"The only currency they take here is GER-MONEY"

Dobry den!

      It is unbelievable to say that I have been living in Olomouc for 2 weeks now. Yes, LIVING in a foreign country. In a town I love. I am over the moon!

      As I explored the city much further this week, with the freedom we had before class time each day, I realized that the high I am on from being here were actually never go away - something I'm thrilled about getting used to.

      Thursday morning of this week we went back to Bohemia to visit the beautiful city of Prague as a group. I felt contented traveling back to here, the city where I first started this journey. "It's so good to be back in Prague," was an expression that often was repeated during the few days of our stay.

      We took a train to Prague and this was my very first experience on a train. It may be surprising but, loved it. I was honestly expecting the very least, something similar to a bus, much less the trams we take to travel to our classes. I was certainly wrong. The trains reminded me of Harry Potter. Anyone who has seen Harry Potter and the trains they take to get to Hogwarts, knows exactly what I am talking about. Was there a candy trolley? Unfortunately not. However, I got a croissant sandwich and a piece of cheesecake all for less than a buck and a half. That's close enough to me!

 My meal for a dollar and thirty sense when converted to American money. I was not complaining!

On my way back from the WC. I had to stop and take a picture of Lily and Jessica. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard at a picture before!

      Reaching Prague, we quickly dismissed ourselves from the train ride, found the hostel we were to stay, and dropped off our things. Our hostel was very cute and each of us got to stay in groups of five or six. The location was close to Wenceslas Square which is where most of the touristy action is in Prague. I am the type of person that likes to do minimal touristy things while traveling and really get a chance to wander in unfamiliar places and surround myself with locals. However, I wouldn't change the location of our hostel if I could for many reasons. Two of them being, it was close to the train station and it was close to the Easter Market. I love the Easter Market. (more about that later)

      We had little leisure time before we met back up as a group to make our trip up down the Charles Bridge, by the John Lennon Wall and by some historical places before having the evening to ourselves. The first day was very relaxed and it ended perfectly by going out to a pub with Jan and Martin to have a beer. We got to listen to good music and spend time with good people. I was eager to see what was in store for the rest of the weekend!

       Day two of our adventure in Prague, we were to meet at 10:30 the next morning to make our way to the Prague castle. The girls I was with and I decided to grab breakfast at a cafe around the corner called CoffeeLand. I got pancake burritos filled with cream cheese and whipped cream, topped with ice cream, strawberries and some sort of fruit jam. The photo I have of it doesn't do it justice. I am telling you, it was incredibly delicious.

Quite frankly, it looks sort of disgusting in this picture. I will admit that. But, it was so marvelous. 

       We then met up at the hostel where Martin and Jan led the way to the Prague castle - The biggest castle in the world. There was an abundance of tourist in town for Easter weekend, so it was nice seeing so many people have the same appreciation for the history of Prague as our group did.

       My favorite part of the castle was the church. It was the biggest building I have ever been it, and I can undoubtedly say the most magnificent as well. It is insane to me the age of this castle as well as the amount of detail and care put into it. I have gained an appreciation for history after experiencing the castle.

Here are a few of the many photos I snapped while wandering in the church of the castle.

 I chose not to crop the people out to show the contrast in size. Its enormous! 

 Each stained glass window was different and there were what seemed to be hundreds of these windows in there. The intricacy and and embellishments featured in this place was extraordinary. 

This is one of my favorite windows. The variety of colors really caught my eye. I am not a very religious person, nor am I Catholic - But, that doesn't hinder my appreciation for such beauty. 

      We made many visits as our tickets allowed, and once we were done, Jan and Martin set us free for the rest of the day. My roommates for the weekend and I made our way back to Wecenslas Square to finally wander the Easter Market and spend the rest of evening eating good food and probably spending too much money. Germany was next on our list for the following morning!

The view across the Charles Bridge on our way back from the Castle. I enjoy seeing the boats on the water.

      Day three was finally here. Traveling to Germany has been a dream of mine but, I did not know what to expect. We traveled to Dresden and it was one of the towns that had been destroyed in World War 2 so, just like Prague - Dresden held much history. 

Our first stop in Germany was here. A church. It was the first Lutheran church we got to see! Out of all the beautiful churches I have been to in Europe, the structure and colors of this specific one has been my favorite so far. I enjoy the brightness and happiness the hues bring. The view from the top was even better. 

