St. Vitus cathedral

Interior of St. Vitus cathedral.

 

Cups

The best souvenir that stands for Karlovy Vary is probably the special cup for drinking spring water. The cups can be painted with simple patters or very delicate ones, depending on the prices, but whatever types you get, we assumed, as most souvenirs end up, they become nothing more than dust collectors on the shelves at home. The best way of keeping the cups is saving them in free pictures. 

Hradcany- Prague Castle

The first castle we visited in Prague was Hradcany, which was founded during the reign of John of Luxembourg sometime after 1320. There we had a local guide, who had blond hair and green eyes but could speak perfect Chinese. She also had a Chinese name, si jia, which means missing home. The castle now houses the offices of Czech government, including president Vaclav Havel, so only the cathedral and a small part of the castle allows visitors.
Some inside parts of the castle are not allowed for photos, so I found a website that has a few beautiful pictures of the inside. Click the title above. 

The Mill Colonnade

The Mill Colonnade, called also Zítek's Colonnade, is the largest Carlsbad colonnade and one of the symbols of the town. It covers five springs - The Mill Spring, The Rock Spring, The Libuše's, The Count Wenceslas', and The Water Nymph's Springs (in Czech Mlýnský, Skalní, Libušin, Knížete Václava and Rusal?in).
Click the title "The Mill Colonnade" above for more information.

The Park Colonnade2

Unlike the spring we know in Asia, the spring in Karlovy Vary is not for bathing but drinking. There were stands and shops selling these special cups that you can fill them with the spring and drink from its pot-like mouth. It is said that the spring contain minerals that are healthy for our bodies, so it is usual to see people carring huge containers and fill them with the spring.

 

Hot Air Balloons

Due to the time differences (six hours earlier than Taiwan), we woke up pretty early the next morning in Savoy Westend Hotel. Lucky us, it had been a little shower in Czech for the first few days of our trip that caused the temperature to drop and became a little chilly, which meant that we didn't have to suffer in some hotels that weren't equipped with air conditioner.
While I was at the room balcony appreciating the beautiful hotel's gardens, I spotted three hot air balloons flying above our hotel. I'd never seen an air balloon with my own eyes, not to mention a flying one. The air balloons were so closed that I could see the flame above the baskets and hear the noice they made. What a great experience!

 

Savoy Westend Hotel

Savoy Westend, our hotel in Karlovy. It was pretty late and we were exhausted the night we arrived at the hotel, so we couldn't take a good look at the hotel until the next morning. The baroque style hotel was set in a beautiful landscape and consisted of five splendid villas. They also had great indoor swimming pool with massage waterfalls and other facilities for guests. It was a shame that we didn't have enough time to enjoy them. Click the title "Savoy Westend Hotel" above the photo to check out the link for more imformation.

 

German Sausages

We were warned already before the trip that food in Europe may be very salty for Asian, and that is also the reason European like to drink beer. The first meal we had in Europe was German sausages and pork. Yet it was okay to me, not as salty as I was told. We also tried their hard, tasteless bread. Not so appealing to me.

 

Waiter

Waiter in traditional costume.

 

Emperor Karl IV

As the hour hand struck twelve, we were hoping to see cute little men dancing and drum beating to the music. Instead, there were seven Counts spinning, not dancing, around the Emperor. No music, only rings from the church bell. To soothe our disappointment, our tourist guide reminded us that we should keep in mind it was built hundreds of years ago, a time which the church was quite a great achievement. 

Church Frauenkirche

Before luch, we stopped at the square in front of Church Frauenkirche (Our Lady's Church). It is particularly well known for the West facade, where at noon every day a figure of Emperor Karl IV parades with his seven Counts. The little gold figure in the middle is Emperor Karl IV, the one we stood under the sun for ten minutes waiting for. 

Band on Street

 

Sweet Fruits

There were a lot of fruit stands as we got closer to the square. Although Taiwan is the fruit kingdom, we still wanted to see if the fruit would taste different. It must be the the same, and I bet it was because of our location that somehow made the grapes seem sweeter. 

Enlarged Dollhouse

 

Coffee Shops

Nurmberg. Lots of great coffee shops along the sides of the streets. It would make the trip perfect if we could just slow down and order a cup of coffee and relax with the locals (or mainly the other tourists.) But you know how it was like to travel with the tourist group, always hurrying to one scenic spot to another. Anyway, we were not even at the scenic spot yet, still the local streets views were already stunning. Colorful buildings, flagged pavement and delicate-designed shop signs were so attracting to me, a country mouse in the city.

Experience in Nurmberg

We spotted a line of taxi right after we stepped outside the train station in Nurmberg. Benz! As the matter of fact, it was quite impossible to find a taxi that was not Benz.
Everyone knows never to expect the food on plane to be delicious, so we decided to grab ourselves some sandwiches on our way to the city. To be honest, the taste didn't balance the price, which was about 3 Euro. 

View from ICE

View from ICE. I love the red roofs and the forest. It looks exactly like the view in movies or fairy tales.

 

ICE

After landing at Frankfurt, we took the fastest train in Germany, Inter City Express (ICE), to Nurmberg and began our fascinating trip in Europe. Like our tourist guide said, the train trip was so smooth and cosy that we didn't feel the train was that fast at all. Not that I like to compare things in Taiwan with those abroad, but ICE did seem pretty high class with those wooden interior decoration and glass doors.

 

First Stop: The Airport

The first stop of our ten days trip to Czech and Austria was the airport (of course.) Our flight was eleven pm, so we slowly took our time to pack and make sure we got everything. Since it had been quite a long time since I last took a plane, the thirteen-hour flight was exciting. Besides taking a little nap, I finished watching almost every movie on the plane ( they have these little television on every seat now.) Those photos I took from inside the plane came out much better than I expected.

 

Crime Testing Rock

We found this "Crime Testing Rock" on our way down Sunlinksee. I know it sounds ridiculous, but the sign said a guiltless man can stand on the rock with one leg and eyes closed for ten seconds without trembling. We all gave it a try, trying to prove ourselves innocent, but none of us could last more than three seconds. Oh well, everyone do commit crimes more or less, right? 

Days in Shito

The second day after our big college entrance exam, the whole class, including our home room teacher, went to Shito as our last trip together. Fresh air, singing birds, acres of trees, everything you ask for to relax is here. We spent most of our the first day walking and climbing for hours until we were exhausted, then we stopped to take pictures and waited for our teacher to catch his breath. I spotted this old trunk in the middle of the mountain. Though it was not old enough to make it on the brochure, still it was beautiful that it kept me a little left behind from the main crowd and had to trot to catch up afterward. 

The Worst Day For Teachers

Another photo from my graduation ceremony. I guessed we had been acting like teachers' pets for so long that graduation is always the best time to ask teachers to do whatever we want them to do, like making "the prettiest teacher in school" to make a face, or having a serious teacher to sing a popular song for us. I know that having teaching for years, not many students will remain in one teacher's mind. Surprisingly, those students that do are often those that caused much trouble, not those who didn't ( like me). 

Graduation Ceremony

Finally, my first photo for at least six months. This was my high school graduation ceremony on June 10, with my classmates and our home teacher on the left. The ceremony wasn't as great as I expected, for it was raining and the show was pretty boring, but after all it was the people that matter.
My aunt from the US came to visit us aroud then, and so did my cousin George, who had just graduated from the university in Austin. He showed us the photo of him wearing a robe, looking just like a graduate. I hope we can wear the robes too instead of our normal school uniform. Although the robes always seem way too large, they somehow still make the graduation ceremony seem special.