Berlin, Prague, Krakow, and Budapest

10 day trip July 2023

Where we went

DAy one

It's the start of our adventure! We arrived to the airport bright and early and ready to start our half a day journey out to Berlin. Some of our students have traveled extensively while others are taking their first ever plane ride with us! And to top it all off Sienna turned 16 while we were flying into Germany. Happy Birthday, Sienna!

We can't wait to start on our 10 day adventure!

DAy two

We arrived in Berlin early in the morning to meet our Tour Director Nils. He surprised us and our birthday girl with a gift before taking us on a tour of the area. We got to see Berlin street art, visit the topography of terror museum, and then we stumbled upon the world's largest helium balloon. This balloon went 150 meters up in the air and gave a full panoramic view of Berlin for those who weren't scared of heights! Then it was off to dinner at a local Barbarian Beer garden before heading to the hotel where we finally got some sleep after 33 hours.

I am used to jet lag, but these kids did SO well with managing their time and they did not complain once even though they were absolutely exhausted.

DAy three

Today everyone woke up early and ready to go after a good nights sleep! Our first stop of the day on our walking tour was the Berlin Wall where we got to explore all of the different art and murals that have been done on it. Then it was off to see Brandenburg gate and Checkpoint Charlie, the best-known crossing point between East and West Berlin. This is also where American and Soviet tanks faced each other in what could have been World War 3.

Then it was off to Potsdam to visit Sanssouci Palace, the summer home of Fredrick the Great, former King of Prussia. We got to explore inside his summer home looking at the beautiful artwork and ornate decorations before heading into the garden to explore. Here we gave the students a challenge to find a statue and recreate it and they did 110%!

And lastly, after having a wonder dinner, our bonus Neve adventure was taste testing different German foods. But this is no ordinary taste test. This was a blindfolded challenge where our travelers had to guess what they were eating and then convince us it was the best thing they have ever eaten. This was easy for some but when it came to the pickled herring they had a little bit harder time convincing us!

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DAy four

Its a wonderful and sunny morning here in Germany and it is also time to leave! But on our way to Prague, we made a little detour in Dresden. This was such a beautiful city and the students got to explore on their own and try Germany's version of cheesecake which was... interesting but they loved it!

Then it was off to Prague! We did a small tour of Old Town before letting everyone go off on their own to explore. The kids went shopping, found art installations, and tried chimney cakes (ice cream inside a donut shell). We didn't have much time here before needing to check into our hotel but it's okay because we will be back early in the morning!

DAy five

Another early morning but now we have our guided tour of Prague with a local expert. They showed us the astreological clock with a scary curse, St. Vitus Cathedral, Charles Bridge, and Market Square. We even got to watch the changing of the guard! Then it was free time to explore the city center and grab some lunch. While we were out shopping and eating the students had a special task of doing a selfie scavenger hunt. We gave them the weirdest things in Prague to find and take a selfie with an ended up having a few winners! Trishna, Aaisha, Skyler, and Nico all took home souviner prizes for their photos!

We also decided to add on a river cruise down the Vltava to just relax and see the beautiful arcitecture of Prague on our very last day. This also doubled as a personal instagram photoshoot with a wonderful backdrop!

After dinner we headed back to the hotel where our students really wanted to check out Decathalon, the Czech version of Academy (but cooler). Their only requirement was that they must hold hands and skip while walking to the store and everyone, including the boys, were up for the challenge. Lets just say that not everyone knows how to skip :P. But we will see you tomorrow bright and early for the next leg of our adventure!

DAy six

It's early but we are up and ready to head into Krakow, Poland! If you are keeping up that means we are about to hit our third country in 6 days. There is a lot of traveling and walking involved but the students have been so absolutely amazing at keeping up.

On this quick guided tour, we saw the Wawel Cathedral where we climbed the steps to see a 2,700 pound church bell and may or may not have doubted Mr. Schlieper's ability to actually fit in the bell tower, but he proved us all wrong when he didn't get stuck! We also got to see Wawel Hill, and Glowny Square before heading off to dinner. But Kayelene and I snuck away from dinner to buy tickets to surprise our students with a bonus trip to the Rynek underground tomorrow.

Our bonus adventure was going to be a scavenger hunt in a graffiti park but unfortunately it was closed, so instead we went to a local park and ate all of the delicious snacks we have collected during our time.

DAy Seven

Today was a somber start. We visited Auschwitz and Birkenau where a guide took us throught the camps to explain the history behind he attrocities commited by the Nazis. It was a very emotional but knowledgeable experience to have and we learned a lot more about the history of this time.

After this we had some lunch in one of the cutest restaurants we have seen so far. And today is Erica's birthday! So of course we had to have the band surround her and play her Happy Birthday in both english and Polish.

Then it was back into Krakow for some free time! The kids got to wonder around, do some shopping, see some sights before heading to the Rynek Underground to learn about the history of Krakow. The museum uses holograms and fog machines to recrate the environment of life back then. It also includes the burned remains of the settlements that were there from the eleventh century and a vampure burial. But don't worry - Evan has analyzed the teeth and determined that it is in fact, not a vampire.

It's another early day tomorrow with an 8-hour bus ride through Slovakia and into Hungary, see you then!

DAy Eight

Today we start our longest bus ride from Poland through Slovakia and into Hungary. The whole trip will take about 8 hours, plus a little lunch stop in Donovally, Slovakia. So while there won't be too much to post about today we did happen to do silent karaoke with two brave souls! Nico and Calista both stepped up to the plate to entertain the bus on the long journey. But this wasn't just any karaoke, this was silent karaoke! That means the only people who heard the music were the singers themselves and the rest of the bus had to guess the song.

Our next and final stop is Hungary - and we can't wait to get there!

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DAy Nine

This is our last day in Eastern Europe! We had such an amazing time exploring the sights, foods, and cultures that were once unfamiliar to us.

Today we started off a guided walking tour in Hero's Square before going to Buda' Castle, Castle Hill, and Matthias Church. Our tour then ended in the Budapest Market Hall where students got free time to try new foods and do some souvenir shopping. This by far has been my favorite place to eat. All of the food was delicious and made right in front of you.

Then it was off to the Szechenyi baths! Budapest has had a long history of thermal baths but this one was special as it was the first hot spring bath palace on the Pest side of Budapest. It is 110 years old and filled with mineral waters that are said to help heal the weary, which was needed! This was an amazing and much-needed break after walking about 150,000 steps in 9 days and the students had a blast getting to relax and have fun.

We then had our last meal in Budapest before heading off to our surprise bonus adventure! My chaperones and I treated everyone to a ride on the Budapest Ferris Wheel so they could get a beautiful view of the city lit up at night.

The views were breathtaking and it was such an excellent way to end our trip. I couldn't be more thankful to experience all these new places with such an amazing group!

Tomorrow, we head back home for some much-needed rest. See you in 2024 in Japan!

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