...And They Lived Happily Ever After. The End.

A wise bear (Winnie the Pooh) once said, "How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard?". I have been extremely lucky to study abroad and it's difficult to thoroughly describe my endless adventures. The best way that I have come up with to describe my study abroad experience is to compare it to a fairy tale. I felt like I was in my own wonderland where nothing bad could ever happen. I had virtually no responsibilities (except trying to figure out what country we wanted to see over the weekend). I met amazing people who forced me to be a better version of me and who taught me things that mean the world to me. I will forever be grateful for every single adventure that made my study abroad experience what it was. I couldn't have asked for anything better. I don't regret a single dollar that I spent, a single tear that I cried, or a single smile that turned into a laugh; because all those little moments are what made my fairy tale purely magical.

Every place that I had the opportunity to visit gave its own little piece of magic to me. That's why it is so incredibly difficult for me to choose my "favorite place" (which is a question that I am so frequently greeted with). The truth is, I don't have a place that I can truly call my favorite. Every country and every city that I got to visit had its own personality and own dynamism which made it special to me. I loved Italy because of its complex history and impeccable food. I loved going to Ireland because we got to see the Cliffs of Moher, which was completely different than anything we had seen before. I loved Berlin because of the pristine weather and the group that I traveled with (and the giant May Day festival which was a sight to see in it of itself). And, of course, I am so grateful to be able to call the Czech Republic a home for me. It was truly the ideal place for us. I visited twelve different countries in my time abroad. But, what that really means, is that I got to immerse myself into twelve different cultures and add twelve different chapters to my story.

I have learned more in the past three months than time in a classroom ever could have taught me. I couldn't tell you the first thing about Czech history, but I could give you a list a mile long about what I learned about myself. I found that life is truly what you make of it. If you choose to be negative and only look at the downsides of things, it can and will rub off on your charisma and on the people that you surround yourself with. However, the opposite also holds true. If you are positive and have a smile on your face even in the worst situations, it will change your outlook on life. "Optimism always" is a little mantra that I continually tried to live out. I also learned to enjoy every moment that God has graced me with. Whether that means spending hours on an overcrowded train, staying up late to talk to someone, or having the time of your life rafting down a river. Every second that I have been given is a gift and I had to go half way around the world to discover that secret. Yes, I do wish that I had more of that precious time left. I do wish that I could have one more denni menu, or one more trip to plan, or one more walk home. But, I know that I also have many more moments to savor here as well. I will forever cherish my moments in Europe, but I am beyond delighted to keep experiencing this world wherever I may be.

When I first got to Europe so many days ago, I thought that it was surreal to actually be there and to jump into the next few months. However, now it feels even more surreal to be back at my home. I loved the fact that I didn't know where I was going to be or what I was going to do the next day. I adored the idea that I would be staying in a terrible hostel with some of the best people that I know, seeing monumental landmarks that some only see on their Pinterest accounts. Nonetheless, I found that I am infinitely blessed to be living the life I do here in Nebraska. As much as I thought my adventures in Europe were a fairy tale, some people dream of the simple life that I live here. Of course, I am terribly melancholic that I don't get to wake up and sit on my balcony at Neredin anymore, but I am eager to see what God has planned for me in the days, months, and years to come. My astounding adventures presented me with the opportunity to ride on my own magic carpet, fall into my own rabbit hole, slay my own dragons, and find what it truly means to live happily ever after.

View from my balcony at Neredin

Town square in Olomouc

~"It's time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I'd much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure." -Ernie Harwell

Bohemian Wonders

The Czech Republic is split into two separate regions, Moravia and Bohemia. Olomouc is in Moravia (eastern half of the country) and Prague is in Bohemia (western half of the country). However, after this week traveling through Bohemia, I have learned that there is so much more to the region than just the City of Spires.

We started our journey going to a little town called Litomysl. It was a town of about 10,000 on the border of the two regions. We started off our day by getting to roam and explore on our own for a few hours before taking a guided tour of a church/museum. This “angel church” was in the process of being rebuilt and redesigned and was just opened to the public in 2014. It was a beautiful example of incorporating modern elements into a Catholic sanctuary. Unfortunately, due to a little unfortunate weather, we weren’t able to explore much more of the city, so we went to a nice dinner instead and enjoyed one another’s company.

