My Bipolar Week

So seeing Sean was wonderful. Easily, the best week I've spent in Prague. That being said, having Sean here made me terribly homesick and it only got much much worse when he left. So I spent the first 2 or 3 days of this week being pretty emo. I really just wanted to go home or at least sleep through the next two months of being here. Thankfully, my roommate Caitlin intervened and on Tuesday made me get out of bed. We went for a walk in this beautiful garden I didn't know existed near our house. Then we went to a cafe nearby we hadn't tried. They actually had nutritious food to eat! I felt better. I spent the rest of the day pretty busy. I wrote a paper, studied, went tanning (this was a first and yes, I know it's bad for me but it DID make me feel better), and tried this awesome Greek restaurant in a neighborhood we hadn't explored yet. It was a really good day and I determined to be more optimistic... or at least try to be happy for the 2 months I have left. I still want to go home but the time I have left before then seems a lot more bearable now.

So since then I've just been doing this and that. I've been pretty sick so I've tried to take it pretty easy with movie nights and early curfews for myself. My one exception was Friday when I went to Plzen with Missy, Joel, Jackie, and Missy's parents. Plzen is a city southwest of Prague that is known for 2 things. 1) It was freed by the Americans in WWII (as opposed to the Russians whom no one in CR like anymore) and 2) It is home to the Pilsner Urquell Brewery. I couldn't drink due to my antibiotics but the trip was nonetheless very much worthwhile. We took a tour of the brewery and packaging plants. We also got to taste all the raw ingredients that make beer. Note to those who might make this mistake: Do not overfill yourself on malt grains simply because you are really really hungry and they smell good. You and your stomach will immediately regret this decision. The tour itself, though, was awesome. We even got free beer.

The Filling and Packaging Factory

After the brewery, we ate at the brewery restaurant where I ordered Moravian Sparrow. I'm not sure what that actually turned out to be. This was my day for making questionable food decisions. Alas. Then we ventured into the city center, took a few photos, and headed back to Praha. The trainride was beautiful as we passed numerous small Czech villages and settlements. It made me miss the outdoors and really excited for spring to finally get here!

Today, I had lunch with my Czech friend Dana and her family. She has 2 daughters and a husband. They are lovely people and willingly answer all my questions about Czech life and traditions. I really enjoy the time I'm starting to spend with them and next time we are going to the National Gallery together! I can't wait! In the meantime, I'm getting ready for our trip to Budapest on Thursday and trying to convince myself that I'm not going to look soooo terrible in my bathing suit when we take our Hungarian baths.