Castles, Cathedrals and Guards...Oh MY!

I don't think I can even put in to words how amazing today has been! It's completely an indescribable experience to come to another country and mingle with people who are so accepting of you and who want to learn just as much about you as we want to learn about them! Today has been by far the best day of the trip so far and one of the best days of my life!
After breakfast this morning we took off with the guys and ventured to the Prague Castle which is the largest castle in the world! It's equivalent to the size of seven football fields! We were all awestruck by the sight of the massive and beautiful structure. After taking group pictures outside the castle we made our way through the crowds and into the magnificent Cathedral. The architecture, stain glass windows, and sculptures inside we're simply amazing! We're hoping to go back later in the week and tour the inside of the castle and the rest of the Cathedral.
After we finished taking in all the beauty of the Cathedral, we walked out into the plaza where the Senate buildings are located and made our way down a hill where you could see the entire city from standing against the wall. It was breathtaking. Needless to say I was in picture taking heaven! We probably spent thirty minutes posing for pictures and soaking in the city in all its beauty.
On our way to the other side of the plaza we stopped to take pictures with the castle guards who don't move or smile; but don't worry, we got them to move! One of the boys decided he was going to try and take a close up picture with the guard and he crossed the safety line which sent the guard into a rage! He slammed his gun on the ground, stomped his foot and yelled GET BACK! I was so scared, my heart pounded for the next ten minutes!
Once we recovered from the intense experience, we ventured back down to the tram, and made our way back to the hotel. It was time to get ready for our game against the Czech Republic, which ended up being the best part of the day!
After eating our meal outside the subway station, the Czech coaches drove from the fields to pick us up. When we arrived at the field we were shocked to see what appeared to be massive 16 year olds, but little did we know their ages ranged from 13-16. They we're really good for their age. We played a scrimmage which helped them prepare for the national tournament that they're leaving to play in, in Belgium. One of the Czech girls, Alice, played for our team since we only have eight girls with us! She was sooo nice, spoke really good english and really enjoyed being with us. She tried to teach me Czech but I think I'm hopeless. I've only figured out the basic words: Ahoj and Chow mean Hello, Diky means Thanks, and Dobrou Praci means Good Job (don't judge me on my pronunciation though).
Three of the girls, Alice, Bara and Eliska all speak english and are really impressive. Eliska's father is English and she explained to us that it's really hard because girls grow up talking more with their mother and her mother speaks Czech but her father converses with her in English and she attends an English school, so she knows what we're saying but she doesn't always know the correct way to answer. She was an extremely helpful translator though! Bara is learning English from Eliska and from spending her summers in England at an English school. She and her mother sat at our dinner table and we're so much fun to talk with. Her mother also speaks English! She's a pediatric general practitioner here; such a sweet lady!
We spent a lot of our evening conversing with the girls and learning about each other! They were completely shocked to find out that we don't drink in our country until we're 21! They're all legal in Prague since the drinking age is 16, but they can't get their license until they're 18. We asked Eliska what their opinions of Americans was and she immediately responded "a fat man eating a burger". We all busted out laughing!! I guess that goes to show, we have a reputation for being obese. We exchanged stories and laughed all through our dinner, which was delicious fried cheese! Kristen's day was made when she realized we were eating cheese for dinner! It was like a grilled cheese only a million times better!!
Today was by far one of the best experiences I've ever had in my life. I absolutely love being here and doing what we're doing! Its such an amazing experience and I can't wait to see what the rest of the week has in store! Bara wants to come to our hotel and take us to explore "the real Prague" with her. She also wants to come to America and hang out with us cause we're so awesome; I do believe those were almost her exact words!!
After our long and incredible day was over, we met at the hotel for our devotional. Mr. Charlie read us some verses of the Bible and explained that what we're doing is a unique and wonderful thing. We're here to be ourselves and enlighten others of Christ and his word. We prayed together and ended on my favorite verse "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". <3