Field Trip #1 - Prague and Dresden

Three weeks and my second blog post have flown by. Twenty days have passed by on this amazing journey of mine.

This past week has been incredibly busy. Last Saturday, I was informed that our class on Monday, the 21^st, had been canceled. This meant I had Sunday, Monday and part of Tuesday free. As soon as I found this out a group of us decided we wanted to take a trip somewhere. We knew we had to decide quickly and around 11:00 p.m. on Saturday we decided we would hop on a train the next morning and travel to Bratislava, Slovakia. Everything happened quickly and by noon we had touched down in a new country. We made our short walk to the hostel and then directly got some Slovakian cuisine. As soon as we sat down we realized we couldn’t really read the menus, but this was nothing new. We ended up all getting the same thing. The waiter eventually brings out some type of pickle soup that was surprising good. A little while later he brings us our main dish, beef pie. Not what we expected, but very delicious. Shortly after our lunch we went on a free walking tour. I’ve learned to take advantage of these tours. These tours are given by locals who have a vast amount of knowledge and get paid purely off tips. I did not realize the deep, rich history until our two and a half hour tour was completed. I honestly didn’t know Bratislava was the capital of Slovakia, but would know recommend travelers to visit this historic city. Soon enough our quick trip was over and Tuesday morning we were headed back home to Olomouc for class at 3:00 p.m. I’m so thankful we decided to travel and put together this trip. I was blown away that you could take a 3-hour train for under $30 and be in a new country and experience a new culture.

Amazing panoramic view of Bratislava at sunset

Presidential House in Bratislava

Class went on as normal Tuesday and Wednesday, but Thursday we were on the train to Prague. My anxiousness to touch down in Prague again was off the charts. I loved the city the first time I visited and the second time did not disappoint one bit. We hit the ground running and walked around Prague with our professors, Jan and Martin. What I was really excited for was Friday. Eventually, after a long, steep trek we made our way up to the Prague Castle. Everyone visiting Prague can see Prague Castle up on the hill and this was one of the sites I did not get to visit my first time visiting. Prague Castle is home to the President of the Czech Republic and holds many centuries of history within. Also, on the premises of the Prague Castle is St. Vitus Cathedral. Talk about amazing! This cathedral was breath taking. The size, stained glass, and ornate decor were overwhelming.

View of the Prague Castle from the St. Charles Bridge

On Saturday our group hopped on a train to Dresden, Germany. I didn’t really know a whole lot about Dresden or what it had to offer. Our first stop was to see the church in the city center. Once again, the beauty of this church did not disappoint me. Next, we grabbed some lunch and then made our way to the top of the church for some city views. Once I arrived at the top my breath was taken away by the 360-degree views. Back in the 1940’s much of Dresden was destroyed by a series of bombings that left the city in flames. This is very evident in the new, modern building standing here today. There are also many old buildings as well. This makes for incredible views and a diverse sense of architecture. I chose to end my day by moseying through an art museum and ended up getting a pastry, an ice cream cone, and some Lindt chocolate (none of which was needed).

Dresden had one of the best aerial views I have seen so far

Church in the city center of Dresden

We hopped on a train back to Prague and arrived that night. Sunday in Prague was an impactful experience. We visited the Jewish Quarters. The first part consisted of walking through a synagogue with thousands of names of the deceased written on the wall. A walk through the cemetery followed this. The layout and feeling was indescribable. Gravestones were scattered throughout the premises wherever they seemed to fit. Bodies were stacked approximately seven layers deep. All I could think about was how this was constructed with such little care and regard for life. Finally, we visited the oldest standing synagogue in Europe. The only reason this synagogue is still standing is because the Nazi’s had intentions to leave it standing to be a museum of the “Exterminated Race”. It was overwhelming to try and fathom all the history and people that had stood on these grounds before me.

