This blog post is going to be more about the weather, money issues, and eating in Olomouc. The weather in Olomouc was overall really nice. We didn't get any really hot days while we were in Olomouc. Most of the days were in the 60's and a few 70's and 80's days. On these days, we would just wear jeans and t-shirts. On days that it was perfect out, I would like to sit on our deck and do homework. I wish UNK had nice decks connected to the dorm rooms!
When I first found out that I got accepted to study I knew that I needed to start saving money right away. So I cut back on how much I went out to eat, shopping, etc. I wanted to be able to do everything and I didn't want money to be the reason I missed out on something. It was nice because I didn't leave for several months so I got to work full time and pick up extra shifts at work. My advice for anyone thinking about studying abroad is to work as much as possible and cut back on things that you don't need before you leave. I was able to travel every free weekend and do lots of different activities. The food in Olomouc is amazing and crazy cheap! We went to a great pasta place and ordered homemade pasta and a drink. On average it was about $8 and that would be including the tip! If we wanted to get even cheaper, there were lots of other options like Kababs, pizza, or Chinese. These meals would cost only around $2-$5! They weren't small meals either! I loved every place that I ate at. You really can't go wrong with eating in Olomouc. If you are ever in Olomouc or are planning to study abroad just remember, the weather is really nice (a little rainy here and there but overall great!), save as much money as possible, and be open to try new food! Since we have been in Olomouc for a while now, we have gotten to have many different interactions with the local Czech people. I can remember the first time that I talked to a local. It was at the grocery story called Globus, which we normally went to. This was our first time ever going there to get groceries. When we got there, it was shortly after we had dropped off our stuff in our dorm rooms. It was also right at supper time. There is a little food market with a variety of different hot foods. We all decided to eat supper before we went to get groceries. No one had any idea how to order or what to order (it was all in Czech, obviously). Everyone was just standing around trying to figure out what to get. Some people had google translate so they were listing off what there was. Once people kind of had an idea of what they wanted, the next step was figuring out how to order. No one knew how to pronounce anything, but we tried our best. I went first and tried to tell the lady what I wanted to eat. I forget what I ordered, but the lady was not impressed nor very happy. Then she said something in Czech and pointed at a picture of some food. So, I just ordered that and took the tray and went to pay. I think I got svickova. Svickova is a traditional Czech food that has meat with kind of a gravy sauce on it and is served with bread dumplings. We got to learn about different traditional Czech food in our Czech language class. Svickova was one of the dishes that we learned about. My first interaction with a Czech person could have been better, but it ended up with good food. Unfortunately, it also made me not want to go back to the Globus food court for a while. With that being said, a lot of the local coffee shops, bars, and restaurants have really great service and are really nice. It helped once we learned a little bit of Czech and could at least use "please" and "thank you" when ordering. They would normally try to work with us and give us English menus if they had them, or offer to explain things if they could. There are a lot more restaurants that had English menus than I thought there would be. Like any place in America, there will be some not so pleasant services, but overall most Czech people that we had interactions with were really nice and understood that we had very limited Czech language.
1.Packing / What kind of linens did you need to bring?
-You do not need to worry about bringing any type of bedding because the school provides them for you. I would bring your own pillow if you need it to sleep. The pillows here are very large and soft. I personally like them more than the one I have at home, but that’s just me. 2. Packing / What are you glad you brought from home? - I am very glad that I brought a 1) Laundry bag- You have to walk a little bit to do laundry. 2) Locks- It's just a security thing when you are staying in hostels or are traveling on the train. I would highly recommend bringing multiple ones with the wire cord. 3) Headphones-when we are traveling its nice to listen to music or watch a movie. 4) Big storage bags that you can roll out the air. This is how I got all of my clothes here with plenty of space. You can get 12 on Amazon for like $15. They are heavy duty and work great! 3. Packing / What do you wish you had left at home? -I brought a lot of clothes that I haven’t worn yet and there’s only three weeks left. Don’t try to bring clothes that don’t fit your style. Keep your style when you are here. I would recommend not bringing a towel/shampoo/conditioner/soap just because it takes up space and adds a lot of weight. There is a big store that has most name brand shampoo/conditioner/soap and you can just buy a towel there also. However, I also brought clothes that I would not mind if I had to leave here. This gave me more options but also allows me to have more room when I travel back if I need to leave them. 4. Packing / Travel Tips? Do you have any travel tips to pass on (planning advice, safety considerations, guidebooks, train vs. bus, etc.)? -Bring some clothes that you don’t care if they make it back home. This gives you enough clothes to wear throughout the trip but also gives you room at the end for souvenirs. Also make sure that you have your passport. Some people also got a passport card that is the size of a credit card. I would recommend that. Invest in a FDR protected wallet/purse. This will protect your cards from being scanned. Also, turning on your location on your phone is important. It will also ease your parents/guardians minds while you’re traveling, and if you get lost then you're easier to be found. I also turned on my Snapchat location. My group created a snapchat group chat. It was nice to see where everyone was and it has actually helped us to get to locations. 5. Social Life / How did you meet other students? -We met a lot of other students just by talking to the other people in our cell and when we went out. 6. Social Life / How did you like to spend your free time and why? -I like spending my free time just hanging out and going into town with my friends. This could just be going to the mall or going to get a drink. 7. Social Life / Is there anything you regret not doing more of in your free time? -Nope 8. Social Life / What social, recreational and cultural events did you like best? -All of us really like the 15Minute Club and Club Belmoondou. 9. Social Life / Any advice for future students regarding their non-academic life while abroad? -Make plans for every weekend trip. Get the most out of your time here. There are limited free weekends so, use them. 10. Academics / How do academics differ between UNK and the host instituion? -Academics here are different just because you will only be in one room for the whole semester. We have many different guest speakers and a language class but that is it. There is not a lot of outside class work. The only thing that we really have to do outside of class is keep up with our blogs. Most of us do more than the required blog posts just for ourselves/people back home. 15. Academics / What enabled/hindered your success? -Nothing 16. Money / How much money would you advise students to bring? -Bring as much as possible. You don’t want money to be the reason you didn’t get to experience something. 17. Money / How much host country currency did you take with you from the U.S.? -None. I pulled out money when I got here. 18. Money / How did you mange your money (credit cards, bank accounts, cash)? -I pulled out large amounts of money at once and put some in my wallet and the rest hidden. I highly recommend getting a Charles Schwab’s debit card. They do not have any fees and if a ATM charges you a fee, you will be reimbursed at the end of the month. I would create you’re account and get your card a few months before you leave. Just to make sure that it works you don’t have any problems. If you’re smart, you’ll put a little money in the investor account and let it create interest. Then you’ll have some money when you get home. 19. Communication / How did you communicate with the U.S.? -I used Facebook Messenger and Snapchat. Day 1: Kutna Hora
