The Orientation week was held from 13 February until 19 February. We welcomed 296 exchange students and were supported by 103 buddies.
The preparations for Orientation week commenced on Monday 6 February with the assembly of welcome packs. Thanks to the help of volunteers, we managed to prepare all of the packs in a couple of hours.
On Saturday 11 February we welcomed the exchange students on the first event of the semester – Buddy Beer. This was the perfect opportunity for exchange students to meet not only their buddies, but also other exchange students. The Buddy team had also prepared a quiz about the Czech Republic.
The initial presentation was delivered by Šárka Prokopová and Tomáš Pýcha, and it was this dynamic duo that coordinated the overall organisation of the Orientation week.
On Wednesday, the exchange students could play PDG – Pub Prague Discovery Game. The teams were formed and the exciting exploration of Prague began. Some of the teams were eager to win while the others were there to have fun. In the end, nearly everyone had a great time which proves that PDG is indeed one of the most favourite activities which we organise.
The results of PDG were announced on inteGREATion party hosted at P.M. club. The exchange students could savour “řízečky” and play an ice breaking game – bingo. As the night progressed, the consumption of alcohol increased and the party got going well into the early morning hours.
During the rest of the week, the exchange students were exploring the beauties of the Czech Republic on ISC trips.
Karlštejn & Velká Amerika mines
One February morning, our group of students gathered at the Main Railway Station in Prague, embarking on a journey to the Karlštejn Castle and the Velká Amerika mines.
When we arrived to the village, the medieval Karlštejn Castle perched majestically atop a hill. We enjoyed its historic architecture and then our group set out on a picturesque hike towards Velká Amerika, often referred to as the Czech Grand Canyon. Mines revealed its beautiful landscapes carved by nature and human efforts. In the evening, the students returned to the Prague with nice memories from our amazing adventure.
Kutná Hora
Our OW trip to Kutná Hora, a historical town located in Central Bohemia, took place on Friday, February 17 2023. After the trip’s organisers, Honza, Tommaso and Ondra made sure everyone was present at the meeting point, we took our bus (which we booked for the day) that dropped us off next to St. Barbara’s Church.
Besides exploring the church dedicated to the patron saint of miners, we also visited the rest of the city, including the famous Sedlec Ossuary (with authentic skeletons of ~50k people) and the modern art gallery GASK. We also had lunch together in a traditional Czech cuisine restaurant.
After visiting Kutná Hora, we took our bus to the Kozel brewery in Velké Popovice. We went on a guided tour where we learned about the brewery’s history and tasted their excellent beer right from the source. Then, we finally returned to Prague.
Jihlava
After getting to Jihlava by a direct bus from Prague, we went directly to the city centre. Afterward, we had visited the local brewery, where a very nice guide told us all we needed to know about the brewing process and history of the brewery and a little more. He also offered us a tasting of the beer as a part of the tour. After the tour, we went to have an amazing lunch in a local pub.
Then we went to the catacombs with a guide and saw the glowing haunted corridor and learned a little more about the history of Jihlava. In the end, we went to the local zoo and saw many interesting animals there. There was also a little free time for everyone to explore on their own before we returned to Prague by another bus. Apart from the raining, the day was very nice.
Bohemian paradise
In spite of the bad weather forecast, we went on a trip to the Bohemian paradise during the Orientation week. In the morning we took the train to Turnov and from there we headed towards the Hrubá Skála castle. We had ordered lunch in the castle restaurant. Many students tasted our unique sirloin sauce with bread dumplings for the first time and enjoyed the beer from the local brewery.
After a little rain, which everyone was prepared for, the clouds parted and we were treated to some spectacular views. We all enjoyed the beauty of the Czech paradise and the international students started new friendships.
Next we walked through the beautiful surroundings of Valdštejn Castle to the main point of our trip, the rock town of Hrubá Skála. After enjoying the breathtaking views from the rock town of Hrubá Skála and the Hlavatice lookout point, we were on our way back to Turnov, where our train was already heading back to Prague.
We all enjoyed the trip and later it turned out that new and dear friendships were established not only between the foreign students but also with the organisers themselves.
Bohemian Switzerland
After one semester break following the summer fire, we finally went on our traditional and favourite trip to Bohemian Switzerland.
The journey began on Saturday, early in the morning (7:30 am). We took a private bus to Vysoká Lípa and from there we started the hike. The first place we visited was the rock castle Šaunštejn. Even though it was raining, the views from the top of the rock were quite nice. Next, we saw a “small Pravčická gate” which is a rock formation similar to the more famous big one.
After lunch, we continued our hike towards the Pravčická gate. The effects of the forest fire were noticeable, we saw a bunch of burnt and fallen trees. Even the trail to Pravčická brána was partially closed as there was a danger of falling rocks. But the hike was overall still enjoyable.
When we finally arrived to Pravčická gate, we didn’t have much time to enjoy ourselves. In the winter season the Gate is only opened until 16:00, and so we had less than half an hour to explore the surroundings. But we still managed to spend a couple of minutes to enjoy the view.
As it was getting dark, we took the bus to the accommodation. We spent the evening playing ice breaking games and getting to know each other. Unfortunately, the following day we left the guesthouse with smaller number of people, as one of the participants couldn’t find the wallet after a rather difficult night (he found it in the end!).
In the morning we took another trail, this time in Jetřichovice area. The hike was quite physically demanding, but it was worth the views we got. After lunch, we went to the final hike of the trip, to Tiské stěny. With this hike concluding the trip, we finally took the bus back to Prague.
