Where in the World is Lindsay
Find out what I have been up to while I have been abroad!
3/21/19 Thursday from Olomouc to Prague Woke up at 7 am to be at the tram station by 8 then we took the tram to the train station and got on our train to Prague at 8:45ish. So already it was a busy morning!! We had a 2 hour and 10 minute train ride to Prague. It was so cool we were in our own little cubicle just like in Harry Potter! I was with Sara, Kirsten, Lauren, and my two Czech professors Jan and Martin. We had some good conversations and then they took a nap and I had time with God and slept a little bit and before I knew it, I was in Prague again! We headed off in a little group to the metro where we bought our tickets, got on, got off and found our hostel. The lobby of the hostel was super nice so I had high hopes for how the room would look but the rooms were really cramped so it made sharing the space really difficult but the beds were plush! Anyway so we put our stuff away and then met up in the lobby with our whole group and professors so that they could take us a few places around Prague. The first place they took us was the actual church from the Anthropoid movie we had watched. This was the church that the last patriots from the mission had died after being hidden there by the priest, being ratted out by a snitch, and holding the Nazi soldiers at bay for 6 hours (only two were killed by the Nazis, they other 5 took a pill to kill themselves). There was a window to the crypt that the Nazis put hoses in to try to drown the patriots out and we got to see that window as well as the crypt itself. It was a really hard and powerful scene to watch in the movie and then being in the real spot where it took place was very somber. We had to leave the crypt early because it was considered a war memorial and there were soldiers from France that were coming to look at it. So from there we made our way over to the old town square and that's where the left us to split into little groups and do what ever we wanted to with the rest of the day! I split off with Annalise, Cici, Alex, and Sara! We hung out in the town square for a while and I played with the bubbles that this guy was making with a huge bubble wand. I was going to try to take some cute photos with the bubbles but I just got so excited to pop the bubbles that I forgot to pose and stuff but its fine, I was having fun! Then we got stopped by a guy who told us about a Prague Pub Crawl and one of the girls in our big group, Tiffany was celebrating her 21st birthday that day so we asked the guy a lot of questions and presented the idea of going to the group and all but one person so 20 people said they would go! Then we got lunch at a little Italian place and I got a margarita pizza bigger than my face! It was really yummy. We walked around the old part of town for a while, and we ended up seeing a little dessert shop! So of course we stopped. I got some macaroons- lemon and blueberry flavor and not to mention that they're loper colors! They were pretty yummy and then we just kinda doddled around for a bit before heading back to the hostel. For supper I ate a brought worst from a street vendor which was suuuuuuuuper yummy!! Then we all went out to the pub crawl! It included admission to 3 bars and one of them was 5 story bar that has a different music theme on each floor! It was neat to see the different atmospheres of the rap/ hip hop floor vs. the oldies but goodies floor! At the first bar, there were free unlimited shots of vodka cranberry juice and absinthe, red and white wine, and beer. Since it was free, I tried the absinthe and regretted it. It tastes like black licorice in a drink and I do not like that!!! We got home and asleep at about 3am! That's super late for me but we left some of the group there who wanted to keep dancing. 3/22/19 Friday in Prague We met the rest of our group and our professors at 9:30am. Our professors took us around Prague and pointed out some significant historical spots and spoke to us about some of the facts and history of them! They took us to the Charles Bridge and told us the history of the bridge and the statues on it. It was a very beautiful bridge and it was super cool to see the Prague from on it! From there we made our way to Prague Castle. On our way, We walked past the John Lennon Wall which was full of love and peace imagery. We stopped and took a few fun pictures in front of it and then continued to the Prague Castle. At Prague Castle we saw the cathedral and a few other places within the castle. the cathedral was so beautiful inside and out. My favorite thing about the cathedral was the beautiful color splotches on the floor made from the stained glass windows. We also went into a different section of the castle and in that was a room of family crests that filled the walls and . It was so cool to see all the different imagery on each of the crests. On our way out we stopped in a room that showed a ton of the different kinds of amour that was used. Once we were done at Prague Castle, we split up and were done being in a group for the day! I stayed with Sarah, Seth, and Rachel. Our first order of business was to eat. We walked around a bit just looking for a spot and then we found a traditional Czech restaurant so we went there. It was kind of an odd little place and we were the only people in the whole restaurant but the food was good so it was fine! I got the goulash which is very different in the Czech, they don't use noodles. Their goulash has beef and gravy and dumplings that you eat with it. Then we walked to Petrin Gardens which is a huge park overlooking Prague. It was so relaxing to just sit in the playground (no kiddos were using it, so it was okay that we were) and just enjoy the beauty of the city. We stayed there for a while talking about our adventures and more importantly reminiscing our childhoods. Then we walked around the city a bit more and we got Trdelniks (ter- dell- nik) before crossing over the Charles Bridge again. The Trdelnik shop that we went to was real freaking cool!!!! You could see the whole process of making them (and added bonus, the workers were wearing cute old style matching outfits). So the process is that you take a ball of dough, roll it into a snake, wrap it around the wooden rolling pin thingy, roll that on the table to smoosh the rolls together, dip it in sugar, put it over the coals (on a conveyer belt type thing that is constantly turning them), once the are golden brown and delicious take them off, dip them in another sugar mixture, knock them off the rolling pin thingy, fill with toppings. OH MY GOODNESS YUUUUUUUUMMM!!!! They are the best thing ever. Mine that I got was lined with chocolate on the inside, packed with strawberries, covered in ice cream, with a strawberry slice and chocolate drizzle over top. I am salivating thinking of this. Me and my tummy were so happy but also really stuffed!!! So we walked back to our Hostel and I took a nap. Then it was time for supper. Seth, Lauren, Kirsten, Sarah, Rachel, and I went to a pizza and pasta place. Rachel and I were both still so full that we went ahead and split a pasta dish. Again, super was really yummy!! Afterword, I went back and got ready for bed and slept. 