The second town that we got to experience was Kutna Hora. On our way, we stopped at an ossuary (bone church). Essentially, when mass graves existed, there were just people buried on top of people on top of people. So, when excavations had to be done, nobody knew what to do with the bones. They decided to make a church to commemorate the lives of those in the graves. They took the bones and made structures out of them and built a chapel on top. After our quick stop at the church, we headed into the little city of Kutna Hora. We had some free time to explore the city a little bit before our tour of the cathedral. We got a little taste of the town and got to enjoy the day before meeting at St. Barbara’s. Because Kutna Hora was a town that boomed because of mining, they decided to build a giant cathedral dedicated to St. Barbara (patron saint of miners). It was a beautiful day to see a stunning cathedral and to appreciate our second little town in Bohemia. After a quick night, we got up and took a tour of the silver mines that we had heard about. We dressed up in “typical” miners attire (white coats, hard hats, headlamps) to experience the conditions that the miners worked in. Walking through passageways that were between 40cm-120cm, we definitely got an intimate idea of just how awful mining for 9 hours a day would be.

The whole group going down into the mines

Ossuary (bone church)

Artsy picture of St. Barbara's

Saying goodbye to Kutna Hora, we hopped on the bus, once again, to say hello to Cesky Krumlov. The first stop of the day was the Budweiser (Budvar) plant just outside of the city. It was such a cool tour that we got to take. Being a supply chain management major, I loved seeing the efficient packaging line that this company has perfected. It was a logistics dream, and having the product be a beer made it that much better. We got into the cute little town and were free for the day. So, a few of us decided to find a hill to climb to see an overview of the city. After getting a tad bit lost, we asked a local and made it up to Cross Hill. There was a chapel on top of a hill overlooking the entire valley. It was all I could have asked for after being cooped up in a bus all day, the hike was great, the view was impeccable, and it was a good way to start off Cesky Krumlov. Our second day in Cesky Krumlov was also one of the best days I could have asked for to end our trip. We took a tour of the local castle and theater and got to view the history that made the little city into the tourist destination that it is today. I loved that we got to see the under-workings of the theater. It was something different that I have never really seen (or thought about) before. After our morning tours, we went back to get ready for the infamous rafting through Cesky Krumlov. It was a blast. Hands down, it was the most fun that I have had in the 87 days that I have been here so far. I loved that our whole group got to experience it together. We were all just happy to be in each other’s company and laugh together and enjoy our last adventure together.

 

View of Cesky Krumlov

Ready for a trip down the river

Bohemia was, by far, my favorite class excursion that we took. I don’t know if it was because we all knew it was the last shebang, or if it was the fact that we got to see and do so many things, or what it was. However, the Czech Republic is a beautiful country and this trip let us experience so much more of it. I am extremely grateful for all of the trips that we have been fortunate enough to take and I couldn’t have asked for a better itinerary. I also couldn’t have asked for a better way to end my study abroad program. 


~"At the end of the day, life's about realizing one's human potential. I don't know if I've realized mine, but I've certainly gone a long way towards realizing some goals and some dreams." -Linton Johnson

La Vie est une Belle Aventure

Before I really knew anything about traveling, I thought that the most important thing that "topped my bucket list" was to see the Eiffel Tower in Paris. However, now that I have been spending three months prancing around Europe, it ended up being number 11 on the list. But, nonetheless, I went to Paris for the weekend and had a magical time eating crepes and looking at the Eiffel Tower sparkle in the moonlight. 

We started our trip by taking a tram to the train station, a train to Prague, a bus to Vaclav Havel Airport, a plane to France, and an Uber to our hostel. So much public transportation that made our little weekend possible. After a few delays and mishaps, we made it to the beautiful "City of Love", and immediately fell asleep because we were dead tired and had a fun filled weekend that awaited us when the sun rose. 

