One last Hoorah! - Bohemia & Ireland
I've dreaded writing this blog... It's been two weeks since we all parted ways and I've been home for a week and a half now. If you've been following me & my blog this far, thank you! Thank you for all of your encouraging words, kind notes, letters, comments, etc. It's been a wild ride and my last two trips were the perfect ending to a wild three months!
Our last class trip was around a portion of the Czech Republic called Bohemia. We made several stops to several different little towns where we saw more museums, churches and castles and toured the official Budweiser factory, yes it's actually Czech. Our first two nights we stayed in an actual HOTEL (we felt like royalty) in Kutna Hora, an adorable little fairy tale town. It was quiet and quaint and the rain only added to the fairytale vibe! The Czech Republic should be known for the views it gives overlooking their towns, they're incredible.
The next two nights we stayed in Cesky Krumlov on the little island that is surrounded by the river and a castle that dates back to Medieval Times (I really apologize I can't ever remember all the dates of everything....). This city is like the Venice of the Czech! Full of tourism but it's too beautiful to not be! When we arrived in Cesky it was raining the hardest I've seen it rain since I lived in Alabama and instead of waiting until it stopped, we trudged through it when we should have taken a boat.. We were all laughing by the end but even the clothes inside our bags were soaked!
We toured the Bone Church and it's exactly what you think. I felt like I woke up in either a nightmare or an Indiana Jones movie - terrifying! The section of the church made with all the bones came from those who were buried in mass graves after they died of the plague, around 6,000 people make up the exhibition. We got to tour the castle, one of the oldest theaters in Europe, the church and toured the city on our own. Bre and I had a small photo-shoot, naturally, because after the rain stopped the light was perfect.
Our last day there our professors turned us loose on the river to go on a rafting trip without a guide - I start laughing all over again just reliving the experience. Only two of the 21 of us had ever been rafting before and without a guide to turn the raft, we basically turned in circles the whole way down the river because we couldn't all row at the same time. Annie also turned 21 that day ssooo it was a hoot to say the least. Yelling was involved, splashing, the guys had their own raft and sang, "99 Bottles," the entire way through, our raft got too far ahead of the group and missed the stopping point as a storm started to set in, we had to be picked up at another spot and our driver tried to speed around the other driver and our raft almost flew off the top of the van, we had two rafting injuries, another ER visit, everyone celebrated Annie's birthday too hard but we couldn't have asked for a more perfect ending to our trip.
The next day, Saturday the 19th, we spent the day driving back to Olomouc. We got off the bus at our dorms and our professors turned us loose and for the first time, we didn't know what to do. We cried and said our goodbyes and some of us went out to eat, repacked, some left that night, the next day or the next week, but it was all very bittersweet.
I repacked that night and got on the train Sunday, May 20th to Prague where I treated myself to a one-night stay at the Holiday Inn at the Prague Airport - with AC and all!! The next morning I had to be to the airport by 5 am to fly to my last stop, Dublin! I had a layover in London, puke, and it only resonated more to why it's my least favorite city EVER. I had an hour and a half between flights but I had to go through customs, pick up my bags and go back through security - it was like flying back from Haiti through Ft. Lauderdale all over again.. I had to throw away a lot of my toiletries, stood in line for forever to drop my checked bag and was so close to missing my flight. I guess Ireland just really didn't want me to visit!! Despite all attempts to keeping me out of the country, I did indeed make it!
A day and a half in Ireland was not nearly enough time but I was so excited to go home and I know I can get back there some day! I stayed in my favorite hostel chain, Generator Hostel, where one of my roommates was from Ireland and showed me around Dublin before I went on my Jameson Distillery tour. It was incredible! I even got Tayler and custom bottle of the Distillery Brew - if I could've put more alcohol in my checked bag, I would've brought one home for me, too! The next day I had previously booked a day trip out to the Cliffs of Moher and it was definitely worth it! Ireland was swarming with Americans and on my day trip there were 5 girls who sat behind me from Kansas so we bonded over the Midwest, lol. Another girl I met on our tour was from Canada and we ended up staying in the same Hostel - traveling alone really isn't that scary! The Cliffs endlessly took my breath away. We got a sunny, warm (for Ireland), clear day that made for gorgeous pictures. It should be one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World! We also made small stops along the way to different small towns and because the Cliffs are on the other side of the country from Dublin, it was really cool to experience both sides of the country and learn all the history! Ireland has SO much to offer!
