Thursday morning began with a walk through Prague’s New Jewish Cemetery. Sunlight danced between the trees, making our shadows look as tall as the towering graves we passed by. Some of the students remarked how beautiful the cemetery was, and how oddly peaceful it felt.

The cemetery is the resting place of Franz Kafka, the prominent 20th-century writer and Prague’s “most famous literary son,” as our guidebook calls him. After pausing at Kafka’s grave, we settled on the grass nearby to take turns quietly reading aloud “The Country Doctor,” one of his famous short stories.

We spent the afternoon with Meghan Forbes, who took us into the world of Bohumil Hrabal, another famous Prague author. We visited his city haunts and immersed ourselves in some of his writings pertaining to the fall of Communism in then Czechoslovakia. After a few hours of walking, we were more than ready for a hearty lunch at Cafe Louvre, a spot Kafka and Hrabal often frequented.

In the evening, we hopped on the tram to the city center to catch a show at one of Prague’s black light theaters. The dancing and colorful costumes were the highlight of the non-verbal performance, second only perhaps to the theater’s strong AC and plush, comfy seats!

—Natalie & Nate