Final Post for Class-What I Wish I Would Have Known

It wasn't too long ago that I was sitting in my room reading posts just like this one preparing for my experience in the Czech Republic. Sadly, my time is coming to an end and I'm going to do my best to sum up what I've learned in the past 3 months!

Packing and Traveling:
Packing was a struggle. Trying to fit my entire life into 2 suitcases and a book bag was very stressful, but I've learned that I can live with much less than I thought! I'm actually happy with the amount of clothes I brought- if anything I would have packed a few less outfits, but I do not regret packing two coats. The weather stays cool here a lot longer than I thought it would- I even bought an extra coat while here. As far as linens go, I bought a towel when we arrived, and the bedding was provided in the dorms and every hostel we stayed at. I almost wish I would have brought a blanket from home, but it took up too much room.

If I have grown in any way since being in Europe, it would have to do with my sense of direction. Throwing myself into unfamiliar cities has been a great experience, and I recommend seeing as much as possible. There are a few apps that helped me out quite a bit while traveling. One of the apps was trip advisor which has great suggestions for things to do and places to eat in various cities. Another great, life saving app is city maps to go. Before a weekend trip, I would download the map of that city. I could type in a place I wanted to go, and the map would show me where I was and where my destination was- it worked great, even without wifi. I would also recommend using the student agency to book transportation. They speak English, and the prices they offer are some of the cheapest we've been able to find. I did not plan a single side trip until I was already in the Czech Republic. Most trips don't need to be planned too far in advance, but I would recommend having a general idea of where you would like to go and what you would like to see.

I could recommend almost every place we've visited here. Each place is so unique, and we managed to have fun regardless of where we were. All of the trips taken as a group are great, but I also encourage traveling in small groups when you have free time. Budapest would be my #1 recommendation thus far. There is a great deal to do there, the town is beautiful and interesting, and it caters to a younger population. I would go back to Budapest in a heartbeat. I also recommend seeing as much as you can during spring break. A group of us backpacked through Italy. Although it was exhausting moving from place to place, we were able to see quite a bit. Italy is a great place to travel in general. Other than that, you really can't go wrong. I think it just depends on how much money you want to spend and how much time you want to spend traveling.

Social Life:
Unfortunately, we didn't meet too many students from the Czech Republic. One of our teachers, Martin, helped us by setting up a meet and greet with some Czech students. Other than that, we were in the Erasmus group with other international students, so we had the chance to meet people from many parts of the world. We took several field trips with them, and we also got to know them by living in the dorms. Another great place to meet students is Belmoundo. Erasmus students from each country plan a party, and they are usually really fun!

We did not have a lot of free time between blogging, classes and traveling, but I enjoyed exploring Olomouc in the time we did have. We would usually go to a cafe or eat before class, otherwise I enjoyed spending time in the parks that Olomouc has to offer. If anything I regret spending a lot of time in my room- I wish I would have gone out and seen more! My biggest piece of advice is to see as much as you can see, try new things at least once!

School Work:
My academic experience at Palacky was different than the US for several reasons. We had 3 different "classes" and a blog. Our Czech language class was always with the same teacher who was very nice. That class was comparable to a regular class at UNK, and it wasn't too difficult. The class we had with our professor that came with us, Kami, was once a week. We mainly focused on the Holocaust, and it was very interesting and fairly easy as well. The other class we had was basically a different lecture on a different topic by a different professor every day. We did have several of the professors 2 or 3 times, but the topics were always different. They varied from European and Czech history to Czech culture, etc. I would have to say that the lectures were the most different compared to what I'm used to in America. The grading was about the same, and as I said earlier, the classes were very easy. This meant that our studying was never too excessive. I used the library once (which was very confusing because the language on the computers wasn't English) to print off a plane ticket.

Money and Communications:
To be on the safe side, I would recommend having about $3,000 extra when coming on this trip. This includes everything from food, to shopping and travel that wasn't included in the program. Olomouc is fairly cheap, but some of the places we visited was a bit expensive. I started out with about $300 in Czech currency and $100 in Euros, and it lasted longer than I expected. When I ran out of money, I found that pulling out cash at an ATM with my debit card was the best option. An ATM can be found almost everywhere in Europe, and they all have options for English, so I had no problems when withdrawing money. The only things I needed to buy for school were the book for class and a few notebooks. Our tram passes were covered in our tuition, and a taxi is about $5 in Olomouc. The only toiletries I needed to buy were shampoo, conditioner and body wash. They cost about the same as they do in the states, and I split them with my roommate. I was surprised at how low the cost of living is here, and I'm coming back with more money than I expected.