    We were free for lunch after this seeing so of course, the group I was with and I decided to go to a place that served pizza and share with each other. Transferring from Czech currency to euros was hard. Everything is so cheap in the Czech Republic it's almost too good to be true. So, using euros and paying the same amount for a meal as one would in America was quite the change. We only been here for two weeks and we already cringe when we have to pay over 4 dollars for a nice dinner out. 

The place we went to was an Italian place and in my last blog I revealed that I suddenly like pizza. The pizza here is always thin with little cheese and no grease - just the way I like it (apparently). 

I ate this entire slice to myself. I spent about six euros altogether here. (Yes, I had to pay for my water) 

   Here are some videos/photo I shot while walking around after lunch before meeting with Jan and Martin again:

 The breathtaking view from the top of the church. I was hesitant to spend 5 euros to see this, but I haven't regretted that decision for even a second after seeing it.

I am not sure if this man was actually real, but I swear I saw his arm flinch. We stared at him for a solid five minutes. 10 minutes if I am telling the truth.

     We met at 14:00 so Martin and Jan could guide the group who chose to see the war museum and the group who chose to see the art gallery. I love art in every form so, of course, I chose the art gallery.

     I took a very large amount of photos at the gallery because I was honestly in shock. I did not want to forget the beauty I was getting the opportunity to see. The age of the paintings dated back to the 1400-1700s. I could not believe the talent and the history of art. There were four floors to the gallery and the photos, unfortunately, don't do the paintings justice or display the extravagance and the size. - or the amount of money they cost. There were about 20 guards on each floor, so my guess? - ONE BILLION DOLLARS. Lol, but really - this artwork is extremely captivating in person.

 This picture stood out to me. Just the detail and colors and expressions in the body language. I adore the care put into art and pondering the meaning of each picture. 

               

 I am showing this because this similar to the view from the top of the church. There was an entire row dedicated to the very part of Dresden we were in. I was so appreciative to see this. This painting really helps me understand the history of Germany. 

I just liked this picture because they were playing cards. Cards are fun. There were so many light hearted, fun paintings. It wasn't all war back then...the artists had good humor, believe it or not!

     After the long but well-worth-it experience in the gallery, Lily, Lydia and I had some fun relaxing outside of it, on the fountain.

We wrapped up our day, got on a train back to Prague and were free to a night of our choosing.

     The last day (Easter) was the day Martin and Jan took us to the Jewish Quarters. I had seen the graves from outside on a tour I took with Lily, Hannah, and Clark during our stay there before the start of school. I did not actually get to experience the inside of the graveyard and it was eerie and so surreal. It helped me realize a bit more than I did before of how real the history of the Jews and the discrimination during World War 2 really was. The graves are randomly placed and in the ground area with six+ layers of bodies underneath them. Inside the building, the names of every person to die there was written on the wall along with where they were from. Hearing about Hitler, the Nazis and the damage they had done always comes with unfathomable numbers. To see the names written on the wall showed me how personal it really was. This was something I will never forget.

A small section of the big cemetery. 

After a long weekend of history, we had about 3 hours to ourselves to walk around the Easter Market before heading to the train back to Olomouc. - and to sit in the sun that we hadn't seen for so long! The day could not have been more perfect. 

After lunch, I had to get what I had gotten the night before as well. In my last blog I shared with you my love for Trdelniks. The cylindrical, cinnamon and sugar doughnuts filled with nutella. I have a new favorite dessert (its still a trdelnik, but better) Its this. Instead of a cylinder, its a cone. yes it is filled with Nutella but also with strawberries and whipped cream. Honestly a dream. Can these exist in America? Ugh. At least I can die happy now. 

Until next time! - Ahoj!

   

New beginnings in New places.

    Ever since I was a little girl, I have only dreamed about standing upon the soil of my ancestors, longing to step foot in a place that has traced back to the history of my very own family. The ambition to travel to a place where pictures and stories could do no justice unless I had experienced it on my own, has invariably been an unrealistic possibility. Enduring these "dreams" and facing such escapades were nothing but hypothetical throughout my life as traveling to across the country I was born and raised is already such a major expense. But, here I am. - and I could not be happier.

    Although I have ancestors from the Czech Republic, (formerly Czechoslovakia), my knowledge of the culture was fairly vague before reaching this destination. I, of course, had heard about the beer, the dumplings, and the relaxed state of mind. However, I did not have the slightest clue what I was in for.

