Prague Round 2

7. Field Trip 1

Thursday, bright and early, we woke up to meet at the train station in Olomouc to head off to Prague for our first class field trip. There we learned how to buy train tickets and navigate the station. After the 2 and a half hour train ride we arrived in Prague around noon.  We quickly settled into hour hostels and then began our tour of the city. Our first stop on the tour was the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square. It was such a beautiful sight to see. It is even said to be true that every time you watch it ring, it adds years to your life. And on top of all of that, the clock was used in the filming of the Harry Potter movies!

Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square

After viewing the Astronomical Clock, we took off to see one of the most beautiful sights in Prague, The Charles Bridge. The bridge crosses the large Vltava River and provides one of the most amazing views I’ve seen since arriving in Europe.

Statue of Charles IV of Moravia

Tess, Louie, Mei and I overlooking Vltava River

Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge

We then made our way to the last stop on our tour, The John Lennon Wall. The Lennon wall is a tribute to John Lennon, where Czech Students could voice their opinions against the Communist Regime. Each night the students would graffiti the wall and each day members of the Communist Party would paint over it in white. John Lennon was a peace advocate during the rule of Communism. It amazes me that this was done by people our age. The John Lennon wall taught me that anyone, no matter the age, can make a difference in the world.

John Lennon Wall

Mei, Louie, Tess and I in front of The John Lennon Wall

Me in front of the John Lennon Wall

After our tour concluded, we were given free time. A couple of us wandered around the city exploring little shops and picked out souvenirs. That night we spent in our hostel bonding with the other program members. It was so great to get to know everybody!

The next day we set out to view the castle and cathedral. It was a long, steep hike up the hill but the view was incredible.

View overlooking Prague

We took a tour of the beautiful St. Wenceslaus Cathedral where many of the Saints from the Czech Republic are buried, including St. Wenceslaus. The architecture of the church was so incredible, it didn’t even look real. It was so fascinating to visit the place where the president resides. We were lucky enough to be exiting at noon, and got to witness the changing of the guards. That concluded our tour for the day.

St. Wenceslaus Cathedral

Beautiful stained glass windows throughout the church

Beautiful Statue

 After visiting the cathedral and castle a bunch of us had planned on hiking up to see the monastery and the Prague Eiffel Tower. However, we were all starving so we decided to venture out of the touristy areas to find some cheaper food. We walked all the way back down the hill we hiked up that morning and couldn’t find anything that satisfied all of us. We decided to venture back up to the monastery and look for food up there. On our way up we saw yet another incredible view of Prague.

Lauren, Maddie, Anna, Erika, Tess and I and the view overlooking Prague

View overlooking Prague

View overlooking Prague

We continued on to look for food and eventually found something that satisfied everyone. (We looked it up later, and discovered we had walked so far we had ended up in the suburbs of Prague!) After admiring the monastery we took off to the Eiffel Tower. We decided to stop in the museum of mirrors on our way there which was pretty entertaining.

Long legs in the Mirror Museum

Gained some weight in the Mirror Museum

We finally made it up the Prague Eiffel Tower, 10 miles and 58 flights of stairs later. The view was breathtaking. The long journey finally felt worth it. This place offers the best view of Prague and I would strongly recommend it to anyone visiting.

View from Eiffel Tower

Half stormy half sunny-view from Eiffel Tower

After a long 12 mile day we returned to the hostel and stayed in to rest for the evening.

The next morning we were up early to catch our train to Dresden, Germany. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from this city but it was incredible. Dresden was one of the last cities bombed by the U.S. in WWII. We saw the Martin Luther Statue and the Dresden Frauenkirche, a building destroyed by the bombing but was rebuilt and finished in 2005, using some of the bricks from the original building. In the picture you can see the darker bricks are the original ones and the lighter ones are new.

Dresden Frauenkirche Exterior

Dresden Frauenkirche Interior

Statue of Martin Luther

Panoramic view from the main square

We then climbed to the top of the tower of the Dresden Frauenkirche where we saw yet another amazing view. I have learned that the best views you will get are going to require some hiking and climbing, but trust me when I say it is 100% worth it.

View of Dresden from the top of Dresden Frauenkirche

Tess and I overlooking Dresden, Germany

We then walked around Dresden, exploring the beautiful architecture.

Dresden Castle

We made it back to Prague around 8 that night.

Our last day in was spent touring the Jewish Quarters in an old Jewish Ghetto in Prague. It was an eye-opening experience. Our first stop was a memorial of the Jewish Czech’s who died during the Holocaust. There were 85,000 names covering the walls of a large building, to remember those lost throughout the Czech Lands. We spend years and years learning about the devastating effects of the holocaust, but none of that compares to what we saw yesterday. 