As far as communication goes, I would recommend Skype of FaceTime. I have also used Facebook chat a great deal as well as my email account. I can only use this when I have wifi, but I haven't run into any significant problems with getting in touch with people.

Other Tips:
I was surprised at how long the cold weather sticks around here. Its the middle of May and the temperature is still in the 50s. I would recommend packing a rain coat and an umbrella. Also plan to do a lot of walking- at least one or two good pair of shoes is a must!

Buy a converter/adapter in America, I attempted to wait and buy one in the Czech Republic, and it was much harder to find one than I thought it would be. There is not wifi in the rooms, but the university does provide ethernet cords to plug into your computer so you can still get internet.

We also had to spend extra money on cookware for our kitchen. This included a pot, pan, bowl, and several other utensils.

Top 10 Must Do Activities (in no particular order):

1. If there is a free tour offered at the places you visit, take advantage of it. We took the free tour in Prague and Budapest and learned a great deal about the city that way. You can usually find guides in the town square twice a day, and we just tipped them several dollars at the end.

2. Holy Hill in Olomouc. Take the tram to the train station then take bus 111 to Holy Hill. The church is gorgeous and so is the view!

3. Petrin Hill in Prague. This is another fantastic view. The walk up hill through the park is exhausting, but making it to the mini eiffel tower at the top is well worth it!

4. Alfredo's pasta in Venice. This is a small little pasta to-go shop tucked back from the main area in Venice. It is a little challenging to find, but the homemade pasta and sauce is the best I've ever had!

5. Crepe stand across from Cafe 87. I love Cafe 87 and recommend hanging out on the top level outside when the weather is nice, but the crepe stand across the street is amazing too! The special- strawberry Nutella was my favorite!

6. Get a Leffe at the Black Stuff with Ann Keefer. Ann is a student living in Olomouc who has done this study abroad program in the past. She had amazing advice, and her suggestions for things to do and places to go was a huge help. She usually gave us all of this wonderful advice over a drink at our favorite bar, the Black Stuff. Its a short walk from the tram stop Udomo, and Leffe is a sweet, dark beer that was one of the group's favorites.

7. Go to at least one Czech festival. On May day, there is a huge festival in the town square filled with awesome souvenirs and traditional Czech food. Plus there was a free concert!

8. Go to Budapest. I know I've said this a million times already, but there is so much to do there!! The baths are very relaxing, the ruin bars are very eccentric, the people are very nice, and the entire atmosphere of the place is great.

9. Have a croissant and day break juice at Day Break cafe. This cafe is literally a block away from Nederin (our dorms). The owner is very nice, and he makes the day break juice fresh with apples, oranges and bananas. Its delicious, cheap, and healthy. :)

10. Take the ferry in Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is a beautiful area in Italy that we visited over spring break. Taking the ferry from town to town was cheap, and it was a great way to see the beautiful landscape from the water.

The Land of the Poles

My trip to Poland started out with some unexpected news from home. On Friday morning I woke up to a Facebook message from my mom saying that she needed to talk to me- it didn't matter what time. This was very alarming, and after calling her as soon as I could (an hour before we were supposed to leave for Poland), she told me that one of my dad's best friends, Greg had passed away. My dad and Greg had been friends since high school, and many memories from growing up have to do with the O'Connell family. When my dad passed away in 2008, Greg and his family were constantly there for us, and Greg helped us out in many ways- especially when it came to dealing with our 4-wheelers and "cream puff". His loss was very unexpected, and it brought back a lot of memories and emotions. Being away from home during times like this is extremely difficult, but I learned to rely on the Lord in a whole new way. He was the strength that helped me keep it together while touring Poland. It also brings me peace to think that my dad and Greg are together once again. 

So, with a bit of an insight on what was happening in my mind while seeing everything this weekend... Our first stop was Ostrava, an industrial town in the Czech Republic. We toured Landek Park, an area with a factory that used to produce iron. When we stepped off of the bus, I thought we were on the scene of the Hunger Games. I have never been in an atmosphere quite like it; it was very strange. Before we began our tour, we also found out that we had to wear bright yellow hard hats. This made things even more interesting. I was emotionally checked out, but our guide was very nice, and the tour quickly went by. We learned a little bit about what it takes to make iron, then we were back on the road.

