Chris Hogan, July 28, 2011, Last day before graduation

Today most of us caught up on some sleep and studying in the morning. We are preparing for our final exams and graduation tomorrow. In particular we are preparing for oral exams with our professors; something that is unusual to many of us.

After a hard day's work we went out to dinner. It was a dinner for the OSU students as well as several CZU faculty members. After dinner many of us headed to a football (soccer) match. It was a great opportunity to see what sports are like in the Czech Republic as well as the European sports atmosphere as a whole. We saw the Prague's Sparta take on Sarajevo. Sparta killed Sarajevo 5-0. It was an exciting game. We were all in agreement that the fans there were much rowdier than we are used to. Their celebrations included flares and fireworks thrown onto the field. Needless to say it was an exciting experience.

Many of us are sad that the program is drawing to a close. Simultaneously many of us are ready to head back to the United States. Most of us are leaving on Saturday and Sunday and a couple of us are continuing are European adventure for a little longer. It was a great experience and we are happy to graduate.

Until next time, Na shledanou

Andrew Pilarcik, July 26, 2011, Study Tour Day 6

Tuesday was the last day of an amazing study tour. It was also a very morbid day, and I don't mean that figuratively. Two of our stops that day had either something to do with death, blood, or bones. The first was a visit to the Rabbit meat production company. We were given a presentation about the company by a man in a swanky suit, who we would later found out was the Czech Republic business man of the year in 2001. The meat production company seemed very impressive and we got to see how chickens go from slaughter to grocery. I knew we were going to get a tour of this process but I had no idea how thorough and intense it would be. We were reacquired to put on a full body suit for disinfection, we were then read a list of rules about who and what can not go into the processing area. The chicken factory was pretty interesting, you saw hundreds and hundreds of dead chicken carcasses with missing heads and blood dripping from their neck line on to the floor. Sometimes you literally had to avoid certain areas to avoid stepping in blood or avoid having blood dripped on you. Overall, it was beneficial process to see and definitely something I will remember for a long time.

Our first stop after learning about poultry production was in Kutna Hora and was a tour of a silver mine. The word "dollar" originated in this location because the currency minted from some of the silver was world famous and called the toller. (Added by Kelly Koren)

After lunch of chicken (I was shocked I was hungry after the tour) we headed to our second morbid stop of the day, a bone church. The church interior is constructed with the remains of 40,000 people. There are chandeliers of bones, art made out of bones, and general piles of bones everywhere. It may sound quite creepy but it was really neat and seemed more like an art gallery then it did a actual church. Following the bone church it was easy to see everyone was exhausted from six full days of activities, bus rides, late nights, and eating. Our final dinner on the study tour was readily welcomed because we had pasta instead of the usual pork and potatoes. After dinner we all got on the bus had a nice group reflection about our trip and cruised back to Prague.

John Harman, July 25, 2011, Study Tour Day 5

On Monday, everyone woke up early and went to a paper mill factory. There we saw the traditional way to produce paper. It’s the oldest paper mill factory that’s still in production in the Czech Republic. Afterwards, we went to a cheese factory. The tour explained how they made the cheese, and its evolution into the industrial age. It was good cheese, but a bit salty for me.

The organic farm gave us an interesting perspective that the bigger co-op farms didn’t provide. The European Union monitored their farm from satellites, making sure that the animals don’t drink from the unregulated stream water. Arriving at our hotel, where a doberman pincher guarded the desk, the chef had a surprise for us. By far my favorite dinner of the study tour, we ate grilled pork (that tasted strangely like beef), chicken, and fresh fish. That night, after some poker and some drinks, we were ready for the next day.

Jena Parker, July 27, 2011- Wrapping up in Prague

Most of Wednesday was spent finishing up writing our papers for our classes. After sitting on our computers all day everyone decided to go The Pub for dinner. This was one of the first bars we went to when we arrived in Prague so it was fitting that we went there for one of our last nights. A group of us wanted to watch the sunrise over the Charles Bridge so we headed into Prague and spent the night wandering around until dawn. It was a little chilly waiting for the sun to come up but it was definitely worth it and something that everyone should do when visiting Prague.

