Spring Break pt. 1

April 19, 2018

Spring Break pt. 1

**DISCLOSER! I WROTE THIS LAST WEEK!**

I started writing it on Thursday, April 12th after Vienna on our way to Venice! When I talk about going to the winery in Znojomo that was April 7th! Hope you all love it, I can't wait to write about the next party of Spring Break!

Dobry Den!

It’s been awhile since I’ve written to all of you! We are currently on a bus driving through the Austrian Alps on our way to Italy. We spent the last day and a half in Vienna on the first leg of our Spring Break that’s beautifully two weeks long.

We started our journey Tuesday morning and when we arrived in Vienna, we checked into our hostel and ventured out. Our professor, Jan (pronounced Yahn), brought his 13-year-old son who is just the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. He loves to tell us stories and count us at every stop we make (I think his dad as told him stories about how we like to venture off and get lost from the group…).. But it keeps him busy. We walked down one of the main streets in Vienna and down to the Hapsburg Castle where they have the crown jewels and jewels known to Vienna that date back to Medieval and Roman times. The detail that went into the gowns and the precious jewels would blow your mind… And the weight and thickness of some of the cloaks would be enough to make someone sweat in the middle of a -30 Nebraska winter. We walked by the Opera House and into the Cathedral of St. Stephen (I have yet to see one that beats Notre Dame, just saying). It was interesting to see the different stained glass because the detail nor color was very extravagant like the others.. During the war, they were all broke out so the detail wasn’t put back in they just filled in the windows with sub-par, pastel, square glass. I guess you have to do what you have to do! We got to walk through museums, art & natural history, got to see the white stallions that are still trained and ridden by royalty in the Hapsburg Castle to this day and while walking down a street, I ran into my cousin… Oh and this morning when we were leaving, a girl fell down the concrete, winding staircase, sprained her ankle and so we got to spend time in the Vienna ER! You can’t make this stuff up… (She’s okay, no breaks, they’re pretty sure some torn ligaments but they obviously wouldn’t do surgery here so she’s in a brace until she can get home to see the extent of her injury and decide if she needs surgery..). Thank goodness for our patient, dad-like, professors!

Running into my cousin was pretty surreal and I have to laugh every time I think about it. Our whole class was just walking along and I saw someone in front of us move out of the way and I caught a glimpse of the side of her face and said, “Taylor?” and sure enough! You can almost hear the girly-screams of joy! My class was entirely confused and concerned.. I knew she was in Europe staying in Prague with her uncle on her mom’s side and knew she had been in Vienna but didn’t know if she still was, but still, what are the odds that we’d be on the same street at the same time?! We got supper together that night and got to catch up! Discovered that we are going to be in all the same places about a day apart, of course, but the last free weekend I have in May before I come home, her parents will be in Prague so I’ll get to go stay with them! Which is exactly what I’m going to need! So exciting!!!

While in Vienna after we got all of our mandatory sights seen, my grandpa raved about the Schonebrunn Castle and since it was 70 degrees, I had to go see it! I talked some others into going with me and I got to navigate another metro, honestly one of my favorite things to do – I always feel so accomplished lol. We didn’t pay to go inside of the 1400 room castle because we’re already broke and Euros suck, so we opted to walk around the mile-long gardens and trek to the top of the hill behind the gardens that overlook Vienna.. WOW! No wonder it was my grandpa’s favorite place! The flowers hadn’t bloomed yet and they were doing a lot of renovation to the different fountains but it was still breathtaking.. I wish we could have gotten to see more of Vienna but I guess I’ll just have to come back.. I really say that a lot lol!

Like I said, we’re currently driving through the Alps and sorry, Colorado, these mountains blow ya out of the water. So many valleys, streams and little fairytale towns. If we just drove through the mountains the rest of the trip I would not be mad! I wish I had the money to get to Switzerland but I guess I’ll unfortunately have to come back there, too, someday! Haha!! I’m so excited to be in Italy! Our first stop is Venice for a day and a half and then we disperse on our own for a week. Abbie and I will be traveling to Rome where we’ll meet up with her mom, grandma and aunt, stay there for a day and half and then fly to Athens for a day and then onto Santorini for a few days! To say I’m excited is an understatement. Be prepared for far too many pictures!

Not to jump around time-wise but last weekend is worth mentioning, too. Many of us stayed in Olomouc because we were leaving for spring on Tuesday so we didn’t want to be rushed to get laundry done, etc. Our “host mom” Tereza planned a weekend in the Czech for us so we weren’t bored.. Friday after class some went on a beer tasting tour and Saturday some of us went on a wine tour in a little town called Znojmo! Gorgeous views and gorgeous weather! Although I learned for too well that my dairy allergy is a real thing and it’s starting to get the best of me so no more gelato for me… Let’s all cry together. Getting to see the underground tunnels where people lived in the Medieval days was kind of creepy! When you’re in a situation that calls for those matters I understand you’ll do whatever it takes to survive but wow, I was claustrophobic. We went to a castle that overlooked the valley and it was incredible.. That view is what comes to mind when I think of old-Europe. The wine tour itself hit all my expectations from the old, underground cellar where they kept the wine to the tasting itself. It was the perfect weekend treat!

To do a little country/city count, this is where I have already been:

United Kingdom

London

Oxford

France

Paris

Czech Republic

Prague

Olomouc

Znojmo

(MANY more cities to come!)

Germany