Prague and Dresden

7) Field trip #1
Blog #2

The past four days our class went on our first field trip to Prague, Czech Republic and Dresden, Germany. This trip was full of several firsts for me! Including my first train ride, hostel and the first time I have walked almost 25 miles in a four day span wearing cute boots. We took a train early Thursday morning from Olomouc to Prague which was a little over two hours. We had huge comfortable seats, wifi, and pretty nice bathrooms. It felt like we were riding first class! (which we soon found out we were because the next several trains were not this impressive.) We arrived in Prague and got settled into our hostel and began touring the city with our teacher, Martin. He took us to the Astronomical clock, Charles Bridge and the John Lennon Wall. I had seen pictures of all these things before but they are definitely worth going to in person. We even showed up to the clock right in time to see the little show they put on. The windows around the clock open up and little statues are seen rotating around while bells play for the first minute at the turn of every hour. 

Most of our group trying out the selfie stick in front
of the Astronomical Clock!

The Charles Bridge was our next stop. It's a popular place so it was really crowded. The bridge was built between the 14th and 15th century and spans across the Vltava river. In the past, cars and busses were allowed to cross but now it is only for tourists. Vendors and musicians line the edge of the bridge making for some great entertainment as well. We walked across and admired all the statues as well as enjoyed the beautiful view!

The Charles Bridge and Prague Castle in the background!

Located not far from the Charles Bridge was the John Lennon wall which was our last guided stop for the day. The wall was not as big as I was expecting it to be. Although it is pretty long, it is not very tall. We learned that during the late 1980's when the Czech people were protesting to end communism, young students would come to this wall and graffiti it with messages of peace and hatred towards communism. Every time they would do this, the police would paint over the drawings. The wall is nothing like it used to be, but still has a very powerful message. 

The rest of the night was left for us to explore Prague! We picked a great weekend to be in the city because it was the beginning of the Easter celebration so there were all sorts of stands and decorations around the town. 

Trying a Nutella filled Trdelnik in downtown Prague
during the Easter celebration!

The second day in Prague we learned that getting lost can be a good thing! We started out at the Prague Castle. I can't even explain how much architecture and detail had to go into this place to make it such a breathtaking building. The most famous Czech saints were buried in the castle in some of the most elaborate tombs. We also saw the changing of the guards outside the castle at noon! After exploring the beautiful Prague castle we began wondering to find something to eat. We kept thinking we could find cheaper places to eat (because we are broke college students and 8$ is a lot for a cheeseburger here haha) and wound up in a suburb of Prague several hours later. Through this 10 mile trek we found what we thought to be the best view in Prague in a beautiful park, the best pizzeria we have ate at yet, and too many laughs to count. 

Looking out on the city of Prague!

The front of the Prague Castle.

A tomb inside the Prague Castle.

Day three was spent in Dresden, Germany. We took a train early in the morning and got there in good time to enjoy the day in the city! We started the day by eating at a restaurant where I got currywurst and french fries, a very German food! We then toured the Frauenkirche church and walked up all the stairs to the top. No pictures could do justice the view we had from up there. The church was reconstructed after WWII with fragments from the original church. We returned to Prague that night after touring a museum making it for another exhausting day of traveling!

Currywurst in Germany.

The view from the top of the Frauenkirche Church.

Sunday was our last day in Prague. That morning we went to the Jewish Quarters. The synagog we went into was covered in names of the 85,000 Czech Jews that were killed during the Holocaust. An interesting thing we learned was that many of the people who were killed did not even know they were Jews until they were taken to concentration camps because their ancestors were Jewish. We saw artwork by children who were in the concentration camps as well as the Jewish Cemetery. Both of these things were very heartbreaking. The people were only given a small space to bury their deceased so they had to bury people on top of each other instead of everyone having their own area underground. Thousands of people had to be buried in this area so in some places there are 6-8 people buried in one spot. 

Part of the Jewish Cemetery. They buried them wherever there was space, which a lot of the time was on top of many other people.

We headed back to Olomouc on the train that evening absolutely exhausted. It was such a successful first field trip with a perfect balance of organized touring and exploring on our own. 


The next few weeks are going to be packed full of more fun as we start our two week field trip/spring break. This weekend a group of us are going to London, England on our own for a mini vacation. We then will come back to Olomouc and leave right away to go on another field trip to Vienna, Austria and Venice, Italy for several days. From Venice we will take off on spring break! I am going to Naples, Italy and Barcelona, Spain for four days each. I am so excited to keep seeing more of Europe! 

Trial and Error

1) Daily Life
Blog #1

I have officially been in Olomouc, Czech Republic for one week and I would have to say the theme of the week was trial and error. It is a pretty rare occurrence to find someone that speaks more than a couple words in english so it was quite the culture shock at first. Things that are usually pretty simple at home like asking for directions, ordering off a menu, buying groceries are all very difficult here. Nonetheless, it has been such a great learning experience already. 

We arrived at our dorm rooms last Sunday. Our dorm building, Neředín, is located on the outskirts of Olomouc. My roommate Lauren and I got settled into our room right away and started exploring the city!

Our cute little dorm room.

We take the tram to our classes and pretty much anywhere else we want to go. This seems pretty typical here, as there isn't much room for parking so people don't have cars they use regularly. 

As I mentioned earlier, it has been extremely difficult trying to buy groceries from the supermarket here called Globus (basically a HUGE Walmart). I could probably spend a whole day in there and still feel like I haven't seen everything and have no idea what I am buying. So until we get that figured out we will probably continue to eat out for most of our meals at little cafes and restaurants.

The supermarket Globus very close to our dorms!

To my surprise, everything is SO cheap. One American dollar is worth about 26 Czech Korunas, which is a very good exchange rate right now. My breakfast which usually consists of a croissant, piece of fruit and a water costs about 40-50 Korunas (about $1.50-$2.00). Crazy right!? I have been trying to eat a variety of different foods but I have especially enjoyed Nutella Crepes and Gryos from little stands that locals own. Olomouc has a population of about 100,000 but really has a small town kind of feel. For example, I have ate at the gyro stand three times and the guy already has my order memorized and we run into other classmates and people we have met on a regular basis while we are downtown.

Enjoying a Nutella crepe downtown!

My first Czech lunch.

After one week and lots more error than anything, here are the top ten things I have learned about the Czech daily life...

1. The trams do not wait for people running frantically trying to catch them. 
2. No matter how you say you want a water to a waitress (tap, still, normal, regular, no bubbles) you will always get sparkling water. 
3. Everyone walks everywhere. I have discovered muscles in my legs I did not know I had. 
4. Ramen noodles are international, but if you are really craving American food you can always go to McDonalds. 
5. Connect to as many places with wifi as you can. When you are lost and need a google map, just walk down the street a little ways and your iPhone will automatically connect to a previous hotspot.
6. Quiet hours in the dorm buildings do not exist. 
7. If you ever can't find the toilet flusher, look above your head.
8. You have to pay to use a shopping cart and your plastic grocery bags at the store.
9. The cobblestone can and will hurt your ankles. Watch your step.
10. Everyone is so nice and willing to help. I wouldn't have survived the first few days without the help of other international students, locals and our teachers.

I am truly blessed to be going through this journey in such a beautiful place with some great people. I hope the next 10 weeks are as great as this first one was!

Until next time :)

Trying a traditional Czech beer.

The Holy Trinity Column downtown with some friends!

Looking out on the city from the top of the Town Hall.