Prague Summer Seminar: Days 1 & 2

Day 1 - Sunday, May 15

Most of us arrived this day. I shared a taxi from the airport with Erica and Michael. After a little rest and refresh, Erica and I went to a nearby cafe for espresso (and I had a sausage).

First Prague selfie with Erica

This little round "new Catholic" church down the road from the hotel is apparently
from the 13th century and became a landmark for us.

Sunday evening the group gathered in the lounge of the hotel to meet for our orientation. We took a group photo that then was annotated with everyone's names -- this became very helpful in remembering who everyone was! In total, there were about 19 library school students, three main Czech hosts, one faculty person from UNC, and one staff person from UNC.

After the orientation meeting, a group of us went to the famous Cafe Louvre, which was just around the corner from our hotel. I had a delicious dinner of salmon and potatoes!

Day 2 - Monday, May 16

I was sitting in the hotel dining room, reading the assigned articles, and sheltering from the hail that was dropping outside. A couple people from the group invited me to explore with them because we had free time until our afternoon tour at 2:30. We strolled around old town and went up in the Astronomical Clock Tower, then had lunch in a cafe by the mall. There was a very interesting Metamorphoses-inspired sculpture outside the cafe. The lunch was a nice way to get to know some of my cohort members, including a SJSU classmate and a person from Northridge (close to my hometown).

The group in a lower level of the Astronomical Clock Tower complex

From up in the Astronomical Clock Tower

In the afternoon, we were treated to a guided tour by Václav Lojka, an archivist and historian who makes a living giving tours. We visited Charles Bridge, Old Town, and the Jewish Quarter. That evening, the group went on a river boat cruise, and we enjoyed a variety of Czech foods and further touristic information from Václav.

The Astronomical Clock Tower.
That's Vaclav in the USA hat.

Beam of light anointing road workers down the street from the hotel.

Beautiful day for clouds. On the way to the river cruise.  

Nice ambience from the river at sunset.