B & B

Like I said in my last post I promised a couple more posts about my continued adventures.  Last I left you guys off at myself leaving for Budapest.  Budapest is by far one of my favorite places that I have been to yet! The atmosphere of the area was a younger, unique vibe.  The vibe I actually get from a place like Boulder, Colorado.  On our first night there we actually hit up some street food and checked into our hostel.  This night was pretty chill due to that we were exhausted from traveling all day.  The next day we were sure to get up and moving at a decent time in the day and see what Budapest had to offer.  We went in and joined a free walking tour, which I highly recommend.  (if you haven't picked up yet, the free walking tours are the way to go.  You learn all of the history and only have to tip your tour guide).  During the tour we learned that Budapest is actually broken up into two different sides by the Danube River.  The sides are divided by the Rich side (Buda) and the modern side (Pest).  No worries, we visited the Buda side and checked out the views they had to offer. On the Pest side we experienced everything that I wanted to do.  We went to a tea house called Sirus and it honestly was like Alice in Wonderland mixed with Narnia.  the had little nooks for you to sit everywhere!  Our group had no issue with taking our shoes off and taking in the atmosphere.  We actually were just being really goofy and playing around for majority of the time, but it was what made it a blast. 

We then went and checked out the ruin bars at night.  The ruin bars were actually brought to Budapest around the year 2000.  These bars consist of the most random things you can think of.  For example we went to the #3 bar in the world and they had about 7 bars designated for individual drinks.  One bar sold only shots, one sold only beer, another sold only mixed drinks, and so on and so on.  Each bar had its own room, so they each had their own theme.  The wine bar had an outside theme so they made a tree out of old chairs and on the other side they had topless cars for you to sit inside of.  One bar was made up of old computers everywhere!  I know this is very hard to comprehend, but it is as if they took everything from multiple garage sales and made a huge bar out of the random stuff. 

The next day part of our group went to the baths.  The baths originally were used for everyone to come and take a bath in to wash up.  Now the baths are a huge tourist site for people like us to go and relax in.  This bath was just one huge hot tub that we honestly couldn't get out of.  the nice thing about the baths is that it isn't chlorinated so by the time you were done relaxing (A.K.A. when they closed down) you didn't smell like you were just bleached. 

This trip was absolutely one of my favorite trips hands down.  The time spent there was too short and I wish I could've extended it.  But we had to make it back in time for our next and last school trip to the Bohemia side of the Czech Republic.

Our first stop was to Kutna Hora.  In this town we went into a church/cemetery for those that died during the Black Death.  This was one of the coolest places that we visited because the entire inside was made out of human bones.  The church started out with 6 pillars made out of the skulls, femurs, pelvis, and other parts of the human body.  They then took two of those pillars down and created words, the crest, and a chandelier for the public to see.  The Chandelier is made out of every bone in the body.  This was awesome to look at because of my major I knew what bones I was looking at and could identify the differences between all of them. 

Afterwards we stopped into the silver mine.  I wish I had pictures to show you, but it was very dark and small inside the mine.  we all had to wear white jackets and hard helmets just like the miners did and I might say I was happy we had to wear them.  The miners had to wear white because it was the cheapest and they could see white better in their light condition than any other color.  The hard helmet was just used for protection.  When we went through I couldn't tell you how many times I hit my head.  The spaces we had to squeeze through were so tiny.  If you are claustrophobic then this was not the tour for you. 

We then went inside of a church, honestly all I looked at was the architectural structure of the ceilings because the way they were designed was perfect for the ceiling to not collapse. On the outside of the church They had pillars that looked like decorative pieces except they were to also help with the structure of the building to not collapse. 

On our next adventure we went to the "real" Budweiser plant.  The reason I put the quotation marks around the word real is because the plant that we have in the United States isn't the same brand.  Budweiser actually started in the Czech Republic and two employees moved to the states and took the idea from them and started a Budweiser.  The difference is that the Budweiser in the Czech is called Budweiser Budvar.  This beer is shipped into the United States, but is always mistaken as the American brand.  When in reality they are two completely different recipes.  A lawsuit happened and took many years for it to clear up over the name.

We then hopped on the bus and took off for Czesky Krumlov.  When we stepped off we honestly thought we had stepped into a fairytale land.  The rolling hills were beautifully green and all of the shops look like they came out of a Disney movie.  We toured a the castle here.  I learned that bears were actually used to protect the castle instead of crocodiles like everyone things of.  They family that first lived in the castle captured a bear and decided to use it for protect.  Though every now and then they would shoot a bear and stuff it for decoration in the castle.  This meant that they always needed to replace the bears to protect the castle.  They said that one time a drunk person climbed into the habitat and got attacked by one of the bears.  Now they have set a law that no more bears can be replaced inside due to the danger in humans.  DUMB.  Anyways, the castle has a theater and we were able to go inside and see how they used to do their performances.  They would do scene changes in about four seconds, which is very impressive. 