Sights of the industrial center. 

Our first stop in Poland was the Wieliczka salt mine. I have to be honest, when I heard that we were going to be touring salt mines for 2 hours, I was less than thrilled. This actually turned out to be one of the coolest tours we've had so far. The salt mines are over 400 feet below the ground which meant descending down many flights of stairs. Once we were at the bottom, a tour guide led us through hallways which led to various salt pockets that had been previously mined. There was salt everywhere. The floors were salt, the ceilings were salt, the walls were salt, there were even salt statues. We learned a little bit about the history of the mine and how the salt was actually mined. We also learned that there were a few churches in the salt mine where masses and weddings take place. There are also reception halls, healing salt ponds, and an area where people have bungee jumped and hot air ballooned. One of the best parts of the tour came when our tour guide told us it was acceptable to lick the walls. Yes- I licked a wall in the salt mine! After our tour, we were able to take an elevator back to the top which was much faster than the ridiculous amount of stairs! 

A salt statue in the mine. 

This breath taking church was located in the salt mine. 

A salt water pond. 

The next day we explored the Jewish area of Krakow then went to a Holocaust museum and saw the town square. Poland was also filled with sweets. My morning started out with a candy white mocha, and by the end of the day I had consumed ice cream and 3 cupcakes. In my defense, cupcakes are basically nonexistent in Europe and they were smaller than usual!

Krakow town square. 

Proudly posing with the 4 cupcakes I purchased. 

On Sunday morning, we toured the Wawel Royal Castle which included a dragon's den. It didn't quite live up to hype, but it was still neat to see. 

A beautiful courtyard in the castle. 

After our morning tour, we were free for the rest of the day, so we decided to explore a festival going on near by. Traditional food stands and vendors lined the the side walk, and the background music was the sound of children singing on a stage near by- it was very cute! We had traditional Polish food for lunch- the vendors sold Polish sausage, vegetables, potatoes, perogies, and sauerkraut. We even had waffles with jam for desert. As if the waffle wasn't enough, we found an amazing chocolate factory. The chocolate bricks were way too appealing to pass up. We were given free samples, and when we decided on a kind we wanted to buy, the woman got out a knife and hammer to break a chunk of chocolate off the brick. Like I said- Poland was filled with sweets!

A Polish food stand. 

I knew that Monday would be the hardest day of our trip. My thoughts were with everyone from back home because Greg's funeral was later in the day; we were also preparing to tour Auschwitz. Before leaving our hostel for Auschwitz, we toured Schindler's factory. In case you haven't seen Schindler's list, there was a man named Oscar Schindler who owned a factory during WWII. He was a part of the Nazi party, but he did he did save over 1,000 Jews by having them work in his factory. Although the actual factory was destroyed, we were able to walk through the building which has been turned into an amazing WWII museum. It was very realistic, and I learned a great deal. 

A collection of pots and pans manufactured in the factory. 

Schindler's desk. 

After Schindler's factory, we hurried back to the hostel to check out of our rooms and eat lunch, then we departed for Auschwitz. Trying to sum up my experience at Auschwitz is very difficult- there are no words to describe how it feels to be in such a horrible place. It was so hard for me to wrap my mind around what took place in the exact location I was standing, and it was very overwhelming. We started our tour in Auschwitz I which was a smaller part of the camp. This part of the camp held museums where we were able to see belongings of the Jews such as shoes, eye glasses, and tooth brushes. There were also many pictures that had a huge impact on me as well as an overwhelming display of hair taken from many of the victims. Auschwitz I was also the torture center where experiments were done on prisoners. We toured Block 11 which was a "prison within a prison" because the basement held starvation cells, standing cells, and dark cells. I think my mind is still trying to process everything that took place there. 

Entrance into the camp.

Cans of Zyklon B. 

The final thing we saw in Auschwitz I was the crematorium. As we walked through it, I felt very sick- especially after looking up to see the opening where the Zyklon B was poured in which would suffocate everyone inside in about 20 minutes. The next area we went to was Auschwitz II- Birkenau.   It was a few kilometers away from Auschwitz I, and the bus ride was very silent. Birkenau held many barracks and 4 crematoria. Jews were taken here my train, and they were sorted immediately after getting off the carts. Once again, this entire experience is hard to put into words. Touring this area was very draining- especially walking the same path toward the crematoria- which were destroyed before the end of the war- and the living conditions in the barracks. 

