June 12th: Heading Back To The USA!

June 12th

Well we are headed back to the USA!

After not sleeping and heading to the airport at 4:30 am, we are all pretty exhausted so hopefully we can sleep a lot on the plane. Our flights are from Prague, to Brussels, Belgium, and then from there to Chicago, and finally to Denver!

This has been the most life changing experience I have ever had. I have learned so much in the past three weeks. I have learned how businesses work in the European culture and how different they are from the way USA businesses operate. There are so many entrepreneurs here and young workers that are striving to make a difference in this big world.

 I have learned how amazing European history is and how rich each and every city we visited has had. But I also have learned some valuable life skills.

I have learned that it is okay to get lost and find your way by talking to locals and discovering the city. I have learned that in Europe ketchup is not free, there is no such thing as ice, water is carbonated and is more expensive then a glass of beer, hotel rooms are tiny, people walk everywhere, you have to pay to use the restroom, you don't go out dancing before midnight, it is okay to live your life without a cellphone even though you are often looking for a free wifi sign, try new foods (its fun!), waiters don't know how to split up checks (that is not a thing around here), and there is no such thing as McDonalds Sweet Tea. :)

I have learned how to get around on public transportation and getting lost is really half the fun. I have learned how absolutely incredible human beings are in this world, and that most people actually like Americans. ;) I have also learned that it is a VERY small world!

The people in this group and our professor Vish Iyer are some of the most incredible people I have ever been around. I have grown so close to them the past 3 weeks and I know we will forever be bonded by this amazing European adventure.

13 of the best people I have ever been around! :) 

Finally made it back to DIA with my soccer girls!

I am now a confident world traveler and my dreams have now reached out to become a professional basketball player overseas, so I can have the opportunity to learn more about the amazing European culture and all that goes along with that.

Cheers to the best experience of my life! I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to explore the world and I know for a fact that I will be visiting this side of the world again VERY soon!

XOXO,
Stephanie Lee

June 11th: Prague Day Four

June 11th

Today was our last day in Europe! :(

We started off the morning by heading to our last business meeting. We actually met with a financial advisor at the International Study Programs (ISP) office! He was a man that helps finance for lower income countries and helps people invest in these areas where people need help. It was super interesting because Vish has invested money in a lower income area and has helped make a difference! While at the ISP office we also got to see how they do business and make trips like ours possible :) There were many awesome people in this office that we met and had the privilege of talking to and learning about how they do their job and make such AWESOME trips possible!

After our last business meeting, about half of the group decided to go see the Prague Castle. It was absolutely breathtaking and we did not have enough time to see it all (it is HUGE). But we were happy that we went and saw it, it also had a beautiful view over Prague that we took some pictures at. It was very hot and we were all still in our business clothes. I had decided to wear dress pants today (not my best choice) and I had rolled them up to look like very stylish shorts ;)

We headed back down to our hotel after spending 2 hours up at the castle, we had time to change, and then we boarded the bus to head to Kozel Brewery.

Kozel Brewery is part of Czech's most famous beer Pilsner. We learned how the beer is made and produced and how it sold around the country and Europe. It was very interesting to see how beer is made and we even got to see the breweries mascot, a goat! After the brewery we headed back to the hotel to rest and change before our last group dinner!

After a couple hours we boarded the bus again to head to our last dinner. It was a folklore show with awesome Czech food, beverages, and a dance show! We all ate to much food, danced the night away, and really enjoyed our last night together. After dinner we rode the bus back to the hotel and the whole way home we sang songs, I even started crying because I was so sad that today was our last day! I truly have grown to love not only Europe but the awesome people in this group!

After we got back to the hotel we decided to go out for a bit. A taxi was picking us up at 4:30 am to take us to the Prague airport to fly home! We all went out and danced and had an awesome time. Molly and I went back to the hotel at about 3 am and got all of our stuff packed up and ready to go. It was interesting trying to pack all of our things back up, added with all the new things we had purchased while in Europe. I actually had to buy another carry on, whoops ;)

Vish met us down in the lobby at 4:30 to wish us farewell and then we were off to the airport to make our trek home!

Justin got all of us girls flowers for our last day in Europe. He has been a great sport being the only boy with 11 girls! He has grown to be like our brother!

Prague Castle!

Kozel Brewery!

At our last group dinner at the Folklore Gardens! :)

Our last group picture all together!

