This week we went on a trip through Bohemia. Bohemia is the western half of the Czech Republic, while Moravia is the eastern half. We visited three towns during this trip: Litomysl, Kutna Hora, and Cesky Krumlov. Our first stop on this trip was Litomysl. Litomysl was a very quaint little town. It has historically been a place centered around education, which is still true today. Because of this they have many schools, including a small university, which is surprising considering the small size of the town. The university only has one faculty, which is restoration. The town itself has been undergoing restoration. The town is working to preserve its history, but it is also a rather modern town. It has a good mix of old and new. We were able to visit the Renaissance castle of the town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as a beautiful church.

                 Our second stop was Kutna Hora. On our way into town, we stopped at the Kutna Hora ossuary, or bone church. It was a small church, not one of the more beautiful or impressive ones we have seen by any means, but what made it interesting is that the bottom section of the church is decorated with human bones. We also visited the Church of St. Barbara, and the silver mines. The silver mines were an interesting experience. They warned us not to go if we were claustrophobic, but I think we all underestimated just how tight of a fit it would be. I really enjoyed it; it felt more like a real mining experience. However, I could have done without some of the giant spiders that we saw. In the middle of the mine we stopped and turned off all our lamps, and were able to experience total darkness. You could not see your hand in front of your face, and no matter how long you are down there, your eyes will never adjust. There is simply no light at all.

                Our final stop was Cesky Krumlov. We had heard from multiple people that this town was one of the most beautiful places in the Czech Republic. The town is like something you would expect to see in a fairytale. It is so peaceful and quaint. However, it is a rather obvious tourist trap, so things were a little more expensive than we have been used to.  We were able to visit the castle, the theater, and the gardens. We were also able to go on a raft ride down the Vltava River. It took us longer than expected, and we were wet and cold by the end, but it was one of my favorite things about the trip. I have always loved rafting and hiking, so whenever we get the chance to do those things here it brightens my day.

                I was really glad that we had the chance to see more of the country that has been our home for the last three months. The Czech Republic is not really the first place most would think of when thinking about travelling, but it has a lot of great places to visit and things to offer. I think that seeing more of the Czech Republic was a great way to end our trip, and I hope to come back here someday.

The bone church in Kutna Hora.

St. Barbara's church in Kutan Hora/

Cesky Krumlov

The gardens in Cesky Krumlov

This week I am going to talk about two of the personal excursions that I have gone on. The two places that I have visited that were not through UNK (besides Dublin during Spring Break) were Budapest, Hungary and London, England. These two trips were about as different as they could possibly have been.

Our trip to Budapest was a mix of highs and lows. First of all, we got to the hostel we had booked and it was…interesting. It was a very relaxed atmosphere, but a little too relaxed for some of us when it came to cleanliness. I do not consider myself to be extremely high maintenance, but I could not sleep in that hostel. About half of us decided we could not handle a whole weekend there, so we went to find a new hostel around 11 pm that night. Luckily we were able to find a pretty nice hotel that was not too expensive. We had a clean bathroom and clean beds, so we were happy. On our way walking around Budapest we noticed quite a few homeless people sleeping on the streets. By far the most I have seen since I got to Europe. The city itself was large, loud, and pretty dirty. After spending most of our time in quiet, clean, safe Olomouc, it was a bit of an adjustment.

The next morning started off on a bad note. A group of us were going to a walking tour, and we stopped at a bakery to get breakfast. While we were in there, a homeless man stole money right out of one of the girls’ hand and ran away with it. It was about $70 when you convert it over to American currency. Luckily, a man who was also in the bakery with us chased him down and made him give back the money. After giving it back and apologizing, the homeless man actually then asked for more money! Needless to say, he did not get any after that stunt. After that snafu, we were able to find the walking tour, and got to see the more pretty and touristy areas of Budapest. We saw the chain bridge, the Matthias Church, the Fisherman’s Bastion, and more. That night we had dinner on a boat that sailed along the Danube River with live music. The second day we visited the Budapest baths, which were basically warm pools, as they were part of the hot springs. We spent the whole day just relaxing.