The sun ended up setting its alarm too early, because our morning in Versailles seemed to jump out at us. Taking the RER (the metro system in France), we made it to the magnificent palace of Versailles. We approached the gilded gate that was once resurrected after the French Revolution and sat in awe at how massive the palace actually was. The Sun King (Louis XIV) went all out when he spent one half of France's GDP building a house for himself. We toured the staterooms and the king's rooms listening to good old Rick Steves telling us about the history of the palace as well as little tidbits about the art and decorations that surrounded us. Once we got tired at looking at all these priceless artifacts, we purchased tickets to look around the gardens. By far, the gardens were the most royal thing of the day. There were perfectly trimmed trees lining dancing fountains surrounded by the air filled with music. I felt like I was of nobility just walking through the gardens. We basked in the sun for a little bit before heading back in the the city. That night, we hiked across Paris to look at the Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) Minor Basilica. The church was phenomenal. It was placed perfectly on a hill with a marvelous view of Paris, as well as having a cozy, divine interior. When it was finally time to leave, we walked back to our Airbnb (situated approx. five minutes from the Eiffel Tower) and stopped to have a glass of wine and look at "le Tour d'Eiffel" light up for the night. 

Usually we only take pictures of things, so we decided to get a real picture of us at the gardens of Versailles

With another early sunrise, I got up and went to a little mass in French close to the city center. I met back up with the group and we started a free walking tour through the heart of Paris. We got to see famous landmarks such as Notre Dame, l'Arc de Triomphe, and the Louvre. Our tour guide had been giving tours for many years so he was excellent at explaining the history behind certain buildings and illustrating stories that accompanied the places that we saw. After the tour, our group split off to go eat and go back to see certain things that we might have missed. I went back to see the interior of Notre Dame and see what all the hub was about. Personally, it wasn't my favorite church thus far, but the impeccable stained glass was unparalleled to anything that I have seen. Afterwards, I grabbed a croque-monsieur and we just walked around Paris and got to see what the city had to offer to us. We concluded the day with going to a little Italian restaurant that was the best place that I have been to in a long while. We were immediately greeted with a "bonjour" and a high five by our cute little Italian waiter. We saw that there were Rick Steves books as decorations and our waiter said that Mr. Steves had visited a few years ago and recommended the place in his books. Our calzone and real Italian wine hit the spot and was a great last meal to have in Paris. We bought a second bottle to go and went back up towards the Trocadero to once again sit and watch the sky fall behind the most famous landmark in the world. 

L'Arc de Triomphe

Le Louvre

Paris was a city that I didn't expect. It had so many different personalities and was filled with little twists and turns that I could never have anticipated. I feel like we short suited Paris a tad bit because we only dedicated two days to the beautiful haven. Once again, it was a spectacular weekend filled with astounding people and breathtaking scenery, and I am overjoyed that I got to experience "la ville de l'amour".


~"Travel fosters human understanding, and empathy for people whose lives are unlike your own; it opens your eyes to otherness, including other cultures and religions" -Nathan Lump~

When in Krakow...

I got a text from my family on Saturday asking me which I country I was in for this weekend. Sometimes I forget that it isn't normal to be in a different country every week seeing all the tiny corners of this giant world that we live in. However, the corner that I was fortunate enough to get to see Krakow, Poland this weekend. Like every other city that I have been too, Krakow had a unique fervor about it that made everyone in our group light up. 

The first place that we visited was the Wieliczka Salt Mine just outside of Krakow. We embarked on a three hour tour (our fate was more pleasant than Gilligan's) and went down the 53 flights of stairs to actually get into the mine. We were approximately 800 feet underground when the journey began. I have never actually seen how salt was mined (or thought about it). I've been to silver and gold mines throughout Colorado, but the salt mine was a different experience. I thought it was fascinating that this was still an active mine and we only got to see 1% of  the excavation. I would have liked to actually walk through where they sill mined the salt to get the full experience of salt mining. But, instead we got to physically lick the walls. Evidently, when you are surrounded by salt all day, you just get to lick it off of the wall. We stopped and our tour guide told us that this was the most "popular" wall to taste, so we stopped and tasted what the mine was giving us. Moving on from the eating of the wall, we went down into a chapel made out of salt. There was a giant statue of Saint Kinga (patron saint of salt miners) and another statue of Pope John Paul II (former bishop of Krakow), as well as chandeliers made out of salt crystals. We finished our tour and got to take the elevator back up 800 feet to the surface and out into the bright sunny day that Poland was offering. 

