na shledanou nebraska

Found this gem while scrolling through my Tumblr feed in the Chicago airport. Here's my blog where you can listen to me gush for the next three months about how much I love everything that is going on around me. I am extremely excited to begin this experience in Olomouc, Czech Republic!

After a long day of flying, I was ecstatic to be back in Prague. There is just something about that city, that I absolutely love. It never gets old. This time around, I got to stay in Thea & Rudi's new flat and even show the city to a few of my friends, David and Hana. We took a walking tour of the city, hit the pubs and clubs, and ate a lot of good food in our time in Prague. We learned a lot and had a lot of fun, and I was happy to have them there with me. One night at the flat, we even made homemade schnitzel and spätzle, which is a traditional German dish with homemade noodles and stinky mountain cheese. It was amazing. I was really thankful that I had my sister living in Prague, not only because I got to crash on her couch, but she was hospitable to my friends and helped show everyone the ropes, even those from UNK that I had just met. 

During our week in Prague we hit all the sights, like the Prague castle, the Lennon Wall, the Jewish Quarter, and Old Town Square. I was surprised by the amount of tourists in the city this time around, though. The city is just as crowded as when I was here in June, but I am thinking it's because of the Easter season. 

Found my favorite beer, Matuška!

St. Charles Bridge

Hana and I on St. Charles Bridge

Old Town Square

The Easter markets in Prague, and Olomouc as well, are so cute. They build little wooden houses, and each one sells sausages and all kinds of delicious dishes and desserts. I even tried the mulled wine which was the perfect way to keep warm. The Czech's love their Easter traditions, even though they are a very secular country. They say that the young Czech boys make a long stick out of twigs and decorate it, and go from door to door and whip the Czech girls on the butt, haha. And the girls paint eggs, which you can find in all of the markets. They say that Easter was one of the only celebrated religious holidays during the Communistic times, but they called it something like "The First of Spring" so the traditions lived on.

Had to have a sausage at the Easter Markets 

Thea and I at the Easter Markets in Old Town Square

Next, it was time to head to Olomouc. I was so excited. I knew my sister had saved this Czech city for me to discover on my own, and with all of things I had heard about it, I was ready. We were all so tired on the bus but we ended up talking the whole way about how excited we were. When we finally arrived, a group of us just literally dropped our bags in our rooms and headed to town to meet some local Czech students that would be showing us around the city for a beer. We had fun just talking about what the semester would look like and getting to know each other.

This first week was full of tours, history, orientation meetings, sight seeing, welcome parties, food, beer and one very fun Olomouc style pub crawl. I think Taylor and I, my roommate and partner in crime, finally unpacked our suitcases just a couple days ago. We just wanted to see and do everything., including learning about the city from our professors and leaders, but also from the locals. We definitely love the nightlife in Olomouc. It's been a blast. The students here are so welcoming to us, it's so fun getting to know them and asking them questions about their lives and for advice.

Where I have class!

View of the town square from the town hall

The cathedral

Taylor and I at Holy Hill Basilica

Dr. Pepernik giving us a tour of the city

Olomouc, as a city, is a such a gem. I think there is something to be said for the fact that aren't many tourists and hardly anyone speaks English. I feel like I am getting the real Czech experience. As beautiful as Prague is, if you don't ever get off the beaten path, you are never challenged to learn the language or the locals. Olomouc feels authentic to me, and I really like that. And it's incredibly cheap. We can eat huge Czech meals at nice restaurants for about $6. A taxi home to our dorms costs about $2. And the lunch specials are amazing! Pivo, soup, and a main course for about $4-5. It's insanely cheap here.

This first week was incredibly fun, and I can already feel myself settling into this new home of mine. I feel like I already know the city. With the help of the locals, I have discovered cafes, restaurants, and pubs that have become my favorites. I can't wait to keep exploring this city and immersing myself in the culture for the next three months. I already know that I'm going to come home 10 pounds heavier, but I don't really care. "Do the thing you are supposed to do in the place you're supposed to do it". Here, that means lots of pork and potatoes.

But in summary, I am glad I have experience with the culture in the Czech Republic and in Europe. I have my family to thank for that, because duck, sauerkraut, and dumplings is served at every family Christmas. I love the food, the people I have met, and I haven't really had any problems or too much of "shock". Last summer with my sister really helped with that. I haven't had any major problems with the trams or currency, and I even know a few of the Czech dishes when there is no English menu, which is pretty often here. I knew coming back to the Czech Republic that I would feel comfortable. 

I really look forward to learning more during my time here. Jan and Martin are extremely knowledgable about every topic you could want to know, and so far the Czech language class has been difficult but fun. The classes have been interesting and we have been having a lot of fun this first week in Olomouc. I am so glad that I chose to come back and can't wait to see what this semester in Olomouc brings!

Taylor and I at an Irish Pub called The Black Stuff on St. Patty's day! 

We eat way to many late night kebabs, but they are delicious here!

This pub crawl was on the syllabus I swear!

This was a really sweet vintage market in Olomouc. I got a vintage jewelry box and a jean jacket for about $4. I love how cheap everything is here!