The entrance to Birkenau. 

Inside the camp. 

One of the destroyed crematoria. 

One of the buildings women lived in. 

The neatest part of the day came as we were leaving the camp. After a few hours of touring a place with so much sadness and despair, I caught a glimpse of the sky. The sun was setting, and the rays reaching through the clouds spread out over the entire camp. Seeing this gave me so much peace. Although Auschwitz is a horrible place, it is also the final resting place for over a million people, and seeing the rays coming through the clouds looked like heaven reaching for the earth.

I wasn't going to write another post until we returned from our trip to Poland, but it has been quite the eventful week here in the Czech Republic! Between classes, field trips and other explorations, the time after our spring break trip has flown by.

Terezin

The city of Terezin in the Czech Republic holds the Theresienstadt concentration camp. On Saturday, we were able to take a day trip to see the camp and a couple of museums in the town. Although this was a pretty emotionally draining day, it did start out on a lighter note. On our way to the camp, our bus stopped so we could get food. I got my McDonald's breakfast, headed back to the bus, set it on the seat, and went to the bathroom. When I got back to the bus, I sat down in my seat- completely forgetting that my orange juice was there. Yes, I sat on my orange juice. After a good laugh with everyone who had witnessed my misfortune, I ran back to the bathroom. Thanks to the hand drier I didn't have to walk around with a wet back side, but my white shirt might have bit the big one. 

 The Theresienstadt concentration camp is also known as the Terezin ghetto. Although many Jews did pass away there, it was often only a stopping point before being sent on to another camp. This was known as one of the 'nicer' camps, and it is well known for its propaganda videos and the tour that the Red Cross conducted there during the war. The Nazis did their best to make the camp look nicer than it actually was. They even dressed people in regular clothes and built wash rooms that were never actually used. 

"Work makes you free". Above a door way in the camp. 

After our tour of the camp, we went into town to visit a couple of museums. This first museum we went to hit me pretty hard. There were pillars of quotes from people who had written letters. The quotes described the conditions of the camps, and it gave a little insight into what the people were going through. There were some quotes that were very hard to read. Along with the quotes, there many belongings that were saved. One display contained identification cards of Jewish people who had passed away. Their pictures on the cards struck me the most. 

Our day trip in Terezin was very sobering, but I think it helped me to prepare for our upcoming trip to Auschwitz.

Holy Hill

After successfully making pancakes on Sunday morning, a group of us decided to explore another part of Olomouc; Holy Hill. Holy Hill is a pilgrimage sight in the Czech Republic, and the story behind the church built on top of the hill is kind of neat. A man named Jan Andrysk vowed that he would build a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary if he ever became rich. When he did become rich, he forgot about his promise, but the Virgin Mary appeared to him in a dream on top of the hill. The church is called the Visitation of the Virgin Mary, and it is extremely beautiful! 

Kromeriz

On Tuesday, we took a quick trip to Kromeriz. Kromeriz is a UNESCO heritage site, and it is only an hour away from Olomouc. Our first stop was the Baroque Kromeriz Bishop's Palace. Several scenes from Amadeus were filmed there, and it used to be the place of residence for the bishops and archbishops of Olomouc. Before we could tour it, we had to put these slippers on over our shoes to protect the floors. We all thought this was pretty funny, and I entertained myself by sliding around with them on! 

The large dining hall in the palace.  

Another room in the palace. 

After our tour of the palace, we were able to go up a tower for a view of the city. After this, we had some lunch and did some shopping. Taylor and I were also able to walk through part of the well known gardens by the palace. This didn't really help the allergies I've been struggling with lately, but it was still pretty neat to see. After our lunch break, we got ready to tour the second oldest wine cellar in Moravia which is also a part of the bishop's palace we visited earlier. I've never been to a wine cellar- honestly before this trip, I didn't know a thing about wine, but I'm not sure if it was quite what I was expecting. This wine cellar was very cool, damp and moldy- this didn't help my allergies much either! After a quick tour, we were able to sample several wines before heading back to Olomouc for class.

Taylor and I overlooking Kromeriz. 

The wine cellar- this is the less moldy area. 

A wine archive in the cellar. 