Last night out dancing! :)

June 10th: Prague Day Three

June 10th

Today we got to sleep in (thank goodness) since we were all up so late we were pretty tired, so we were happy to get a few hours of sleep! :) After sleeping in we got ready to head to another business visit!

We visited Avast! and met with marketing manager Mr. Milos Korenko who was a great presenter and had done his homework before meeting with us. He knew all of our names and some random facts about each of us, it made the presentation very interesting and he was VERY funny as well. Avast! is an antivirus company and we learned all about how Avast! is successful not only in the Czech Republic but through out the world as well! He explained to us how you can earn money when you sell your product for free and it was a very interesting approach that you never really think about. If you are selling your product for free online how do you ever have any revenue. I learned that by selling 'upgraded' antivirus software you gain enough money to cover expenses from that of the free version. It is really just the bait and hook approach.

While at Avast! we had a wonderful lunch (there was even salmon!) and then we headed back to the hotel.

Since we were all pretty tired still we took a nap and then got ready for the rest of our day. Courtney, Molly, and I went to souvenir shop around the main part of Prague and Molly wanted to find the love lock bridge.

After we shopped around and found the love lock bridge, we went to meet with our group who was hanging with some of the International Study Programs employees at a open air movie theatre. After struggling to find where the park where the theatre was located we finally found it after about an hour of trying to find it! It actually turned out to be really cool and there were tons of people there. There were lots of vendors selling food and drinks, as well as lots of people playing games and having fun! While at the open air movie theatre, our director Geoffrey introduced me to his friend Porter who plays basketball professionally overseas. It was so interesting to talk to him and he really made me excited to pursue a professional career in Europe! After spending about 4 hours at the park with the theatre we decided to go back to the hotel and get some rest!

Tomorrow we have our last business visit, we are going to visit the Prague Castle, and then visit the Kozel brewery! It will be our last day of our trip, I can hardly believe it! :(

Avast!

At the love lock bridge!

Enjoying the open theatre at a beautiful park in Prague! 

Hanging with Julia! 

(From left to right: Morgan, Me, Sierra, Eliana)

June 9th: Prague Day Two

June 9th

Today we started off our day by heading to another business visit! We visited "Manufaktura" and met with the managing director Mr. Tomas Kratochvil. This company is one that makes beauty products and on this visit we got to see how a company like this operates. We had to wear white coats and 'booties' on our shoes and got the opportunity to walk around the Manufaktura facilities to see how all their products are produced and packaged. I thought this trip was an interesting one because I had never seen a company like this in action! It made it even better that when we left we got a gift bag to take some of their products home.

On this visit our program director from International Student Programs, Geoffrey met up with us and we all had the chance to finally meet him!!

After our visit we had a little time before we were going to head to meet our tour guide and start our scavenger hunt. So Molly, Courtney, Morgan, Julia, Sierra, Lexi, and I decided we wanted to rent paddle boats for an hour and go up and down the Danube River! It ended up being such a fun time and we were all happy we spent the 2$ to rent a paddle boat (pretty cheap!).

We then returned back to the hotel and then went to the main part of Prague to start our scavenger hunt and meet our tour guide! Our scavenger hunt was similar to Amazing Race and was so fun because we had to talk to locals and figure out where things were and how to get around, all while answering questions and taking pictures. This was an AWESOME way to tour the city and we learned a lot about Prague all while taking pictures, running to try and get 1st place, and ending up in the correct restaurant at the end to enjoy a meal and some water!

After we all ate, we headed back to the hotel to shower and change, we all wanted to go out and explore the town. We ended up going to many different places (even a 5 story club- the biggest in Eastern Europe) and before we knew it, it was 5 in the morning! Molly and I decided to stay out and head to Charles Bridge to watch the sunrise. That was of course after we stopped and ate a 24 hour restaurant. The sunrise was absolutely breathtaking and an experience I am so glad Molly and I had!

After watching the sunrise we headed back to the hotel to get some rest, we were EXHAUSTED! Thank goodness we had the morning off to rest and then we have another business visit! :)

Our visit at Manufaktura! 

A preview of our paddle boating adventure! :)

TEAM #4 of the Scavenger Hunt!

Sights from our scavenger hunt and the group when we all finally made it to the end restaurant!

Having the time of our life!!

Watching the sunrise from Charles Bridge with my best friend! :) 

June 8th: Prague Day One

June 8th

Today we left to head to Prague! We got an even BIGGER bus this time, our program director was really trying to make it up to us when we had to take that tiny bus from Krakow to Kosice and then Kosice to Budapest.