Piarist church of the discovery of the holy cross Kutna Hora was the start of our last trip as a class so it’s a bitter sweet trip. Kutna Hora is still in the Czech Republic so things were still pretty cheap. We were all glad because since it is the end of the trip a lot of us are running out of money. I am going to miss all of the beautiful scenery on these bus rides. I love looking out and seeing field after field of yellow. We found out that the yellow fields are rape seed fields. The seeds are used for some kind of oil. When we got to the small town of Kutna Hora, we first went to our hotel and dropped off our stuff. I really liked the hotel that we stayed in! It was right in the middle of a small square so we were able to go to lots of different shops, restaurants, and bars. After we dropped stuff off, we went to Piarist Church. This church was a little bit different from the other churches we have visited in the past. It was still in the baroque style, but it was very basic. It had six different chapels that were decorated, but overall, there was just a lot less color than what we were used to seeing. I still really enjoyed walking through it though. My favorite part was at the front. It was a circle that symbolizes water and a crystal rod that looked like it was hovering over it. The crystal rod symbolizes the holy spirit. While we were there, we walked up over 160 set of stairs to see an amazing view of the city. It wouldn’t be a day if we didn’t go see a castle! We went to a smaller castle called Chateau Žleby. My favorite room was the ball room. The guide told us that the room was also used to hold meetings. During the meetings they set up what would resemble a small stadium made of wood. I found it very interesting that all of the “wooden” detail on the walls and ceilings were actually painted and not actually three dimensional. After the castle, we had the rest of the day to ourselves. Kira, Erica, Rachel, and I went to a coffee shop and hung out there for a while. Then we walked around for a bit until we were hungry. After we had some really good and cheap Chinese food. After we were stuffed, we went back to Rachel and I’s room and played “Heads Up” for the rest of the night! Day 2: Kunta Hora This is the day that I have been looking forward to since the beginning. We started the day off with an amazing hot breakfast at the hotel. I had some eggs and sausage with juice. Once we were all full from breakfast, we headed to Sedlec Ossuary, also known as “the bone church”. However, this is not actually a church, it is a chapel, but this is not your typical chapel…! The chapel is decorated in only human bones! These are 100% real bones..! The bone church is a small Roman Catholic chapel that is beneath “Cemetery Church of All Saints”. There is a huge chandelier made from at least one of every bone in the human body. This hangs in the center with skull columns surrounding it. The chapel was made during the 15thcentury after the cemetery needed to be expanded. It is said to have more than 50,000 skeletons in total! After that chilling experience, we went to the local silver mine! Kutna Hora was a major silver town back in the day. Before we went into the mine, we had to put on white lab coats and hard hats with a flashlight on them! Then we walked down lots of stairs that went deep into the mine. It’s a good thing we had hard hats on cause right we got into the mine I hit my head… The mine was so cool but very small and claustrophobic for me. For the most part I was fine and enjoying it. However, there were some parts that we had to bend over and walk. With more than 20 people trying to hurry through that part, it became very crowded. At another part everyone had to walk sideways. But this part wasn’t bad because we had a lot of space above us. My favorite part was when our guide had everyone turn their lights off so we could experience total darkness. It was scary but really cool! I’ve never been able to have my hand right in front of my face and not know it! After the silver mine, we had the rest of the day free! A lot of us planned on going shopping after the silver mine, but everything was closed! Apparently all of the shops close at 5:30. So since everything was closed, we decided to hang out at the hotel for a bit before getting some goulash soup in a bread bowl. After we ate supper, we got a few drinks to take back to the hotel. We met up with some other people from the group and played hearts for hours. Turns out, I really like the card game hearts! After a several hours of playing cards we all headed to our rooms to pack and go to bed. Day 1: Cesky Krumlov Once we got packed and loaded in our bus, we made our way to Cesky Krumlov. Not after a stop in the town of České Budějovice. Could you guess where we stopped in České Budějovice? Budweiser of course! This is the original home of Budweiser! We got to have a tour of the brewery, production line, and even got to taste some beer! It was so cool to be able to see how the production line went. Budweiser sells more 75% more bottles than cans in Europe. They say its cause the bottles taste better than the cans. They also reuse about half of the bottles. This causes less waste and saves them money. My favorite part though was the tasting. We got to sample fresh Budweiser straight from the giant cauldrons. The difference from this beer to the ones that we buy in bottles or cans is the yeast is still alive and active. This gives it a better taste. After the factory, we got back on the bus and drove a little bit more into the town of Cesky Krumlov. When we got into town we had to walk a little bit to get to our hostel. Cesky Krumlov is such a cute town! It reminded me of a small town in a story book! It had coble stone roads with colored and brick buildings. Along with that there was a big river running through town that has several bridges to cross it. We stayed at “Hostel Merlin”. Our hostel was next to the river so it was cool to be able to walk outside and watch the water. Even the hostel we stayed at was super cute! It felt and looked like a little cottage. The hostel was just us so it made it extra fun that we didn’t have to worry about being to loud. Some friends and I stayed up in the attic. That was probably the coolest place because we got a great view and had the biggest lounge area. We had free time after we got to the hostel so we went shopping! After we got done shopping, we just walked around the town and by the river. This town is small but it is also filled with tourist traps. After we ate, we went to the grocery store to get stuff for breakfast. Then a group of us hung out