Music Capitals of the World 2014 PLU: Interesting day

To start the day off we all, as a group, went in search of breakfast this morning a little after 9:30. Little did we know, it seems Prague locals don't open breakfast shops until 11. This was no problem for Hannah Eger, Annalise King, and me. Our group split and the three of us went to our trusty bakery around the corner while everyone else went to McDonald's… in Prague. The pastries were amazing! After this we went back to the hostel to meet with our tour guide. She was so sweet and gave us a spectacular tour of Prague including the Jewish quarter and cemetery. We explored a tour with a torture chamber, too. Once our tour ended some of us went shopping at a market! It was so much fun! The four of us together got pizza (and I got my third hot chocolate of the day) for dinner then headed back to the hostel for some down time before the Prague Symphony at the municipal building in Smetana Hall. As we were walking back to the hostel the road got crowded and all of a sudden I heard a sound like a scoff on my right, so when I looked I see this guy looking at me really close to my head. Then I hear my group say, "Alexandra, over here." I got over there as quickly as I could. Apparently this guy had his arm hovering over my shoulders like he was putting his arm around me. Thank you Annalise who apparently gave him the "don't you dare" stare. We got back to the hostel unscathed! On our way to Smetana Hall I kept close to the group and tried to stay closer to the middle rather than walk around others. The concert was fantastic! The first piece by Zemlinsky was good, but the director's facial expressions and gestures made it better. The second piece had a beautiful part for oboe and the woman playing the oboe had great facial expressions as well. It looked like she was going to explode sometimes, like she was charming a snake other times, and like she was going to pass out at some points. Her wardrobe was also interesting because it was red. I mean bright red. And it was flawy pants with some top that was also flowy and almost looked like it could have been an awkward dress. No matter appearances, she was a great oboist. She also added one more piece that was a mash of some Czech folk songs that sounded wonderful and I really liked that one. The last piece was three movements; The Water Goblin, The Wild Dove, and The Noon Witch. The Water Goblin was great! There were fast and slow parts and loud and soft parts. It told a story I wanted to hear. The Wild Dove had an interesting note at the end but overall was quite good. I loved The Water Goblin, but by this time I was starting to fade and had to make sure my mind didn't wander. They also played one more piece, Nocturne, in honor of a friend of the conductor's who passed, and I really enjoyed this piece also. To top off the night, some of us got Haagen Dazs Ice cream.

Our lovely bakery!

My breakfast and hot chocolate #1

The dryer didn't work...

People used to label their houses with symbols based on their names or occupations

Snow on my scarf! Yesterday it looked like actual snowflakes, today it looks like cotton fuzz

Prague Castle!

Inside Prague Castle

"Good King Wenceslas…" Actually he was a prince. And he was assassinated by his brother. And his grandma (left) was assassinated by her daughter-in-law, Wenceslas's mom. Messed up family if you ask me.