3/23/19 Saturday in Dresden I started the day with a breakfast from McDonalds which was cheep and delicious- for the most part. I got a raspberry lemonade because I was feeling adventurous but first of all, I don't even like raspberry flavored things and second of all it was gross because it was made with sparkling water so it like bubbled on your tongue and was all around just gross but other than that, my food was good! We met as a group at 7:45am and headed to the tram station, got our tickets and used the tram to head to the bus station where we took a two hour bus ride to Dresden, Germany. On the bus I got some yummy complimentary hot cocoa and watched Lego Ninjago. When we got to Dresden we walked to Altstadt Centre to another cathedral. While we were in the square, Martin and Jan talked to us about what the Centre looked like during WWII. Apparently the Allies would use about five waves of bombs to destroy the manufacturing from that area. They would bomb the areas at night by looking for the rivers because even though all the lights were off, they couldn't disguise the rivers. So the piolets would have to study the maps and know the rivers and bridges so when they would fly, they would navigate the rivers and count the bridges and that's how they would know where to drop the bombs. The Cathedral that we went into had been almost completely destroyed except for the north west tower. They left it in ruin for about 10 years before they decided to rebuild it. We went inside and all I could think was that I would love to hear a choir sing in this Cathedral! Also it was baroque style which was a little tid bit! Anyway we got to go into the crypt and there were a few different rooms designated to different things. One was a mediation room with a sculpture signifying the ten commandments in the middle of the room and benches along the wall for people to sit, pray, and meditate. There was another room with gravestones. Another had two sculptures that stood for destruction and rebuilding. I lingered a little to long in the sculpture room and when I came out, no one from my group was around. I went outside and I couldn't see anyone! I was a little annoyed because I was supposed to go with a few people from my group up into the tower part of the Cathedral. It wouldn't have been an issue except for the fact that I didn't have any euros on me and the place only accepted cash to get in. Most of our group didn't have euros so our professor aka Pops was going to pay for all of us and then we could just pay him back but he gave the money to Griffin and I didn't know where he was. I was in a pickle. I didn't know if they had already gone up or not so I figured if I just waited by the entrance I would catch them one way or another! I waited for a while and then they finally came out, I got the money from Ria, and headed up by myself to the top of the tower. The group said the views were amazing so I was excited to see it even though I was a little worried I would have to miss lunch since we were to meet the rest of the group at 1:30. Griffin ended up coming with me to go see it a second time so that was nice of him! We got to the top and got to see the whole city from up there! It was so breathtaking. I spent a bit of time just taking in the sights before I came down. Griffin and I had enough time to eat so we found somewhere close and ordered our food. We couldn't read the menus so we decide that we would just point to something and order it and see what it is when it comes! Mine ended up being a lamb dish and his was octopus. He let me try it because I had never had octopus before and it was pretty okay!! It took a bit to get our check so we ended up being a little late to the meeting with the rest of the group. After lunch we walked to a different section of the city along the river. We stopped and our professors gave us the choice to go to either an art museum or to a museum of armor and other things. You can probably guess which one I chose to go to... yeah no surprise that I chose the art museum! There was a lot of renascence paintings which isn’t really my favorite era of art buuuuut there was an AMAZING room of sculptures. I don’t think they were marble but they were still very beautifully made! All in all it was really cool as a museum! Afterward we had a bit of time before we had to meet with the rest of the group so we walked around the city a little. Seth and I got separated from Sarah, Lauren, and Logan because we were listening to an opera singer who was out on the street singing for a crowd! I wanted chocolate or a dessert or something so we found a little place by where we were supposed to meet the rest of the group and ordered some dessert something that they had but it really wasn’t that great. Then they wouldn’t take our card even though they had a card reader and again I had no euros on me sooooo yeah neither did Seth which meant we were two stuck people. Thankfully they had WiFi so we were able to message our groups group chat and Pops came and rescued us with his cash!! We just paid him back with our card. So then we walked around a little more before going to the meeting spot. Our whole group met together and we took the metro to the bus stop. We took the bus back to Prague and when I was on the bus I got some really yummy complimentary hot tea! I am not sure what kind it was but oh my gee it was good!!! We got back to Prague and I was ready for bed! 3/24/19 Sunday from Prague to Olomouc Woke up, got ready, checked our luggage into the holding room at the hostel, got McDonald’s for breakfast (this time I got OJ instead), then we checked out of the Hostel! We met with the rest of the group including Jan and Martin. They took us to two Jewish synagogues. The first one was turned into a museum and inside of the first part of it was walls full of all the Jewish people who were killed in WWII. There were names upon names upon names on these huge white walls. It was a hard thing to see- how many people were murdered because of the influence of one person. There was another room filled with children’s artwork. It was really cool to see what they had drawn and get to see a little bit of what was going on in their minds during this terrible time. It was also awesome to see how art and art lessons were such an important aspect for those kiddos to help them work through their emotions and their reality. Outside of that was a cemetery full of headstones. Apparently there were layers of up to five bodies buried in the cemetery. There were so many head stones, it was crazy. The second part of it was the synagogue. It had a lot of Jewish religious objects. We learned that the only reason that these things were intact was because the Nazis were ordered to keep them for a “Museum of the terminated race.” That was hard to think about... yeah... then we walked past a little street market to go to another synagogue. That one was much smaller and we discovered that women weren’t allowed to attend the services but they could sit outside the sanctuary in a hallway and listen to the service through little wholes in the wall! Then we split up and Sarah and I went back to the little market that we had passed earlier to see what they were selling! After that we headed back into town over by our Hostel for lunch. We found a cute little café place and got pasta— yummy! I also got some tea with my pasta and it came with a lemon wedge. There was a cool little metal contraption with the lemon that would squish the lemon for you and then you just pour the juice out of it! It was super nifty and I kind of want one for no real reason at all! After lunch, Sarah and I window shopped around the city and then got one last Trdelnik before leaving! It was good but not as great as the other one that I had!!! We then met the rest of the group, got our luggage, and headed back to our home base- Olomouc.