On our next day we ended our trip with a rafting trip.  This rafting trip was a perfect way to end our study abroad adventures with all of our friends.  We drank and some great laughs.  The laughter will not stop anytime soon because we are going to Barcelona!  Watch out for some/serious beach bumming. For now I am peacing out for the night, loves!

Q&A

For my final grade in this class we are supposed to answer questions to help the program grow and to help those who are wanting to study abroad in the future.  Don't worry this is not my last blog post! I will do two more blog posts before coming home.

Here we go!

Packing and Traveling

Specifically what kind of linens do you need to bring?
- I did not bring any linens with me.  They are provided at every hostel and in your dorm room.

What are you glad you packed from home?
- I am glad that I packed a lot of neutral colors because you can mix and match them with just about anything.  I am also glad that I packed a towel with me.  I bought one of the travel REI microfiber towels and it is perfect to fit in my backpack for any trip that we take.  I bought a good pair of shoes before I came and those I am also glad I brought with me.

What do you wish you would of left home?
- I would of left one of my sweaters home and a skirt home.  The reasoning is because we were told that we would have rain and snow a lot here.  When it is been super nice and sunny. 

Do you have any travel tips to pass on?
- Whenever you are planning a trip on your own go to Student Agency and check on their prices first.  Normally they are going to be your cheapest and easiest option.  Remember to always screen shot your confirmation number or code.  you don't always have wifi everywhere, so you cant check your email like you would in the states.

What places do you advise future students to see and why?
- Go to La Spezia in Italy!!!  It was the perfect place to go and lay on the beach all day long.  you can also take a tram or bus to one of the Cinque Terre villages for a day.  The people were nice and the food was amazing.  I am going to Budapest and Barcelona in the next week, but I heard that Budapest is a must do as well. 

Social Life

How did you meet students from your host country?
- I met a lot of students from the Czech by attending one of their group fun meetings.  A group of us Americans went and drank wine with them and learned more about their culture and what the cool things to do around Europe that aren't touristy.

How did you like to spend your free time and why?
- I spent a lot of my free time hanging out with the friends I have made here.  We normally go out to a bar, coffee house, or stay in and chill.

What opportunities for social, recreational, and cultural events that the host university or program offered did you like the best and why?
-  The university put on a sports day for all of the students.  We could attend any class we wanted to for free.  My friend Julie and I went to a class called dance yoga and had a blast! I recommend everyone who comes to the Czech to see what they have to offer for sports day next year.

What piece of advice would you give to future students regarding their non-academic life while overseas?
- Don't be afraid to go on a random tram and see where it goes.  Enjoy every second over here and do things that you want to do.  You don't always have to stick side by side with the people in your group.  Go out and meet people from other countries and do stuff with them.

School Work

How did your academic experience at Palacky differ from your US experiences concerning...

Relations with professors/classroom instruction?
- The classes are all different.  We had a different professor for a lot of lectures.  So it is not like the school we are used to in the states.  Although, it was still really good classes and were at great times. 

Grading?
- Same as UNK, nothing different.

Study Habits?
- Studying wasn't bad at all.  Just have to do the work they say and you will be fine!

Money & Communications

How much money in US currency would you recommend students to have at their disposal for their whole time overseas?
- I brought over around $4,000 and that is the perfect amount.  you still have to budget, but you can still have a good time.

How much money did you have in foreign currency when you left for the program and was it enough?
- I brought over about $250 dollars in korun over.  I liked it because I didn't have to go to an ATM or a currency exchange place immediately.  I was able to enjoy my time before freaking out if I had enough money on me.

How and where did you access your money?
- I always checked my account through wellsfargo and just used an ATM around Olomouc to pull out cash.  I always pulled out the max I could pull, since I was getting a $5.00 ATM fee.

How much money did you spend on books, school supplies, food, entertainment, local transportation, travel, toiletries, airfare, laundry?
- I spent majority of my money on all of these items, but for school supplies I recommend bringing over a couple of notebooks and pens.  They are expensive here, for the quality they are.

-Food: I cannot tell you specifically how much I have spent on food, but cheap meals are available around Olomouc.  When I would shop at Globus I would spend about $20 a week maybe every week and a half.

-Laundry: I did my laundry at a Laundromat across the street from our dorms.  The guys name is George and he is so nice!  To wash your clothes it cost $5.00 and to dry them it costs $2.50.  This includes laundry detergent and free wifi, which is huge.  I brought a clothes line with me so I could hang dry the stuff I didn't want to be put in the dryer.