Chapel in the salt mine

After a light night out in Poland, we got up the next morning and marched off to the armory, treasury, and staterooms in the castle. It was just average I suppose. I think that our group is tired of seeing the same thing over and over (yes, this is a priceless tapestry that is stunning but we've seen way too many). So the group was extremely sluggish throughout the entire tour. After we were let free for the the day, I went off with a few people in the group to grab some traditional Polish food in the vast street markets of Krakow. Since we were fortunate enough to have beautiful weather (again) we sat outside and operated on "island time" for the afternoon. One of the most memorable things about the square was the cathedral that loomed over it. St. Mary's Basilica was essentially the most beautiful church that I have ever seen (sorry St. Peter's). With vibrant colors, majestic altar piece, and a quiet adoration chapel, it was exactly what I wanted to see that afternoon. Once I drug myself out of the cathedral, we just wandered the city and tried to read the feeling and see a true Saturday afternoon in Krakow. Once it started sprinkling a little bit, we went back to the hostel to freshen up before dinner. We got to go to a beer garden in the Jewish Quarter of the city and enjoyed liters and pierogies (traditional Polish pasta stuffed with meat, potatoes, or cabbage). Fantastic meal with exquisite company. Then the night was really nothing to remember, so I won't allude any details about it.

Krakow's main square with a view of St. Mary's Basilica

 

Pierogies (traditional Polish food)

I got up, somehow, on Sunday morning and found a Polish mass to attend before we shipped off to Schindler's factory. This was an unexampled view of the Nazi regime throughout Poland. With all of our lessons and tours about the Holocaust, this was just a different way of looking at it. Our tour guide was fantastic and extremely passionate and knowledgeable about his work. He told us about the impeding Nazi party that took over Poland in just 20 short days and the "average life" from there on out. It will most definitely give me a new perspective when I watch Schindler's List again. Once our tour was over, we all boarded up the bus and set back off for Olomouc. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend. Not sure if it was the weather, the people, or simply the impeccable city that we were lucky enough to get to see, but I left Krakow with very good memories. 

~"Have nor fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefor no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence" Pope John Paul II~

What Language Am I Even Speaking?

Believe it or not, daily communication is a necessary component to our lives. When I am in America, I never truly realize how important our language is. Having everything in English and having everyone speak perfect English is something that I take for granted in Nebraska. In the past 7 weeks, I have had to deal with Italian, Czech, Polish, German, and Hungarian. Thankfully, Europeans are more educated than Americans, and most can speak at least some English. 

It was a bit of a culture shock when we landed in Rome and saw mostly Italian everywhere. It wasn't something that I had really thought about or anticipated. We quickly learned our survival vocabulary, buon giorno means hello, grazie means thank you, and vino means wine. However, as I begin to travel more, I have learned my lesson and I try to go to new countries with this survival vocabulary already down (or I just download the language in Google Translate). 

I swear that right next to this said "Benvenuti a Roma", but we took a picture with the English version

Living in Olomouc has definitely been the largest language barrier. When we travel for our weekends, we usually go to more touristy destinations and the locals are accustomed to dumb Americans and speak English rather well. However, Olomouc is not very touristy and is significantly smaller. I have, many times, walked into shops or restaurants and immediately have to apologize because I don't speak Czech, and they don't speak any English. When we order our food at restaurants, we have adopted a "point and smile" technique where we choose something random off the menu and point at it and flash a smile at our Czech waiter. 

Learning the Czech language has been quite the experience for our group. We have language class about twice a week where our professor tried her very hardest to get some Czech to stick. So far, we have learned how to count to ten, how to order food (very basics at least), and basic greetings and pleasantries. In addition to learning vocabulary, we also have to learn how to pronounce each individual word. The Czech language doesn't use the Latin alphabet. There are a few letters that have special accents that changes the pronunciation of the letter. It's been quite the experience and I feel like I'm becoming at least a little more cultured. 

This is the Czech alphabet. The letters in pink are the unique ones that change pronunciation.

One major place that I really notice the language barriers is when I attend mass. Yes, Catholic mass is the same everywhere, but I still find myself saying the wrong responses at times and not following along as well as I should be. I try to look up the readings before I go so that I might have a chance during mass. However, I generally find myself spacing off during homilies because I simply can't follow. I didn't realize that I would miss English mass so much. 