America Night

There's a club in town called Belmondo, and they work with the international students to throw parties representing different countries every Wednesday. Last night was American night, and we were all pretty excited to represent the good ol' USA. Part of the planning consisted of deciding on a welcome snack and drink; we also had to plan a midnight surprise. Our group decided on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the snack and Jack Daniel's for the drink- I don't know how good of a combination that is, but they are both very American! I enjoyed watching everyone try the peanut butter and jelly, most people were a little bit unsure about it which is very strange to me because it is so common in the US. For our midnight surprise, we decided to dance to a couple of American songs after saying the pledge of allegiance. We didn't have much practice, but we made up for our lack of organization with our enthusiasm for America. 

A group of us girls with our American gear on.

Today was a bank holiday in Olomouc thanks to the first day of May. We went to the town square which was basically transformed into a craft show, concert, and food festival all in one. I was able to find some neat souvenirs, and it was fun to take in the Czech traditions all around us. We will be taking off for Poland tomorrow morning. I've gotten too used to packing at the last minute and living out of a book bag for several days! Its also hard to believe that I will be home in a month- time has flown by way too fast here!

Spring Break 2014

7 hostels. 8 towns. 10 days. 

One pair of missing glasses, several sunburns, a Nutella explosion, and a few minor emotional breakdowns later, I managed to survive spring break 2014. Through all of the map reading, sight seeing, gelato eating, and traveling, this journey was the biggest growing experience of my trip thus far!

Vienna, Austria: On Thursday, April 10 the entire group of Nebraskans loaded a bus early in the morning. We found ourselves in a different country later that afternoon. We left our luggage at the hostel and began our exploration in Vienna where we were led down an extremely long road lined with stores and resturaunts. It seemed to go on forever, but a few of us girls did some window shopping, and I found a Milka bar in my Roo, so that helped! We finally made it to our destination... just in time for the rain to set in. After a slight change of plans, we all made a dash for the Imperial Treasury. The Imperial Treasury is basically a museum that holds a great deal of the Habsburg empire's prized possessions. When the Habsburgs lost their power, they were forced to leave all of their treasures behind. Very unfortunate for them, but lucky for us because it was neat to see! 

We had seen enough Habsburg treasure for one day, and the rain subsided, so we ventured outside to find some lunch. After lunch at a quiet little pub we found thanks to Jan (one of our group leaders), I was excited to get Starbucks. Little did I know that we would be heading to a cathedral that doesn't allow drinks inside... St. Stephen's is well known for its tiled roof, and the inside is just as beautiful. I was not about to get rid of my beloved American coffee, so I snuck it in my jacket. :) After a quick look and several pictures inside, we had the rest of the day to explore Austria for ourselves. 

St. Stephen's Cathedral

Inside St. Stephens. 

I had to get a picture to document the illegal Starbucks. 

Not so surprisingly, on the second day in Vienna, we visited a couple museums. The first museum we made it to was Kunsthistorisches Museum or the Museum of Art History in English. This was a huge museum packed with everything from an ancient Egyptian display to people practicing by painting replicas of the artwork displayed. The museum took us a great deal of the morning to get through, but a group of us found a nice place in the grass to enjoy the beautiful weather while waiting for everyone else. We ate lunch at this really cool market that Jan led us to (he seems to know all of the best places in every single town we visit). The market had cute little shops and bakeries. There was also fresh produce, restaurants, and other delicious (and not so delicious) looking foods everywhere. One of the foods that I found the most interesting/unappetizing was a huge barrel of sauerkraut. We found a restaurant in a quiet area and had some traditional winer schnitzel which is basically a deep fried piece of meat. 

The Museum of Art History

An artist who just finished her painting, I'd say its pretty close to the original!

Relaxing outside after our visit to the museum. 

After lunch we went to the Imperial Apartments, which was the residence of the Habsburgs for over 600 years. I have to admit that I wasn't able to see much of the apartments because Taylor had to register for classes that day and Molly and I didn't want her to go by herself. From what I did see of the apartments, there was a huge collection of silver which was pretty impressive. We were also able to see the Emperor's Staircase which the emperor would use to get to the apartments, so that was pretty neat! After Taylor found wifi and got her classes squared away, we had a nice little shopping trip on the way back to the hostel. I had to repack my suitcase when we got back, but it was definitely worth it!

The Imperial Apartments

A small portion of one of the Habsburgs' collections. 

Venice, Italy: A piece of my heart belongs in Italy. I absolutely fell in love when I went to visit a couple of years ago, and there are no words to describe how incredible it felt to be back. I was more than eager to say my goodbyes to Vienna, hop on the bus, and anxiously wait 7 hours to be in Venice. I almost cried tears of joy when I saw all of the boats on the water and the approaching town from the train. I never could have dreamed that I would make it back to the place where my love for travel first began. It was very surreal, and I did my best to take it all in for the second time. 