We stopped on our way to Prague to visit "wonderful Lednice." It was the 'hunting' home of the same family that we had seen 2 prior palaces before coming to this one. This palace had the most beautiful wood work in it that I had ever seen! It was truly unbelievable. It also had many animal heads on the wall and horns.

After we spent a few hours touring around Lednice we grabbed a quick lunch and then loaded the bus again to head back to Prague.

Today all of us that went to the pool yesterday are pretty burnt! :/

Once we arrived in Prague we had the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted! Molly and I ended up going over to a mall that was close to our hotel and shopped around for a bit, we stopped at an ATM to get some Czech Republic Koruna which converted 1$ =  22 Koruna! Then the group all met up and we went to grab some dinner. We found a sushi place that was delicious, but turned out to be VERY expensive. Morgan's dinner was close to 40$! After dinner we were all beat, so we headed back to the hotel to get some rest!

Tomorrow we have another business visit and then we have a scavenger hunt around Prague!!

The HUGE bus we got to travel in style to Prague in!!

The beautiful "Wonderful Lednice" palace!

A staircase that shows a little bit of the AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL woodwork inside this home!

June 7th: Vienna Day Three

June 7th

This morning we had off to do whatever we wanted! So Molly, Courtney, Maddie, Morgan, and I went to a place called 'Holy Moly Restaurant' it was a boat located on the Danube River that had a POOL in it, it was so AWESOME! We spent the morning relaxing by the pool and getting some sun!

We then had to leave and go back to the hotel to change and get ready. We had to meet our group at 2 in the town square and then we took public transport to get to the summer palace (Schonbrunn Palace) of Sisi! The same royal family that we saw the palace of if Budapest, this was just their summer home. 

The Schonbrunn Palace was the most exquisite place I have ever seen. The rooms in the palace were beautiful but what I was most taken with was the beautiful gardens located outside, they were unreal. No words can I type to explain how awesome this palace was! :)

After the palace our group all went out to dinner together and then to a cigar bar! We all just hung out and enjoyed each others company, all of us girls got to dance with Vish which was SO fun! :)

After we left the cigar bar we headed back to the hotel. Our stay here in Vienna has been short but it has been so FUN, it is absolutely breathtaking here. You definitely can feel the culture of music around and I can not believe it is already time to head to our next and last stop! But tomorrow we leave for Prague! :) 

The pool on the Danube River! :)

The BEAUTIFUL Schonbrunn Palace!! It was absolutely stunning!

At our group dinner and last night in Vienna! 

(From left to right: Julia, Me, Molly)

Dancing with Vish at the cigar bar! :)

June 6th: Vienna Day Two

June 6th

This morning we went on a tour around Vienna! :) We saw the beautiful rose gardens that are in the middle of the city as well as the big Parliament building. We saw many other landmarks as well, including the apartment that Beethoven lived in as well as the Spanish Riding School. Along our tour we stopped for coffee at a cute little cafe that had the most unbelievable pastries. To finish up our tour we ended up in the main square of Austria, where there was a beautiful cathedral (St. Stephens) and lots of little vendors and shops. Molly, Courtney, Justin, and I decided to hike up the 343 steps of the cathedral tower to see the beautiful view of Vienna from the top!

After our tour we had to return back to the hotel, we had to change into business clothes and then we had a business meeting at Ketchum. We had time to grab some quick lunch and then we were off to our visit.

Ketchum is a global public relations firm, offering marketing, branding, and corporate communication services. This was one of the most interactive visits we have been on and we got to interact a lot with the workers. We got to ask all sorts of different questions and give our input into some of Ketchum's current projects. I really liked learning about how marketing is done in Austria and it was interesting to me that it was very similar to a marketing firm in the U.S.

After our visit we were all really hungry so we went to eat on a boat on the Danube river, it was so beautiful and so fun! After dinner we wandered around the city for awhile and then finally came back to the hotel since we were all pretty tired.

Tomorrow we have the morning off to do whatever we want and then we are going to visit the Shonbrunn palace (the summer home of Sisi).

Lovin' Austria so far!! :)

Volksgarten Vienna Park with Rose Garden!

Parliament Building!

Some beautiful pastries at the Cafe we stopped at! :)

St. Stephens Cathedral and the view from the top! 

Molly and I on the boat on the Danube River where we ate dinner.

Sarah and I (Today was her birthday!)