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3/19/2019 0 Comments A few days in Olomouc3/18/19 Monday Continued I stayed up, dropped my bags off, changed, and I headed off (back on the tram- navigating BY MYSELF) to go see Mamma T so that she could take me to the doctor! I was super proud of myself that I was able to navigate by myself and managed not to get myself lost! Mamma T walked me to the doctors office and it was a really pretty walk despite the fact that I did not feel well and was super sleep deprived. We got to the doctor and Mamma T translated for me so that she knew what symptoms I actually had and then she checked me out with her doctor tools. So I’m at the doctors office and Mamma T and the doctor are having a conversation about me in Czech that I can’t understand and it was honestly a little irritating because I wanted so badly to know what was being said but couldn’t understand so I just sat there in a sick little lump. The doctor finally diagnosed me with bronchitis, inflammation in my ears, and eczema rash on my neck. Then she gave three prescription papers to Mamma T and explained how I was to take my medicine, I paid her 250 Koruna ($11) for my appointment, and then off we went to get my meds! So we get to the pharmacy and they start pulling out my meds and they just keep going so by the end, I have 6 boxes of medicine for me to use. These people are not shy with their medicine, let me tell ya! I paid for all of that (about $40 USD) and we headed to the tram. While we waited, i think i asked Mamma T about 7 times when i was supposed to take each of my pills and i finally got what the writing meant. So one box says 1-1-0 which means One pill in the morning one at lunch and none at night. Another box says 1x1 which means one pill a day. A different one says 1-0-1 o 12 h which means one in the morning none at noon and one at night 12 hours apart. My ear drops say 4x2k which means 2 drops 4 times a day. It was confusing. I finally got back to my dorm and passed out! I slept All day. Up until that point I think I had been trying to suppress my illness and just power through it that it didn’t really hit me how cruddy my body was feeling but oh my goodness when I took a breather and just stopped for a second it hit me. It hit me hard!! So yeah I messaged my professor about what was going on and He allowed me to skip the one class we had that day to rest up and heal my body so I slept a lot!!! So that’s what I spent the rest of my day doing. 3/19/19 Tuesday Still feeling sicky so I took it easy today too! Hung out in my room and worked on journaling, time with God, and sleep. Then I headed to class on the tram with a few other people and we had two Lectures. One was a guest speaker who talked about the division of Czechoslovakia and the other was our history professor who talked about the difference between Judaism and Christianity. Once that was over we came back on the tram! There was actually a guy on it checking for passes, I hadn’t ran into this yet. I had my pass but a different girl with me didn’t so she got a ticket but it only cost like $2.50 so it wasn’t that bad! We got back to the dorms and I made popcorn for supper, hung out for a little bit and then we planned a little more of our Paris trip and our spring break! Then I went to bed. 3/20/19 Wednesday I am feeling a little better and I am thinking that by the end of this week, I will feel 100%! Lets hope! Again I had more of a relaxed morning. When I woke up I had time with God, watched a sermon online with Seth (called Foundation- so far its pretty good!), ate, packed for our first class trip (which starts tomorrow), and got ready for the day. I had two lecture classes and then we watched a movie so it was a "long" day of classes today (3 pm- 9pm). The first lecture was by Martin and he talked about the differences between Judaism and Christianity. It was really interesting because I haven't studied the different religions so I don't really know how they are different than my own nor what they believe! Then Jan (Pronounced like yawn) gave a lecture of a case study of Totalitarianism. It was super interesting! He also gave us details about the anthropoid mission (which was what we were watching a movie about next). The crazy thing was his family connections to the anthropoid mission and the men who were involved in the mission. "Operation Anthropoid was the code name for the assassination during World War II of Schutzstaffel (SS)- Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Main Security Office, RSHA)." It took place in Prague and this was the highest general Nazi to be assassinated during the war! Then we got a break for supper before the movie so I went to go get a burger at The Buns and then some fries at Fancy Fries. Both were suuuuuper yummy and I was so full! Also Fancy fries had a little stand for the "Potato of the Day" and I just thought it was the cutest little thing! Anyway then we headed back to the school to watch the movie Anthropoid. I honestly suggest that if you really like learning about WWII and have some extra time on your hands, that you should watch this movie. There were some heavy scenes in it that I couldn't watch but I think it stayed pretty true to the reality of the mission and what was happening! We all had pretty heavy hearts after watching it. After it was over, we all headed back to the dorms and I went to sleep! 3/15/19 Friday Continued We met up as the group of 12 to get onto the tram that takes us by the bus station at 3:30, got on our tram, got off, and didn’t know where the bus station was at. That was frustration #1 so we were by the tram station and some thought that was it so we walked over by that and then there were buses pulling up on an opposite corner so we went over there and then decided to go back to the tram station to go inside. At this point we had gone in a circle and with 12 of us walking along like little ducklings we were very noticeable! I thought it was funny but others were becoming anxious and frustrated so finally someone finds a digital map to the bus station and we walk 15ish minutes and find it. We were at the platform that our bus should be picking us up at but people were still anxious and unsure. While we were at the bus station there was a guy there that must have been on some type of drug or was just schizophrenic because he was walking around “talking to” someone or something that wasn’t there and feeding an imaginary dog and unsuccessfully doing cartwheels. I was trying not to stare so i missed where this random person came from- I’m assuming hey just got off a bus and had to walk past this guy. But the other person was walking past the odd guy and I don’t know how it led up to it but the guy that was walking by starts punching the odd one until he’s on the ground, kicks him, walks over and kicks his bag- stuff goes flying out of the guys bag, and then they leave. The guy recovered quickly and then He finally landed a cartwheel and threw his arms up in triumph but then a bus came and needed to drive right where the man was at and the guy wouldn’t move he started flailing his hands around like he wanted to fight the bus but then he finally moved over and eventually left the premises. We finally got on the bus at 5:05 and headed to Brno on a 1 hour bus ride where we would get off and wait for an hour to get on another 4.5 hour bus ride that would take us to Budapest. All was going well until we got to the bus station in Budapest (at 12 am none the less). We didn’t know what public transportation we were going to use to get us close to our Air BnB. So we were exploring all of our options people were getting frustrated and anxious again and some of our group found a guy that spoke English and he directed us to a bus stop. So we went there buuuuut we didn’t know where to find tickets so more frustration and confusion until we find that we can go underground to get them. We do and we all got 72 hour passes and since it was already Saturday of our two day weekend we were good To go. They were only 15 USD so fairly cheep and one of the girls has the buses we could take and the stop we could get off at ready to go so we get on a