in our loft and played cards. Day 2: Cesky Krumlov Today we started our day off with going to a small castle that we had past on our way to the hostel. It was owned by the Lords of Krumlov around 1250 and then the Rosenbergs in 1302, but is now property of the state. It is a 500 year tradition to have at least one bear on the property at all times. Once the bear/bears die, they are made into rugs and displayed throughout the castle. We got to see the theatre in the castle and got to go under the stage. This was my favorite part because we got to see the original set changing system. It’s a pully system that allows set changes take up to 12 seconds to change! After the castle tour, we had a break for lunch! After lunch, we stopped at the grocery store to get some drinks and snacks for rafting! This was my favorite part of this whole trip! It was so fun being out in nature and it was the perfect weather for rafting! They said that the rout we were going to go on was about 4-5hrs long. It was like 30mins down the river and we got stuck on a huge rock so Logan had to get off to get us unstuck. A little bit further down the river, we saw another one of our rafts pulled over to the bank. We decided to stop to go to the bathroom and hang out with them for a bit. We ended up staying there for about an hour just hanging out. A few of us taught the others how to line dance! It was so much fun. After we checked the time, we decided that we should probably get back on our rafts. But we held the rafts together and floated down the river for a bit. Then we made a pit stop about 20mins later at a river side bar with a camp fire. They also had real bathrooms so that was also a bonus. Then we were just hanging out by the camp fire and then the bar tender came over and asked if the raft coming down the river was with us. It was another one of our rafts! So we flagged them down and they pulled up to the pit stop too! Then the last two of our rafts pulled up also! It was our whole group at this pit stop! This was so much fun cause we were all just hanging out by the camp fire talking about memories from the trip. We might have stayed here longer than we should have because the bar tender said that the rafting company called and said that they’re closing soon. This meant that we had to stay so the rafting company vans could pick us up. Someone managed to talk the rafting company to let us raft down the river until the end. We all ran to our rafts, jumped in, and started our way down the river, again! We were able to raft another hour and a half until the rafting company’s vans picked us up! Unfortunately we lost a phone in the river. But, other than that, the rafting activity was a 10/10 for everyone! I honestly think that this is one of my favorite activities that we did as a group! It was a great way to end the last weekend trip with the whole group. Click the link below to view the pictures! https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AbIxb0TM9uDrx4qLXNcb1pLRUHTy5YzU6q6zQ_2VezM/edit?usp=sharing Day 1 This field trip was a very emotional one. Over the weekend, we visited Poland where hundreds of thousands innocent people were murdered. Before we arrived in Krakow, we had many guest speakers come into class and talk about the dark history. We also watched "Schindlers List" to better understand how Schindlers factory saved lives. We arrived in Krakow, Poland on Saturday. The hostel we stayed at is called "Green Hostel". It was not one of my favorite hostels we stayed at, but it did its job. We had an hour break for lunch before we went to Schindlers Factory. We had to hurry and eat our food because it took longer than we expected. It was still really good though. I had a chicken club sandwich and fries. The factory was not what I was expecting. It looked more like a museum than it did a factory. As we walked through out the factory, we got to see many different artifacts. It wasn't until we got to Schindlers office that it really seemed like his factory. Schindler saved over a thousands Jewish lives. After the museum we had free time for the rest of the day. For lunch we had a Krakow specialty-Zapiekanki. You can get the basic Zapiekanki which is just mushrooms and cheese on a long piece of bread. Or you can get one with extra stuff on it like sausage, chicken, peppers, etc. I got the basic Zapiekanki with sausage and mayo on it. I can see why so many people were in line to get one! It was so good and very very filling! After eating, we went to a couple different bars and just hung out. My favorite bar was either the Mojioto bar or ZWEL. ZWEL was a super chill bar with a loft looking out to the city. After the bars, we went back to the hostel and went to bed. Day 2 Today we got to go on a salt mine tour! I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was so cool! The guide told us to take lots of deep breaths because the salt in the mine cleans the air and has lots of benefits. She also said that we could lick the walls if we wanted to. So, of course, all of us licked at least one wall. Later in the tour there was a salt water well that we could taste if we wanted to. So, of course, we all tasted the water (it was very very salty). All of the decorations were made salt blocks or salt crystals. It was so interesting to see all of the different chandlers and sculptures made from salt! At the salt mine, I bought a mini pink salt crystal tree and some post cards! After the salt mine, we had free time! We went to get lunch at a traditional polish restaurant! It was really good and really cheap! I got something with bread, sauerkraut, and sausage. After lunch, we made our way to the main square that had lots of different stands that were selling jewelry made from amber, purses, wooden newly boxes, and many more things. There was a local Catholic church that was open to the public. The church was so beautiful. The ceilings were blue with gold and red accents. After we walked through the church, we walked around for a bit. While we were walking, we saw the memorial for the Katyn Massacre. The Katyn Massacre was a series of mass executions of Polish military officers and intelligentsia carried out by the Soviet Union. For supper we found a little restaurant. I got a really good broccoli, chicken, and cheeses casserole. Today was a really good day with really good people Day 3 Today was a very heavy day. As a class, we went to Auschwitz concentration camp. I'm not even sure where to start about how emotional it was walking through the camp. We saw what remains of some of the buildings. Many of the building were destroyed at the end of the war. Walking down the dirt roads between the remaining buildings made me think of all of the innocent lives that walked on the roads before us. It was hard to fully understand what actually happened here. We walked past the roll call square. This is where the prisoners had to stand every morning and every night to be counted. If someone was missing they had to stand there until the person was found. The longest documented time the prisoners had to stand there was 19hrs. Standing for 19hrs was not even the worst thing that those people had to go through. We walked through different barricades that housed hundreds of prisoners. Each small bed was supposed to sleep four people. This meant that 700 or more people were expected to live in a small barricade. In one of the barricades we saw belongings that were taken from the people who were taken as prisoners. Theses rooms were just heart breaking. They showed suitcases, shoes (adult and children), prosthetics, pots and pans, and even hair. We also saw the gas chambers that killed millions of Jewish and Polish people. The gas chambers were partly underground