On our first day in Venice, we experienced a cartoon festival taking place outside of our hostel, the Jewish ghetto, and some of the best pasta I've ever had at a little place called Alfredo's. Alfredo's was so delicious, we even went back for supper the next day! I should also mention that it is very easy to get lost in Venice- all of the bridges and water makes everything look the same, so we definitely had to be aware of our surroundings while exploring. On our second day in Venice, we toured Doge's Palace and the Basilica of St. Mark. We also took a gondola ride which was a lot of fun!

Venice at night. 

Gondola ride with some of my favorite girls!

After our gondola ride, the time had come for 4 of us girls to break off from the group and begin our spring break adventure all by ourselves. I didn't want to admit it at the time, but I was a little bit nervous. It was also sad to say goodbye to the people that I've spent every day with for the past month, but I was ready to branch outside of the comfort zone that comes with traveling in a big group. After gathering our luggage and a bunch of hugs, we took off to the train station to print off our tickets. We planned to take an overnight train to Rome and take in as many sights as possible before checking into our hostel that next day.

Mishap #1: I had anticipated that we would run into at least one problem while on this journey- after all we were only 4 girls in a country we weren't too familiar with. After leaving Venice, we had to switch trains in Verona to make it to Rome. When the first stop for Verona came up we got off the train and realized too late that we were at the wrong stop- who knew Verona would have two train stops?! Long story short, we didn't panic and figured out how to call a taxi. We were relieved to make it to the correct train station on time.

Ali calling a taxi on the handy little phone thing they had on the street. 

Rome, Italy: I have realized that there are some places you only really need to go once in life. Rome is one of them. Don't get me wrong, Rome has some incredible sights, but two trips there in a life time is enough for me! We got into the train station very early on Monday morning. I'm very glad it worked out this way because Rome is very peaceful in the morning, and seeing the sights without so many tourists is much more enjoyable. We were able to see the Trevi Fountain (which was closed for cleaning), the Pantheon (which was neat because we were able to see it right when it opened), the ancient Roman Ruins, and the Colosseum. Needless to say, it was an extremely rewarding yet exhausting day- especially after sleeping on a train the night before!

The Trevi Fountain

The Pantheon

Ancient Roman Ruins

The Colosseum

Mishap #2: I should start this out by saying that this situation seemed much worse at the time than it turned out to be. Plus being exhausted and completely unfamiliar with the transportation in Rome didn't help. It took us about 3 hours to find out hostel in Rome... Let me rephrase that, our hostel on the outskirts of Rome. It wasn't even close to the train station. Before we began our search for the hostel, we asked a man at the information desk how to get there. We thought we knew where we were going, but we quickly realized that wasn't the case. After asking multiple people on the street, waiting for busses, going the wrong way, and getting bad directions several times, we were about to give up. We even got laughed at by a homeless woman. Finally, Ali decided to go into a business, and the man working was kind enough to look it up and print off directions for us. By the grace of God, we made it to the right place. I will admit that the hostel was pretty sketchy, but we found a nice place to eat that night (the only one around), and we made the most of it!

Our lovely hostel in Rome. 

We were able to go to the Vatican on Tuesday before taking off to our next destination. Vatican city is one of my favorite places in Rome. St. Peter's Basilica is the largest church in the world, and it is an incredibly humbling place to be. Although the line was a little longer than usual due to Holy Week, we decided to wait it out to get inside. 

St. Peter's Square

The inside of St. Peter's Basilica. This picture does not do it justice. 

We left Rome on Tuesday and found out that the pope makes his appearances on Wednesdays. This was earth shattering news for me because seeing the pope was one of the things I really wanted to do in Rome. It was kind of hard to cope with the fact that we just missed it by a day. On a happier note, we were able to see the Spanish Steps and the people's square on our way back to the train station. We were also able to see the Trevi Fountain while it was open so we could make our wishes. You could say that we were more than a little excited to get out of Rome and onto our next destination of La Spezia.

La Spezia/Cinque Terre, Italy: The train ride was awesome, and we were able to see the sea and the sunset from the window. When we successfully arrived in La Spezia (correct train station and all), we decided to head straight to our hotel for the night. 