One break that we got was when we went to the United Kingdom for spring break. It was refreshing to see signs and menus all in English. I even got to attend an Irish mass and witnessed a first communion in English. It was very difficult for us to come back and have to drastically slow our speech and go back to being the "dumb Americans". However, just the little break from a language barrier did us well and we were very grateful for our native vocabulary. 

"There are no language barriers when you are smiling" ~Allen Klein

4 Countries, 3 Girls, 2 Weeks, 1 Adventure

At one point in my life, my mom told me, "You are where you are, and if not, you are somewhere else". In essence, I think she was telling me to simply enjoy my surroundings and to just be present, no matter where I am. Every place that we go is new to me. Everything that I get to experience is a new undertaking in my life. These past few weeks have been a whirlwind of emotion, laughter, reflection, and above all, adventure.

Vienna, Austria

Vienna had a sense of class to it that I have never experience before. I felt under-dressed for the entire city. Everybody seemed so elegant and to seem to have a purpose when going somewhere. There was always somewhere to be and something to do. The streets were mixed with locals and tourist alike, shopping and enjoying life. We, fortunately, had beautiful weather so there was time for us to just sit out and admire the tulips and people watch. My favorite thing that we saw was National History and Science Museum. It had a giant display of rocks from around the world (including one from Nebraska!), as well as a planetarium and fossils. I really enjoyed my (limited) time in Vienna and I hope that I will be able to make it back eventually to explore more and to see what the rest of the city is really like.

Sami and I being sassy at the Museum of History and Science

Venice, Italy

From Vienna, we took a six hour bus ride through the Alps to Venice. The views that we saw from inside our bus were phenomenal. It was a perfect time for me to listen to my music and just admire the beauty that was before me. I have driven through the Rockies numerous times, however, the majesty of the Alps can not be compared to our American mountain range. Once we finally got to Italy, we had to cross the canal to get to the island of Venice. I had never really thought that I wanted to see Venice, however, after I have experienced it I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. Every turn was a new sight to see and a new piece of the canal to look at. It was extremely easy to get lost (which we did...several times). However, it was interesting to see a city that was once one of the most important trading hubs in the Adriatic Sea. Everything had to be transported by boat or carts. The sheer work that it would have taken to build such fantastic buildings is unparalleled.

Beautiful day in Venice with beautiful people

London, England

One of our main points of interest over spring break was London. London was severely overwhelming and different from anything that I have ever discerned. There was no stopping in London. People everywhere, going everywhere, doing everything. From the tube, to the buses, to the main tourist attractions, there were people everywhere. However, we jumped right into the flow of people and saw a lot. We did a famous "Hop On Hop Off" tour through the city and got to see the Tower of London, Big Ben, the London Eye, and much more throughout the course of a day. In addition we also got to see three shows on the West End (Brianna had a big influence in this :)). They were "a phenomenon and phenomenal". My favorite thing that we got to see in London, however, was Shakespeare's Globe. Because their season is opening soon, we actually got to sit in on a rehearsal of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It brought back my acting past and playing Hermia in Blair's very own auditorium. But, after three days of seeing London and taking the Tube everywhere, I was most definitely ready to take on Ireland next.

Globe theater

Dublin, Ireland

Our flight left at 1:10, so we got up pretty early to give ourselves enough time to get to the Stansted airport, check in, and go through security. To get to the "off shore" airport, we had to take a train. But, go figure, the overhead rails were down that morning. So, we had to take a roundabout way to get to make our flight. Because the one train station was down, it backed up the entire public transport system (a supply chain and logistic nightmare). So, long story short, we missed our flight. Ryanair did not have a flight for all three of us to make it to Dublin, so we had to split up. I took a late flight that night and left Sami and Brianna to spend another night in London. When I finally got to Ireland, everything immediately started working out. It helped that all signs were in English and there was no language barrier, but I effectively made it to the hotel and then met up with Megan, Kassidy, and Holly for a Guinness and some dinner. Looking back on the day, it was easy for us to get frustrated and annoyed, but in all reality, there was no reason for us to feel that way. Everything works out in the end, and it did. By the end of the day I was happy, optimistic about Ireland, and ready to start the next day. Two highlights from Dublin were the Guinness factory where I fell in love with the hoppy beer full of flavor and happiness and the Cliffs of Moher. We took a tour to see the cliffs and I couldn't help but fall in love with the country. There is so much to see and appreciate in the country of Ireland and I was disappointed that I couldn't see more of it. We truly saw all 40 shades of green that the Irish countryside had to offer while listening to the tour guide who was the funniest person I have ever talked to. Ireland has my heart and I can actually see myself living there. I am extremely proud to call myself Irish. 