and had different sections. One section was made to have people undress. This section was very large. They were lied to and told that they were getting showers. However, the next room was less than half of the size of the changing room. This is where they were murdered in the gas chambers. Thousands of people were crammed into this room. The first people had to wait a long time for the others. This gave them time to think of all of the things that were wrong. They realized that they were mixing men, women, and children. Also, that they were forcing too many people in the small room. This caused a lot of panic. However, there was nothing that they could do. Nazis controlled the people coming to the concentration camps by continuously lying to them. Even before they were on the trains to the camps. They were lied to and told that they were being resettled into a place to work. Once they got off of the trains they were told to leave their belongings and that they would get them back later. Another lie was that they were told that they were being sorted for work purposes. However, the truth was that one line was going to the barricades and the others were going to the gas chambers. Those are just some of the lies the Nazis told them to control them and to cause less panic. Going through Auschwitz was very emotional and heart heavy. Walking through the concentration camp that millions of innocent lives were taken was very difficult. They were taken from their homes, lied to, and murdered because of their religion and because of the Nazis. No one should ever have to go through what those innocent humans had to go through. CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO VIEW THE PICTURES FROM KRAKOW, POLAND https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kLp0mT1e8xjMxa4eeDwaST8wWc8FdSgRYSMtLJBpEug/edit?usp=sharing Before coming the Czech Republic, I had no idea what to expect when it came to the academic life. I figured it couldn't be to different from what I was use to. Getting here, there are a few things different, but also a few things similar. Taking in consideration, that we are not typical students here, we have it a little bit easier. One thing that is different from the states is that all of our classes are in the same room in the same building every day we have class. Another thing that is different is the windows. Its a super simple thing, but I love having the windows open during class. It cools down the room and it's also nice having fresh air. The windows here are interesting. It's like there's two windows. You have to open an interior window, then you open the second window that goes outside. The reason for this is because of insulation. At first it was very odd, but I actually like how they look. We have many different guest speakers that come in and tell us personal stories or teach us about the long history of the Czech Republic and Europe. Another class that we are taking is Czech Language. This is definitely the most difficult class that we're taking. It's also the most fun class. The Czech language is a very difficult language to learn, but our teacher, Pavla POLÁCHOVÁ is really great. She makes sure that the whole class is involved and trying their best. She will put you on the spot by asking you a question in Czech, but will say it slow and repeat it. We also do different activities from the book but also activities that she brings. Another thing that is very different from the states is the amount of field trips we take. I'm not complaining at all, but it is very different telling friends that you're taking a field trip to Vienna. Students here also dress differently. They dress a lot nicer, every day. In the states, I think that most students look like they just rolled out of bed (odds are they did, I know I did). However, here, a majority of the students are wearing very nice clothes. I think that most of us try to look decent when we go to class. Especially since we normally do not have class until 3pm. One thing that is the same in the states is, that we still live in the dorms. The dorms that we live in are full of other studying abroad students. It has been awesome getting to know students our age that are from all over. We also have two to three classes during the day. These classes are 90mins like were use to with a 10-15min break in-between. Everyone normally gets up to stretch and talk to others, goes to the bathroom, gets coffee (there's a little coffee machine that has like 15 different kinds of coffee to choice from and it only costs .43 cents for a cup of coffee! I think UNK should invest in one of these. We probably use the coffee machine the most), or a snack from the vending machine. Overall, classes here are similar to college classes in the states. This made it easy to adjust to the academic life here.
As my time quickly comes to an end, I have come to appreciate the small town of Olomouc even more. I am blessed to have called this place my home away from home for the last several months. While there is still a large language barrier, the places that I frequently go to have been very accommodating. When I think about the first day verses now, I am now more confident in navigating the town, tram, and communicating with the locals. There is a cute little coffee shop just down the street from our dorms. The workers there are so nice. They do their best at communicating with us and being understanding about the language barrier. A majority of places we go the people are really nice and will try to work with us. We go to another coffee shop in the big square a lot too. It's a little bit easier there because they have an english menu (and because we go there at least twice a week). Living here is very different than living back in the states. Since none of us have our cars here, we rely on the tram system or our feet. I definitely took for granted my car back home. Each day for class, we have to make sure we catch a certain tram at a certain time. Most days we have class at 3pm so it is easy to be up and ready to go by the time the 2:35pm tram number 2 comes around. Another thing that is not fun about not having a car, is grocery shopping. While Globus (the grocery store near our dorm) is in walking distance, the walk somehow becomes longer once you're carrying a full backpack of groceries. That goes along with something that I really like here. It might be a Europe thing in general, but they are really pressing the reduction of using plastic material. We have to bring our own reusable grocery bags. If we don't, then we can either buy a reusable one there, or pay for each plastic bag. This is a good habit that I will bring back from the Czech. Another thing that I have realized is that the elders here are highly respected. This is shown on the tram on a daily occurrence. Whenever an elderly person gets on, any young or person able to stand, will stand up immediately and offer their up their seat. Most of the time the elder person will take the seat, but every once in a while they decline the offer and stand. Maybe they want to stay young and stand??? There are a lot of people who do have cars. They defiantly let you know they have cars, especially when they almost hit you. Our group came up with an alert call when there's a car coming toward us. One person/multiple will say "DD" which just means "Don't Die". When we hear "DD" we know to move! We have gotten to try lots of different types of food in town. However, each person has their own favorite place or food to eat. My favorite food here has to be kabobs from a local kabob shop near our school. Pro tip: when they ask what sauce you want, say all of them. It upgrades a good kabob into the picture of perfection type of kabob.
