The Hidden Pearls of Moravia

I know I haven't updated this blog in quite a few days, so bare with me and I'll catch you up on the last few days of my life. On Friday morning, a group of about 20 of us went to Moravia, which is about 3 hours east of Prague. After visiting a couple of beautiful churches along the way, we finally got to our hotel, which in comparison to our hotel in Munich, was pure luxury. Not only was there plenty of space to function and walk around in each room, but the hotel came equipped with a bowling alley, spa, and a menu that was to die for! (aka I was finally able to get a piece of salmon haha) Anyway, the first night we were there we took a 40 minute bus ride to a family owned wine cellar to have dinner and go wine tasting. The room we were set up in was absolutely beautiful and charming! We were all encased in a brick tunnel with good food, good company, and bottomless pitchers of both red and white wine. After we polished off our meals (and more wine than one needs at dinner), we went down into the cellars for even more wine! Here we tasted different kinds of Czech wines, both red and white, along with some good cheese. Once we were done tasting all of the wine, we headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep. The following day we took a tour of the city center, visited St. Paul and St. Peter's Cathedral (stunning), and even got to walk on the bloodsoaked battlefield where Napoleon led the French against the Austrians and Russians. Being on the actual battlefield where the war took place was a pretty awesome experience. When we finished our tour of the city center, we called it quits for the day and went back to our hotel for a relaxing dinner. Sunday, our last day in Moravia, has probably been one of the highlights of my trip so far. We started off the morning by getting to see one of the most beautiful baroque churches in Europe, a church that was nicknamed "The pearl of Moravia" for a reason. Because it was a Sunday morning, we walked in in the middle of a communion. The combination of the architecture, pipe organ, and chanting sent chills down my spine- an eerie, yet beautiful combination.

Once we left the church, we headed to the Moravian Karst, a system of underground caves known to be ranked among the most beautiful areas in Central Europe. Getting to walk through these caves was probably one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. After we toured the caves by foot, we got into little boats and took them through the underground water areas. It was like a mixture of the Matterhorn, Splash Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean all in one, only cooler! (hard to believe, I know.) After the caves, we had a quick lunch and then drove back on the bus to Prague.

By the time we got home, we all got ready to go to an American bar and watch the Superbowl! Keep in mind that kick off Prague time wasn't even until 12:30 am so needless to say it was a late night. Then after only a few hours of sleep, Dani and I woke up bright and early for our very first Czech class! The 4 hours and 45 minutes seemed to go by pretty quickly considering I spent basically the entire class laughing at the sound of everyone attempting to speak Czech. It is a pretty hard language to learn. Once class was over, Dani and I went straight for the gym, our first official day of being members of World Fitness! It felt so good to finally have some routine in the day again. Anyway, tomorrow will probably consist of the same routine :) Hope all is well!!