Prague and Dresden Weekend Getaway

Fernweh (n); (German) an ache for distant places, a need to travel

Sorry this one is long. We left the safety of our home away from home on the 24th and headed for the big city of Prague. A long train ride and a refreshing nap was followed by a trek to our Hostel in old town Prague. A little hole in the wall with a passage and we were there. I can't explain how odd the toilets were, and the showers were aggressively pressurized. But it was a comfy little hostel.

Catholic Cathedral

When in Prague we got to tour some beautiful churches and the presidential castle. We saw the Charles bridge and even the clock from Harry Potter. (The one in Hogwarts.) Thankfully this time around we only got lost once. I feel the need to say just so everyone knows. I'm a 'kebabaholic'. I can't get enough of them. Now the ones in Prague weren't as good as the ones in Olomouc are, but it got me through the weekend.

Hogwarts Clock

Onto our day trip to Dresden. I am sorry to say that I am totally unaware of what the countryside from Prague to Dresden, Germany looks like. For I had a very hearty nap on the train. Though I am happy to report that the views of the city of Dresden are immaculate. I was awestruck at the beautiful buildings and bridges. The river was just a fantastic. We were, as a group, able to view the Lutheran Cathedral. Now for those of you whom are not Lutheran, Lutheran churches have a scent to them. Now before I took this trip I myself had no idea of this either. However, we walked into that church and i took a breath in and I was back home. It was very oddly comforting. But enough about my weird church smelling self. After we toured the inside of the church we were able to go atop the Church, I'm still suffering from the climb, but man was it worth it. A view of the whole city, from atop a church I was all too familiar with, looking at all he had created... I knew God was with me.

Lutheran Cathedral

After climbing the church we split up and I, and a few others, went to an art museum. Ranked in the top 5 in Europe. I am awkwardly able to report the abundance of paintings of women with a single breast plopped out. Or maybe you would prefer the number of baby phallases contained in one room? None the less, it was an amazing experience.
I was especially enticed by "Portrait of man holding black cap". And my personal favorite, "Portrait of a man in a yellowish grey jacket". Which yes both are real names of paintings. From the museum we were off to the train and headed back to Prague.

View from atop the Lutheran Cathedral

The next morning we got the amazing experience to tour a Jewish museum as well as the oldest Jewish synagogue in the Czech Republic. In the museum was written names of all of those whom lost their life in the Czech Republic during the Holocaust. With that chilling experience finally over we took to the Easter Markets and then headed for our train to Olomouc. We got back and the first thing i did... Got myself a Kebab. Then it was back to Neredin (Nezsh-ruh-deen) and sleep. Seventeen hours feels amazing after a long trip.

Lutheran Cathedral ceiling

The Jewish Museum

"Not all those who wander are lost" -J.R.R. Tolkein


"I'm in love with cities I've never been to and people I've never met." -Unknown

The bags were packed, tickets bought, and tears were shed, but the adventure has begun! After many long hours flying I was able to finally get off in Prague and it was overwhelming to say the least. Trying to travel in the big city is one problem after another. If you take the wrong stop (because let's face it all of the stops here sound the same) then it's another 15 minutes to get back on track; that is if you're lucky enough to get on the correct bus or tram this time. But after a few confusing hours I arrived safely at my destination ready to start the day of sight seeing. Everything in the Czech Republic is phenomenal to say the least. The buildings stand 6 stories tall all around you, small shops line every street, and the culture runs deep all throughout. Which was why I was shocked to discover that everyone here listens to techno or 80's-90's pop music. 

After a few nights of adventure it was time to get up, pack my things again, and make my way back to the airport. Luckily this time it wasn't as hard to get there. We hopped on a bus and headed for Olomouc (All-a-motes). I got all moved in, met my new flat mates, and we headed out to enjoy the night life. Beer with dinner is basically a tradition here, and there's plenty of it to go around. Especially since its cheaper than paying for a glass of water. The next few days were filled with seeing the sights, learning a little about where we were living, and then heading out to enjoy the pubs and various clubs that Olomouc had to offer. Places such as Belmondo and 15 Minutes offered an insight into the youth culture of the Czechs. But nothing was better than meeting strangers on the streets and asking them to go to pubs with us. My friends and I have met many amazing people of multiple cultures do just that! On St. Patrick's day we met many wonderful people that took us to insane places, well, until we got lost and took over 2 hours to walk home in the cold. But it was not in vain! The night of our pub crawl was no different. (Besides the 2 hour walk.) We met many more Czech locals and learned many things about how they live.

Meat and Dumplings are the heart and soul of Czech food. Along with my personal favorite, Donner Kebabs. Although Olomouc its a slower paced city than what I experienced in Prague, it has not ceased to amaze me what so ever. And with only having been here for a week and some days I am more than excited to see what Olomouc has in store for us all! Hell maybe I'll even find my true love over here like one of those cheesy Disney movies. I wonder what they'd call that..... Oh wait they already have one of those, "An Idiot Abroad".