-Everything else:  I went to places like EuroRail for trains.  AirBnb, HostelWorld, and Booking.com for places to stay.  Momondo and TripAdvisor for flights.  Use Student Agency if you can!

How did you communicate with the US?
- I kept the phone I have (iPhone) and turned off all my data.  I text people through imessage. Call people through FaceTime Audio.  And Face to Face through FaceTime.  You need wifi to access all of these things, but we have all survived just fine without a phone plan.  I know one person bought a sim card for their phone, but I have been perfectly fine with the wifi.

Tips
- 1: bring an umbrella
  2: waterproof everything you bring
  3: you can buy shampoo and stuff here so don't worry about packing it.
  4: download ConnectifyMe on your computer to turn it into a hot spot.  (It doesn't work on Macs though!)
  5: buy a Europe converter power strip.  We use the one I brought for all of our stuff.
  6: carry a map on you at all times.  CityMaps2Go works on your phone without wifi.

Top Stuff To Do
1: Go to Café St. Angelo, they give you the most coffee for your money and they are super nice.  I go almost every single day. (:
2: gyrodikos delivers for free to your dorm.  It is like Jimmy Johns, but I feel like it might be better.
3: When in Venice, Italy go to Alfredos!  The best to go pasta I have ever had.  Also ride a Gondola, you have to.
4: In Krakow, Poland eat at Momos they are a vegan place, but a group of us went multiple times.
5: Attend the Erasmus parties, they are a blast.
6: Drink at Black Stuff.  They have my favorite beer "Leffe" and amazing wine
7: Go to a Vinoteka.  They are everywhere.  you can try whatever wine you want that they have on tap and when you find one that you like they fill up a one or two liter bottle up with it for you.  When you drink it then you bring the bottle back and you get a discount.  I got 2 liters of wine for $4.00 and it was super good.
8: Enjoy every moment possible.  Make memories for yourself.  Make mistakes and take chances.  Live it Up.

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Like I said before.  I will blog again no worries!  I will keep you posted up till the day I land.  For now I need some shut eye for I have a Czech Language final tomorrow and I leave for Budapest! Night!

A heartbreaking memory one could never forget.

As I said in my last blog, this post is going to be super depressing as we visited Terezin and Poland this past week and a half.  We took a four hour bus ride to Terezin not knowing what to expect.  We have learned a lot about Terezin in our time being abroad.  Terezin used to be a ghetto for the Jews and then later on turned into a concentration camp/ghetto.  This concentration camp did not only hold Jewish inmates, but also important political figures.  The camp was were majority of the propaganda videos were filmed, to make it seems as if the Jews were living in a great environment.  They also used the camp for when the Red Cross would come in and give the approval that everything looked fine and healthy. 

 This is one of the rooms that the Nazi officials built just for the Red Cross to see.  The room was a fully functioning barber shop.  The Jews were never allowed inside of it though.  Once the Red Cross came in, took a look around, and left, the Nazi officials locked this room up so nobody would ever actually use it.  Now I could tell you many stories about what happened in Terezin, but one has just stuck out to me.  Three men actually escaped Terezin successfully.  These men were smart and jumped into the canal while it was raining, therefor the rain would cover up their tracks.  The Nazi officials went to go look for them, but they were never found.  For all anybody knows they could still be living.  Aside from these three lucky men who made it out from Terezin a couple of others did not have as much luck.  Three other men tried to escape at night.  One was caught and shot while climbing over a wall. Another was caught running outside of the wall, brought back in, and was asked to choose a random soul to be shot with them.  Even though the other person did not do anything wrong.  The last was pulled back inside as well.  The Nazi official told the entire cell to stone him till he was dead and if they did not do what he said then they would be shot.  I understand this all is pretty sickening, but this was nothing compared to Auschwitz.

 On a happier note a couple of days later we took a day trip to the home of where the Duke once lived.  We had to wear these weird slippers over our shoes so we could preserve the floors... I had this theory that they just wanted us to wear them so we could polish the floors for them and they didn't have to do it. (:  Anywho,  after the home we made our way down to the winery.  This winery is the second largest winery in the Moravian region of the Czech Republic.  We were able to see where the wine is made and were able to do some wine tasting of what they had to offer.  The walls were absolutely disgusting.. They had mold growing all over them, but this was a good thing for those that worked in the winery because mold meant the proper amount of moisture and the proper temp. to store the wine.  My favorite wine that we tried was a Sauvignon Blanc. 