1 room with names of those lost during the Holocaust.

We then walked through the Jewish Cemetery where there are countless numbers of graves packed into a very small space. It left me speechless.

Jewish Cemetery 

We were then given about 2 more hours to explore Prague 1 last time. Tess and I went and ate, finished up our souvenir shopping and then explored the St. Wenceslaus Square, which was fully decorated for Easter. We even got a free segway ride.(Which is much harder than one would think!)

Some Easter Decorations in the St. Wenceslaus Square

Segway ride

Segway ride

I learned so much throughout the last 4 days. Martin and Jan are amazing guides and instructors and I am thrilled for the upcoming trips they will accompany us on. We have arrived safely back in Olomouc and are now preparing for class this upcoming week.

Ahoj! (Goodbye)

Week 1 Abroad: Czech

1. Daily Life

Although my first week in the Czech Republic was accompanied with a lot of stress, I can easily say it has been one of the most amazing weeks of my life.

Tess, Louie, and I departed Omaha on Thursday March 12, where we would begin the long journey to Prague, Czech Republic. Despite this being my first trip out of the country, everything started off smoothly. However, after arriving in Atlanta, that was no longer the case. Our flight to Paris was delayed by over an hour. It was a long, boring flight which I barely slept. Upon arriving in Paris, we had 30 minutes to make it on our plane to Prague. We worked our way through the huge Charles de Gaulle airport as quickly as we could, despite the language barrier, only to discover that we missed our connecting flight to Prague. Our Friday the 13^th luck had only just begun. We eventually made it on a plane to Prague to complete the last hour of our long trip. At this point we were all exhausted. We got off of the plane in Prague, and soon figured out that our luggage had not yet arrived. Luckily, Tess and I received our luggage late that night, but Louie had to wait until MondayL. Needless to say, we learned a few lessons about navigating airports and checking bags that day.

After all the chaos, we finally made it to Olomouc late Sunday night and have spent this week adjusting and exploring the city.

Monday morning, bright and early, we met for orientation. After learning a few things about Palacky University, the school I will be attending for the next 2 and a half months, we went on a tour of the Town Hall in the middle of the main square. There we climbed to almost 200 stairs to the top of the tower where we saw an incredible view of the entire city. It had been a long and exhausting weekend, so I came back to my dorm to get some rest for the evening.

Holy Trinity Column in the Town Square

Astronomical Clock in the Town Square

Panoramic view of Olomouc from the top of City Hall

Tuesday morning, we woke up and attended a lecture about the cultural differences between Czech and American people, which was very informational. Then we were taken on a guided tour of Olomouc, where we saw some of the city’s most historic and beautiful sites. Tuesday night we were welcomed by the University and the members of Erasmus, students in a program similar to ours.

St. Wenceslas Cathedral

City Hall

Wednesday we attended another lecture in the morning and then took a tour around the library where we were taught how to navigate and use the machines. We finished early that afternoon so we took some time to explore around the city. I began feeling more comfortable with the Olomouc, and finally felt as though I had somewhat of an idea of where I was going after being completely unsure for almost a week. It has been very difficult to adjust, because if being lost and confused isn’t bad enough, it’s nearly impossible to even ask locals for help due to the language barrier.

Thursday we were able to sleep in and then head into the city around 11 to explore our new home. We then attended our first class in over 3 months, which was a lecture about the history of the Czech Republic. Then we had our first Czech language class. And wow… I left the classroom feeling like a kindergartner who just sat through a calculus class. Czech is not going to be easy, but I am thrilled to try and learn as much of it as I can throughout the next 2 and a half months. This is what most of our days are going to be like while we are here. I am so excited to spend my mornings exploring the beautiful city and getting to know all of the nooks and crannies, and then spending the afternoons learning Czech history and language from our professors.

Friday we were back in the classroom for our Czech class. We had some time in the afternoon to grab some lunch and then we came back and got ready for the evening. The University organized a Pub Crawl for us to experience night life in Olomouc. They took us out to 5 of the best pubs in town. The food, drinks, and company were all great.

This weekend we took a trip 20 minutes outside of the city to see the St. Kopacek Basilica and the Olomouc Zoo. The Basilica was beautiful, with amazing architecture (just like the rest of the city). The zoo was cute. Plus we got to hold baby goats! It was pretty cold so we didn’t get to spend a lot of time out there, but I’m glad we made the trip. It was nice to see the country side of the Czech Republic also. I hope I can get back out there soon. It was a great way to end the first week!

St. Kopacek Basilica

Holding the baby goats

This week was a little different than the future ones will be, as we have been working on adjusting and getting acquainted with the city. Nonetheless, it was a great first week and I cannot wait to see what else this quirky city has in store for me over the next couple of months!

Sbohem!