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| DPI Prague trip 16 - 20 October 2006 evaluation |
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| 1st day, Monday 16th October |
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| During the DPI trip to Prague, we went to many different sites. Many of them historical,
but also cultural. On Sunday evening at 24:00 hours, the class met up at the shell pump station close to
school in Haren. It was a 12 hour bus drive to Prague. However, the bus had plenty of room and we were all
able to get plenty of sleep. Hotel Sport, the hotel in which we stayed, was situated in a small town called
Kralupy, which is about 20 km outside of Prague. After recovering from the bus drive and having lunch,
we went into Prague with the train and had some free time. The class split up, although the group I was
in went to a café and we had some drinks and enjoyed the Czechoslovakian atmosphere. Dinner was at 19:00 hours
in a hotel called Hotel Opera. After that, we went for a walk around the city. We walked to the Charles bridge
and then back to the Hotel Opera where the bus then picked us up. |
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| 2nd day, Tuesday 17th October |
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| On the second day of our stay, we went to a glass factory in Novy Bor. This for me was
one of the most interesting sites we visited, as the way of working, and people are so different to the
way we as Europeans work. Inside the factory was like a sauna. Due to this, the men working there would
have to drink at least 5 liters of water per day. However, they refused and only agreed to drink 5 liters
of (alcohol free) beer instead. Once we had bought our souvenirs from the glass factories shop, we went
into the small town of Litomerice, where once again the class split up and had some free time. Our group
went to a small restaurant in the centre of town. What amazed me was the incredibly cheap food. For about
30-40 euros, our group of about 8 people had a 2 course lunch. Probably the most depressing and sad site
we visited was the concentration camp, Terezin. We were given a tour by an experienced guide, who showed
us where the people were kept, their living conditions, where they cleaned, worked and finally where many
of them were executed. The most disgusting thing that I observed when I was there, was the Germans ability
to ignore the pain and suffering which the prisoners went through. In front of a wall, Jews and political
prisoners were executed. However, just on the other side of that wall, the German swimming pool could be
found. This is where generals and their families would play and relax during the hot summers. After this,
we all needed some cheering up and went back to our hotel. To complement the day, we enjoyed a folklore
and dance evening, meeting Czech and VMBO students from the Netherlands. We arrived back at our hotel in
Kralupy late that evening, and some of us decided to go out and explore the night life of the town. After
we had found a café, we had a few drinks, got rather tired and soon headed back to the hotel. |
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| 3rd day, Wednesday 18th October |
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| Once we had woken up and had breakfast, we went to the Staropramen beer brewery in Prague.
We were given a tour of the brewery by a guide and at the end of it we were allowed to taste the beer they
made. It was a very interesting tour, as we were able to see how the factory used to produce its beer in the
19th century and late 20st century, and compare it with how they produce in now, in the 21st century. However,
I was surprised by the way the new part of the factory looked. Everything was automated and controlled by the
touch of a button and it had expanded a great deal since it started during the 19th century. We were then
given some free time to explore the section of Prague we were in. We did not have enough time to walk to
the centre, so as it was lunch time, we found an Italian restaurant and enjoyed a well deserved pizza. After
this we went back to the hotel. On our way back though, the bus drivers route planner became mixed up and
drove us to the hotel the longest rout possible. However, once we got there we raced upstairs and got changed
for dinner in Prague and the opera, madam butterfly. The restaurant was nice, with a very relaxing atmosphere.
We all made some very comical photos of the class and had a lot of fun. The opera was a great experience and
the building was one of incredible splendour. Yet it was a great shame we did not understand the opera itself.
Even though we had all read the script beforehand, it was very stilted and most of us found it relatively
hard to follow. At about 23:00 hours we all went back in the bus to our hotel. Low and behold, we found out
that the teachers were just as frustrated with the opera as we were. So we managed to persuade them to come
out with us to the same café we had discovered the night before. It was a very enjoyable evening and one with
many laughs. However, it too came to an end and we went back to the hotel. |
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| 4th day, Thursday 19th October |
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Due to the fact that we were leaving for the Netherlands in the afternoon, we had to wake
up on time and check out of the hotel in morning. After we had done this, we went into Prague with the bus
and enjoyed a few hours of site seeing. We were given a tour by a tour guide round Prague castle. I found
it amazingly grand, and the cathedral was one of absolute magnificence. Yet the view which I will remember
as being the most striking, was the one when we walked out of the castle walls and stood above the entire
city of Prague. It was midday, but there was still a layer of mist on the buildings and towers. A truly
unforgetful sight. After this, we walked into the centre of town and had some free time again. All of us
where by this time pretty peckish, so we found a Subway bar and ate there. This time the class stayed
together as a group and we went to various different shops and markets looking for gifts for our families.
At 17:00 hours, we went on a boat trip up the canal going straigth through the centre of Prague. It was
a lot of fun, and we met up with the same VMBO Dutch students as were at the folklore evening on Tuesday.
Although the food was not to be desired, the mood and people were and we all had a fantastic evening. At
around 19:30, we all got in the bus and left for the Netherlands.
As mentioned above, the most enjoyable site I thought we visited was the glass factory in Novy Bor. The
way the people worked and the fact that they only drank beer throughout the day I found fascinating. Also
the way in which they were able to mould a lump of glass into something quite beautiful I though amazing.
The most enjoyable evening/night was the one were we had dinner, went to the opera and afterwards went
out with the teachers. Although at the time we found it quite boring, looking back on it, the opera was
an unforgetful experience and one which I will always remember. |
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| 5th day, Friday 20th October |
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| At 6:00 a.m. back in Haren. |
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