bus and get off at our stop stumble around a bit trying to get us to our Air BnB but we finally find the building where it’s at. Three people in our group wanted to walk so they did and the rest took the bus. So we are at the building (that looks like a motel or some type of apartment building) in a court yard and I feel like I’m a detective or something because we have pictures and a description of where we are supposed to go but nothing is matching up well it turns out we were on the 1st floor not the 2nd floor so we go up these stairs and still can’t find the door but we find one that fits the description for the most part and found a key to go with it so Seth just goes for it and tries to open the door. We all though we were going to be breaking and entering but it turns out that we were in the right room so that’s good! We all picked our beds and then I got moved to a different room with a single bed so I didn’t get anyone else sick so basically I got quarantined. We waited until the other three that walked showed up and then chatted until about 2:30 am and then went to bed! 3/16/19 Saturday We slept in and then got ready to go to the thermal spa which is one thing that Budapest is known for. We all split in to smaller groups. The thermal spa was sooo relaxing to just to sit and talk in what was essentially a giant hot tub! We (Logan, Kirstin, Sarah, Lauren, Rachel, and I) talked about Disney as a franchise and their parks for about the whole time that we were there! We stayed for about 3 hours before we had to leave to get ready for our boat cruise! When we left the spa, we got pretzels from a street vendor in the park next to the spa. They were pretty bad. They were not great pretzels. We were headed back to our Air BnB and ended up waking through Hero’s Square and there was a ceremony going on, although I’m not sure what it was for! There were a ton of people holding the sides of a verrrrrrrry long Hungarian Flag and were waking in a semi circle into the middle of Hero’s Square and folding the flag (on a tarp) on the ground. It was kinda neat to see! We got back to the Air BnB using the metro and waited for a different girl who went on a different small group to the thermal spas. Once we were all together as a different small group (Lauren, Sarah, Rachel, Kristina, and I) we headed to the docks for our city tour cruise! There were two boats side by side and we had to walk through the first one to get to the second which was the one that we were riding on for the cruise. We got really nervous though because the first one was a real junker and was super dirty and just full of crap so we were very relieved that we weren’t riding on that one! When we got on the boat they gave us a complimentary glass of mulled wine and that was really good! I had never tried that before so that was fun! We ended up sitting on the terrace part of the boat and they provided us with blankets to keep us from freezing to death! The sights were so beautiful! Their buildings are so amazing breathtaking! We got on the cruise at 5 pm and by the time we were almost docked we got to see the city at sun set and it was so awesome! The sky was an orange and pink fire over the city and it was so cool! Then we got supper at a little restaurant by the docks and we all got “traditional” Hungarian dishes I got a Transylvanian wood platter I think? It was three different kinds of meat, “smashed potatoes,” and an onion pepper mix. It was pretty good! The we headed back to the Air BnB. I hadn’t been feeling that great throughout the whole day and ending up getting a weird neck rash for no apparent reason. Sarah thinks I could either have an ear infection or strep throat or both so I got ready for bed and laid down and attempted to sleep while everyone else when out! 3/17/19 Sunday Slept in again, Yay!! Well kinda slept since I’m a sicky I’m not sleeping that well but oh well! Anyway we started our St. Patties day off with a walking tour of the city! Before we got to our starting point, I got a Kürtőskalács -chimney cake with Nutella in it! We (Kirstin, Logan, Rachel, Kristina, Sarah, Loren, Kira, Ericka, and I) started on the “Pest” side of Budapest and ended on the “Buda” side. We were shown a ton of historical landmark and been though the tour was 2 and a half hours, it went by really quickly! Our guide was really good! He told us some of the places that we could go see that we may enjoy and have us some other tips! After that ended we split into smaller groups again and Kirstin, Loren, Sarah, and I went to a ring shop that Loren’s bartender told her about last night. We all want to get a ring from each country we go to on this trip. We felt like we were getting lost but it was okay because we weren’t and we eventually found the ring shop. I got one that has a a turquoise stone and some flouncy leaves and designs on it. I chose It because the turquoise color reminded me of the color of the thermal spa and the flouncy designs reminded me of all the detailed architecture in this city, so I think it encapsulates this city for me! Once we got our rings we decided it was time to eat! We took the metro from the buda side to the pest side which took us under the river! How did they even do that? People are amazing. Anyway Loren wanted to try Langos which is another traditional meal from Budapest so we found a place that sold them. It was actually called Langos so you know it’s legit. Since I’m sick and can’t smell I can really taste anything but the texture was good and the other girls said they were reaaaaaaally good so you’ll just have to take their word for it! Mine was the dough bottom with sour cream and cheese! Once we finished, we headed back to the Air BnB. On our way back, we saw a weekend market that was in a kind of alley way that had businesses on both sides. There were tables with jewelry, pottery, tatting, stamps, pins , and hand made accessories. It was really cool to see all the vendors and what they had for sale! The best part was at the end of it, we were actually closer to our Air BnB without even trying! Once we got there I took a nap, thy was super nice to rejuvenate a little bit since I’m still sick and my body was tired after all that walking! I woke up and got all my stuff packed and then we had decided we should get supper before our 11 hour bus trip back to Olomouc. So we (Lauren, Rachel, Kristina, Sarah, Kira, Erica, and I) found a nice restaurant and bar to eat at! I got a Mango and Rosemary Lemonade that was really yummy with a potato soup and Cesar salad! Then we headed back to the Air BnB again to get our stuff and go to the bus stop. We took the metro to the bus stop, found our bus and got on for our 6 hour bus ride! 3/18/19 Monday