The girl I met on the trip, Lauren, and I decided to go find the oldest bar in Dublin, The Brazen Head, for supper and some Guinness and Jameson. We met even more Americans and topped off the end to my three months! Man oh man it was hard to sleep that night knowing I was headed home that next morning!
I arrived at the airport far too early, went through US Customs in Dublin, such a BREEZE, and made it to my flight in enough time to have breakfast and hang out. The 7 1/2 hour flight really wasn't that bad and I managed to stay awake the whole flight and watch, "The Post," "The Darkest Hour," and "The Greatest Showman." I hate far too much FREE food, so I can't complain and cried a little when I landed in Philly and got to drink Dunkin' Donuts and it tasted like heaven! The four hour layover went by fast and then I hopped on my flight to Denver where I watched, "Ferdinand," and I should've probably apologized to the poor, sleeping guy next to me and I kept laughing and waking him up, it's such a cute movie.
I landed in Denver way ahead of schedule, called my momma who then surprised me at the airport. I hadn't slept in 22 hours but I couldn't wait to tell her all about my trip(s). I thought I'd sleep so good but 5:30 rolled around and I was wide awake. I can't put into word the joy I felt when I finally arrived home ❤️
____________________________________________________
My next blog I'm going to write about what I packed, what I didn't, what I wish I wouldn't have, what I wish I would've taken with me, what I bought, my favorite places, where to stay, how to travel and all my tips and tricks to surviving Europe! But for now - I truly can't thank you all enough for all of your support before and during the last three months. I felt all of your prayers and wouldn't have gotten through all three months without you all! I officially made 30+ new friends, traveled to 11 countries, 20+ cities, took over 10,000+ pictures and I lost track of how many different planes and trains I traveled on. Nothing could have prepared me for what those three months were going to hold but I also couldn't have been prepared for the experiences and memories that I would walk away with. God guided me through the whole thing and brought me home safe and I couldn't be more thankful for every experience, good or bad, that I had. I have been impacted for the rest of my life.
If you're questioning studying abroad: DO IT!!
Our last class trip was around a portion of the Czech Republic called Bohemia. We made several stops to several different little towns where we saw more museums, churches and castles and toured the official Budweiser factory, yes it's actually Czech. Our first two nights we stayed in an actual HOTEL (we felt like royalty) in Kutna Hora, an adorable little fairy tale town. It was quiet and quaint and the rain only added to the fairytale vibe! The Czech Republic should be known for the views it gives overlooking their towns, they're incredible.
The next two nights we stayed in Cesky Krumlov on the little island that is surrounded by the river and a castle that dates back to Medieval Times (I really apologize I can't ever remember all the dates of everything....). This city is like the Venice of the Czech! Full of tourism but it's too beautiful to not be! When we arrived in Cesky it was raining the hardest I've seen it rain since I lived in Alabama and instead of waiting until it stopped, we trudged through it when we should have taken a boat.. We were all laughing by the end but even the clothes inside our bags were soaked!
We toured the Bone Church and it's exactly what you think. I felt like I woke up in either a nightmare or an Indiana Jones movie - terrifying! The section of the church made with all the bones came from those who were buried in mass graves after they died of the plague, around 6,000 people make up the exhibition. We got to tour the castle, one of the oldest theaters in Europe, the church and toured the city on our own. Bre and I had a small photo-shoot, naturally, because after the rain stopped the light was perfect.
Our last day there our professors turned us loose on the river to go on a rafting trip without a guide - I start laughing all over again just reliving the experience. Only two of the 21 of us had ever been rafting before and without a guide to turn the raft, we basically turned in circles the whole way down the river because we couldn't all row at the same time. Annie also turned 21 that day ssooo it was a hoot to say the least. Yelling was involved, splashing, the guys had their own raft and sang, "99 Bottles," the entire way through, our raft got too far ahead of the group and missed the stopping point as a storm started to set in, we had to be picked up at another spot and our driver tried to speed around the other driver and our raft almost flew off the top of the van, we had two rafting injuries, another ER visit, everyone celebrated Annie's birthday too hard but we couldn't have asked for a more perfect ending to our trip.
