thursday with 6 other fashion students!!! i am flying in on thursday at 5pm and leaving on monday at 12noon. we are very very pumped, and are really looking foreward to walking the beautiful city. they are really awesome girls, and i think - no, know - that it will be amazing. i think these two weeks may be the best two week stretch ive had - ever? berlin for 4 days, prague for 3 days, amsterdam for 5 days, then back to prague. i dont think it gets better than that. but time will tell (i hope it gets better, i think it will!)

sports update: we were able to locate a bar in berlin on sunday night that was showing the basketball games, so we got to watch both of them (ugh, unc dominating). also, we were able to go to a bar in prague recently to watch the acc tournament (and see UNC lose the game that jorge and kristilyn went to!) so we have not been totally deprived. also, cbssports online offers a live HD feed of the games, so we can watch the games via internet (good for the early round games, but bad for now, because they are in prime time and thus at a time when we wont be able to watch) also good for the masters final round! we do have internet at the hotel, technically, but it only works for maybe 2 days out of 5. so hopefully on master's sunday it will be working and i can watch the final round (it won't be on at 4 in the morning,yay! finally a sports event that has to happen in the daylight (but thenagain, tiger made his putt in the dark!)). if its not working, franky, i will 'cut a bitch'. watching the ncaa games this weekend will be very difficult, they will be on LATE, but we will hopefully have internet and watch (one of the grad students got his degreeat unc, so its been everyone rooting against him watching the games, ha). any other events i should be aware of? they arent advertised very much here, so im kind of out of the loop until they are happening.

also, i found out that my favorite band, Widespread Panic, announced their end of summer/fall tour and they are playing two nights in Charlotte October 3 and 4, and then in Raleigh for October 11! annnnd, it just so happens that october 3 is one of my best friends (steven) 21st birthday! so that's how we'll be celebrating, definantly.

life is good.

terry

THIS BLOG HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE ENDANGERED BLOG LIST

whew. i just finished a whirlwind week of work for classes.

this morning i had a critique for the master plan of our groupwork (we have been in 3person groups doing analysis/conceptual design/ideations/etc since we started the project). my group really has a strong idea, one which unites the entire site and merges all of our ideas into one big concept. we recieved very high praise for our ability to come together as a group and mesh all of our ideas into one theme/concept/idea. so the critique went realllly well, and im pumpedabout that.

right after the critique, i had a test in language class. we have actually learned all of the different tenses in the language, so now it's just us repeating and repeating and learning more vocabulary. i did really well on the test, the language is actually quite easy to learn. they dont go nuts with the extra-nice-southern-style stuff "may i please have one piece ofbread if its not too much trouble for you" rather its kind of cavemanlike. they would say "one bread please". very simple. so i am also really pumped about doing well in the language.

we are leaving for BERLIN tomorrow morning at 745, fernando gave us a"tease" of what we would be doing/seeing while we were there, and it looks incredible. it was going to be only the LAR students going, but they extended the offer to the fashion students as well (for a small fee), so now it will be much more exciting with everyone there. we are going from friday morning until monday afternoon. awesome!

went to a futbol game this past weekend, it was INCREDIBLE. besides a college football game, i have never seen fans that into it the WHOLE time(even at nc state the fans get quiet after a while). everyone was singing the chants for the whole game (we learned one - SLA-VI-A TO-TOHO, still working on the translation). everyone was wearing a jersey/scarf/hat/etc of the slavia praha team. the stadium was brand new, slavia praha is in first place in the standings, they have won 11 matches in a row, they wonthe league last year, and the won the game 1-0. we made sure to get a full day of tailgating in at the hotel, ha, so it was definantly a memorable time. ill never forget the feeling of walking into the stadium and seeing/hearing the passion and seeing the nice crisp green field and the players, everything was just awesome. we are going back for sure, the tickets were only $7!!!

we want to go to a hockey game too, its the playoffs now. theres not a definant schedule because of the playoffs, so their next home game is friday night, when we'll be in berlin. but hopefully they win/advance and we can go to a game next week! i bet the hockey fans are even crazier!

the opera on monday night was quite an experience. i was expecting fatladys in viking hats sitting around shattering glasses, but it wasnt like that at all. lots of movement, rythm, color, etc. it was quite entertaining, actually. they started the second act with a song about beer that started with the lyrics "beer is truly a gift from god." we really liked that part. a part of it was like cirq de sole, i videoed it because it was so cool. it was actually a humorous story, and i would consider going to another one, depending on the price of the ticket (it was 'free' for us this time!).

the weather has been getting kind of sort of i dont want to say it but its kind of been approaching light jacket weather for the past few days! it snowed yesterday, but that was just for a few minutes. but the sun has made an apperance for perhaps the last 4 days! its very exciting, we are certainly deprived of its rays. definantly not anywhere close to shorts or tshirt, but moving in the right direction. actually the other day i went running in pants and a tshirt, it was very nice and sunny.