Our bus was ahead of schedule and ended up getting us to our bus stop about an hour early- getting us there at 3:30 am. We went inside the bus station and had to wait until 6 am for our bus. It was an okay wait but you had to pay to use the restroom and there was a creepy man in the restroom that you had to pay as in he was in with the stalls so he could hear your stream... it was really creepy and needless to say none of the girls used the restroom on our wait. We finally got on our bus at 6 am and got back to Olomouc by 7 am! We all went back to the dorms and everyone went to bed but me. I stayed up, dropped my bags off, changed, and I headed off (back on the tram- navigating BY MYSELF) to go see Mamma T so that she could take me to the doctor! To Be Continued... 3/12/2019 1 Comment Czech-in' into my new life3/10/2019- Leaving Prague for Olomouc By 1:30 am, we decided we should probably turn off the movies and head to bed but at 4:30 am I was woken up (on accident) by our hostel mates who were just getting back from a pub crawl! Thankfully I was able to get back to sleep and slept in until 9:30 am. Once we finally got up and got our stuff together, checked out of our beautiful hostel that honestly looked like a hotel! We were told that It the home of an architect from a while ago in history! We had a few hours to roam around in Prague before we had to be at the airport to meet all the other students in our study abroad program so we ended up wandering up our street. We went into a puppet shop (apparently the Czech is known for their marionette puppets), a local art shop, and then a restaurant for lunch. They were serving traditional Czech meals and I got a stuffed pork dish with veggies on the side and an odd Czech dessert that I HATED but I am not sure what it was called. After lunch we got a taxi to the airport and found the rest of our group. We were actually the last ones there... oops... but we were still on time so it was okay! We then got on a coach to take us to Olomouc... a 4 hour bus ride. We stopped part way through our drive to eat at a McDonald's that was supper fancy! There was a part where they were selling deserts like macaroons and cheese cake and had vases of REAL flowers on their tables. It did not feel like a McDonald's other than the fact that the food was the same. On the bus ride, I got to sit by Sarah, my roommate. She is from Omaha, she is super sweet, and such a Godsend. I have been praying hard for my roommate and I think this is one way God is showing me that He has got me taken care of. We are very like minded in many ways and it is super comporting to know that I will have someone to hang back with if I don't want to go out to the pubs. Once we got to Olomouc (ol- um- oats), we got checked into our dorm rooms. I am on the fifth floor in a pod with 4 other rooms of girls from my trip. So I have one roommate (a person that I share my bedroom with) but 6 pod mates ( girls in separate bedrooms but in the same "pod" or "cell" as they call them here). I think that makes sense? Also in my pod we have a little kitchenette with a microwave, stove top, and sink, two bathrooms, and storage lockers that we put our big suitcases in. In my room, I immediately started to put all of my stuff away and once that was done I began to put all of my pictures and bible verses on the wall. It was so encouraging to read through all of the verses that my friends wrote to me. I am sure that I will need them through out this semester! Then we took the tram to a stop close to Globus which is the Czechs version of Walmart or a Super Target. It hit me hard. Oh my goodness I was soooooo frustrated with shopping there. I would say that was a taste of culture shock for me. We started by eating in the food court and there was just a huge group of us Americans who didn't know what anything said or how to ask for food or what the food even was so the server lady got irritated with us and we were stressed and it was just an ordeal in itself. I just ended up getting what the person in front of me got by pointing to her tray of food. I am not sure what I ate but it tasted pretty good! After I was done it was on to the shopping part... more confusion and frustration. First of all it is hard to keep track of how much you are spending because everything looks so expensive (even though its cheaper- 1 Czech Korunas = $.04 USD). Secondly, I CANT READ WHAT THE PRODUCTS SAY!!! Oh my goodness its kind of funny how hard it was to shop, I honestly felt so helpless buuuuut I made it though and I got my groceries and I am fine. Once we got back to our dorm and I put my food away, our neighbors from across the hall came over to introduce themselves. The pod next door has students from Canada, Spain, and Italy. Zach is from Canada and he is the one who came over to our pod and talked with us girls for awhile and then when his roommate got in we all went over to his room to meet Nick and the other guys but Giovanni, Nick, and Zach were the only ones that stayed up and chatted with us. Finally at about 1:30 am I went to bed. 3/11/2019- First day of classes (Well Orientation at least) Alright, so I work up at 8 am and I was tired but I pushed through and we took the tram to our orientation room. We had 3 hours of lecture from various faculty and professors from Palacky (pah- lot- ski) University. They told us a little bit about the Czech people attitude, such as that they have dark (or sick sense) of humor, they aren't very happy people (until after drinking ), they don't like to smile at people, and most are agnostic or atheist. Czech people also call people who smile too much American smiles. I honestly I take that as a compliment that we are happy and able to find joy in many different things in life but the Czechs take that as being fake. Another interesting fact is that Czechs like American country music. I thought that was odd. But they fed us fruit and little Czech pastries and WATER- yuuuuumm! Then for lunch! We split up into two groups because Czech places are not as fit to seat a large group like American restaurants are. So I went in the group with the two professors so I knew i wouldn’t get lost!We went to a little Czech restaurant and I had stuffed chicken with mushroom sauce and sautéed vegetables on the side. It was really good and I have been so happy with all the food I have had so far! Once done we had to pay which was a confusing mess as we are all getting used to the currency here and trying to get 12 Americans out quickly with one interpreter professor was a bit of a challenge but at least we had “Mamma T” the interpreter professor began a walking tour of Olomouc. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful city and there is a lot of really cool history but it was toooooooo cold out to pay great attention to what was being said... we spent two hours seeing the city and we turned into Popsicles. We all thought we were going to get sick for being out that long in the cold but oh well we probably won’t! Except maybe Kristina, she didn’t bring her coat, she was just wearing her sweater so our guide gave Kristina her scarf. That finally got over and we all wanted to warm up so Sarah, my roommate, and I went to Costa Coffee with four other girls to warm up before we went back to the dorms! Sarah and I didn’t get any drinks of cake like the other girls did but it was nice to just be in the warmth of the indoors for a while and regain feeling in my body again! We headed back to the dorms and then got ready for our welcome party that was being put on for us. We left a little early in a group to go eat and we ended up meeting the rest of our group on accident at a pizza place where I got a yummy panini! And then off to the welcome party! It was in a little wine cellar and they had water, small garlic butter cheesy bread bites, and fruit pastries for us and then we could order any drinks that we wanted! So I got a sweet white wine and chatted with the other students that showed up like Paul, a Czech student at the university, Matt, a Canadian Student, and a few others that I can’t remember their names. It was also nice to be able to talk to the other people in my group to get to know them better. I got another drink that was a tropical mixed drink just to try it! Those two drinks were just under $3.50 so that tells you how cheep the drinks are here, it’s kinda weird. I really miss free water though and wonder if this is the last free water I’ll get in a while! We wanted to go with the other students that we had met to the the bar/club that they usually attend on Monday nights. So we ALL, our whole group of 21 American students, followed our new found friends to a bar around the corner while we were waiting to got to the club that go to on Mondays. I sat with some of the other girls that are Czech students, Nicole and