Sunday night we made our journey back to Olomouc. Don’t get me wrong I love Prague, but Prague on Easter weekend was crazy packed. Tourists are everywhere and many of the streets are hard to navigate. I could not wait to be back home in quaint Olomouc. Arriving was a breath of fresh air. I’m now starting to feel that Olomouc is truly home and there is no other place I’d rather want to spend these next 70 days.

Daily Life in the Czech Republic

I never thought the time would come where I can say that I'm finally studying in the Czech Republic. After approximately 15 hours of travel, I finally landed in Prague on March 9th to begin this journey of a lifetime. I landed in Prague around noon and hit the ground running. I spent my first four days exploring the beautifully historical city of Prague. This consisted of multiple tours of the town squares and experiencing the lively nightlife this city has to offer. These four days were unforgettable and I can't wait to visit Prague again this weekend.

Sunday, March 13th, our group met at the airport to make our final leg of the journey to Olomouc. It was great to finally see the individuals I will be spending this trip with. After a four-hour bus trip we finally arrived in Olomouc to see where we would be living for the next three months.

It was a bit of a shock when I left Nebraska and we were having temperatures almost up to 70 degrees. Daily temperatures have been around 40 degrees with gusty winds here in the Czech Republic. This makes for some brisk days walking around Olomouc.

The Holy Trinity in the Upper Town Square in Olomouc. 

At the center of Czech culture is amazing foods and drinks. The first word I learned in the Czech language was "pivo" and rightfully so. Pivo means beer and is possibly the most essential Czech word to know. Here in Olomouc, beer is cheaper than water. Not a day has gone by in Europe without drinking a beer, which is just following the Czech culture. Czech citizens and others around the world would fight to say that the Czech Republic has the best beer in the world. Czech food is to die for (my mouth is watering as I'm thinking about some of my favorite dishes thus far). I've done my best to stray away from American food and try some of the traditional Czech dishes. I have been nothing but impressed with the food here. I could go on for days about each meal and how delicious it has been. Some of my favorite foods have been the schnitzel, broccoli soup, kebobs, and the tartare. And of course everyone of these meals and been accompanied by a pivo!

Ordered a 3 liter beer on our pub crawl!

One of the most stressful parts of preparing for this trip was what to pack. As you can imagine, packing for three months is very difficult. I was also concerned about where I would be living and the amount of space my roommate and I would have. When I walked into our room at Neredin and began to unpack I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of space I had for my clothes and belongings. Its taken a few days of getting use to and settling into my new living arrangements, but now I feel more at home.

Mural of the Selfie King 

All of the UNK students here are living in the same building and primarily close to one another. Throughout the rest of the building are other international students here to study at Palackeho University. In our flat there are 5 other students whom with we share two bathrooms and a kitchen spaces. There are two young women from China working on their PhD, one undergraduate female from Latvia, and two female students from UNK. They are fairly social and nice, but aren't around to hangout or talk ever. I'm positive by the end of the trip I will have made some great relationships with other students here.

Money really hasn't been a problem and I'm getting more and more use to paying in Korunas. The conversion is getting easier and easier each day. Approximately one U.S. dollar is equal to 25 Czech Korunas. One problem I have ran into is paying separately. Most waiters will give you one bill for everyone at the table and when you ask to pay separate they will either roll their eyes or say no. I've had fairly good luck thus far and am becoming smarter about forewarning waiters that we want split checks. Food is very, very cheap here! I was have a beer and a large lunch for around $4 at some restaurants. Even better is that your average beer costs just a little over $1. This isn't just your normal cheap beer, but tasty good beers for $1.

I'm finally living out my dreams of traveling the world and could not think of a better place to start than here in the Czech Republic. I'm adjusting more and more every day to live more like the locals here. Their way of life is something I envy and hope to be able to take back with me to the states (if I come back). This first week has been wild with tours during the day and nightlife following. I can't wait to get into a rhythm and really experience all this great country has to offer.

Out with some friends at our welcome party