The Danube River in Budapest

The Matthias Church in Budapest

The Fisherman's Bastion in Budapest

At the baths in Budapest

 London was a very nice city. It was very clean and there was a lot going on. I felt very safe there. However, London was very expensive. We were only there for about two and a half days, and I do not want to think about the amount of money that I spent there. It was a very busy trip. We had multiple things planned and booked, so we were on a bit of a tight schedule at times. We got into London at 2:30 in the morning on Saturday and had to get up to head home at 2:30 in the morning on Monday. It the 72 hours that we were there, we fit in a hop-on hop-off tour around the city (on a double-decker bus of course), took a boat ride down the Thames, rode the London Eye, saw Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theater, went on the Making of Harry Potter tour at the Warner Brothers Studio, and even fit in some souvenir shopping. It was an absolutely awesome weekend, but I was exhausted by the end of it.

Big Ben in London

The London Eye

The Harry Potter Tour

To compare the two, Budapest was a very relaxed and chill city. The trip was spent mostly just doing whatever we felt like doing at the time, and there was not a lot of rushing around. On the other end of the spectrum, London was much nicer and more expensive, but we were constantly on the move from one thing to another, so the trip itself, while amazing, was not a relaxing one. Of course the differences between the two trips had a lot to do with our planning, but I also feel like it reflected the general atmosphere of each city. 

For Spring Break, a few of us went to Dublin, Ireland. Let me start off by saying that Ireland was amazing. It has been my favorite place so far. It was beautiful and green, and the people were extremely friendly. Also, everyone there knew English, which made everything so much easier. We were in Ireland for 5 days, and, amazingly, it did not rain once while we were there, which was unexpected. We were almost disappointed, because we had expected some Irish rain. However, the weather was beautiful, so we were not too disappointed.

                The people all seemed to be very laid back and friendly. Everyone was just up for having a good time. One night we had dinner at a pub, and there was some live music. The music they were playing was traditional Irish music, so two older couples got up and started doing some traditional Irish dances. It was honestly one of the greatest things I think I have ever seen. I hope I am still able to do complicated dances like that when I am their age.

                Our first night in Dublin, we went to a folklore show at the Brazen Head, which is the oldest pub in Dublin. Hearing all the folklore, superstitions, and stories of Ireland made the trip seem almost more magical. I had not realized how deep the superstitions ran in Ireland, even today. They say they do not believe in faeries anymore, but they man telling us the stories mentioned that people today still will not mess with areas of land known as “faerie forts”. Many people will not even step foot in them. In another example he gave us, the Irish government had to spend a lot of money to redirect a road they were building that would have gone through a fairy tree, due to the number of people who protested it.

                We also visited the Guinness Factory while in Dublin. I am not much of a beer drinker, so I feel the experience was somewhat lost on me, but my Dad and fiancé both love Guinness, so I felt I had to go for them (and get them souvenir glasses). We also went to a dinner show that had live Irish music and Irish dancers. I cannot say I was really impressed with the dancers, but the music and the food were both great. I had some of the best soup of my life that night. I have now learned a couple Irish songs that I can somewhat clap along to, so I consider that an accomplishment.

                We also went on three day trips while in Ireland. We visited the Giant’s Causeway, the Cliffs of Moher, and the Blarney Castle. The Giant’s Causeway and the Cliffs of Moher were breathtaking. The same day we went to Giant’s Causeway, our tour bus stopped at the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge on the coast. It was so clear that day that we could actually see Scotland in the distance. I had not realized that Scotland was that close. When we went to the Cliffs of Moher, it was nice enough that we were able to take a boat ride out to the Cliffs to see them from the bottom. It was so cool, and I am so glad we got the chance to do that. Of course when we went to Blarney Castle we kissed the Blarney stone, which is supposed to give you the gift of eloquence, so that you can talk yourself out of any situation.  Personally, however, I have not noticed much of an improvement in my speaking skills.

                I would love to go back to Ireland again in the future. I felt so at peace there, everything was so green, and I loved seeing the sheep all along the roads. My family is part Irish, so it was great to see the country that some of my ancestors lived in.  The people were just so friendly; I always felt completely welcome. Dublin was also probably one of the cities that I felt safest in on this trip. It also helped that Irish accents are my favorite. Our tour guides were great and very funny, and I learned a lot about Ireland during each tour. I would definitely recommend Ireland as a place to visit.

The Brazen Head: the oldest pub in Dublin

The Guinness Storehouse

The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge

Giant's Causeway

The Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher

Kissing the Blarney Stone