The Prague castle is a jewel of this country. Home of its past monarchs, history is tucked into every crevice. The soaring towers, stained glass windows, and watchful gargoyles provided inspiration to our touring. Notice the Czech flag waving proudly in this picture.

A cool day with cloudy skies could not dampen our spirits as we headed out to visit Prague Castle this afternoon. Public transportation ruled the day. With efficiency and seeming alacrity we boarded a tram and transferred to the subway to wind our way up to the castle grounds which overlook the city.

Monday afternoon our travelling classroom met at CitiBank with Mr. Jan Michelfeit, Wealth Management Product Head. He discussed the intricacies of managing assets in a system which interacts with and is controlled by outside entities. His work involves a complicated system which employs use of the Euro with Irish oversight while satisfying Czech and US regulations.

Visiting the Civic Institute (a political think tank) on the first day of our Czech study provided the opportunity to gain an overview of the internal economic and political climate of the Czech Republic, the other European countries, and their relationship to one another. The Civic Institute was founded in 1991 by a group of anti-communist dissidents. Their major focus has been on free market economics and classical liberalism. Presently, the Czech Republic is...

Umbrellas out this morning as we formally begin the academic segment of our study abroad class. We will take the tram to the offices of the Civic Institute.