The next day, Saturday the 19th, we spent the day driving back to Olomouc. We got off the bus at our dorms and our professors turned us loose and for the first time, we didn't know what to do. We cried and said our goodbyes and some of us went out to eat, repacked, some left that night, the next day or the next week, but it was all very bittersweet.
I repacked that night and got on the train Sunday, May 20th to Prague where I treated myself to a one-night stay at the Holiday Inn at the Prague Airport - with AC and all!! The next morning I had to be to the airport by 5 am to fly to my last stop, Dublin! I had a layover in London, puke, and it only resonated more to why it's my least favorite city EVER. I had an hour and a half between flights but I had to go through customs, pick up my bags and go back through security - it was like flying back from Haiti through Ft. Lauderdale all over again.. I had to throw away a lot of my toiletries, stood in line for forever to drop my checked bag and was so close to missing my flight. I guess Ireland just really didn't want me to visit!! Despite all attempts to keeping me out of the country, I did indeed make it!
A day and a half in Ireland was not nearly enough time but I was so excited to go home and I know I can get back there some day! I stayed in my favorite hostel chain, Generator Hostel, where one of my roommates was from Ireland and showed me around Dublin before I went on my Jameson Distillery tour. It was incredible! I even got Tayler and custom bottle of the Distillery Brew - if I could've put more alcohol in my checked bag, I would've brought one home for me, too! The next day I had previously booked a day trip out to the Cliffs of Moher and it was definitely worth it! Ireland was swarming with Americans and on my day trip there were 5 girls who sat behind me from Kansas so we bonded over the Midwest, lol. Another girl I met on our tour was from Canada and we ended up staying in the same Hostel - traveling alone really isn't that scary! The Cliffs endlessly took my breath away. We got a sunny, warm (for Ireland), clear day that made for gorgeous pictures. It should be one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World! We also made small stops along the way to different small towns and because the Cliffs are on the other side of the country from Dublin, it was really cool to experience both sides of the country and learn all the history! Ireland has SO much to offer!
The girl I met on the trip, Lauren, and I decided to go find the oldest bar in Dublin, The Brazen Head, for supper and some Guinness and Jameson. We met even more Americans and topped off the end to my three months! Man oh man it was hard to sleep that night knowing I was headed home that next morning!
I arrived at the airport far too early, went through US Customs in Dublin, such a BREEZE, and made it to my flight in enough time to have breakfast and hang out. The 7 1/2 hour flight really wasn't that bad and I managed to stay awake the whole flight and watch, "The Post," "The Darkest Hour," and "The Greatest Showman." I hate far too much FREE food, so I can't complain and cried a little when I landed in Philly and got to drink Dunkin' Donuts and it tasted like heaven! The four hour layover went by fast and then I hopped on my flight to Denver where I watched, "Ferdinand," and I should've probably apologized to the poor, sleeping guy next to me and I kept laughing and waking him up, it's such a cute movie.
I landed in Denver way ahead of schedule, called my momma who then surprised me at the airport. I hadn't slept in 22 hours but I couldn't wait to tell her all about my trip(s). I thought I'd sleep so good but 5:30 rolled around and I was wide awake. I can't put into word the joy I felt when I finally arrived home ❤️
____________________________________________________
My next blog I'm going to write about what I packed, what I didn't, what I wish I wouldn't have, what I wish I would've taken with me, what I bought, my favorite places, where to stay, how to travel and all my tips and tricks to surviving Europe! But for now - I truly can't thank you all enough for all of your support before and during the last three months. I felt all of your prayers and wouldn't have gotten through all three months without you all! I officially made 30+ new friends, traveled to 11 countries, 20+ cities, took over 10,000+ pictures and I lost track of how many different planes and trains I traveled on. Nothing could have prepared me for what those three months were going to hold but I also couldn't have been prepared for the experiences and memories that I would walk away with. God guided me through the whole thing and brought me home safe and I couldn't be more thankful for every experience, good or bad, that I had. I have been impacted for the rest of my life.
If you're questioning studying abroad: DO IT!!
LITOMYSL
LEZAKY
This town was completely destroyed and everyone was killed during the Nazi regime.
KUTNA HORA
CESKY KRUMLOV
IRELAND
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