I have been doing lots of 'urban running' lately, which consists of running to the metro station, running through the metrostation, jogging in place on the metro, taking it to a random stop that I've never been to before, and running around there for a while. its the best way to see everything, in my opinion. except I never bring my camera on these runs, so the memories become personal memories, but that's ok. we've discovered lots of cool places.

everything is really good right now, we've really been engrosing ourselvesin the culture and learning about how the history has shaped the attitudes/opinions of the people. the gov't situation is certainly interesting, it's not often that a government votes that it has noconfidence in itself! but the world isn't going to explode because of it, so all is well in my opinion. certainly interesting though.

so i am fine. the blog - well, i think its endangered. its just a big commitment to take the time to do it, but i know that everyone at home looks at it to find stuff out. so its tough. im about to go on a walk, i dont know where, but somewhere good. what i have beendoing is looking at the map, locating a place where there is a little scenic view marked, and figure out how to go there. its certainly not easy, but i love trusting myself to figure it out.

life is good! i will try to keep this blog from going extinct!

terry

My state of being...

...is the most satisfying that it has ever been in my whole life!

The Rest of Spring Break '09

Wow. Its been a little while since I typed something up here, but not without reason. Its been a combination of my Landscape Architecture studio getting amped up in intensity and my overwhelming desire to not miss anything of Prague, going and doing anything and everything in my power to take it all in. Also, a general liberation from the overwhelming "needs" of technology that we experience in the USA has happened.

For the rest of my spring break activities, I will just post pictures onto the picture part of this website (link to the right). I don't quite have the time to go into ridiculous detail about it, but I'll say that it was a beautiful city. The weather didn't really have an effect on the precedings; although it was kind of cold, it didn't rain, and the sun even came out for our last day! To see a blue sky was awesome, we have certainly been repressed from any kind of nice weather in Prague (it's coming, I hope?).

I can best describe Vienna as "Prague that sold out to the 21st century." What I mean is that the old architecture styles (incredible facades, every surface detailed, every building has unique character, etc) were very similar to Prague. There were lots of streets that I think looked like they could have been in Prague, based on these architectural similarities alone. However, there were 21st century advertisements all over the place, via signs flat on the buildings, signs sticking out from the buildings, neon lights, etc, that Prague most certainly does NOT have. There were many streets that I found myself feeling like a NASCAR driver coming down pit lane, trying to find my destination among all of the numbers and signs hanging out over pit lane.

Another thing that contributed to this feeling was the newer style architecture all over the place. After the World Wars destroyed many of the older buildings in the city, opportunities presented themselves to give Vienna a lift into the new age through the reconstruction process. This newer architecture was incredible, and really all over the place in the city.

A list of some of the little things that made Vienna awesome over the last three days that I haven't really covered:

street performers/artists, deserted spooky carnivals, glass elevators to creaky wooden platforms ten stories in the air in the ceiling of a church, temporary ice skating paths through the local park, big huggable globes, incredible beer (Ottakring: Radler), oversized chess sets, multiple views of the city from above the roofline, public transportation fun, among (many) other things

So that was Spring Break '09 for me; 6 days and 5 nights in Vienna, Austria. Pretty cool, absolutely nothing I could complain about, and definantly something I'll always remember.

Sketches

More on Vienna later, here are a few sketches from my sketchbook, per request.

My Favorite Band

So it was only a matter of time...

Everyone please take a fraction of your time to view this video.

This concert (April, 2008, Raleigh, NC) was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Widespread Panic was joined by Anne Marie Calhoon, a fiddle player, who had played with my other favorite band, Yonder Mountain String Band, (http://www.yondermountain.com/), in Feburary in Raleigh, which I also attended. She was amazing then, and when she joined Widespread Panic, it was beautiful.

So enjoy! I certainly did, what a night that was.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_fwgkpghtM&feature=related

Also, if you liked that one, here is another one I suggest. It's called "Up All Night."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lwbUHYyWwM

They are my favorite band without a doubt, and amazing to see live. They really are a band.

Anyways, will someone let me know they enjoyed that music?

I sure did.

-Terry

Veinna cont'd

I don't seem to have snapped any pictures of the Natural History Museum itself, so I'll just jump right on in...

This is what you see when you walk in the front door:

LOOK OUT!