Sasha, that I didn’t get to talk to at the welcome party! The language was a bit of a barrier but we chatted as much and as well as we could and get to know each other a decent amount before Sasha had to leave! I was starting to get tired but I wanted to see what the place looked like so I stayed up and went to the club with the rest of the group. We went in and our group went to. The front of the (very small) club where there was a dance floor and we just started dancing like crazy! It was really fun jumping around and being silly with everyone! It was a little funny you could definitely tell where the Americans were versus everyone else because the other people we trying to dance really well but we were just jumping and “dancing” very American-like. But it was fun none the less. Apparently Czechs usually got out from like 12:00-5 or 6 am. I didn’t do that and I won’t be doing that. The sober ones of our group, including me, were ready to leave by 1:30 am (which is super late for me). Nicole said she usually walks back so we decided to do that as well. She directed us as far as she could with our totally steering her off path from where she lives. It was a 45 minute walk back to our dorm. That sounds terrible but after dancing for so long it felt nice to be put in the colder air and it was really awesome to get to see the city in a quiet, undisturbed state. We got back safely to our dorm at about 2:30ish and I crashed!! 3/12/19- Tuesday Another early morning with orientation at 9am. We actually went to a museum (that more geared towards kids) that is either sponsored by the university or part of it? I’m not sure but it definitely has something to do with the University! There were history, nature, and science sections and a little planetarium. I went to the science part right away and there were a lot of co things like a wave generator, a diy blood type model, brain teasers, and huge eye and brain models that show how the eye and brain work. It was really hard to figure what we were supposed to do because all the institutions were written ion Czech but we did the best we could! There was also a gyro-sphere. I have always wanted to go on one so I did and it was awesome!! Our professor went first and it was so funny, he said “yee haw” and we all burst out in laughter! Only me and one other student went on after him because everyone else was either 1. Hung over or 2. They just didn’t want to. We looked around more for a while and then headed up to the planetarium! They were playing a video about the earth narrated by the guy who narrates the documentary “Cosmos” on Netflix (and I know that because yes Isaac and I love nature documentaries and watch them a lot). It was interesting buuuuut the seats were actually bean bags on the floor so I got really comfortable and ended up sleeping though most of it... and then we left for lunch. We went to eat in a little cafe restaurant and I got a yummy duck risotto! I had never had risotto before and I’m not quite sure I’ve ever had duck either but it was really good! After we were done there we went to a HUGE shopping mall for some people to get power converters and Mamma T wanted to get a mascot for our group and wanted our help picking it out. So I picked out a really soft and glittery platypus and she picked out a pig. Then we got Starbucks in the mall, met the rest of the group and headed back to our dorms! All day today people have been throwing around ideas of where to go this weekend (our first free weekend). Some are going to Berlin some to Brussels and then a few said Budapest. So I hopped on the Budapest one and we all got together (all 12 of us who wanted to go) in my room and figured out our bus and living situations but that took a lot of effort. We hangout for like 3 hours trying to get it all worked out but it finally did get worked out and we were all good to go! And then I went to bed. 3/13/19- Wednesday I forgot to journal so I can’t really remember... but we had our first language class and that was a bit difficult but really fun!!! And then that night we went out to the other club in town (just to see what it was like) and Mims came out with us and danced and had a good ol time!! A few people in our group are starting to get sick and I am getting a sore throat so that's kinda cruddy! 3/14/19- Thursday I slept in until noon!! It was wonderful! So then I did my laundry from the last week at the laundry mat by our dorms for 160 Korunas. And while I was waiting, I sat in Cafe Nicol by the laundry mat and did my time with God, chatted with Seth, and drank green tea! I got my laundry and hung it up to dry on the clothing lines outside my room on my porch! Then we headed to class and had that was interesting to learn more stuff! I forgot to journal again but these are about the most important aspects of my day! 3/15/19- Friday Another early morning, we started class at 9:45 but had to be out by the tram by 9:15 so leaving our rooms by 9:05. On our way to class we say a small group of protesters talking about climate change! Anyway we had our language class and learned the informal conversation phrases and our numbers. Then we had a lecturer come in and talk to us about Turkey history and modern world! When that was over We headed to the exchange office to get some Hungarian Forint (that’s their currency- 1 USD is equal to about 278 forints). Then back to the dorms to pack! This day continued on Budapest Blog Post. 3/11/2019 0 Comments Looking for LeprechaunsGalway- Day 1 (continued from London Day 4) It is so beautifully green and fresh here! We then took the bus to Galway from the Dublin Airport, which was about a 2 hour bus ride. The nice thing was that it was a Mercedes Benz bus so it was super comfortable, had free WiFi, and charging ports so I was able to talk to friends and family on the drive once it got too dark to see the scenery. We finally got to the hostel, a whopping 2 minute walk from the bus station, get checked in, got our stuff put away and then went on the “pub crawl” with a group from the Hostel. It was really fun meeting and talking to people that are staying with us that are from all over the world! We met some people from the US (San Francisco- Rachel), Germany (Sam and Agnes), Finland (I don’t remember her name..), Norway (Augustus), and probably a few more that I’m forgetting! We went to three local pubs, the first two had the soccer game on and by the time we got to the third one it had live music out! It was really funny to watch the men on the pub react to the soccer game, it reminded me at being at a Husker Football party! It was also really fun to be immersed in the true culture of Ireland- the pub life- and see the locals doing what they do- drinking Guinness. I can definitely tell they love their Guinness beer here. We were having so much fun dancing with our new found friends at the last bar (they were playing covers of 80s songs from the US) that we didn’t get back until 1 am— which is really late for me but it was cool to be awake and dance Kristina into her 21st birthday! Things I noticed: Ireland’s websites end in .ie My favorite thing so far: how easy it is to make “friends”/ get to know new people when staying in hostels!! Galway- Day 2 We started out with breakfast from the Hostel, this one is a lot cleaner and nicer than the last one we stayed at which is great!! I had some granola with milk and a berry scone, it was delectable! After that we walked over to the train station and headed out for our day tour! Our bus driver was a ginger named John and he was very funny, he made the whole bus ride very fun!! We made a few 15 minute photo stops on the way to the Cliffs of Moher to some castle ruins and other historical spots. We also got lunch at a Pub & Restaurant spot. I got the