New Apartment Pictures

Andrey helped me get my last box out of storage today, so I've been working on getting the rest of the apartment set up this evening (I'm not very into the "Last Saturday Night Party Before Classes Begin" thing; so I spent it at home, instead). My desk looks like a different world (or at least a number of different cities).

Rika and I also went out last weekend and did some shopping for things to brighten up the apartment. It still needs some work (like the half-hung hammock and the bare walls behind the table), but there are some posters to be hung up yet.

Voila! My "renovated" apartment!:

Yes, I have a ballroom competition number collection. There's one missing that is apparently still attached to someone's shirt...

I will be transported to Rome, Prague, San Francisco, any number of places when I do my Physics homework next semester.

Our seasonal table topped with spring flowers. The garland in the back is nice, but I think we still need something. Maybe just some posters, or Christmas lights (let's see how many seasons we can fit in one picture).
Johnny Depp staring at you when you eat...is that scary or what?
Just wanted to prove that I am not dead, sleep-deprived, or pale. Yet. Classes start on Monday.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Schedule!

I haven't been doing much this past week and a half. There's only so much tidying up to do around one desk, especially when most of the stuff that's supposed to be there isn't there storage doesn't open til Friday).

The most productive things I've done are gone to an interview for an on-campus job and bought a table cloth with Rika. Our apartment is starting to look even more colorful! Once I figure out how to hook the other side of the hammock up and my stuff comes out of storage, I'll be sure to post more photos. I also danced for the first time in months. Andrey and I are supposed to teach Foxtrot at Beginner 2 lessons starting on Monday. We're still a bit rusty.

I've also finalized my schedule! (Short of the possibility of dropping a class later). No more wait lists! If you are the type of person who enjoys following along, you can click HERE for a link to my schedule. Just don't show up to all my lectures unless you're in them. I might get suspicious.

The Apartment

Classes don't begin until August 25th, but that didn't stop my roommate, Rika, and I from moving into our new apartment two weeks early. Moving in on Sunday took longer than we anticipated, but thankfully we only had to make one trip with the Uhaul to take all our furniture and Rika's things from her summer sublet to the apartment. We've managed to set up our apartment and make it look livable since then, however.

We live in a convenient location: about four blocks from CMU (about 10 minutes walking), about 6 blocks from a large grocery store, and close to a variety of bus routes that can take us all over Pittsburgh. Our 6th floor apartment also has a great view of Shadyside!

The views from our windows. We live behind some train tracks, but I'm already getting used to them.

My side of the bedroom.
The "living room" and my study area. The [extremely heavy, but free] desk broke while we were on the home stretch: while we were exiting the elevator! Fortunately, it still stands.

Living room with a peek at the dining area.


The kitchen. I haven't tried using the oven, yet, but everything else seems to be working properly.

We're still looking for a few more things (I'm looking for a desk chair, for instance). Maybe I can post some more pictures when the apartment is complete.

The End

The reason I haven't posted since Salzburg is because after leaving Salzburg for Munich, I made a spontaneous trip to Prague to visit a Czechish friend of mine from my exchange student days. I would have loved to stay in Munich longer than the day and a half I did, but Erika was leaving for Finnland that Sunday and it was already Wednesday. So with very little planning I hopped on a train the next day for Horovice, a small town about 50 minutes outside of Prague, but fortunately directly on the regional train line from Munich to Prague.

It was great to see Erika again (it's been over two years now) in her home country. We relived a few of our exchange student moments, but we did a bunch of new things as well. She toured me around Prague one afternoon. The other day I was there we went to Carlsteign, the Czech Republic's most famous castle. Otherwise we spent most of our time taking walks through the fields, woods, and hills behind her house.
The National Museum, a statue of a national hero, and non-nationals.
Overlooking Prague.

Carls Bridge
Carl.



Astrological clock

Inside of Prague's main cathedral. What's odd is that Atheism is the Czech Republic's official religion...

Erika and I.
Carlsteign, built by the same Carl who built the bridge. He was the Czech's most popular king (and as far as I am aware of, one of the first; guess it went downhill from there).
Horovice:
Believe it or not, this is an ant hill.

Erika had to throw her dog, Benji, into a lake to wash him off during one of our walks. He took a detour through some mud puddles.

Epilogue:

After the Czech Republic I left for Frankfurt, where I met with my host family and ended my backpacking trip. The drive back up to Wesel was only about 3 hours, which seemed incredibly short (I was bracing for 7; I forgot that Germany is so small). I flew out of Düsseldorf on Friday and, after a 5 1/2 hour flight, am safely back in California.