A couple of days later we took of for our trip to Poland.  This trip was a five hours bus ride, so we got plenty of sleep in for the day.  Our first stop was to an iron industrial distribution center.

This is called the elephant.  The elephant is a dust collector to put into easy terms.  It basically makes sure that the iron is clean. 

This is the inside of a furnace that was once used to heat the iron.  No worries! The furnace is non functioning and is only used for tours now.  After the industrial distribution tour we set off for a salt mine.  Poland is known for three things Vodka, Pirogues, and Salt.  I was able to take a tour of the inside of a Salt mine that used to be fully functional.  The floors were salt, the ceiling was salt, the statues were salt as well!  I only have one picture because we weren't allowed to take any.

 

Julie and I captured our moment of licking the actual walls.  Sure was salty and was something we needed to cross off our bucket list.  The next day we went to a castle.  The castle wasn't as cool as I thought it was going to be.  It honestly just looks like all of the other ones we have seen so far.  The only part that was different was that we saw a dragon dungeon.  A place that they believed a dragon once lived. 

On our last day in Poland we went to the Schindler's factory.  Schindler was this amazing man who took in thousands of Jews to work for him.  If you don't know the story I will give you some detail.  Mr. Schindler is a part of the Nazi Party and figures that we can start his own business in enamel wear for very cheap because he can hire the Jews and not pay them in money.  He would pay these employees in items for them to trade or eat or keep for themselves.  as he starts to build his business ad as he realizes what is going on he starts to hire more Jews to try and protect them.  He built the Jews their own barracks and order the guards to never step foot into it.  He then started to build weapons for the Nazi army, but purposely made them inactive.  This way the guns wouldn't shoot when they wanted them to kill a Jew.  I watched a small film in his factory when we visited and the Jews said that this was like a haven compared to what others were living in. 

This museum was one of the best put together museums that I have ever been into.  Mr. Schindler was a great man and I recommend visiting his factory if you ever have the chance too.  Later that day we made our way to Auschwitz.  Please bare with me as this is one of the most heartbreaking places I have ever been to.  Auschwitz had 3 main camps.  The torture center, killing center, and industrial center with 45 other satellite camps around.  We visited Auschwitz one and Auschwitz two Birkenau.  when we first walked through the gates Arbeit Macht Frei my heart sunk.  This means work makes free. 

Our first stop was in one of the barracks to see some of the left over items that they have found after the war.  they had rooms filled of shoes, little kid shoes, glasses, pots, brushes, and the one that got me the most was hair.  I wish I could show you a picture, but out of respect nobody took a photo of the hair.  I still remember seeing one little girls braid in the mass amounts and all I could think to myself is why...  Around the corner we saw what they used a lot of people's hair for.  they used the hair to make rugs and blankets out of.  Just thinking about this makes me sick.

We then made our way to the torture poles and execution wall.  The Jews would get undressed have their hands tied behind them and then hung them by their wrists till their arms were dislocated.  Now if you don't know already those that were handicapped were inable to work and were the first one killed.. These people that they tortured were now labeled as handicapped and were sent to the execution wall or gas chamber.  The execution wall was where a Jew stood up staring at the wall and was shot with one bullet in the back of the head.  The wall is now a memorial for all of those who died there.

Our next stop was to the place where Rudolf Hoss was hung.  He tried to flee after the war, but was caught and hung right next to the gas chambers where he killed millions of Jews. 

This is the inside of the gas chamber.  I couldn't spend much time inside because I just felt sick to my stomach about what went on inside.  In these gas chambers they would pour a chemical called Zyclon B from the top of the chamber to the inside.  The chemical caused the respiratory system to shut down and suffocate them.  One can equals 700 Jews.  now after you see the pictures you can see many cans that are empty.. 700 Jews per one can, I still cant get over it.

We then moved on to the killing factory in Birkenau and it wasn't what I thought it was going to look like.  Majority of the camp is non existent because the Nazi officials didn't have an escape plan when the war ended.  They tried to blow up the gas chambers and barracks to get rid of the evidence, but instead it just made a mess.  The hardest part was seeing the railroad tracks coming into the camp and to see the actual cart of where they were stuffed in.  All in All Auschwitz is something that I believe everyone should go to witness, but it is one place that I will never visit again.  It is hard for me to think that these tour guides work where main people were killed and tortured and that somebody has to come in and mow the lawn where main Jews died.  I just pray that something like this will never happen again and I hope that those who where killed here are now in peace.

Now I could say much more, but I feel like my post is already super depressing.  Be on the look out for my final for the blog.  It will be me answering main questions like what was my favorite things and what I wish I would have done differently.  No worries though it wont be my last one.  I still have many other adventures to come and tell you about!