Baked Salomon on Mash and it was really good and tasted so fresh! On top of that, they got it out in like 10 minutes or less of my ordering which was surprising because they had a restaurant full of people!! We then set on our way to the Cliffs of Moher. They are a 702 feet drop to the water below and it was super windy when we were climbing to the top of the viewing center but it was soooo beautiful! It was great just soaking in God’s breathtaking creation! After 2 hours at the Cliffs, we got back on the bus and headed back to Galway. We say a horse on the way up to the Cliffs and John, our bus driver, told us he named the horse Fred and that sometimes he will come up to the window of the bus to take an apple from him! So on the way back, he called Fred over and asked if anyone wanted to feed Fred the apple so if corse I raised my hand but another woman wanted to as well so we fed Fred together!! When we got back to Galway, we relaxed for a few minutes and then decided to get supper. We went to a McDonalds to say a little money as well as to see what McD’s tastes like in a different country. It was less salty than in America and they actually offered us salt packets to make the food saltier if we wanted. We got back and they were having another pub crawl. Since it is Kristina’s 21st, she and I decided to do it to celebrate her! With the pub crawls, they give us tickets for the three pubs the first one gives you a free beer and the second two give a free shot with a purchase of a drink. I didn’t want any alcohol so I just had ice water and I got a lot of crap from the locals. Kristina and I sat with a local older man named Paul and we had a nice chat with him before moving onto the next pub. He told us some funny Irish stories and he also said that the Claddagh Rings originated in Galway. He was very funny and kind and he gave us “an Irish goodbye” by giving us a hug and kissing our cheek! We went to the second bar for a little bit and then headed back across the street to the hostel. Things I noticed: I like traditional Irish music Ireland has mixed restrooms (or toilets as they call them) and it isn’t weird for me! It honestly doesn’t phase me at all because I mean we still have the stall walls between us! The cows look a lot happier here but I get that I mean if I were them and had grass that green heck yeah I’d be happy too. There is a whole lot less honking here and drivers are kinder to other drivers. They are very good at sharing the road. My favorite thing so far: oh my gosh, the air here. It is so fresh and clean and I just love breathing it in. Expecially after coming from the city were I kept breaking in secondhand smoke. Dublin- Day 3 We slept in a bit but I wish it was more! My body is starting to ware out from all the go go going that we have been doing! We had breakfast at the hostel and then shopped around Galway for the morning. I got myself a Claddagh ring and pointed the heart inward to show that I am in a commitment relationship. The one I bought is a style that I hadn’t seen at all and I love not having the exact same thing as everyone. I love my ring and the meaning behind it! It was really the only thing that I for sure wanted from Ireland! After that we took another 2 hour bus ride to Dublin. We got a cab to our Air b&b and after a while of waiting we finally figured out where to get our keys from and where our room was after eating at a little hole in the wall place. After getting settled in for a few minutes we had to catch another cab to go to the Guinness Factory. At the Guinness Factory, we got to learn how Guinness is crafted, see some of their ads, have a tasting, and learn how to correctly pour a Pint of Guinness! We ended up spending 2.5 hours in the Factory walking around reading all the displays and taking in the atmosphere of the place! Just let me tell you, Guinness is soooo much better tasting here in Ireland. After it closed, we got a cab back to our room but stopped at a pizza place before heading back! We ate our pizza, did face masks, and just relaxed for the night. It was really great to just breathe and not have to go do anything for the night! Things I’ve noticed: “Thanks a million” is a common phrase and it’s so sweet, I love when they say that Favorite thing so far: today it was learning how to and pouring my own Guinness. Things I've noticed: "Slancha" apparently means cheers and good health. London - Day 1 I had a wonderful 8 hour flight to London! I finally got to be in a plane with THREE rows of seats-- just like in all the movies, the airplane company fed us supper (chicken, vegetables, rice, coleslaw, a bookie- brownie cookie, and a drink) and breakfast (a ham and cheese bagel with a cookie and drink) which were both good! I did get some good sleep on the plane- as well as one can get on a plane- and surprisingly am not feeling any jet lag! At this point our feet were killing us and we wanted to get checked into our hostel so we walked back, got checked in, moved our stuff into our room, and I passed out for a bit but I did wake up in time for supper! We walked around the block and found a little Italian Deli. I got a Margarita pizza- so good!! Then we headed back to the hostel, I showered, talked to Isaac, and got ready for another day in London! After we landed, we got our tickets for the rail to take us to our hostel. This was the first three times we got lost: 1st trying to find the way out to the train, 2nd when to get off the train, and 3rd attempting to find the hostel. It took over half an hour, a lot of back tracking, going in circles, reevaluating the map, and asking for help to finally get to the Astor Victoria Hostel. We arrived at about 9 am but weren't able to check in until 2pm so they stored our bags and we headed out for sight seeing. We first stopped at a little café called The Roasting where I got peppermint tea and an almond croissant that were both divine. Then we walked to Parliament Square where we stumbled across the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace even though we couldn't really see it because of the huge crowd of people surrounding it! I saw a lot of beautiful old buildings that looked important but I honestly have no idea what they are! After all that walking, we decided it was time to stop and eat. We ended up dining at a little Chinese restaurant called Baofa Garden Restaurant & Bar. I tried some amazing chicken fried noodles and some interesting veggie dumplings! We then went on the London Eye! There was this sweet grandfather and grandson that was on in and the grandson reminded me so much of Wyatt it was crazy- he was a skinny little blonde hair, blue eyed kiddo with cute little freckles and a Pokémon hat! There were a few tears dropped but I was okay, mom sent me a picture of her and Wyatt later so that helped! On our way back to the hostel, we stopped in a park to look at some of the pretty flowers and birds. In the park there was a man feeding the parakeets and I couldn't help but think "Tuppence, Tuppence..." We hung out there for a little while before heading back on our way. We then got back to our hostel and I took a nap for an hour or so before supper. We then went to supper. We just walked around the place where our hostel was until we found a place that looked good and then stopped there. That ended up being a little Italian deli. I got a margarita pizza and the other girls got different kinds of pasta. Kristina actually found a small piece of glass in her dish and they gave her a new one (boxed up to go at her request) and reduced the price to 0. Then we just headed back to the hostel and went to sleep! London- Day 2 We had an early start to the day as we were on a day tour that went from 8am- 8pm! The tour stopped at Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and