In the natural history museum in Raleigh, all of the exhibits are directly related to the natural history of North Carolina; in the Vienna Natural History Museum, you walk in on a lion - I'm no pro here, but I don't think that they have lions in Austria.

It was immediately evident that this museum would have more of a worldly representation in their exhibits.

I do not need to go to the zoo in Prague anymore; at this Museum I saw minerals, space rocks, birds, fish, whales, bears, monkeys, lions, elephants, wooly mammoths, dinosaurs, fossils, butterflys, sharks, frogs, snakes, alligators, ostriches, mice, rhinos, buffalo, deer, walruses, early human tools, pottery, and countless other things. I say I saw frogs - really, I saw about 200 frogs. I say I saw alligators - really, I saw about 30 alligators of all different sizes and species. It was so all-encompassing, better than any zoo I have ever been to, minus the fact that everything was dead and stuffed.

The lighting was terrible in the museum, but here are a few highlights:

BIG SPACE ROCKS:

...and others:

So that's really all the pictures I took in the Natural History Museum (the good ones, anyways). It was quite the experience, though, I don't think I'll ever end up in a Natural History Museum more impressive than that.

We exited the museum when it closed at 6:30, and were HUNGRY, looking for food. We walked until we spotted a Billa (BILLA! We love the Billa, it's the place to find cheap groceries in Prague, and here, too!).

Except the Billa was CLOSED ALL DAY SUNDAY.

Boom. Everything, we realized, was either closed, or closed early, on Sundays. Everything, that is, except, MCCDONALDS.

This was the first time that I have had American food in the whole month I've been abroad, mind you, and it was GOOD. It was also very expensive, (as our waitress at a restraunt today put it: "Vienna has money much more than does Prague").

Would you spend 4Euro (roughly $5.25) on this?

Because I did. And it was good.

They had a computer in the McDonald's and so we got on the internet and did a Wikipedia search of Vienna, and found a picture of the view from our hostel! Here is the link that we found in the Mcdonald's, which is the view out of our window/door at the Palace Hostel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna#Leisure_activities

So that made the trip to McDonald's all worth it; finding out that our hostel was the view that they call "himmel" (heaven), made us that much more pumped to be in The Palace Hostel! We retreated for a quiet evening, and made sure to say Happy Birthday to Laura-Nelle, who at midnight turned 21! It was a quiet evening, and we enjoyed the view over the city immensely. It was quite the day, with big plans for Monday as well...

Vienna con't:

Sunday morning, we woke up, checked out of The A&O Hostel (we only stayed for Friday and Saturday nights), and headed out for The Palace Hostel, our hostel for Sunday night. It was located about twenty-five minutes outside of the central downtown district, on a large hill overlooking the city. I thought that it would be nice to spend one of our nights in Vienna here; it would provide a unique perspective of the city, and give us a nice mental break from two days of intense travel.

We took the metro to the last stop on the western side of the city, then boarded a bus, which had a stop at the new hostel. We headed uphill for almost the whole ride, and were rewarded when we got to the top and found the hostel; the view of the city was spectacular:

When we checked in and went to our room (another 4-bed private room with shower and toilet), we discovered that it had a double french door that opened up to the view over the city. It was beyond cool. We could just walk right outside and take it all in. It was a cloudy, grey, foggy, and cold day (as always), but the view was still humbling.

After settleing in for a few minutes, snacking a bit, and putting our day bags together, we headed out, back on the bus down the hill towards the city and the metro. Our goals for the day included a good lunch and a visit to the Natural History Museum and the Fine Arts Museum (they are on the same property, facing each other, with a large monument in between), and then getting dinner somewhere before retiring to the hostel for a quiet evening.

We found a very nice little cafe right near the museums, and settled in for a good lunch. I ordered a Turkey, Bacon, Tomato, and Lettuce sandwich, as well as a big ol' Eggenberger Bier.

After polishing it all off, we decided to head to the Fine Arts Museum first, because it closed thirty minutes before the Natural History Museum. We had an hour and a half in each one, which turned out to be the perfect amount of time.

At the Museum of the Fine Arts, I saw paintings, sculpture, jewelrey, and pottery, ranging from all periods of history. Here are a few of the items that stood out, to me, in the Museum of the Fine Arts:

The first thing that stood out was the building itself, with the monument to Maria Teresa in the foreground, as well as Laura-Nelle, Ginnie, and Rima (L to R). It was incredible, and we hadn't even gone inside yet...

