Ahoj!

Here's my update from week 4 of being abroad! I just returned to Olomouc (very, very early this morning) from a weekend in Budapest, Hungary. It was a blast. Between the Hungarian food, the natural thermal spas, the nightlife, the Hungarian wine, and the city itself, I enjoyed every minute in Budapest. We ate way too much goulash and spent an entire day soaking in the spas (it's recommended that you only stay in for 20 minutes) but it was a weekend I'll always remember and I am glad that I got to check Budapest off my list.

At the Fisherman's Bastion in Budapest

St. Stephen's Basilica

The Buda side of the Danube

We arrived late on Friday night, and immediately got checked into our hostel, which immediately was taking us out on a bar crawl. We stayed in a typical Budapest party hostel, that pretty much means that cleanliness was substituted for fun. Budapest is famous for it's "ruin bars", meaning that they pretty much turned some abandoned buildings, stores, and lots in the Old Jewish Quarter into the coolest bars I've ever been in. Most of them are multiple stories, with many rooms, and filled with vintage furniture, a DJ and a bar. Think of an entire building of flats converted into one big bar. It was so edgy and cool, I was in love. So that first night we hopped from ruin bar to ruin bar with everyone that was staying at our hostel, mingling and just having a great time.

On Saturday, we got up early, hit the free walking tour (a must for every city) and spent the day exploring. We learned the history, saw some beautiful sights, and took everything in. We had delicious Hungarian food, Hungarian wine, gelato (lemon basil and elderberry flavored :)) and just truly enjoyed the city. That night, we had once again more Hungarian food, and headed for a boat tour on the Danube. I had constantly heard from others that Budapest at night seems like a completely different city. If Budapest wasn't the prettiest city during the day, at night, it was completely captivating. All of the buildings and bridges were lit, and it was absolutely gorgeous. It was at night that Budapest was just extremely beautiful.

St. Matthias Church on Castle Hill

I loved the architecture of this one. Budapest has a lot of Turkish influence which is the style of the roof.

Me lovin' Budapest

A cute cafe outside of the National Theatre.

Some champagne at the start of our Danube River cruise.

The Budapest Parliament building all lit up at night. Gorgeous!

On Sunday, we headed for the spas. Another absolute must in Budapest. We spent the entire day just hopping from pool to pool, enjoying the steam rooms and sauna, and soaking up the sun for the first time since we've been here! That's one thing I do miss, sunshine. The weather in Budapest was wonderful. We spent our last night at a really nice restaurant, just enjoying dinner and company, and then we headed to the town square and drank some Hungarian wine for our last night in Budapest.

Szechenyi Thermal Baths

We had the BEST Hungarian dinner our last night. I had goulash, and this dish, which was goose, goose liver (surprisingly delish!) and vegetable risotto. Paired with some Hungarian wine, of course!

As much as I am enjoying our weekend excursions and day trips, I also love my daily life in Olomouc, and truthfully miss "home" when I am away on the weekends. Taylor and I love our little flat, and our flat mates are extremely nice as well. One girl is from Spain and the other from Italy. We also have a lot of fun here during the week, and there is always a lot going on on weeknights as I think most students travel on the weekends.

I also really enjoy the classes as well. Truthfully, most of them make me wish I had been a history major. Our lecturers are always incredibly intelligent and you can just tell that they are excited to share their specialty with us. While all of the courses are based Central European history, we have had courses in economics, government, religious history, and many more topics. I think what keeps me so interested in each topic is simply the fact my ancestors experienced everything that we discuss. I constantly find myself thinking about my Grandma and her parents during our lectures. We watched a wonderful documentary about a man that is rediscovering his Czech roots and I was just fascinated about how closely it resembled the stories I have heard and now the villages I have seen in the Czech Republic where my own ancestors came from. Aside from the fact that this man's father was a wealthy Czech politician, whereas mine lived in tiny villages and sought better opportunities in America, rather than leaving because of oppression.

But truthfully, I think that is why I love being here. I love the food and the culture, because I have a little bit of it at home. I am just fascinated by everything, and learning all that I have about the Czech Republic really puts a lot into perspective for me. I now understand why my Czech ancestors settled in Nebraska, and I now understand why my family loves their Czech culture so much. It's truly something to be treasured. These four weeks have been everything I imagined. Now, they just need to stop going by so fast! We are going to Auschwitz in Poland this weekend, and then I am meeting Thea in Prague for dinner and the opera on Sunday!