The town of Oxford. We had an amazing tour guide, Kevin, and awesome bus driver, Steve. Windsor Castle was very beautiful. I loved the beautiful stone architecture and the elaborate decoration of the inner rooms. It was also cool to see all the family crests that were displayed. Stonehenge was absolutely brilliant! The fact that ancient people could have built that structure and that some of it is still standing today (with out the help of modern technology) is amazing to me. I have already learned about the structure in an art history class, but to be there standing where the builders once stood made these rocks all the more captivating. One theory behind the creation of Stonehenge was that it was to help tell when summer and winter would come. This in itself was interesting because it seems that I always think of primitive people as lacking in knowledge just because they lacked the advanced technology that we have today but honestly they seem to have been just as knowledgeable and insightful as us today, just in different ways. The last stop on the tour was the city of Oxford. We saw some more beautiful buildings and old, old structures. We saw the (outside of the) building that the hospital scenes from Harry Potter were filmed and the library belonging to the Oxford University. It was all good and fine buuuut we did stop by a little fudge shoppe to try free fudge sample... and ended up buying a box of fudge. My favorite was the Chocolate Nut Brownie fudge and the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt fudge. The bus driver was such a kind guy, he gave me a little note so that we could stay in touch and had a great attitude all day! We were dropped off in a different location than where we were picked up so needless to say, we got lost for the third time since being here! But we did find our way back to the hostel safe and sound! In our room we have a Brazilian, Portuguese, and Argentinian girl! We ended up going out to a pub with Bruna, the girl from Portugal, so that she could get supper! We each tried one half pint (all different kinds) and all three flavors were really good! Things I’ve noticed: There are cows here but there are definitely more sheep. The whole road system is backwards to what it is in America Smoking is NOT taboo here- there is a lot of smoking... all the time. There is this distinct British man smell and I don't know if it is just a certain cologne but it smells really good! My favorite thing so far: Definitely Stonehenge London- Day 3 The morning was off to a great start for the fact that we got to sleep in until 9:30. After that we had breakfast at the hostel. They had HUGE slices of bread!! Then we got up and got ready for the day. We wanted to go to a few different parts of London so we decided to get an underground day pass and ending up taking the tube all day all around London! Our first stop was The National Gallery (an art museum- you can probably guess who wanted to go there— me!). There were many famous artworks there but my favorite section was the few impressionistic paintings they had!! I just love looking at them, they brush strokes are so painterly and loose, you can tell that the artist was so lost in their work! There were statues outside the building and it seemed like the pigeons enjoyed claiming the man by sitting on the heads of the statues. I’m not sure why but it really cracked me up! From there we got a small meal at a near by Pret-a-Manger (these things are everywhere— I LOVE IT!). And got on the tube to go see the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge! We didn’t go inside the Tower of London but we did take a moment to just sit and enjoy the view of the Tower and the city. From there we took a stroll to and over the Tower Bridge! From that we got more beautiful sights of the city and got some more walking in! Got in the tube again, came back to our hostel to change for the musical (and grab the tickets we forgot), and then headed to supper. We walked over to The Shakespeare where we each got “A pint and fish and chips.” I felt pretty British after that! Then we were off to the musical - Mama Mia! This musical was honestly my favorite part of the trip so far!! The crowd was so fun and the musical itself was amazing, all in all it was just the best! After that we headed back to our room, got our stuff for our flight figured out, repacked our luggage, and went to sleep! Things I’ve noticed: In the span of the three days we have been at the hostel, we have had 6 different roommates! People are generally pretty kind here! My favorite thing so far: Mama Mia! It was honestly better than everything I’ve done so far. I loved it London (and Galway, Ireland continued in Ireland post)- Day 4 Started out the morning with breakfast at the Hostel and then we checked out! We were going to do afternoon tea (an actual one) but we didn’t have time so we just went to a cafe and had hot tea. After that we headed to the airport via the rail. Once there, we got through security and everything really easily which was super surprising, we were flying with an airline that is known to be very stingy on their weight and size requirements. So we were a bit nervous that they would try to make us pay more money for anything they could but they didn’t so that good! We got lunch in the airport and then hopped onto our one hour flight! Because the plane was so small, we actually walked out to the airplane and boarded it from the runway and I have never gotten to do that before so that was really cool!! I slept on the plane and was in Ireland before I knew it! Today continues in my Ireland blog post 3/2/2019 4 Comments Packing up the Good LifeHello again friend, The last few weeks I have been cramming in time with friends and family. The sweet ladies that I work with at the nursing home held a "food day" for me on my last day of work including a Colossal Cookie from Eileen's Cookies. I got to have various lunch and suppers with some of my favorite people, including a "Bon Voyage" dinner that my mom hosted, a goodbye dinner with Isaacs family, and a last supper with the girls I do Bible Study with where they prayed over me and my travels. I am packed up and moving on to new sights, cities, and countries! Everything I need (and more) fits into my three bags and I feel ready to conquer my new adventure abroad. My emotions have been pretty stable, surprisingly not very many tears -- not even when saying goodbye to Isaac! However, as I left Nebraska and headed toward Denver it hit me what I have signed up for. Even though I wanted to run back to the comfort of home I am continuing to pursue this dream of mine and make it a reality. Through the few tears, I started praying over these lyrics of the song "Steady Me" by Hollyn ft. Aaron Cole: "Steady me We made it to Denver safely and will board our plane to London at 2:50 pm from the Denver Airport. I will post more updates as I get to London. Thank you to everyone who made time to see me and spend time with me these last few weeks, it meant a lot to me! Love you all!
Thanks for reading, Lindsay |
About Lindsay WarningHello all, I am Lindsay Warning! I am currently a senior at the University of Nebraska at Kearney majoring in Art Education with a K-12 teaching endorsement. Originally, I am from Holdrege, Nebraska. I have a little brother, Wyatt, who is 8 years old, a little sister, Jordyn, who is 5 years old, three pups; Tatter, Murphy, and Bella as well as my parents, Tiffany and Justin Warning. In addition to my fam-bam, I have an amazing boyfriend, Isaac and his wonderful family. God has greatly blessed me with a great family and friends! In my free time I love to hang out with Isaac and my friends, create art, listen to music, and travel. Archives |