Mishap #3: I thought we had learned our lesson from getting lost in Rome. I looked up the hotel we were staying at in La Spezia and made sure I had step by step directions to get there. Basically, we were on the right track until we weren't. Luckily, we found a pub with some nice English speaking people. The bad news was that we were much farther from the hotel than we thought we were. The good news was that they called us a cab! I will never forget the way they gathered around the door as the taxi drove away. Their faces basically said, "good luck naive American girls!"

The hotel we stayed at in La Spezia was a breath of fresh air. It was clean, the staff was friendly, and the continental breakfast made me feel at home. Our time in La Spezia was mainly filled with laziness on the beach. We took a bus to a town nearby called Lerici, and once we found a beach, we only left for food and sunscreen! 

The beautiful town of Lerici. 

After our two night stay in La Spezia, it was time to head to our next hostel closer to Cinque Terre. The Cinque Terre is made up of 5 towns along the coast in Italy. It seems to be a huge tourist attraction (especially for Americans), and each town is uniquely beautiful. After a short train ride, we were in the first town, Riomaggiore. On our stroll through Riomaggiore, we found a cute courtyard for kids to play in, several little shops with unique souvenirs, a little harbor, and a rocky beach. All of the signs advertising apartments for rent also may have got me thinking about the idea of moving there someday... 

Riomaggiore. 

Some of the trails connecting each town were closed, but thanks to a ferry, we were able to visit a couple of other towns. Everywhere I looked was absolutely beautiful, and I enjoyed walking through all of the shops and restaurants. The atmosphere was just so peaceful and relaxing! I would have loved to do more exploring, but we found a nice spot on the beach and fell asleep for a little while (rough life). Our day in the Cinque Terre was incredible, it even ended with watching the sun set over the water while eating supper. We made our way to the place our shuttle was supposed to pick us up, and we ran into Travis and Julie, a couple that is a part of our study abroad group. It was so crazy running into them, but it definitely made our day to see familiar faces!

Watching the sunset after a long day in the Cinque Terre. 

Pisa, Italy: It was heartbreaking to tear myself away from the Cinque Terre area, but Pisa was the next stop which meant we were one step closer to being back in Olomouc!

Mishap #4: I was not having a good day when we traveled to Pisa. When we arrived at the train station, the first thing we had to do was print our tickets. For some reason I couldn't find my confirmation number on my phone and the wifi wasn't working, so I couldn't look it up on my email. I was not very happy with myself. It was ten minutes before our train was about to leave and I was franticly trying to find wifi to look up my confirmation number. I remember turning to Taylor and asking her what I should do even though I knew what I had to do. Long story short, I bought another ticket, and I'm still kind of bitter about it. 

After we checked into our hostel in Pisa, we took a walk to the only thing there really is to see there: the tower. There's a wall built around the leaning tower, church and baptistry. It only took us a couple of hours to walk to this area, see it all, take our pictures, and head back to the hostel. I was more than ok with spending the rest of our day relaxing at the hostel. 

The leaning tower

Mishap #5: Rewind to the nice continental breakfast we had at the hotel in La Spezia. There were free mini Nutella packets which made me extremely happy because I love Nutella. Anyway, I may have grabbed a couple extra for the road and stuffed them in my book bag...  When we got back to the hostel in Pisa, I decided to FaceTime my mom. It had been a while since we were able to talk, so I was eager to grab my headphones and call her. I pulled my hand out of my book bag, and it was covered in Nutella. My headphones, pens, highlighters, and other miscellaneous items were not spared in this mishap. Nutella everywhere. I got it all cleaned up, but it made me like Nutella a little bit less than I did before. Moral of the story: put stolen Nutella packets in a safe place. 

We made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare, and we had no problems checking in or getting through security. Leaving Italy was pretty difficult for me. I was doing ok until we boarded the plane; then I lost it. On the plus side, I was able to see Pisa through my tears from the window of the plane!

After one long, exhausting adventure, we were so close yet so far from Olomouc. We decided to stay in Prague for the night before heading back to Olomouc in the morning. It was nice to be back in the Czech Republic. After having some time to reflect on this experience, I've realized that I now believe in myself and my navigating skills more than I did before. I also feel like I can take on anything when it comes to traveling. I'm proud of us 4 girls for successfully executing a trip with only a few minor mishaps. The Lord was definitely there to guide us through it all, and I learned how to trust Him in a whole new way! We are going to Poland this week, so stay tuned to hear about my next adventure!