And So The Field Study Began...

My delicious glass of white...

Cathedral in the center of Český Krumlov...

Sitting on a bridge in the castle...

View of the beautiful fairy tale town from the castle...

Mr. Bear in the Bear Moat at the castle... He wasn't very intimidating. I am sure I could have snuck past ;)

Tower of the castle...

State Castle of Český Krumlov

The journey began bright and early on Friday morning. We left our apartment rushing to catch the metro to Křižíkova; by the time we arrived we were literally sweating. The bus was there and loaded; our means of transportation provided by USAC never fail to amuse me. Our bus had seats that turned into beds, a kitchen complete with a spice rack, and a broken radiator. Right off the bat I knew I was in for an adventure, and I was completely correct. Our field study to Český Krumlov, Vienna, Budapest, and Slovakia was exactly that, an amazing adventure.

Our tour began in a small town in the Czech Republic, Český Krumlov. Seeing Český Krumlov was like love at first sight. It had small town charm with a castle, river, and cathedral. It seemed like something right out of a fairy tale. We stopped by our hotel to drop our stuff off, and we were taken by complete surprise after walking through the doors. I roomed with Kendyll, Kerri, and Kiera; our room was humongous and incredible. We took a quick trip through the town and met up with the rest of the group at the Bear Moat at the State Castle of Český Krumlov. That is correct, the castle is surrounded by a moat guarded by real bears. The castle features both gothic and baroque styled architecture and is very interesting to look at. Inside the castle, we were able to see the hall of mirrors and the castle theater. Both were painted very intricately. The Eggenberg and Schwarzenberg families both occupied the castle at some point in time, and it was evident while walking through the castle that they were art enthusiasts. After our tour of the castle we were free to spend some time exploring Český Krumlov. As we perused the winding cobble stone streets we found a small restaurant right on the Vltava River and enjoyed a bottle of wine or two. By the time our wine was gone it was time to meet up with the group for a traditional Czech meal at the local brewery. I of course selected gulas, and it was delicious. After dinner a few of us went to a local bar, and transformed it into an awesome dance party. It is always fun to dance to American dance music in a foreign country. From there we headed back to our hotel and had a bit of a pool party in our bathtub, what a riot to say the least. Four girls crammed in one bathtub adorning bikinis and harmonizing Disney songs like “A Whole New World” and “Part of Your World”. That is something I will always remember.