Click the link below to view the pictures! https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NG1LXboW6kUVkZRVTteO-o-shNHVvBAhk7hPsYNzT1U/edit?usp=sharing Day 1: Today we had class early in the morning. And by early, I mean 9am (It’s early when you take in consideration that we’re used to having class at 3pm). We had just one lecture, but she took up two time slots. After class, we went back to the dorms before we had to catch a tram to go to the train station. I had already set out my clothes the night before, so all I had to really do was just put it in my backpack. We got on the 3:50 tram and headed to the train station. This was the trip I’ve been looking forward to the most. While it did cost an arm and a leg and was crazy stressful to find a place to stay, I really think that it was worth every penny. We got to the train station and it was fuller than we expected. We found some of our classmates who were also traveling this weekend. We bought tickets last night, but they didn’t have a car (called a cabin) or seat number. Our friends had tickets with a car and seat number, so we thought that we could maybe find a seat near them. This normally isn’t a big deal since they normally have plenty of seats. Not this time. We were trying to get on the train just like everyone else, and then a lady holding her kid came up behind us. Keep in mind that the entryway and hallway to get to the cabins were packed. She pushed her way onto the train by holding her child out in front of her and asked us “Do you guys have assigned seats on this car?” We said “No, but there are other people in front of us who do.” She said while holding her child in front of her “Well, I have an assigned seat here and I need to get on, so you need to move.” She then proceeded to push her way through us by using her child as a crowd divider. Her friend was behind her with the stroller using that to get people to move. After she and her friend got past us, she turned around and got off the car. It took a while to get to our friends’ cabin. The train hallway is very, very narrow. It was not meant to have a line of people standing (because they don’t have a cabin/seat number) while more people are trying to squeeze past them to get to their cabin. There was one point where there was a line of people who were going to stand for the train ride, us moving past them going one way, and then a group who were going the opposite direction of us. It was just stressful, crowded, and very hot. I was getting very claustrophobic when I saw the group of people trying to get past us going the opposite direction. Once our friends found their assigned seats we were about to say good-bye, but then they said that we could just fit in their cabin with them since there is no way we would be able to find an open cabin with four spots. We crammed 12 people in a 6-person cabin. Somehow, we were able to make it work for the 2.5hrs until we got Prague. Once we started moving, we thought that more people would get settled and we’d be able to move. But even after several stops there were still no open cabins. There was a line of people standing most of our train ride. The ride wasn’t the most comfortable ride we’ve ever had, but it was fun getting to just hangout and talk to the other group of people before we left for the weekend. The last 30mins, the hallway cleared out. Erica and I stood out in the hallway. We were getting kind of nervous, because our plane was at 8:45pm and the gates closed at 8:15pm…it was 7:25 pm and it takes a good 25-30 mins to get to the airport from the train station. So once the train stopped, we rushed off and ran to try to find the bus that goes directly to the airport. Our friends were going there too, but they didn’t have to run there. We couldn’t find the place, so I asked someone for directions. He said that we had to go up the staircase down the block, then across the street to get to the bus. We ran to the stairs, up the stairs, then saw that the road we needed to cross was a very busy highway. We found the stairs that go under the road and got to the other side. Once we got to the other side we saw the bus a little bit away. We started to run to it but then saw it pull out! I ran half way on the street and waved down the driver in hopes that he would be nice and stop for us…and he DID! We bought our tickets and got on. Guess who we saw on the bus? Our friends! But they weren’t sweating and out of breath from running! We caught our breath and were constantly checking the time. It was probably around 7:50ish when we got to the airport. Luckily, we had checked in online, only had backpacks, and security went by fast. We had to ask what gate our flight was cause for some reason it wasn’t up. By this time, it was probably 8:10pm so we hurried to our gate. Turns out, our flight was delayed by 45 mins…. This was good though because we had time to get a snack and drink for the plane. After we got the necessities, we stood in line with everyone else. We were behind some guys a little older than us who were drinking Bombay Sapphire. Not a big deal, but they were so loud and being rude to the workers because of the flight delay. Once we got onto the flight, the flight attendant took their bottle away lol. Luckily, Erica and I got to sit together, and Rachel and Kira got to sit together. The flight was only like 1.5 hrs. One of my biggest pet peeves is when everyone rushes and stands up when the seatbelt light goes off. Happens every time. It also really bothers me when people in the back don’t allow the people in front of them get off first. I was getting ready to get up, and the group of guys were yelling and being crazy because they weren’t off the plane yet. They were kind of pushing the people in front of them and that was making them upset. I think everyone was talking about them when they got off the plane. I think that it’s just common courtesy to let those in front to go first. I got up before the guys got in front of us. The guy sitting next to Erica in our row also needed to get off, he had a connecting flight. He was getting upset because people were pushing their way to the front when he needed to get out also. The guy that I got in front of was like “ah really?” And I was like “yeah, it’s supposed to the people in the front, so it goes faster. Sorry.” They tried to go in front of the guy in our row, and he gave them some sass too. I let the people in rows in front of us get their stuff and get off. Once we get off the plane, we needed to figure out how to get to our hotel. There was a train/tram station in the airport so that was easy. All we needed to know is what stop to get off at. While we were trying to figure out what stop to get off at, Erica came across the information that check-in ends at 12. It was about 35 mins away and we had missed a train, so we had to wait 25 mins until the next one. We were pretty sure that we would not be able to make it on time. We tried to call them to see if we can just check-in later. The problem was that with our phone plan, phone calls don’t work outside of the Czech Republic. Erica and I tried to use a payphone, but it didn’t work. We finally, found a worker and asked if he could help us. Luckily, he let us use his phone. Turns out, we can check in at any time…. The hotel we stayed at is called “Via Hotel” I would highly recommend this hotel. While it isn’t super close to the city central, they are extremely helpful and have lots of activities to do. We were all tired and hungry, but we didn’t see any places on our way to our hotel. We got checked in and I asked if there was any place close that we could get food. The lady said that there is pizza that delivers and that’s our only option, but it closes in 15 mins. This hotel is awesome, we had to ask if we could use their phone, and the lady asked if we wanted her to just order it, so it would go faster. After a bit, she came and got us to tell us our pizza was here! We just took the pizza up to our room and ate on the floor then went to bed. The next day we had planned to do the Keukenhof Tulip Garden and the Anne Frank House. Day 2 We planned on leaving the hotel to start our day at 10am… We all got out of at 9:45am…Let’s just say we weren’t going to leave the hotel by 10am. We had to get cute cause we were going to the Keukenhof Garden! For those who don’t know, Keukenhof is a large mainly tulip farm. It’s like Amsterdam’s version of Valas Pumpkin Patch. We ended up going downstairs to get brunch at 11ish. I got avocado toast with tomatoes and cucumbers. I was very impressed. We asked the receptionist if she could give us directions to the garden. The lady said that they might close early, with it being Kings Day. Turns out, April 27th is Kings Day. This is the day that marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander. It is basically a huge outdoor celebration with lots of orange costumes, flea markets, concerts, and traditional local gatherings. She was so nice and called the garden to ask if their hours were different with the holiday. Luckily, they were the same as normal. The lady said that it normally takes about an hour to get there. However, with it being Kings Day it might take closer to two hours since there will be lots of people. We got to the train station and made it to our stop, but we had just missed a bus that would have dropped us off close to the garden. We could either wait an hour until the next bus or order an Uber. Erica saw a sign that had Keukenhof Garden Bus on it. So, we walked over there and asked if we could just buy a bus ticket. We were able to buy a round trip bus ticket for only 10 Euro. This was so much easier than having to wait to take another bus and then walk awhile. We got to the garden in about 30-45 mins. I was kind of worried about the weather cause the forecast said it was supposed to rain off and on during the day. It wasn’t wrong… It lightly rained on us a good part of the day. We got some sunshine for a while though. None of us knew just how big the Keukenhof Garden really was! It just kept on going and going. We thought we were almost done, but then we’d turn and there would be a whole other section of flowers. If you are planning on going to the Keukenhof Garden in Amsterdam, make sure you block off at least 3-5 hrs for it. There are lots of different food stands ranging from burgers and fries to ice cream and smoothies. They also have different sections with different themes. My favorite section was the “Flower Power”! We obviously took lots of pictures, went up the windmill, went into gift shops, ate some amazing fries with mayonnaise, climbed a ladder that was over a pond, walked across a path in the water, got rained on multiple times, saw an orchid greenhouse (you need to go inside), and many more amazing things. At around 5pm we left to catch the bus to take us back to the train station. We had tickets to see the Anne Frank House at 8:45pm. We figured this would give us time to walk around the city central and get some supper. Once we got close to the city center, there were lots of people walking around in crazy orange outfits. A lot of the restaurant were closed due to the holiday. However, there were lots of food trucks out. But the one that we ended up at was a hot dog stand. It was really good. The only downside was that it was getting later and colder. We went to one of the nearby concerts and listened to them for a while. After that, we went to the Anne Frank House. I never thought that I would be able to have the opportunity to go into the Anne Frank House. This small annex holds so many emotions. We got to have audio guides while we walked through the house. There were several videos of Otto Frank telling the story of his family living in fear for two years. The one video that was especially emotional was one of Otto Frank talking about Anne’s diary. He knew that she was keeping a diary. She would keep it in his briefcase by his bed, but he promised her that he would not read it. He kept that promise for the time that they hid in the annex. When the Nazis came to take them, they cleared out most of their belongings. When Otto Frank got out of concentration camp, he went back to the annex and was able to recover his briefcase with Anne’s diary. He still had so much hope that he would see his children again. However, once he got the heart-breaking news that they passed away, he decided to read Anne’s diary. It took him a long time to be able to read what his daughter wrote. He said that he knew Anne was a very strong and opinionated girl. He didn’t know how self-critical she was to herself. They preserved as much as the house as they were able to. The original book case was still there with many different binders on it. Several pictures were on Anne and Margot’s room. These were preserved still on the wall just behind glass. Walking through was emotional. Just trying to think of how fearful these people lived in was just heartbreaking. At the end of the house, we were able to see the actual diaries that Anne had written. When going through the Anne Frank House, I felt lots of different emotions; sorrow, anger, fear, and eagerness. Sorrow, anger, and fear because theses and millions of other humans lived in fear just because of their religion. Walking through they really had just the minimal needs. They lived in silence hoping that they would be able to live to the next day. I also felt eagerness. We all had to read “The Diary of Anne Frank” back in school. To be able to see her actual diaries in person was amazing. While in school we just thought of it as another required reading. However, I think that Anne had really informed a majority of the world what it was like living in secrecy and fear. She described how they were not able to use running water after 8pm because it might draw attention to them. Anne also describes how her mother and sister got annoyed with the church bell next door. The church bell didn’t bother Anne though. She enjoyed it because it gave her hope and knowledge that there is still an outside world. If you are ever in Amsterdam, I think it is important to visit the Anne Frank House and see a different view of a historic and tragic event. After we finished the Anne Frank House, we found an American shop. So, we had no other choice but to stop in. They had lots of different kinds of cereal, chips (I got Flamin Hot Cheetos), pop (I got Cream Soda), and other snacks. It was a much-needed taste of home. After that, we headed back to the hotel to hang out. Day 3: Sadly, this is our last day in beautiful Amsterdam. We had to checked out by 10am. After we checked out, we got the breakfast buffet that was offered at the hotel. Once we finished breakfast, we headed to the city center for our canal tour. I really love any kind of canal tour. This one was really nice because we got an audio guide, but the captain also told other facts about the city. My favorite part was looking at all of the different houseboats on the canal. I found it odd that no new houseboats are allowed, but the owner can add stories above or below the water. After the canal tour, we stopped to see the Red-Light District Museum and then got lunch. We were all pretty bummed that we didn’t have just one more full day in Amsterdam. While we got to see and experience a major holiday, we still only saw a small part of this amazing city. While we were walking through the train station, we found a Dunkin Donuts. It was funny because we were just talking earlier about how much we missed ice coffee. We had around 15 mins until our train came and there were only a few people in front of us. We figured we had enough time to feed our coffee needs. We were very wrong… It ended up taking way longer than we expected. By the time we all got out coffees we had missed two trains. However, if you ask any of us, it was worth it. It worked out though because we made the next train to the airport. We made our flight to Prague and it went by really fast. Once we got to Prague, we ended up missing our original train. It wasn’t a big deal since we could change the tickets easily. So, we got some Burger King for supper (this is always our go to train station food) before our train. We were all hoping that this train wasn’t going to be like the one on Friday. This train wasn’t full at all, so we were able to get real seats. Our train got delayed 55mins. By the time we got back to Olomouc it was close to 2am. It was a good thing that we didn’t have class until 1pm the next day. Once we got back to the dorms we set our stuff down, got ready for bed quick, and went right to sleep. This was one of my favorite trips that I have had the opportunity to go on. I realized over this weekend trip, that I have only a month left of studying abroad. While we still have field trips planned and more weekend trips to look forward to, the time really has just flown by. I am truly grateful to be able to have met all these wonderful people. Looking back to the beginning of March, I would have never thought that a group of 21 students could become so close. With only a short amount of time left, we still have so many more memories and stories to create. Day 1:
For this field trip, we had to meet the bus at 9am. I really like taking bus rides to different places. We all get our own seats so its more comfortable, and we get to see more nature while driving. Like I've said before, I absolutely love all of the houses here. They aren't obnoxiously big, they have their own character, and are fun colors. This drive was so pretty because everything is starting to bloom and become more green. We got the chance to see mountains with little waterfalls running down them and into a stream that ran for several miles. It was so simple, but so pretty. We stayed at a hostel called "The Wombat". I would definitely recommend this hostel. It is super chill and right across the street from a large market. The rooms are very large with their own bathroom. Our room was extra cool cause our windows opened up all the way to part of the roof. So of course we climbed out and explored a little. After we got settled, we met everyone down in the lobby to head to lunch and museums. A group of us went to a little Italian place and split two pizzas. After lunch, we met Pops and Martin to walk over to the museums. Our first stop was to the "Imperial Treasury". I was super excited for this museum because it has lots of jewelry and other royal objects. It was separated into two different sections. The first one was the Secular Treasury. This housed the most important collection of medieval royal objects. Such as the insignia and the jewels of the Holy Roman Empire. This is also the place of the Imperial Crown and Holy Lance. Martin had gotten everyone hyped for this. When we got up to the gate he just goes "Oh no...! I'm sorry to say, but the museum is closed on Tuesdays" Not a big deal. There was the Natural History Museum was another one that we were planning on going to after this one. So we walked to that one. We get to the front doors and Martin reads a sign and then turned around looking disappointed and kind of embarrassed and said "I'm afraid that this museum is also closed today." After attempting to go to museums, we ended up having the rest of the day to explore and do whatever. We started our free time off with some gelato! It was so hard to choose what flavor to get, but I ended up getting coconut.(I will miss all the gelato shops in Europe). After our gelato, we just started walking around. We ended up walking to a big Easter market! This place had so many different hand made items. But the main attraction was the thousands of dried Easter eggs that were hand decorated. The eggs took up the whole middle section of the market. These had to be the most beautiful Easter eggs I've ever seen. Many were had just a simple dye to them, but a majority of them had some kind of hand painted design on them. The more expensive ones had beads on them and had a more complex design. My favorite one was a pink one with roses made from beads. We saw some people still painting eggs as we were walking through looking at all the different eggs. I wish I would have gotten an egg but I was worried about how I was going to get it back in one piece to Olomouc and then back to the states. Vienna is known for their cafes so we had to check one out for sure! We just wondered until we found one that caught our eyes. We got some really good coffee and then split a dessert. It was so good, but we had to wait almost an hour to pay, but it was alright. It wasn't like we were in a hurry. Once we finally paid, we started walking back to our hostel. We stopped at a couple of souvenir shops on the way. We were kind of waiting until we got to the market across the street from our hostel to buy things. Unfortunately everything was closed by the time we got there. We were getting hungry so we decided to eat at one of the shops. We all got schnitzel with fries and a coke. It was amazing. I've also gotten in the habit of eating fries with mayo now. I think it's cause they don't have ranch here... After supper, we went back to the hostel and hung out with everyone until we went to bed. Day 2: Since we didn't get to go to the museums yesterday, we are going to them today! I really liked the "Imperial Treasury" a lot. There were many different artifacts that we got to learn about through the audio guides. My favorite piece was probably the piece of wood that is said to be part of the cross Jesus Christ was crucified on. There was a hole in the middle that is also said to be a nail hole. After that museum, we broke off into groups for the Modern Art Museum and the Natural History Museum. I chose to go to the Natural History Museum. It was weird, but the museum kind of made me uncomfortable. Normally taxidermy doesn't bother me at all. I think the reason was use a lot of the animals were either babies, extinct, or endangered. Granted, it was all pretty old, so the animal may have not been extinct or endangered. However, the whole museum was a lot of overkill. A lot of the time, there was not just one or two animals. There would be like eight. After the museum we walked around for awhile and then found a local Chineses place. I got the yellow curry chicken and it was amazing. After we paid, the waitress brought us a mango/yogurt drink for free! Our next stop was the zoo! The zoo was called "Tropicarium Park" it cost 13 Euro with the student discount. The zoo was so much fun! My favorite part had to be putting my hand in the fish tank and having the little fish swim around and nibble on my fingers. It felt like someone was tickling my hands. We saw lots of different animals. The zoo there was different than the one in Omaha. They don't have their monkeys in cages! We were able to get inches away from them. The monkeys were in just in a large rainforest room with some turtles, fish and bats. The bats were also lose! They flew over us and got really close! It was kinda scary but really fun! After the zoo, we walked back to the hostel we were staying at and took a quick nap. Once we were all rested, we walked over to the market across the street to look around and to get supper. For supper we went to a place someone else went to the other day. We all ordered our food, and then the waitress brought out some rolls. We all had a roll with our meal. Then when it came to pay, the waitress asked how many rolls we each had. We told her we all had one. Then she charged us for each roll! It wasn't a lot, but it was just so unexpected. After supper, we headed back to the hostel and hangout for a bit and then packed because we were heading to Venice the next day! Venice Day 1 This morning we had to be down for breakfast by 6:45am and checked out by 7:45am. The breakfast here is really good! They have a really good selection of food. I typically have a roll with meat, cheese, and cucumbers. To drink I would normally have either coffee or apple juice. By 8am, we were on our bus heading to Venice, Italy! But we wouldn't get there for the next 7.5hrs. Most of us slept most of the way so the time went by really fast. Around lunch time, we stopped at Burger King. The fast food here is actually really good and different! After a long bus ride, we finally arrived in Venice! Martin said that it was a bit of a walk to the hotel. He wasn't wrong...it was a very long walk that included lots of stairs and huge crowds of people. It had to have been funny watching us go up and down the bridges. Each time we had to walk up the stairs on the bridges we had to stop, push down the handle on our suitcase, walk up the stairs, then down the other side, then stop, pull up the handle, and start walking again. Once we finally got to the hotel we were all tired! We couldn't get in our rooms yet so we had to store everything in their closet. Then we went to get tickets to St. Marks Basilica in the main square. After we got the tickets, we had free time for the rest of the day! We were getting pretty hungry and decided to stop at a small restaurant. I forget what the restaurant was called but it was family owned and run. Our waitress was married to one of the owners. She was so nice and made sure we were having fun! Since we got charged for bread the other day, we asked if the bread she brought out was free. When we asked she just laughed and said "Of course it is!" From then on she kept joking with us saying that the cookies she brought were 1 Euro to look at and 2 euro to eat (of course she was kidding). This was the best meal I've ever had! Venice is known for their seafood, so of course I had to get something with seafood! I got the seafood pasta, it had homemade pasta, shrimp, mussels, and clams and a class of moscato to drink! It was the best meal I've ever had! After supper we went to a local bar to just hang out and get another drink to end the day. Day 2 We had to be up kind of early to get in line for St. Marks Basilica. Unfortunately we couldn't take any pictures while we were in the church. The inside was decorated with large stain glass windows and detailed murals with lots of gold accents. The time we were in the church was really short. The next place we went was the Doge Palace. My favorite part was going through the prison section. To get to the prison we