     Flying internationally was already an experience in and of itself, but finally reaching the Czech Republic the butterflies really started to kick in. Prague is the name of the city my friends and I had arrived in to stay for a few days before moving to Olomouc for school. I was expecting, truthfully, nothing. I have always thought of Europe as the place of Paris and Venice. After spending a 4 nights there, it isn't difficult to say that Prague is an under appreciated city, as it has been the absolute most beautiful place I have ever been in my life, thus far.

A few things I learned about Czech in the first few days:

The beer is cheaper than water. No, I did not stutter.

The oldest bar in Prague opened in 1499.

Do not try and cross the street when the tram is coming. They wont stop.

I hate pork in America. I love pork schnitzel here.

Potato salad as a condiment on sandwich is a thing in Europe.

It costs us 12 dollars a night to stay in a fantastic hostel.

Some public restrooms cost a dime or two.

Nutella is everywhere.

    Prague was so good to my friends and I. This is a city I encourage everyone to visit at some point in their life. If you're a person who likes more bang for their buck, this is the place for you. Europe is the place for you.

 This was our first night in Prague. This picture is taken in the hostel we stayed at. There is a bar downstairs and it was kereoke night. It was crowded in there, and keep in mind this was a Wednesday. The relaxed lifestyle is so intriguing and it didn't take us long to adapt!

This was on the first day we had arrived. This day we took a free tour of the city and learned about the culture and some history. I was fairly chilly out but we were all undoubtedly ecstatic and unexceptionably thankful to even be there. This is a picture of traditional desserts here in Czech. They are called trdelnik. They are pastries rolled in sugar and cinnamon with nutella on the inside! They are commonly sold in little markets on the streets. Currently my favorite thing to eat ever!

As we wandered around the city of Prague, we made our way back to the Astronomical Clock. The first picture is of me in front of the building and the second picture was when we are on top of it. The views were stunning, but the crowd of people was due the show that took place at ever hour. I loved seeing so many people out and about that day. Certain parts of Prague are definitely filled with more tourists than others.

The day we visited The Charles Bridge. I loved this day.  We were so happy. After our journey at this location we began our endeavors as we tried to find the John Lennon Wall. We bit off more than we could chew in the sense that we decided to wander around until we found it, asking locals and accepting brief directions such that a finger point. The language barrier was hardly an issue in Prague but for some reason that day we had run into plenty of non English speaking locals. But finally....

 

We made it! We spent about an hour taking photos here because we walked around so long. This wall has the best vibes. Now, I give you a picture of us entering the Ice Pub. We had two free drinks complimentary to the hostel we stayed at. We decided after a long day, we needed them.

We ended the last couple days of our trip being less touristy and being more local-y. Keep in mind, the Czech Republic is known for having the most intake of beer per capita. This called for experiencing the pubs and the clubs. As this journey is learning experience meant to show us at a young age, the importance of culture and history--we couldn't pass up the night life. Which, in theory, is actually a big part of the carefree culture here!

Sunday had approached and as sad as it was to say goodbye to the most beautiful city I have ever been, I could hardly wait to make connections with the rest of the group i would be living with in Olomouc! We had a four hour bus ride and were on our way to begin actually living in Europe! The day was bitter-sweet. But less bitter and more sweet.

 The first week was an orientation week with a couple of Czech language courses. We had toured the town and learned how to find our way around. This is the week that everything started to actually sink in. The fact that I will be living here for 3 months!

Here are some things I learned about Olomouc this week:

It is a college town. The size of Lincoln.

The locals here hardly speak English.(compared to Prague)

The lobby of our dormatory sells foot-long sandwich for a buck-fifty.

Czechs are much nicer than they look.

The tram system is slightly hard to learn.

The Czech language is even harder to learn.

The University is incredibly pretty.

I suddenly like pizza now. (aka the food here is the bomb.com)

    Olomouc is much smaller than Prague but it is much more homey as well. The variety of international students is almost comforting. Hearing many new languages each day roll off of everyone's tongues makes for an intriguing environment. Living in flats, we share bathrooms with a variety of people and get to live with people from all around. I have met people from Turkey, Italy, China, Latvia, France, and many more. I think I can get used to this!

 A photo of the remarkable city we are living in!

A photo of the first day of Czech class! The language may be difficult to learn but it sure is fun. Wish us good luck.






My dreams are finally coming true. Europe is much more than I have expected already and it is only the first week. I am beyond thrilled to share my once in a lifetime journey of studying abroad in such a phenomenal place.

Until next time ~ Ahoj!