Guinness factory. I'm in love. 

Cliffs of Moher from below. Pristine weather for an immaculate sight.

The past two weeks have been full of life and have definitely added to my story that I have been writing. So much more happened than what I can portray in this short post, and I can't relay all the feelings and moments that I have lived. I know that this world has so much to offer and my study abroad experience has already showed me that I live in a box when I am in Nebraska. I am excited to see what the next chapter of this global endeavor will bring. 


"I'm an empty page, I'm an open book. Write Your story on my heart come on and make Your mark. Author of my hope, make of the starts. Let me be Your work of art, won't you write Your story on my heart."~Francesca Battistelli

Heavy Hearts and Opened Minds

When we got our updated itinerary as we arrived for our study abroad program, I was a bit upset and frustrated when I saw that one of our free weekends was replaced with a field trip to Auschwitz. Originally, we were supposed to visit the infamous concentration camp along with our trip to Krakow, Poland. However, after experiencing Auschwitz-Birkenau first hand, I am extremely grateful that we made it a separate trip. Visiting Auschwitz was an experience that made my heart heavy and hurt me in a way that I didn't know was possible. 

We first arrived in a bus on a gloomy Saturday afternoon. The weather of the day just added to the monstrosities that we were about to experience. The rain brought about a certain contemplative emotion and a feeling that made my spirits drop even further. At first, the camp looked like a tourist trap. There were moms with fanny packs and countless people with cameras, backpacks, and umbrellas. There was a lack in reverence that I expected from everyone. However, the mood completely flipped when we got through security and started walking the path that countless before would never walk again. 

As we started our tour, the first wave of emotion hit me when I saw a simple picture of Hungarian Jews being transported to the camp. Those were real people, with real livelihoods, and real feelings. In the picture, there were men, women, children who would never again have the opportunity to live. The sheer variety in emotions was something that hurt me. There was anger, sadness, confusion in every face that I saw. Mothers clinging to their babies, strangers holding each other for support. And, on top of being herded to their destiny, they had to "pose" for a picture that a Nazi had the audacity of taking. 

The next big thing that brought my heart down to another level was the "hair room". After mass exterminations, the soldiers would take the bodies and cut off women's hair to make cloth and other various amenities out of. I could barely walk into the room. I noticed that a lot of the girls that came on our trip starting to hold their hair or touch their head. It is incredibly demoralizing to take a woman's hair. It was just one of the last strikes of power that the Nazi's took advantage of. My stomach churned and my soul was crushed just to see such an atrocious sight. 

Unfortunately, we could not take photographs in this room. Picture courtesy of  LeafPile

Throughout the trip, I kept thinking, "How could anybody, morally or physically, put another human life through this kind of torture?". Maybe the German soldiers thought that they were truly the right thing. It's easy for me to jump to conclusions about each militant, but the truth is, we don't know their lives either. Maybe they had to work at the camp to save their own family. Perhaps they were a part of an "underground railroad" to help the prisoners. I can't know, and because of that, I try not to judge. The Holocaust happened. I don't know why, but I will not question why God chose to "let it happen". It is a very important part of the world's history and it needs to be remembered so that future generations can truly see what one man is capable of doing. I have to try to side with the famous quote that Anne Frank leaves us with, "Despite everything that has happened, I still believe that people are good at heart...".

~"I'm tired, I'm worn. My heart is heavy; from the work it takes to keep on breathing. I've made mistakes, I've let my hope fail. My soul feels crushed by the weight of this world. But I know that You will give me rest, so I cry out with all that I have left."~ Mike Donehey (Tenth Avenue North)