Katy Ettinger, July 24, 2011 Study Tour Day 4

The Climb (best played while reading the blog) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG2zyeVRcbs
Everyone has been prepared since our first orientation back in Ohio for the 16-mile hike, and today it's finally come. The weather was set to be cold and rainy - which is not ideal - but it turned out to be better than if it had been 90 degrees like it apparently had been some years. We started off as a big group walking into the woods, then gradually separated out into smaller groups that were moving at the same pace. The first 2 miles of the hike were difficult and pretty much straight up hill, but it smoothed out after that. The first trail was 8 miles long and we ended at a small resort area where we got some hot things to eat to go along with our sack lunches and rested for the next part of the hike.

Not everyone went on the next 4 miles (2 miles up, 2 miles down) up to the top of the hill where a large tv tower stood. When we got up the hill and up the lift to the top of the tower the view wasn't really all that impressive. It was pretty foggy that day and you couldn't see much out of the windows. Some people rented scooters to get back down the hill - yes, you read that right, scooters. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of it, because it's just as hilarious as it sounds.

The last part of the hike was the best: 4 miles around forest and waterfalls. The trails were ridiculous and definitely would never be allowed in the U.S. I can't even count how many times we jumped over fallen trees and went down slippery straight-down ladders and thought the trail was leading us directly into the gushing river. It was gorgeous, though, one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever been on!

We were all exhausted and sore at the end of the day, so mostly everyone just crashed at the hotel. Some went into the hot tub or pool, but most of us just used some wifi and went to bed to sleep off the day. I think we all wished there was a rule that said no activity for at least 2 days after a 16 mile hike, but we had to be up early in the morning as always!

Video of group leaving for the hike

Lisette F. Alor Pavon, July 23, 2011, Study Tour Day 3

Today, the third day of our study tour, we took a trip throughout Moravia. The day began with a tour through the Punkva caves, located deep within a forested area through which we took a cable car. Here, we were guided below ground, where we were shown various ancient stalagmites and stalactites that grew all around us in shades of brown and even some greens and near-whites. The visit to these caves concluded when we boarded small boats that took us through an underground river with some areas running hundreds of meters deep. Overall, the sights here were breathtaking, and once we had had our fill, we headed through the trees once more toward lunch at a restaurant in the same area.
(Upper picture by Katy Ettinger)

Video of the abyss during our cave tour



Once we had departed from the caves, we headed toward Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, where a group of us proceeded to visit the Spilberk castle, turned into a dungeon in the 17th century. Here, we were guided through dark, enclosed stone chambers which had once served as cells, and we also learned about various methods of interrogation over times, altogether making for an eerie and yet interesting visit. The dungeons, which had served as the most feared prison in the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, were taken over by the Nazi Wermacht during the Second World War and, finally, were taken back by the state in the fifties and eventually became the exhibit through which we found ourselves walking.

Once we had met up with the rest of the group once more, we made our way to Kouty nad Desnou, where we had dinner at our hotel in the mountains through which we were to hike the following day. The view here was quite pleasant, and at night, a barbecue was held outside where we gathered in pretty cold temperatures to socialize before the next day’s much-dreaded (or perhaps anticipated, depending on who you ask) hike.

Justin Stiers- July 22, 2011 Study Tour Day 2

On the 22nd we went to a Czech Tractor manufacturer/dealership called TOKO. When we arrived we were given a presentation about TOKO and their other European partnerships. TOKO sells about 150 tractors a year, so it is not a large distributer by American standards and yet their JAC tractors were pretty impressive with the technology that they incorporate into each of their machines, such as electronic equipment that keeps track of everything the tractor does, where it goes, how it is used and in what condition the equipment is maintained to help with diagnostics if there are any problems with the machinery. We also went on a ride in one of their tractors, they go a lot faster than American tractors do!

After that we visited a town, Hostein, in which the 240 person community all committed to living sustainably. The town had a unique water purification system, using only plants and soil to purify all of their water. They also heat all homes with an efficient central furnace that burns wood chips and sawdust from local lumber mills. It saves a lot of money and keeps all energy spending local.