had to walk across the Bridge of Sighs. The Bridge of Sighs is where prisoners would walk across to the judge/cell. The cells were cold and damp. There was a window looking out to the city with a great view. Next we went to the Corner Museum! This place had large rooms and amazing furnishings and lots of different exhibits. After the museum we did some souvenir shopping and stopped to relax and have a glass of wine. I got a turquoise ring from local ring shop, and a copper ring holder, and some post cards. After that, Logan and I wanted to go see the Grand Canal while the others went on a gondola ride. After seeing the Grand Canal and taking lots of pictures, we slowly made our way back to the hotel. Rachel, Erica, and Kira met us at the hotel then we got a deck of cards and played cards. Day 3 Today we spent a lot of the day just walking around looking at shops. Everyone went to either a modern photography museum or a costume theatre museum. I went to the costume theatre museum. It was not what I thought it would be. There was not many theatre costumes. It was mostly just different venders in each room. There was only one room at the very end with theatre costumes. But they we're trying to sell stuff. So it wasn't really a museum, it was more of a craft show. We (Me, Erica, Kira, Rachel, and Julian) spent some time down by the docks just watching the boats. After that, we went to a string instrument museum. It was actually really interesting to see. They had interments dating back to the 1600's that were still in really good condition! On our way back to the hotel, we saw a little flee market outside. So we just looked around there, but didn't end up buying anything. Just a little bit after the flee market, we saw a guy selling hand made jewelry. We stopped at his table to see what he had. Erica, Kira, and I actually bought matching rings from him! They are super simple rings-silver with a circle on the top. We call them "Friendship Europe Rings". After that, we made our way to the other side of the island. It was really cool seeing the buildings from a distance. Today was lots of fun just seeing different museums and shops! Day 4 Today we had to move hotels because this was the last day before our spring break started! We all stayed at the A&O hostel on the neighboring island. I shared a room with Erica, Kira, and three other people we did not know. After we dropped our stuff off in the room, we went to get food. Then Erica, Kira, Julian, and I just walked around and ended up finding the main square and a cute little bar. We just ended up having a glass of Aperol Spritz and talking for a few hours. Once we got back to the hostel, our roommates were back so we got to meet them! They were actually from the states and were also studying abroad in Florence, Italy. It worked out really great cause we were going to Florence for part of our spring break! They gave us lots of different tips and places to check out! CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO VIEW THE PICTURES FOR THIS TRIP! https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1R8hZ7TCrhxB_yBS72-CSFrwuv1mV6NPmssW1AW14vTM/edit?usp=sharing This is another free weekend! On Friday, me and three other friends (Seth, Erica, Kira, and Rachel) are going to Brussels, Belgium! We had to pack and take our stuff to class because we had to leave to the train station right after class. We took a train to Prague. The train ride was only about two hours and cost only $2.50 with our student discount! After the train ride, we took an Uber to the airport. Our flight took us to Brussels, Belgium! Uber rides here can be kind of awkward just because of the language barrier. So its either quiet, chatting between my friends and I, or the off chance the driver speaks english, we will take the chance to get to the know them a little. We arrived in Brussels around 8pm and a lot of the shops were closed. We had to take the shuttle from the airport to get us closer to our hostel. We found our hostel, "Brixel Hostel" and dropped off our stuff. Then we went to find something to eat, but the only thing we could find was a questionable burger place down the block. But it had to do. We were all pretty tired from traveling so we headed back to the hostel. I really liked this hostel. It was close to the center of Brussels, very clean, and comfy beds. The only downside was the wifi. But we were all tired anytime we were in the hostel so, we didn't use it very much. 3/30/19 On Saturday, we did a lot of walking. Our day started off with taking the tram toward the Atomium. We had to take a walk through a large park to get to it. It was the perfect day to be out and about. Everything was starting to bloom and have some color. The Atomium was constructed in for the 1958 Worlds Fair. Around 500,000 people visit the Atomium each year. After taking pictures of the Atomium, we walked to a local restaurant and got lunch. Our waitress knew lots of places we should visit. So after getting stuffed with carbonara pasta, we found our way to the Grand Palace. We walked around for a little bit and then found a comic book museum. It was really interesting to see all of the different comics. I never knew how many trials it took to create comic books. My favorite part of the comic book museum was the Smurfs section. They had a "life size" model of the Smurf village along with smurf size clothes and objects (they were super cute and tiny!) After the museum, we walked around. Seth and I got some classic Belgium fries while Erica and Kira got a classic Belgium waffle. Honestly, the fries were really good, but they were just like fries that some restaurants serve... Then we walked around and found Delirium. Delirium is a bar with 2,004 different kinds of beer on tap so you can imagine it's very popular and very difficult to chose. I had a cactus beer and a grapefruit beer. This was probably my favorite night in Brussels. It was just full of sight seeing and lots of laughs. We brought a deck of cards to Delirium and just sat for hours playing pitch. 3/31/19 Today we decided to start our last full day in Brussels with a free walking tour! I absolutely love free walking tours. One, cause they are free (except the tip you give your guide at the end. It is very important to make sure you tip the guide. This is the only pay that they receive) and two, cause its a great way to see different parts of the city and learn about the long history it holds. We got to see so many different places while on our tour. We started the tour in the Grand-Place, next we saw Manneken Pis (fun fact: locals actually think this tourist attraction is really stupid) went to Brussels Royal Palace (Palais Royal de Bruxelles), Royal Galleries (les Galeries St-Hubert) (this place had a lot of chocolate shops. It also had apartments that people live in), and St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral (when we went, there was a church service going on so we had to be very quiet. I honestly was not a fan of entering while the service was happening, I thought it was kind of disrespectful to the people who were trying to enjoy the service). Our guide was very knowledgeable about Brussels. It was very easy to tell that he was passionate about his job. He was very open and easy to talk to as well. Seth and I were talking to the guide as we were walking to our next stop and he told us that this is his last month working with this company. He is going to be an independent tour guide and is partnered up with Airbnb. One thing that I asked him about the city of Brussels was, why there were so many homeless people begging on the streets. He told me that theses people are not homeless, they are gypsies. Apparently the residents of Brussels do not like the gypsies begging the tourists. The gypsies give tourists a bad impression of the welfare system in Brussels. The guide said that Brussels actually has a really great welfare system, it just doesn't seem like it to the tourists. He also said that the gypsy kids normally do not attend any kind of education. So they tend to follow in their parents foot steps and become beggars. I do feel bad for them though. I can't imagine just sitting all day and everyday begging people for money. We also learned that many chocolate places were actually originally pharmacies. People didn't like how bad the medicine tasted, so a pharmacist decided to put it in chocolate, to mask the taste a little. Once we finished the tour we just walked around some more and went into lots of tourist shops. Later that night we had supper and then went back to the hostel. We had to get up early for our flight home, but of course, none of us were tired. So we all just talked until we fell asleep. |
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