When we did walk in the front door, though, we were blown away. It was the most spectacular entry that I have ever seen, quite fitting for the Museum of the Fine Arts (here is the entry and ceiling):

So after we had gotten over "entry shock" we split up and agreed to meet up in an hour and a half. Here are pictures of my favorite items:

So that was the first part of the day, spent leaving our first hostel, metro/bus to our second hostel (overlooking the city), heading back into the city, eating lunch, and going to the Museum of the Fine Arts.

We walked out of the Museuem of the Fine Arts, checked out the monument to Maria Teresa, then headed accross the couryard towards the Natural History Museum...

Hello Vienna!

I'm in Vienna right now!


But let me start from the top...


Monday day: School.


Monday night: We had a great time a little bar within walking distance from the hotel. I don't know the Czech name, but translated into English, it's called "Shitty Cat." So that's what we call it. Great Monday night at studio, the hotel, and then the bar.


Tuesday day: School.


Tuesday night: Mardi Gras! What a day. There were events going on everywhere in Prague on Tuesday, and I stopped by one on the way back from studio. It was right by "our" metro stop in a large green space/public area. There were people dressed up in ridiculous costumes, others walking in costume on stilts, and even more dressed in glow-in-the-dark type costumes. It was quite a sight! Needless to say, this inspired us to spend a night on the town at a dance club. First, we had dinner and beers at the bar up the street, the ""Country Club American" bar. I had pasta with cooked spinach, cheese, and garlic. It was very good, especially for bar food.

When we got back to the hotel to get dressed up for the evening, it was apparent that everyone was in the mood to just let loose and have a good time. Many head garments we made, all of the ridiculous sort. There were fake paper dreads, a sewn-together golden headgarment, empty cardboard chocolate boxes worn as hats, undergarments worn on the head, and more. I taped a paper Pilsner Urquell coaster to a headband and wore sunglasses. After going to some bar (I was a follower, not a leader, on this night), we ended up staying at a small, underground dance club, with booming music, lots of laser lights, and excellent dancing. The best part was that there were lots of people with equally ridiculous costumes/masks already at the club when we got there. So it was a fantastic Mardi Gras, with an early (8am) start in the morning. I think we took the 2:53am 51 Tram back, but can't be sure...


Wednesday day: School.


Wednesday night: Stayed in, mainly did internet and chatted with the crew.


Thursday day: School.


Thursday night: Stayed in, mainly planning our schedule for SPRING BREAK IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA!


So we (myself, Ginnie, Lauren-Elle, and Rima) arrived in Vienna Friday morning, and what a fantastic two days it has been! . It started with a beautiful four-hour bus ride through the Czech countryside. It was a beautiful ride, and reminded me of the train ride to Cesky Krumlov.






















We have been to the Imperial Palace, where we saw the Silver Collection and the Imperial Apartments. This is where the royalty of the Hapsburg dynasty lived and ruled from. They lived an extravagent lifestyle, needless to say. Seeing their personal quarters and belongings was incredible, as was the entire Imperial Palace. It was definantly a memorable experience (they love gold!).

We stumbled upon a rally/picket on our exit from the Imperial Palace, although I'm not particularly sure what it was all about. Our best guess what that they were protesting genetically altered poultry. It was very interesting to be in the middle of a protest in a foreign country, to say the least.

We headed to the largest market in Vienna, Naschmarkt, after reading that on every Saturday, it showcased the diversity of the people in Vienna. It was a GIGANTIC market, in the middle of two busy streets, that featured several permanent structures. There were many restraunts, produce stands, clothing vendors, and all the other things you would expect. After about two city blocks, the market turned into a flea market, with no stands or structures; the "items" were just scattered on the ground. Many of the sellers looked to be in desperate times, and the things that they were selling... well, they weren't new. We stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants, where I had a LARGE meal. It had three parts: rice, salad (with LETTUCE!), and, the best part: lamb, pears, plums, carrots, and zucchinni, cooked together and topped with a sweet cinnamon sauce. It was AWESOME (and I took a picture of it!).

We have walked many streets, and seen many incredible things.

Tomorrow, we are going to the Museum of Modern Art and the Natural History Museum. It should be AMAZING, and I can't wait.

This is how they tow cars in Austria (via crane that lifts your car onto the waiting tow truck). Notice the writing on the tow truck: "Sorry!"

This is a picture of a multi-floored mall, with balconys, up towards the glass roof. I am standing on the bottom floor, in the cheese section of the local grocery store (Billa, same as in Prague!). It was yet another incredible work of architecture in this beautiful city.

This is Me, Ginnie, Laura-Nelle, and Rami in front of the National Library, a building of the Imperial Palace Grounds.



























Take Care,

-Terry